Page 46 of A Rogue in Twilight

“It almost glows,” she said.

“It has extraordinary luminosity. I wonder if it is local or was found elsewhere.”

“Could I see it more closely?”

James rattled the little door. “I do not know where Mrs. MacKimmie put the key. When she returns, we can open it.”

“I will not be here then,” she said. He saw sudden tension in her shoulders, in the nape of her neck. He wanted to touch her, ease it away.

“Then you must come back. And bring your grandfather.” He recalled something she had said about the stone. “You were looking for a valuable stone that your grandfather lost in our garden, were you not? Is this the stone?”

“It might be.” She leaned toward the glass again, her arm brushing his. He watched her, savoring her elegant profile, the blush filling her cheeks. She glanced up.

“What else do you know about agate?” she asked.

“They are often found in Scotland. It is a type of quartz called chalcedony,” he went on. “They occur in beds of sedimentary rock, granite or sandstone, and were likely exposed to enormous heat eons ago, heat such as a volcano produces. Good agate like this one is not generally found in this area, as far as I know.”

“If it is my grandfather’s stone, he found it here years ago, at the top of your garden before the grotto was added.”

“Here! Are you certain?”

“I remember that it was blue and striated. This might be the one. He called it a fairy stone. These hills once belonged to the fairies, they say. Supposedly there is a gateway to the fairy realm on the Struan estate.”

“Is that why the fairies ride through?”

She smiled. “I thought you did not believe that.”

“Many such legends are based on natural phenomena. I would like to add some geological notes to my grandmother’s fairy book, as I am reviewing it in hopes of completing it. A fairy stone found on Struan lands would be a charming addition.”

“Charming,” she said. “But not authentic proof.”

“Does such proof even exist? Nonetheless, I would like to add elements such as this. Perhaps,” he said, as the thought struck him, “you would be kind enough to assist me with some of the local legends.”

“I could, but Grandda knows a great deal more than I do.”

“I would like to hear what he has to say on the subject.”

She tilted her head. “So you want to know the truth about fairies?”

“I prefer truth to fancy, but aye.”

“The truth might surprise you. At least, Grandda might say so.”

He laughed. “I do want to hear how he found a fairy stone, though he lost it.”

“He found it where the grotto is now. But he left it there. It is poor manners to take what belongs to the fairies, so they say.”

“Construction in the grotto must have unearthed it, and my grandmother took it for her collection. Did removing it go against what these fairies want?” He chuckled.

“It is disrespectful to alter a fairy site. That would include the grotto.”

“So they trample our grounds every October. Mystery solved,” he said wryly.

“Surely you come across such legends in your geological work.”

“I have heard that fairies are associated with hills, groves, wells, springs, caves, and so on. Though in Scotland, one must wonder what isnota fairy site.”

“If the hill behind your house did belong to them and was changed, they might be displeased. Folk in this glen have been fleeing the fairy riding for generations.”