yes , he would see Mackinnon and see if he could get anything out of him . for Jane &apos;s sake he would have to know . so that this could be stopped before it was too late - if it was not too late already . to his surprise he found himself hoping that there was nothing dreadful to discover . for Jane &apos;s sake , of course . she would be hurt . and he did not want her hurt . and young Grant - damn it , he had almost liked him the other night . and he could not help admiring him , for his guts in tackling the job he was tackling . but Alison , who , after all had brought up four daughters , seemed to think it would all fade out . and Elizabeth had some plans &amp;hellip; . you &apos;ll be starting counting days to your holiday soon , Jane , he said cheerfully . Jane smiled but did not answer . if she counted days it would be for a reason contrary to what the General thought . she gave him half her attention as he went on talking about what Elizabeth had said in her last letter , conjecturing about when they would see Susan again . she was thinking of how she would tell Neil what her father had said about his parents , seeing the look of relief which would come into his dark eyes when he knew his aunt &apos;s disparaging remarks had had no foundation in fact . how glad she was that Neil could now look back to his young parents with affection , untouched by fear . how glad she was that they had decided to recreate that flower garden which Angus seemed to think had been created by Neil &apos;s mother . father , I &apos;m going to ask you for a heap of cuttings in the autumn . there &apos;s a wide strip of land at Dalnadoire which Angus says was once a garden . so we - she coloured and changed it , so Neil is going to start it again . I &apos;ve said we &apos;d give him lots of plants . plants ! plenty of those , Jane . here the General was in his element . come out when you &apos;ve finished , and we &apos;ll mark what you want . best to do that when they &apos;re flowering . he got up stiffly out of his chair . there &apos;s that new delphinium I put in last autumn . coming out now . grand colour . you &apos;d like it in the background , Jane . and it &apos;s growing so well that it will split . come out and look at it ? yes . I &apos;ll just get rid of these . she got up from the table , stacking dishes , and smiled to herself as she ran between the dining-room and the kitchen . once they got to know Neil they would be sure to like him . she would just need to have patience . the next three weeks went by with what seemed to be an astonishing rapidity . Jane had had little enthusiasm for her holiday at the beginning , but now she had even less . to have to exchange , even for a fortnight , the warm happiness of being with Neil , of sharing with him their growing love , of watching how everything was progressing at the farm she was coming to love as much as he did , for Elizabeth and her lectures , for spells of baby-sitting , and keeping at arm &apos;s length the rather callow young men whom Elizabeth seemed to know , was far from pleasing . but she could see no way to get out of it . her mother was constantly talking of it , enlarging on the supposed pleasures in store , expecting from her an enthusiasm which Jane could not produce . that Lady Rose was thinking more of getting Jane away from Drumlairig than of her having an enjoyable holiday , Jane was well aware . General Rose might be starting to think more kindly of Neil , be beginning to take an interest in him and his doings , to see in him something to admire , but her mother was not . to her Neil Grant was still someone of so little account that he could be completely ignored . it almost seemed that she was completely unaware of her daughter &apos;s friendship with him . but , despite that , for Jane those weeks were happy ones . Neil was still working hard , indeed seemed to be working even harder . there was so much to be done and everything had to be done in a manner conforming to the high standard he had set himself . Dalnadoire was beginning to look like a well-kept , prosperous farm , the old house was being gradually cleaned and painted . Jane watched progress with eager , loving eyes , was there to give praise and encouragement . the weather was fine , the days were hot , but one morning Jane , rising early as usual , looked out of her window to see that the trees and the chimneys were almost blotted out by mist . there was not a mountain to be seen and there was a stillness over everything . was this the first sign that autumn was coming ? surely it was still too early in the year for that , but everything was early this year . but whatever it was it was a disagreeable morning , and she would need to get away quickly for it would take her much longer to walk that mile to the station with visibility a mere ten yards . shrouded in a mackintosh , shivering a little in the damp still air , she hurried down the drive . it felt as if she were alone in the world . apart from the never ceasing swishing and pounding of the river , there was not a movement , not a sound . and then a dog barked , another joined in excitedly , and two small forms ran eagerly towards her . why Rory ! Gill ! what are you doing here ? she exclaimed and looked beyond them , as a man &apos;s figure loomed out of the mist . morning , Jane , Neil was greeting her cheerfully . want a lift ? he put an arm about her shoulders , smiling at her surprised face . not the sort of morning for a walk . here &apos;s the car . why , Neil ! I never expected to see you . are you going to the station ? yes . he had the door of the car opened . in you get . she got in , the puppies scrambled in after her and she let them jump eagerly on to her lap as Neil went round to the driver &apos;s seat . have you something to collect , Neil ? he shook his head as he started the engine and they moved off . I want to see you get safely there , he said quietly . you mean - you &apos;ve come especially to take me ? he smiled . you do n&apos;t think I was going to have you walking that lonely road on a morning like this ? oh , Neil ! she murmured and felt wonderful . and when in a few minutes they reached the station , she leaned over , put her hands on his shoulders and kissed him on the mouth , not caring at all that a smiling Willie MacIntyre was an interested spectator . there were many other small incidents to show Jane what she was to Neil , to make her feel warm and rich and essential . on the Tuesdays when she met him in Inverness for lunch , they usually managed to have a little time left after their meal was over . at first they had walked along the river to the islands , or climbed the hill to the castle , looking at the statue of Flora MacDonald , at the view westward at which she gazed . but latterly they had spent their time among the shops . window shopping , Jane said . nor did they restrict their window gazing to the books which delighted them both . it was the week before Jane was due to go on holiday that they saw the chest of drawers . it was small , in a beautifully veined walnut , and its bow front gave it an elegance which pleased them both . they agreed that it was the sort of thing they liked , they looked at it from all angles , discovered its price and then Neil said quietly , shall we buy it , Jane ? buy it ? she looked at him quickly , her colour heightened . he was not looking at her and there was some colour too in his tanned face . I mean , when we see it - Dalnadoire needs a lot of furniture and - later we might not see one we like as well as this one . Jane smiled . could we , Neil ? she asked . yes . let &apos;s buy it then , she said in a matter-of-fact tone . I can just see it against that short wall beyond the window , in what will be the lounge . he turned to her , smiling now . have you time , Jane ? oh yes , Jane said happily . so on the Sunday Jane found a new task . with a soft duster she had to carefully polish the lovely walnut chest . Neil watched her young , earnest face lovingly , but with the shadow in his dark eyes which was often there when his face was in repose and when he was watching Jane . later he took her off for a walk on to the moors . the day was hot and in the early morning there had been a suspicion of thunder , but the clouds had passed , although there was still a heaviness in the air . when they reached the second stile , Jane perched on the top of it , and they looked back down the slope . a storm , if it is n&apos;t too wild , would n&apos;t do any harm , Neil commented . the river is running much slower than usual . yes . did you bathe in that pool above the falls when you were a boy , Neil ? she asked . he grinned as he turned to look at her , leaning against her knees . I did . every morning before anyone else was astir I &apos;d run out and have ten glorious , splashing minutes , before I dashed back again , pretending I &apos;d never left the house . did Mrs Cummings object to you bathing ? I do n&apos;t know about the bathing , but she did n&apos;t want her house messed up . though one morning she did catch me , and I was the usual lazy ingrate and so on and so on . I decided then , Jane , there was a twinkle in his eyes as he went on , that my family - for some unknown reason I seemed to think I was going to have several children and that we &apos;d be living at Dalnadoire - would be allowed to play in that pool whenever they liked . there was an answering twinkle in her blue eyes . are you still of the same opinion , Neil ? his smile widened . I am . but their mother would have to approve . she might n&apos;t think it a good idea . I &apos;m sure , Jane said carefully , that any girl you &apos;d made the mother of your children , would be quite sensible about that sort of thing . she &apos;d want them to have fun . Neil laid his cheek against the back of her hand , which she had resting lightly on his shoulder , for a moment . I think Dalnadoire is a house which needs a family of children , he said quietly . it does , Jane agreed . it should be filled with fun and laughter . Neil , she went on seriously , you never told me what made you run away just at that time , after all those miserable years . was it because you were unhappy , a sort of cumulative unhappiness ? well , he answered slowly , I did n&apos;t run - I walked . all the way from here to Aberdeen . unhappy ? I suppose that came into it . but the main , the overwhelming reason , was pride . pride ? Jane repeated in surprise . pride , he said again . to be told , day after day for all those years , that you were living on charity , that there was no reason why they should have to work their fingers to the bone to keep an ungrateful cur like you were - I was determined that as soon as I could I was going to go somewhere where she had n&apos;t to keep me . and what was more I was going to repay her all she &apos;d had to spend on me . but , Neil , Jane was red with indignation , you were n&apos;t living on charity . it was yours . I did n&apos;t know . and she said I was . I planned it carefully , Jane . 