Colin complied. He could see himself in the mirror on the front of the wardrobe, and he could immediately sense a change in himself, and how he saw himself, but without being able to put a finger on exactly what had changed.

"I think you need some padding," she said, carefully.

He patted his hips. "My hips? I have thought of that, when wearing those skirts before. The fullness of the dress hides that, surely?"

"It wasn't your hips I was thinking of. Try higher up. Much higher up."

Colin got the point immediately. "Now wait a minute..." he protested.

"I have to confess I cursed you all the way from Ullapool. It wasn't very gentlemanly of me, especially considering all you've done since. Perhaps we can start by using each other's first names. Would that be all right with you?"

"I - I suppose so," Shelagh said, somewhat hesitantly. Inside, part of her wanted to run, to bang the door shut and barricade it with furniture. Men had not treated her kindly when she was younger, and now she had a man in her house for possibly some time to come. She had every reason for mistrusting the male gender, and yet this one was different.