Mary concurs about Jamie being a handsome man. It had been quite striking to see him walking around in a kilt, looking better than any of her Scottish relatives ever had. Imagine her disappointment when the first thing he'd mentioned was a wife.

Her eyebrow raises as John tells his story, Mary expecting it to go one way, and then slowly frowns as it goes another. "I'm sorry," she says. "I don't expect that it is easy for men of your persuasion." The fact that having sex with a man is criminal in his time is only part of his worries.

She places her teacup back on its saucer. "Both of us wish to continue being friends with you, John," she continues. "We enjoy your company."

Mary doesn't think his feelings for Jim are irrelevant though. Knowing that there is the possibility that John and Jim might eventually decide they're better off without her will still gnaw at the back of her mind.