Excerpt: Three Shakes of a Spinster's Tale

Every sense was heightened as Elizabeth took her place on the ancient carved wooden chair. She felt the cool, damp, and slightly foggy air on her skin. Although she had been in Eilean long enough to know that the term really referred to a day with gentle rain, she thought to herself how appropriate that today was a "nice, soft day." She was grateful for the thickness and the water repellency of the woolen suit she was wearing. The plaid tartan, unfamiliar to her only a month ago, now felt familiar and comforting. The smell of mutton roasting over a slow fire reached her nose. That smell was less comforting. She looked forward to tatties and neeps, potatoes and turnips, but not the haggis that would follow her talk. She heard behind her the sound of bagpipes sounding celebratory and mournful at the same time, and wondered whether bagpipe music ever sounded totally joyful. She looked at the assembly of hundreds of people gathered in the open air amphitheater. Most talked quietly among themselves, but some stared at her with looks of curiosity. The amphitheater was ancient, built in the style of the Romans. Yes, the Romans had somehow reached this remote outpost, off the coast of Scotland, two millennia ago and left their mark. That was the last time the ancestors of those people sitting in front of her had been conquered by a foreign power. When the Romans withdrew, sovereignty returned to Eilean and had never been lost, not to the Britons, not to the Vikings or the Goths, and certainly not to the Scots. Eilean was a free, if tiny, nation, outside of the United Nations, outside of NATO, outside of the British Commonwealth, and certainly outside of Scotland.

She thought of the twists and turns in her life the past two years, university professor, political campaign staff, economic developer, guardian of a teenager, target of an attempted murder, and now this. Two years ago she could not have dreamed she would be here in Eilean in such a role. Two years ago, in fact, she was not even aware of the existence of Eilean!

Elizabeth, rather Elspeth, heard the final words of the introduction, rose to her feat, and approached the podium.

"Madainn mhath. My fellow Eileanians, it is with humility, gratitude, and excitement that I address you this morning."