by Ruth Hay
* * *
Whether it was the last-minute change of plans or just the fact that when there seems to be so much lead-in time before an event, no immediate rush is perceived, the end of November suddenly arrived in a flurry of cold winds and blowing leaves and it was no longer possible for Anna and Alina to ignore their impending departure for Scotland.
They had decided to separate their luggage for the two destinations. The cases for Egypt were packed and ready but the large, shared case for Scotland still awaited the inevitable final items.
The clothing for this case had changed a number of times in the last week when the Canadian weather grew colder and ever-warmer items seemed more sensible choices as the temperature dropped. Anna rushed to approve this decision. Alina had never had the experience of sleeping in a stone-walled house with none of the insulation Canadian houses were blessed with.
* * *
Finally, the farewell dinner for Susan, Jake, Maria and Paul took place in Michael’s On the Thames restaurant and Anna found a moment to relax amidst the happy wishes from their friends that sped them on their way.
She could not resist the feeling of joy when she looked around the table Michael had set for them in prime position in front of the fireplace. She thought of how different her life was now and how the adventures to come in Egypt, with Philip and Alina, derived from her acceptance of the challenge to cast aside her fears and plunge into a new life in Scotland. That willingness to risk change, no matter how unsettling it was at first, was the source of all the good things that had come to pass since then. The internet success of A Plus; the sale of Alina’s house and the move to the new condo; and, always, the knowledge that she owned a marvellous home in Scotland to which she could retreat whenever she needed. The fact that the Oban house had been a benefit for her entire family as well as her Samba group of friends, was the icing on the cake as far as Anna was concerned.
Interrupting the teasing that was going on around the table about how Alina was sure to be the object of affection of some gallant Arab sheik and whisked off to a desert oasis on his valiant steed, Anna tapped a spoon on her coffee cup and asked the group to raise their glasses for a toast.
“To my dear, dear friends! Thank you all for coming tonight and for your good wishes.
I am sure I speak for Alina and myself when I say our lives are so much richer because of you. No matter where we roam, or who we might meet....” she paused while laughter rolled round the group, “......... we will always treasure your love and concern.
To friends!”
Chapter Eight
Despite copious planning, and discussion about planning, and written lists about planning, combined with the best that two mature minds could manage with respect to organization, the usual last-minute rush caught Alina and Anna by surprise.
Suddenly, there were only hours to go before their departure for Scotland. Cases were packed, although the one for Scotland was left unlocked until the very last minute. Alina was designated ‘keeper of the keys and luggage’, while Anna handled the huge package of papers related to their flights and their vacation in Egypt. She had divided these papers into days and dates and colour-coded them. Their passports got special treatment being encased in a transparent pouch which Anna would keep around her neck. Alina would be able to see the passports inside the pouch and either one of them could extract the valuable documents or replace them easily.
Anna did not like the new airline tickets that could not be distinguished from any other itinerary page. These she outlined around the edges on both sides with a highlighter pen so that they could be found instantly, when required.
She placed the sheaf of papers into a concertina folder at first, but when the folder spilled half the papers on the floor as soon as she searched for an item, this idea was swiftly rejected in favour of a zipped plastic envelope which fit neatly inside a pocket of her carry-on bag.
She was checking the contents of this bag for the fifteenth time when Alina’s voice warned her that the taxi cab to take them to the London/Toronto shuttle bus was waiting outside.
Anna had not heard the doorbell and a flood of adrenalin surged through her at the thought that there was no more time to plan or check. It was time to go.
Comforting herself with the reminder that any items she had forgotten could be purchased in Oban, she fastened the carry-on bag and shrugged on her padded winter jacket, retrieving the gloves from a pocket on her way to the front door.
One quick glance around to make sure everything in the house was left secure for the weeks they would be away, and with a deep sigh of anticipation, she closed the door and joined Alina in the taxi.
By the time the two weary travellers reached the front door of the estate house near Oban, they felt as if every ounce of strength had been rung out of them. Anna was beginning to regret the decision to extend their journey by diverting to Scotland. She had underestimated the amount of extra time and effort it would require.
Alina, however, seemed undaunted by the delay in Toronto and the long trek from Glasgow by road. While Anna dozed off in the back of Fiona’s comfortable van, Alina watched the scenery through gusts of snow-laden air and got to know Fiona by asking many questions about her studies, Scotland and events in Oban.
She was eagerly scrambling to find Anna’s front door key with the red tag to match, when Anna finally dragged open her eyes.
“All right for you,” she grumbled. “You slept on the plane from Toronto. Someone had to stay awake and make sure we arrived in the right place.”
Fiona smiled at this complaint, took the key from Alina and pulled their luggage out of the van and into the porch before Anna could rub the sleep out of her eyes.
Alina responded with a happy smile and an exclamation. “How could you not be delighted to arrive at this charming place! It’s even more wonderful with frost on the roof and the hills dusted with drifts of snow. Come on, Anna! You’ll feel much better with a cup of tea inside you and a rest by the fire. Fiona tells me everything is ready for us.”
Alina could not wait for Anna to drag herself out of the van. She hurried up the path and sidled past the luggage in the entrance porch, eager to see the house Anna had described so often.
Her first impression was one of delight. Photos could not do justice to the scene she found on opening the kitchen door.
The old-fashioned kitchen Anna had found on her arrival had been transformed into an efficient work space without sacrificing the cozy country feel that suited the house.
A huge wooden table nestled in the glassed extension that gave onto the front garden and the views for miles of unspoiled countryside. Even in winter Alina could see how the dark fir trees reached for the sky in serried lines that spoke of farms and families now departed for other shores. She realized that some of these Scots had arrived in Canada and founded a new nation with the same fierce pride and love of the land that Anna had spoken of so often when describing the people she had met in Oban.
As she pulled off her coat and scarf, she felt the radiant heat from the massive enamelled Aga stove that crouched inside the old chimney breast and thought of Anna’s struggles to keep the original iron stove burning through the night when Sylvester was just a tiny kitten.
At that moment a miaow sounded near her feet and she looked down to find a brown tabby cat twitching her tail and padding around on the shiny grey slates of the kitchen floor.
“You must be Morag!’ she exclaimed. She scooped up the cat and turned to Fiona to thank her for completing their welcome with the perfect house pet.
“Oh, she’ll find her way to your bed tonight and there’ll be an extra warm spot by your feet if I’m any judge!”
Anna staggered in to the kitchen and sank down on the nearest chair while she divested herself of outer wear. “I’ll be heading upstairs as soon as I get something to eat,” she declared.
“If you don’t mind, Alina, I’ll give you the 10-cent tour tomorrow when I feel more like myself. F
iona will show you to the room directly above here which is the warmest one in the house.”
“Ach now, get on upstairs with you Anna! I’ll be bringing you up some soup and tea on a tray. Don’t worry about a thing. I am staying in the lounge tonight so you can rest easy and if there’s anything you need I can fetch it tomorrow morn.”
“Oh, thank you Fiona! I don’t mean to be such a grouch but I have been going short of sleep lately and it doesn’t suit me, now that I am older.”
“Don’t apologize! We are all excited to see you both here so unexpectedly. Bev and Alan want you to come for supper tomorrow evening and Jeanette and George insist on seeing you the next night, so you won’t need to do much cooking.”
“That will work out well, Fiona. I want to spend as much time as possible going through anything and everything that belonged to Helen.” Anna stifled a huge yawn and did not resist when Fiona gently steered her towards the staircase.
Alina watched Anna depart for bed. She would have a chance to explore on her own. She did not feel in the least bit sleepy, but rather, she felt excited at the prospect of starting the search for Helen’s secrets. What a triumph it would be if she could uncover something that would help her friend.
She determined to ask Fiona to unlock Anna’s office that had been created out of the large room next door, known as the lounge. This seemed a good place to start, but she was immediately distracted by the size and furnishings of the lounge itself.
A cheery fire burned and crackled in the fireplace beneath a polished mantle displaying a china collie dog, a vase of dried heather and a framed antique map. Above this a gold-edged mirror reflected back the light from several charming lamps set on tables and chests throughout the room. The whole effect was one of elegance and style. The rich velvet cushions and tweed-covered chairs were warmly beckoning the visitor to sit and stay while enjoying the room’s comforts.
Alina was entranced and did not resist the spell of the room. She spied a desk in front of the window. The heavy tapestry drapes on either side brushed against two matching bookcases filled with volumes of many sizes. Not for Anna the standard book shelves filled with old books bought by the yard to fill up space, she thought. These were chosen to entice and amuse the visitor. Some had the book jackets that announced a popular crime story or detective series but others were bound in leather and Alina could see the well-loved names of Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson side by side with Antonia Fraser’s biographies and Rosamunde Pilcher’s best sellers, some of which were set in Scotland.
Alina decided to begin her search here. She would check each book in turn and see if there were any notes in the flyleaf or endpapers.
She had just started on the second row on the left of the window when Fiona tiptoed in and placed a tray with hot soup, bread rolls, cheese and a pot of tea by her side.
“Oh, Fiona, you are a darling! That’s exactly what I needed.” She took a tentative sip of the fragrant tomato soup with herbs and parsley floating on top, then put down her spoon and looked up at Fiona.
“I wonder if you would switch beds with me tonight? I think I will stay up for a while and I don’t want to keep you awake when you have had that long, double drive to and from Glasgow.”
“No trouble, at all! I’ll just pull out the bed for you and make it up with the blankets and sheets in the kist there. I won’t be a moment. You saw the downstairs bathroom on your way in, so everything you need is to hand. Leave the tray in the kitchen and I’ll sort it out in the morning. Good night now!”
Fiona slipped out of the lounge as soon as the duvet had been lofted over the bed and the pillows fluffed up expertly. Alina could understand now how invaluable Fiona had been to Anna in her first months in the estate house. By all accounts she was a clever and resourceful young woman who had steered Anna through some difficult times. It was easy to see how the two slipped into a comfortable familiarity as soon as they met in Glasgow. A glance and a hug were all it took to re-establish their relationship again. Alina could appreciate how Anna had found a candidate for the missing daughter in her life.
Once the soup bowl was empty and every last crumb of the granary bread licked off her fingers, Alina settled down to the task of leafing through the books in the bookcase. An hour drifted by and all she found for her trouble was an elastic band, an old envelope addressed to someone from Inverness, and a dead spider. Nothing pertaining to Anna’s Helen Dunlop had appeared.
Whether it was the disappointment, the monotony of her task, or the fact that her eyes grew fatigued more quickly now, Alina’s eyelids began to droop. She glanced at her watch and made the calculation to find out the “real’ time in Canadian terms and was shocked at the lateness of the hour.
The house was quiet as only a remote building can be. Everyone must be asleep. She raised her hands over her head to stretch out her back and decided to go to bed. The remaining books in the bookcases were not going anywhere. She could resume her task tomorrow, or later today, she thought ruefully.
Fiona had fetched her luggage and placed it beside the bed. As she went to pull out her nightwear from the top of the case, she spied a circle of brown-striped fur cuddled into the duvet.
“I’ll be glad of your company tonight, Morag,” she whispered as she headed for the bathroom.
The heavy wooden doors must have muffled the sounds from the kitchen. When Alina awoke, she saw bright sunlight shining through the window. She noticed Morag was gone and the supper tray had been removed. Fiona must have slipped in earlier, she thought, as she rolled over and threw aside the heavy comforter.
Immediately, she was assailed by a blast of cold air. She looked to see if a window had been opened but nothing had been changed. The fire was out, of course, but surely that could not account for the temperature change. Just as she began to appreciate the ability of a down duvet to keep a sleeper’s heat in throughout the night, she noticed a heavy tartan dressing gown lying across the foot of the bed. Did Fiona or Anna leave this for her?
Without further debate, she thrust her arms into the dressing gown and wrapped it tightly around her body sealing in any remaining heat by cinching the belt firmly with a double knot.
Her slippers were ready by the bed and, thus attired, she opened the lounge door and discovered the source of the cold air. The small porch entrance led to the bathroom she had used last night. Someone had opened the window in the bathroom and the wind now swept through the hallway and right around Alina. Before the shivers could start, she jumped to the kitchen door, clicked open the metal hardware and threw herself into the kitchen.
At once she could breathe a sigh of relief as the warmth of the Aga surrounded her with comfort. Morag merely looked up from her position in front of the heat source, then closed her eyes again.
Alina had expected to find Anna or Fiona enjoying a chat and a cup of tea but she was alone.
Another of Fiona’s trays was set on the table with a note on top of the plate.
Good morning, sleepy head! There’s a plate of eggs and bacon etc. in the warmer oven (top right) or porridge in the covered pot on the top ring. Help yourself to tea and toast.
Fiona has gone on a job but join me in the barn when you are ready.
A.
It really must be late, she thought. Everyone has eaten already, including Morag! She moved around Morag and looked at the Aga. There were four, cream-coloured oven doors in all and six hotplates on the top. She pulled a thick towel off the drying rail that ran across the front of the Aga and tried opening the top right door, as suggested.
Inside she found a plate with another plate inverted over it. Carefully withdrawing the plates she closed the oven door again and negotiated her way around Morag. Choosing a chair facing the view she sat down and removed the top plate to find a sizzling display of eggs, sausage, bacon and fried bread. Her first response was “I’ll never eat all this!” but either she was hungrier than she thought, or the snowy view outside reminded her of how cold it would be
in the barn (wherever that might be). She scoffed the lot in a few minutes and happily washed it down with a large cup of tea from the teapot simmering on one of the hot plates.
Morag approached as she was pouring milk into a second cup of tea, and she was rewarded with a saucer of milk.
“Don’t tell anyone!” she warned. “I’m not sure if you are allowed milk.”
Morag seemed quite unconcerned by the warning and swiftly lapped up the treat.
Alina removed the empty saucer and ran it under hot water in the kitchen sink in case anyone should think the saucer was clean. She rinsed her plate and cup in the same way, unsure if she should be loading a dishwasher, then fortified with hot food she decided to venture to the upstairs bathroom rather than brave the icy air in the downstairs one.
With toilet bag in hand, she climbed the enclosed centre staircase and found doors to right and left. The hallway was lit by a slanted roof window but no doors were named as the ones below had been. Emboldened by the knowledge that no one else was in the house, she opened each door as she came to it and found a large double bedroom similar in size to the lounge below, then a smaller room with twin beds, and lastly a bathroom with a deep bath and a shower and two sinks set in a countertop that extended across the window. Despite all these facilities and a modern toilet concealed behind a half wall, the bathroom was not crowded. This must have been cavernous before the renovations were done, she thought.
She looked at the controls in the shower stall and determined they were not unfamiliar. Leaving her dressing gown and a large fluffy towel to hand, she stepped into the shower, turned on the water and stood back until steam rose to fog up the glass. The hot water dispelled the last of her drowsiness and refreshed in every pore, she dried off, donned the dressing gown and trotted back downstairs to find suitable clothes for barn exploration.