" Although Keir would always prefer his island to anywhere else in the world, he had to admit this place had its own magic. There was a softness about the air and the sun, a trance of mist that made everything luminous. Lowering to his haunches, he ran his palm back and forth over the fine golden sand, so different from the caster-sugar grains of the beaches on Islay.
At Merritt's quizzical glance, he dusted his hands and smiled crookedly. "'Tis quiet," he explained. "On the shore near my home, it sings."
"The sand sings?" Merritt asked, perplexed.
"Aye. When you move it with your foot or hand, or the wind blows over it, the sand makes a sound. Some say it's more like a squeak, or a whistle."
"What makes it do that?"
"'Tis pure quartz, and the grains are all the same size. A scientist could explain it. But I'd rather call it magic."
"Do you believe in magic?"
Keir stood and smiled into her upturned face. "No, but I like the wonderments of life. Like the ghost fire that shines on a ship's mast at storm's end, or the way a bird's instinct leads him to the wintering grounds each year. I enjoy such things better for no' understanding them."
"Wonderments," Merritt repeated, seeming to relish the word. "

― Lisa Kleypas , Devil in Disguise (The Ravenels, #7)