December 1998. Lola, always interested in place names, has learned by now that the Deil’s Hurdies, the cleft formation sticking out of the sea, is (are) the Devil’s Buttocks. The Teeny Titties, two small finials of rock near the shore, would be Little Sisters in English. Kirsty’s Knowe (Knoll), a grassy hill overlooking the sea, has attracted her because of its story. An old man, a retired fisherman, has told her that the eponymous Kirsty hanged herself when her lover deserted her. He drowned soon after. Since then an apparition called Kirsty’s Fetch was said to be seen on Kirsty’s Knowe by men fated to drown.
‘Has anybody seen it recently?’ Lola asked.
‘Not that I know of,’ said the old fisherman. ‘People don’t see as much as they used to. I blame the television.’
Kirsty’s Knowe has become a favourite walk of Lola’s. She looks out to sea and listens to the sighing of the waters. She never sees the ghost of the long-dead girl but she often talks to Kirsty.