The sky was already darkening by the time they arrived, the low sun glittering in the Loch, and the thickening shadows gaining ground on them as they rode. Mary had been sitting in the saddle for some hours now, and her limbs were starting to ache as they crossed into the valley. From some distance away, she could see a dark structure, blackened as though it had been plunged into a fire, with many parts of the building already fallen into ruins. She turned uneasily to her husband, saying “Is my new home?”
