“It’s all right. I’m sure he didn’t mean the nanny to take over. He just wants you to have help, that’s all.”
The doctor arrived, and after a thorough examination and lots of questions, he gave his opinion.
“You are exhausted and anaemic. Those two babies are too much for you on your own. You need help, and they need more nourishment than you can give them at the moment. Try giving them a top-up bottle with each feed, and then they will be satisfied and sleep longer and you can get some rest and get back on your feet.”
“But I want to feed them myself. It’s better for them.”
“And so you shall, love, but you will have some help, too,” a deep masculine voice said. “The doctor is right, and you will take the help we want you to have.”
“I won’t let someone else bring up my babies.”
“No, of course you won’t. Whatever put that idea into your head? You will do as you want, and the person we hire as a nanny will do what you tell them to and only that. Is that why you have been so against it?”
“Yes,” Fiona said, looking down at her hands. Jane stood up, giving her place to Alexander, who cuddled his wife close and kissed the top of her head.
“What a silly goose. Why didn’t you say? No one wants you to be unhappy or worried. You should have talked to us. Now there’s a good girl. You have to take care of yourself. What will we do if you fall ill? Ruari and I won’t make good mothers.”
Fiona managed a wan smile. He stood up, and gathering her in his arms, he took her to their room. Ruari, who had remained silent until this moment, now stepped forward and spoke to the doctor in a low voice, and then the doctor left.
“Is there anything we can do?” Jane asked.
“She’s going to need bottles and baby milk and that sort of thing. Can you come into the town with me and help me to buy them?”
“Certainly, I will get my coat and leave a note at reception for Angus. Give me ten minutes.”
“I’ll go and sit wi ‘er.” Elsie said. “She needs to talk to a woman just now.”
“Yes, please do. Try and talk some sense into her,” Alexander said as he came back into the room. “She’s asking things that I can’t answer.” Elsie left to go up to Fiona, and soon Jane was back. She left her note for Angus, and they set off.
“The doctor said she needs iron tablets and she is a bit depressed. He doesn’t want to give her anti-depressants, but she needs company and help.”
“There are three of us who can help out. Gloria’s two are on their feet and she’s nearer to Fiona’s age, so advice will come better from her. Between us, we will see she’s all right. Don’t worry so.”
“It’s been like walking on egg-shells with her. She looks so tired and she doesn’t sleep well, but if we suggest she see a doctor, she has a tantrum.”
“Fine pair of Doms you are. Why not just tell her to do what you want her to do?”
“Well, we have tried, but she gets in a state and then the babies pick up on it and wail all the time. Alex won’t spank her. He says it’s too soon. She never said it was because she thought we wanted a nanny to take over. That’s just ridiculous. She will be in charge, and the nanny will do what she wants and no more.”
“All that is very logical, but you forget one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“She’s just had two babies. She’s responsible for everything, and she’s scared as well as at the mercy of raging hormones.”
“Oh.”
“Yes. Oh. Now tell that to your brother and try to understand what she is going through. You have to be firm where her health is concerned, and some help around the house would not come amiss.”
“Well, we can’t at the moment, the business takes all our time, but we can get her some domestic help, certainly.”
“I suppose she’s refused it up to now?”
“Yes and burst into floods of tears if we bring the subject up.”
“You really ought to have told us before this.”
“We knew you’d want to come up and you have had that operation, so we decided to leave it until we all got here.”
“You are a pair. Of course we would have been up there, and why not? Anyhow, it’s all going to be fine and we shall have it sorted before you go home.”
“I wish I were as sanguine as you, Jane dear. I have a feeling we have a lot more to sort out first.”
Chapter Eight
“Fiona, it doesn’t matter what the books say. If you can’t feed them by yourself until they are six months old, then you can’t. Books talk about a mum with one child, not two large twins.” Gloria was getting a bit ratty. Jane knew it was because they had said this to Fiona many times and she always came back to the same thing. It was time to defuse the situation and change tactics.
“You know, love, the babies cry so much because they are hungry,” Jane said in a quiet voice. Fiona looked at her, an arrested expression in her eyes.
“You mean that I am keeping my babies hungry?” she asked.
“Yes, Fiona,” Jane knew this tack was risky, but they had to do something and all this going round in circles was getting them nowhere.
“Oh.” Fiona sat and looked down at her hands. “I didn’t mean to do that. I read it was best to feed them myself for six months, so that’s what I wanted to do.”
“We know that, love, but every book you pick up has a different theory. If I had my way, no one who hadn’t had children, unless a specialist baby doctor, would be allowed to publish a book about baby care.”
“Well, now that we have it all sorted out, let’s plan what we are going to do,” Gloria said, and Jane heard the relief in her voice. They agreed to help out with the feeds during the day and get the babies onto solids. Jane had brought a selection of jars from different manufacturers to see which suited. She’d bought baby rice and baby porridge, too. Ruari had bought a steam cleaner for the bottles and teats, so they were all set. The fathers were to help with the night feeds, something they hadn’t been able to do when Fiona was breast-feeding.
“It will be good for Alex and Ruari to help feed the babies. They will get a special time with them. It will help to forge a stronger bond between fathers and sons, and it will be good for all concerned,” Jane said.
“The only thing that worries me,” Gloria said, “is what are my two imps going to do when I am not there to look after them. Llewellyn will help, but I want him to have some time to go for walks and talk with the other men. I have a feeling Rhys and Morwen are going to get into trouble.”
Jane had consulted the ever-willing Flora to see if she had any suggestions. She had come up with what seemed to be the perfect solution.
“They will be perfectly safe with the old housekeeper, Mrs Maclean. She’s a grandmother and can entertain them with stories by the fire. I will supply milk and biscuits, and they will be safe for an hour or two there. If they get tired of the stories, we can think of something else to keep them entertained and out of mischief,” Flora reassured Gloria.
The men had gone off with one of the ghillies to see if they could spot a stag. Gloria, Jane, and Elsie were looking after Fiona and Emma between them. Gloria was at her wit’s end, but this seemed to have solved their problem.
“Remember to be on your best behaviour and do as you are told,” she said to her son and daughter. Half an hour later, satisfied that Mrs Maclean could keep their interest, she left the two little imps sitting cross-legged on the floor, amazed by the stories of the old highland woman.
* * * *
Rhys listened enthralled by what he was hearing.
“Tis said that the fairies will appear late at night with lanterns at this time of the year. They are looking for human children to lure away to their lands.”
“What will happen to the human children if they catch them?” Morwen asked.
“Why, they will become fairies, too,” the old woman said. She went on to tell them about the tricks that the fairies loved to play on human
s and how they would laugh as they watched the puzzled victim wonder how his cow had got out or his goat had turned green.
The old lady got up.
“Drink up your milk and eat those good biscuits. I will be back in a few minutes.”
When she’d gone out of the room, Rhys looked at Morwen. “Do you think she’s telling us the truth?” he asked.
“Well she’s a grown-up, so why wouldn’t she be?”
“I would love to be found by the fairies and taken off to their land and become a fairy myself. Just think of all the tricks we could play on people and they’d never know it was us. It would be such fun. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t enjoy it, too?”
“What about Mummy and Daddy?” Morwen asked.
“If we were fairies, we could come back to them, but we’d have all those magic powers. Wouldn’t they be amazed?”
“You mean we’d be able to fly?”
“Of course, silly, everyone knows that fairies have wings and can fly. Let’s go and look.”
“Now? It’s dark soon, and Mummy said we were to stay here. She is going to be very cross if we don’t do as she says.”
“Pooh, we’ll be back before she comes to look for us, and even if we aren’t, she will be so pleased that we can do all those things.” Morwen looked at him, and he just knew she was going to cry or make a fuss. “Oh well, if you are too scared. I’ll go on my own and won’t you be sorry when I can fly. Why did I have to get a sister? A brother would have been much nicer.”
“Okay I’ll come with you then.” Morwen usually followed where Rhys led.
“Come on. Hurry up. You’d better put on your hat gloves and wellies, too. I don’t want you crying because you have wet feet.”
They collected their outdoor things from the entrance hall when Flora wasn’t at her desk. After a struggle, they opened the door and went out, closing it behind them. He took her hand, and they skipped off down the path over the bridge.
“What an adventure we are going to have,” Rhys sang out as he skipped along the bridge, towing his sister by the hand. “What a lot we shall have to tell Mummy and Daddy when we get back.”
Once at the end of the bridge, they turned right and walked along to the banks of the loch toward the woods. Outside it seemed lighter than when they’d looked out of the window, and soon the adventure was beginning.
* * * *
When the old lady got back, there was no sign of the children. She called their names but got no reply. Their glasses of milk were half drunk, and only a couple of biscuits had been eaten. She went out into the entrance hall where Flora was behind the desk.
“Did the children come this way?”
“No, I haven’t seen them. Aren’t they with you?”
“I needed the toilet and left them for five minutes eating their biscuits and drinking their milk. When I got back, they weren’t there. Goodness, where can they be? I wouldn’t have had this happen for the world.”
“Now don’t worry. They must be somewhere. They can’t have gone far. Maybe they are with their mother. I’ll go and see.”
Flora hurried up to the guest bedroom where she knew Mrs Maclean would be and knocked at the door.
When Mrs Scott opened it she said, “Are the children with you? Mrs Maclean had to go to the toilet and left them for five minutes, and when she got back, they weren’t there.”
“No, they aren’t here,” Jane said.
“Well, they can’t be far. I will get the staff to look for them.” Flora hurried off. Forty minutes later after searching the castle from top to bottom with the staff, she had to admit the children were nowhere to be found. Gloria was distraught.
“Where is Master? I need him here. He will know what to do. Where can my babies be?”
Jane picked up her mobile and rang Angus.
“Master, you all have to come back now. Please hurry.”
“What is it, love?”
“The children are not in the castle. We can’t find them.”
“We are just crossing the bridge now. We will be there in five minutes.”
The women were all waiting in the entrance hall. Gloria hurried into Llewellyn’s embrace.
“Master, we can’t find them. The staff has searched the castle. They are nowhere to be found. Where can they be?” She burst into floods of tears, and Llewellyn soothed her.
“They can’t have gone very far. They have nowhere to go. Have they gone outside, do you think?” Gloria’s crying grew worse.
“I–i–if they have, they will freeze to death. Oh my babies, you must find them. You must.” She began to beat her fists against Llewellyn’s chest, and gently he took her hands in his.
“We will, Gloria, but calm yourself. Let’s find out more than we know now. Are their coats missing?”
Gloria stopped crying, by a supreme effort. She went over to the cloakroom to look and said, “Yes, all their outdoor things are gone, coats, scarves, hats, gloves, and boots. They have gone out in all this cold, and it’s getting dark. They will get lost or fall into the loch. Master, you must do something. Why are you all standing about here? You should be out there looking for them. I will get my coat and go myself.”
“Gloria!” The stern voice of her Master cut into the hysteria. “Stop this at once. We are going out, but we need food and a hot drink first. Go and sit with the other women and wait.”
That tone had the desired effect, and Gloria responded. Llewellyn gathered her in his arms and cuddled her close, kissing her tenderly.
“Well, that’s something then. We now know they went out. They had to sense to wrap up. We must go out and find them,” Angus said.
“I will organise flasks of coffee and sandwiches for you to take,” Flora said. Within a quarter of an hour all the men were back outside with torches, and when they got to the end of the bridge, they found the tracks the children had left and began to follow them.
* * * *
At first it had been a great adventure, and then Morwen’s tummy began to rumble.
“I’m so hungry. Can’t we go back and do this tomorrow or the next day?” she suggested.
“No, we have come so far, and the forest is just there. It’s only a little way. Come on. We shall soon find the fairies, and they will feed us.”
They soon came to the edge of the forest, but it was getting dark and then the snow began to fall. They went in a little way under the trees, but Morwen pulled back.
“I’m frightened, and I want my mummy and daddy,” she wailed.
Truth be told, Rhys was beginning to be frightened, too, but he wasn’t going to admit that to a girl. He held on tight to her hand.
“It’s okay. We will be fine, just a little way, and you will see we shall find them.”
They soldiered on, but it was becoming more and more difficult to see, and they tripped over dead branches and tree roots. Morwen fell over again and set up a loud wail.
“I’ve hurt my leg, I don’t want to go any further. I want my mummy,” she wailed as she sat on the ground and nursed her knee.
“Look, I can see a light bobbing over there. Get up. Let’s run and catch the fairies.”
They set off at a run after the light, calling out as they ran. Then the light went out, and they stopped.
“We have to go home now, Rhys.” She burst into tears.
“Okay we will go home,” Rhys said, as tired and afraid as she was but determined not to let her see it. He turned round and round again. Which way? They were lost in the dark, and he was so cold and he had no idea which way to go
* * * *
Angus and the rest of the men took the flasks of hot coffee and the packets of sandwiches and headed back out of the castle. Llewellyn, usually so cheerful, was silent, and his mood affected the rest of them. Angus knew this terrain, and at this time of the year the temperature could easily drop to fifteen below, and the children, although in their outdoor clothes, would soon become chilled and…Angus resisted thinking further along those lines.
They reached the end of the bridge and split into two parties.
“If you find any sign, then blow three blasts on this whistle,” Angus said, handing to each man a huge metal whistle with the words “Acme Thunderer” embossed on it.
“Okay,” Eric said. “Don’t worry, Llewellyn, old man, they can’t be far. We’ll soon find them. You’ll see.” Llewellyn didn’t reply, but he grasped Eric’s hand and the parties split up. One went left and the other right. Angus, Lennox, and Llewellyn headed toward the woods. They flashed torches and called out the children’s names. They only had half an hour’s head start on the men, but if they reached the trees, they would soon be lost. Then the snow began to fall. Angus looked at Llewellyn. His face was drawn, and he looked gray. Angus remembered the time that Jane had almost been killed in that car accident, and he knew what Llewellyn was going through. Lennox said nothing. He looked as worried as Angus, but there was nothing to be gained by voicing their worries. Angus quickened their pace, and then he noticed the tracks of two small pairs of feet in the snow. They had been lucky to see them before the falling snow obscured them. He blew the agreed three blasts on the whistle.
“Look there. Their tracks lead into the woods. They will be warmer under the trees. There won’t be so much snow in there.” All three men knew what he wasn’t saying. The woods were large and dark, and the children could easily lose their way and get lost. They wouldn’t survive a night outside in this weather, unless they could find shelter. They left a marker on the ground for Eric, Alexander, and Ruari to follow and headed into the woods. It was darker under the trees, but the signs of the passage of two small bodies were visible in the small amount of snow that had penetrated the canopy of the pines. They began to call out and flash the torches. Soon the sound of the approach of the other men was heard. They stopped and waited until they caught up.
“You haven’t found them then?” Eric’s voice betrayed his anxiety.
“No, but we are following their tracks,” Angus flashed his torch on the ground where the tracks were still visible. “Better get on before more snow falls and we lose the tracks.” The men pressed on and soon came to a clearing. Here a larger amount of snow had fallen on the ground because there were no trees to prevent it, and the tracks were no longer visible. They worked their way slowly round until they got back to where they started, but no more tracks were to be seen.
A Highland Christmas [Prometheus in Chains 12] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 5