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When I raised my head, only a little scratchiness remained. I could put up with that until my eyes healed.

I got to my feet and looked at Casper. It had been three months since he’d helped me with a case and it was good to see every inch of his six and a half foot frame. His shoulder-length golden hair was as thick and wavy as ever and the strange gold and green of his eyes continued to remind me of nothing so much as the dappled light of an ancient forest.

I wanted to hug him but instead I planted my hands on my hips. “You took your time. I was falling for at least a minute before you caught me.” My estimate of time might not have been entirely accurate. It’s hard to tell when you’re falling toward certain death.

“I came as fast as I could, Allegra.”

Not the sort of thing you usually want to hear from a man, but in this instance I was glad he had.

“By the way,” I said, “your wings are still on.”

He glanced over his shoulder at the golden feathers that matched his hair. Then he shrugged his massive shoulders. The feathers flew into the air, disintegrating before they hit the ground. I had once asked him to explain the physics behind the disappearance and reappearance of his wings. He had tried valiantly but I hadn’t been able to grasp the concept. We were both happier when I accepted it as magic.

“What’re you doing in Scotland?” he asked.

“Didn’t the news reach you on Cloud 9?” He had once told me that was his address. I’m not sure whether he was joking.

“Allegra, you know I only get news of you when you’re in trouble.”

“So now you’ve come back to earth,” I asked, “will you be hanging around for a while?”

“I’ll be here until you solve this case.”

Uh-oh. Danger, Will Robinson. Casper only hangs around when he needs to protect me. Apparently he thought this case was going to involve serious risk, which given my recent tumble from Wilson’s Creag, wasn’t exactly comforting. I’d been seconds from splattering into a million pieces when Casper showed up.

My stomach flip-flopped like a beached fish. “Is there something I should know, Casper?”

“Only that I’m here to help—I mean, to protect you from danger.”

He had told me often enough that he couldn’t help me solve a case, but I lived in hope that one day he might slip up.

“Are you coming back to the village with me?” I asked.

“Am I suitably dressed?”

He no longer wore his tribal clothes of furs, leather and homespun. He was now dressed in the black trousers and knee-length coat I had bought him after seeing one of the Matrix movies.

“Maybe you should wear a kilt,” I said, only half joking.

But he took my suggestion seriously. “Maybe you could buy me one.”

“Maybe I will.” I wondered whether he’d look as sexy in a kilt as I imagined. Then, reining in my imagination, I said, “I’ve got to get back to the village. The police will be there soon.”

“Let’s go.”

I was glad of his company but it did make me wonder what kind of danger I might be walking into.

When we arrived at Mac’s, a police car was parked outside. Inside the pub two officers were talking to Douglas. They turned when I entered with Casper. Judging by their expressions as they took in his sexy black outfit, they didn’t like the look of him and had decided he was the prime suspect.

Douglas also looked at him suspiciously, but it soon became clear he was more concerned about Casper’s involvement with me.

“Is this man bothering you, Allegra?”

“It’s okay, Douglas, Casper is my…partner.” I introduced them.

Douglas reluctantly shook Casper’s hand but his words were aimed at me. “You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend.”

A disturbing thrill ran through me at the thought of being romantically involved with Casper, but I suppressed it. Casper wasn’t boyfriend material. One of the conditions of his guardian-angelship was that he make amends for his years of raping and pillaging, which meant no, absolutely no, sex.

I smiled at Douglas and corrected his misunderstanding. “Casper is my business partner.