Sarah Gabriel by To Wed a Highland Bride

crystalline deposits. But agate is generally found in volcanic rock, which I have not yet seen in this area.”
    “Volcanic?” She looked surprised. “There are no volcanoes here.”
    “Not currently, but there may have been manythousands of years ago. My own research addresses that question, since layers of volcanic rock implies tremendous heat long ago in the terrestrial past. Geologists are still investigating Scotland’s mountains, and indeed much of Europe, for the signs. Why did you come back today to look for it?”
    “My grandfather remembered it.” She could hardly explain that her grandfather needed the thing to open a gate to the fairy world. Struan could not even accept Highland Sight, let alone bargains with the Fey in otherworldly hillside palaces.
    He frowned. “Struan House once belonged to your family?”
    She sipped her tea, then nodded. “The estate and much of the glen belonged to my great-grandfather. When my grandfather was young, he was often here. The grotto in your garden was once a large hill with a rocky precipice.”
    “I know the stone wall was extended up the slope. My grandmother was pleased with the result, an ongoing effort over several years, but unfortunately she did not live to enjoy it. Miss MacArthur—why not come to the door and ask about your missing stone?”
    He was a persistent and practical man, she realized. “I did not think anyone was in residence. It is the time when the fairies go riding through Struan lands.”
    “Mrs. MacKimmie explained something about that.”
    “And my request seemed so mad that I decided to look for myself, believing the house empty. I apologize for the inconvenience.”
    “Not at all.” He swallowed more tea. Elspeth noticed how delicate the cup looked, cradled in his long fingers. She imagined those hands turning a beautiful rock over and over, holding it up to sunlight…and then she imagined his hands upon her, warm and agile in their caressing. She shivered, not from cold, and sipped her own tea to hide her sudden flustered reaction.
    “You study such stones as I’m looking for,” she blurted then. “You’re writing a book, something to do with volcanic rock.” A strange word sounded clear in her head. “Geo…nosey. What is that?”
    He lifted his eyebrows. “Geognosy? It means earth knowledge—the study of the earth as a complete structure, interior and exterior. I did not realize that you were familiar with the work of Werner.”
    “I never heard of him. The word just came into my head.”
    He stared at her, teacup halfway to his lips. “Good God, how do you do that? How did you know that I’ve begun a book about geognostic science? A few years ago I studied in Freiburg for half a year with Abraham Werner, who developed the theory of geognosy, which looks at the earth as a whole. Either someone told you, or—”
    “Or I just knew,” she supplied softly.
    “Aye,” he said, and seemed about to say something else. He poured himself another cup of tea, and added to her cup when she held it out. “While I’m here in the glen, I intend to explore some the rock formations in these hills. If agate was found nearby, that could have real significance for my work.”
    “If you wander these hills, you may even encounter the daoine sìth ,” she said.
    “The— dowin-shee ?” He looked at her, puzzled.
    “The people of peace, in Gaelic. It is one of the many names we use for the fairy folk. They live invarious places in the earth, but the caves and hills are their special territory in this glen. Do geologists ever take into account the Otherwordly creatures who inhabit the subterranean earth?” She smiled.
    “Not if they value their reputations. Fancy and science do not mix well in academia, I assure you.” He sat forward. “For now, though, I have agreed to study fancy on behalf of my grandmother and her legacy of work.”
    “Perhaps you will learn something about rocks to surprise you. Fairies are plentiful among