The passages where Ewen thinks he's leaving Ardroy forever are so beautiful, I will never be over it. The way he drinks in the sight of it like a lover, the way heaven is unfavourably compared to it, trying to disguise that he's crying...

Also agree that the escape was a great bit of adventure writing! I've been reading some writing advice about making your plot unexpected in small ways, and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect example. I suspected Ewen was going to escape, but didn't forsee how he would outsmart the soldiers by hiding in the undergrowth, and the Yorkshiremen were a complete surprise that could have plausibly gone either way. I was genuinely holding my breath at some parts.