An hour later, they were on their way again, the stormy skies giving way to a lovely day. Fortunately, that section of road was paved, so they didn’t have to contend with muddy ruts. According to the coachman, the Highland Railway ran regularly between Inverness and Perth, a journey of some four hours. She’d planned to stay at an inn tonight, but in Perth, not Inverness. With the delay, they might well be traveling through the night. At the moment, however, she wanted to stand in front of a roaring fire and savor a cup of hot Darjeeling tea. She closed her eyes and could almost feel the heat warm the tip of her nose. Perhaps a little toast as well, or Cook’s scones. They’d turned out to be almost as good as her mother’s. Thankfully, Elspeth was a good traveling companion. The other woman was not disturbed by the storm, lightning, or even hunger. “Have you a large family, Elspeth?”
