25Andrew Lambert sat on the grass gazing across the still, silent loch with the distant mountains providing a perfect backdrop. The loch, small and unsullied except for gentle ripples brewed up by the slight breeze, snaked into the distance, its shape something of an elongated hoop. Circumnavigated in less than an hour, nevertheless it was the home for any number of birds and other fauna. Right now, an almost reverential quiet, almost deafening, settled over the place.
He heard a soft footfall and turned, giving a start as Lorna drifted down the hillside, stopped and smiled. He was already getting to his feet as she waved him back down, joining him on the grass.
“Beautiful, isn't it,” she said, edging closer.
To reassure himself that this was not another illusion, he put out his hand an
