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“What can I get you to drink?” asked Jenny.

“Coffee would be great,” I said. Casper politely agreed.

“I’ll get it started,” said Jenny. “See if you can find some mugs amongst my papers.”

It took me a while but finally I found three mugs. Taking them into the kitchen, I made room in the cluttered sink and washed and dried them. While Jenny was making the coffee—real coffee, not instant—I washed up the rest of the dirty dishes and stacked them on the drainer.

“Thank you,” said Jenny. “The brownies used to help me but I offended them by offering money. Stupid really. Ignorance, you see. I came from England. I moved here after winning The Pools to be near Leith’s Cairn. I’ve always had a fascination for Leith ever since I read his story in an old book.”

She poured the coffee. I told her I liked it black and that Casper took cream and two sugars. Unlike a lot of men, Casper has a sweet tooth, and because he is an angel, his teeth never decay. He doesn’t put on weight, either. I guess death isn’t all bad.

As we carried the mugs into the living room, Jenny called to Casper. “Move some of those papers so we can sit down.”

He did as she asked and we all sat. I chose the chair nearest the hearth, but the fire had burned low and soon I began to shiver. Casper noticed and, after asking Jenny’s permission, built up the fire. He even went outside to chop more firewood. He was as good as a brownie, even better if you included the eye-candy factor.

While Casper was gone, Jenny told me about Leith McCrae. She sketched in the details of his battlefield exploits and his love for Scotland and its people. Then she told me, in some detail, about the woman he had loved.

“Vanora McDougall was an unusual woman for her time,” said Jenny. “Unwilling to stay behind tending home and hearth while the men were at war, she donned men’s clothing and marched into battle beside her lover, Leith.

“She was at the Battle of Furness on the day he was mortally wounded. Kneeling beside him, she heard his last words—‘Bury me above Beag Glen.’ She promised to do as he asked, but before she could drag his body away, an English soldier knocked her to the ground and cut out Leith’s heart. As the soldier lifted the bloody heart in triumph, Vanora picked up her sword. With a single stroke she separated the soldier’s head from his shoulders.

“Knowing that Leith could not rest in peace without his heart, she took the still warm organ from the soldier’s hand and gently replaced it in Leith’s body. Then she picked up Leith’s feet and began to drag him from the battlefield. She had gone no more than a few yards when another English soldier attacked. She fought bravely but she was no match for him. Wounded and semi-conscious, she watched the soldier gouge out Leith’s heart and throw it into the loch.

“Then the soldier once again turned his attention to her. He raised his sword. Vanora, who was wearing men’s clothes, expected to be killed quickly like any other soldier. But her clothes had been torn and the Englishman saw that she was a woman. He raped her on the battlefield. Then he took her to the English camp and offered her to the soldiers.

“She lost count of the days she spent at the mercy of the Englishmen. More than once she prayed for death.

“One day, when she had almost given up hope, the soldier who had thrown Leith’s heart into the loch untied her bonds and lifted her onto a horse.

“Hauling himself into the saddle behind her, he cruelly dashed her hope of release. ‘If you try to escape I’ll kill you.’

“She dared to ask, ‘Where are we going?’

“‘Home.’

“His home. England. When they arrived at his castle near Everington Hill, he made her stand in the bitter wind while he hurled abuse at her and her people. Then he threw her into the dungeon.

“She didn’t know how long she spent in the dungeon. Each day of half-light bled into the next. From time to time the males of the family raped her. At first she fought them, but as the weeks with little food and water took their toll, she accepted her fate.

“She