by Larry Stuart
‘So, when are we gonny hear the patter of wee feet in the Stewart household?’ Annie asked one evening, as the two of them sat in Mary’s front room.
‘Cameron thinks it best we be waitin’ until we move into our own house.’
‘Och, that sounds daft to me. What difference does it make? Ye’ve plenty of space here.’
Mary’s mind drifted back to the conversation she’d had with Cameron when he was home the previous weekend. She’d said almost the same thing to him when feeling frustrated at his having, once again, cut short their lovemaking. ‘What’s the matter, Cameron?’ she had said. ‘Why are you worried…are we no married now?’
‘Aye, I know,’ he’d replied. ‘But if you are with child you’re no goin’ to be able to work.’
‘Aye, but do you no want a family?’
‘Of course I do…but…I was just thinkin’ that maybe it be better if you worked a wee while longer…so…so we can put a bit more away for our future.’
‘But…but how long is a wee while longer?...Och, never mind,’ she’d said petulantly, before giving him a quick peck on the cheek and turning over.
That night, her thoughts wouldn’t allow her to easily drift off to sleep. She just didn’t understand him anymore. Not long before, he’d done nothing but complain about the Company. But now, even though he was away more than ever, he never protested. Until Helen’s death, Cameron had still had moments when his boyish inexperience and lack of
commitment had been exhibited. But since her passing, he appeared to have matured, almost overnight, and now seemed driven to advance in his new field as quickly as possible.
The sale of Helen’s house went through during the first week of February. Surely now, we can get on with finding our own place, Mary reflected, as she hurried along Bogie Street chased by a biting northerly wind. Cameron was due home at any time, so she had stopped at McCarthy’s store on her way home to pick up a few things to make him a special supper.
‘Oh great, just what I needed,’ she mumbled, when five minutes from the house the rain started to fall in torrents. Arriving at their front porch, soaked through and covered in splashes from her ankles to her knees, she put her key in the lock and kicked open the door.
Her heart skipped a beat, while at the same time she screamed and dropped her provisions on the floor, when a figure shot out from behind the door.
‘I hate you! You done scared the life out of me,’ Mary yelled, her fists pummelling Cameron’s chest.
Bursting into tears, she then buried her face in his shoulder as she sobbed and gasped for breath.
Cameron wrapped his arms around her, and for a moment they just stood in the hallway saying nothing, while Mary quivered and dripped onto the floor. Then, placing a hand on each side of her head, he gently drew her away.
‘Oh, come on. I’m sorry. I no mean to scare you.’
‘’Tis no so much that you scared me. I were just wantin’ everythin’ to be perfect when you got home. Now look at me. My hair’s hangin’ down like some wet puppy and I’m so cold ma teeth are chatterin’. I was going to cook you a surprise supper… and even bought you the last newspaper in the shop to read while I’m preparin’ your meal.’
‘What you be doin’?’ Mary exclaimed, as he suddenly lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder.
‘I’m takin’ you upstairs to warm you up. After that you can have a wash, dry your hair and make ma surprise meal. Then, when we’ve eaten, you’re goin’ to come and sit on ma lap in front of the fire…’cause I have somethin’ special to tell you.’
CHAPTER TEN
Over the next few days, Mary wandered the wards in a trance, her mind totally preoccupied with absorbing what Cameron had told her. Australia! She couldn’t decide whether he was out of his mind, or it was just some kind of cruel joke. But then it couldn’t be. He had shown her the tickets for a ship called the “Lady Elgin”, leaving from Campbeltown on April 21st; and for the rest of the evening she had sat there stunned, as he explained the reason behind his decision.
Cameron was convinced there was no future for him or his family in Scotland. He accepted that his present job was better than most, but was certain that once the line to Inverness was complete, more than half of the employees would no longer be required. And no amount of persuasion by her could convince him otherwise.
When Mary told Annie, to say she was shocked was an understatement. Her mouth hung open, gulping like a fish out of water. And before long, moisture gathered in the corners of her eyes.
‘Och, that’s wonderful, ye be so lucky,’ she’d said, flinging her arms around Mary and holding her tight.
Mary knew it was devastating news for her best friend, but there was little she could do to soften the blow.
‘I know it be upsettin’ for you, Annie…and in many ways ’tis for me too.’
‘But I no understand why he wants to leave? I thought Cameron was happier now than ever before.’
‘He is…but there’s more to it than that. He just thinks there will be a better future for us in Australia. I guess I never really appreciated what he felt after Helen passed…I mean…now he’s no got any family in this country.’
‘But he has ye.’
‘Aye…that he does…and now he needs ma support more than ever. Hopefully, one day Cameron and I will have our own bairns…and then we’ll become their roots, and the foundation from which they can grow. If that must be in Australia…then so be it.’
Annie’s eyes were downcast, as she reached into the pocket of her uniform for her handkerchief.
‘Never you mind, Annie. Maybe you can save up and come out later. I’m sure they will always have need of nurses.’
But in her heart, Mary knew it would probably never happen.
With just over six weeks to go, Cameron decided it was time to let the Company know that he was leaving. He didn’t really care what the GNSR thought, but he did want to put Rob’s name forward as his replacement. Initially, Mr Mathieson did have some misgivings because of Rob’s lack of formal education, but with Cameron’s strong recommendation on the table he relented, agreeing to a trial period.
A replacement foreman was quickly appointed, followed by Rob being released into Cameron’s capable hands. As expected, his friend did have some initial difficulties wrestling with the maths involved in inventory control. However, with perseverance, and the odd evening spent at Cameron’s with pen and paper, Rob overcame his lack of formal education.
Phase two of the training was then put into effect. It was essential that Rob quickly develop the ability to handle suppliers, and arrange contracts. In the Company’s eyes this skill was more important than controlling inventory, because mistakes made in this part of his job could have enormous effects on the profitability of the whole railway.
Rob joined Cameron on trips throughout the Northeast, meeting the individuals with whom he would be dealing. As it turned out, Rob’s buoyant personality more than made up for his lack of experience. And strangely enough, it was this obvious lack of experience that disarmed their suppliers, allowing Rob to stamp his own kind of control over their negotiations.
It was during one of these journeys that Cameron bought three steamer trunks, dragging them home to Mary one Friday night. And it was these same three trunks that led to their first major argument.
‘Here we be then, Mary. We each have one of these for our hold baggage, and then there be one large trunk for the both of us to use during the journey. ’
‘Surely you jest?’
‘No...Why…Be there a problem?’
‘Aye, there sure is. I’ll no be able to fit all I’ll be takin’ in those trunks.’
‘Well, that be all we can take... so it will have to do,’ he said, rather impatiently.
‘I’ll be tellin’ you right now…I have no intention of leavin’ half of ma clothes and other things behind…so you’d better be thinkin’ ag’in.’
With that Mary stomped off to the kitchen and
slammed the door.
For a moment, Cameron stood in the hallway, hands on hips staring at the closed kitchen door. Och, she’ll come around, he thought, walking into the front room and dropping into his chair.
An hour later he had cooled down, but there was still no sign of Mary. So, throwing yesterday’s paper on the floor he got up and headed for the kitchen.
‘Och, come on then, Mary. It’s no ma fault we be restricted to them three pieces.’
Mary swung away from the sink, her eyes dark and foreboding, her manner still incensed.
‘Are you tellin’ me that with the size of those ships there be no room for extra baggage? What about all the mail and cargo they carry? ’Tis bad enough you expect me to follow you to the other side of the world…and probably never see ma family or friends again…but now you be tellin’ me I have to leave behind all the things I been collectin’ since I was a wee girl?’
‘All right…I’ll look into it a bit further when I get back to work on Monday.’
‘Well, you’d better,’ Mary said, turning her head away, as tears began to appear in the corners of her eyes.
Monday morning, after leaving the regional manager’s office, Cameron’s face broke into a wide grin. Due to heavier than normal snowfalls that winter the hills had become very unstable, and over the weekend a mudslide had swept away a large section of newly-laid track. Thankfully, no one had been working in the area at the time; and the company now accepted that it was too dangerous for men to be in the hills, so surveying and track laying had been suspended until further notice.
There was a spring in Cameron’s step as he strolled home that day. He no longer had to be away all week surveying, and with any luck would probably see out what time he had left with Rob, at the depot in Huntly. With his mood ebullient, he stopped at McCarthy’s shop to pick up a bag of Mary’s favourite candied fruits.
‘Mary, ’tis me.’
He could tell from the aroma that Mary was making supper, so, sheepishly, stuck his head around the kitchen door.
‘Mary…I’m sorry about the other day. It’s just that…well…I were told that we be restricted to three pieces of baggage and I didn’t really give it much thought after that.’
‘No you didn’t, did you?’
‘Well, I talked to the shipping agent today, and there be no bother bringin’ extra luggage…We just need to pay a wee bit extra. So I’ll be payin’ for two more chests.’
Delving into his pocket, Cameron then extracted the small paper bag containing his peace offering.
‘Truce?’
That night, for the first time since Cameron’s shock announcement, their relationship once more became peaceful and tender. And to Mary’s surprise, and exquisite pleasure, Cameron did not interrupt their lovemaking.
Satiated, Mary fell asleep, one hand loosely covering her flushed right breast, and the other limp at her side. The fringe of her love-moistened hair stuck to her brow, while the rest lay unrestrained, in long strands across the pillow. Leaning on his elbow with his head propped up by his hand, Cameron gazed at the sight of her naked body, revealed to him in the glow of the burning candle at their bedside. She was strong and capable, and yet looked so vulnerable laying there beside him. She trusted him implicitly and, not for the first time, his stomach twisted into a knot as the guilt of his deception swept over him.
Cameron crouched behind a large Rhododendron bush on the hillside, with moisture trickling down his spine. It didn’t seem to matter that he was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, with his collar pulled up as far as it would go. The rain always managed to find a way through, adding its measure of misery to his already freezing hands and feet.
In the beginning, he had been in a dilemma as he struggled to find an unobtrusive way
of observing the comings and goings of Malcolm Campbell. But eventually he worked out that on Sundays the man always went to the evening service at Mortlach Church, and subsequently, could easily be monitored on his way home from good cover on the hillside adjacent to the Balvenie road – two miles north of Dufftown. From then on, Cameron’s only other problem was finding an excuse to get away from Mary, unless like tonight, she was on duty.
The snap of a cracking whip and the thundering of hooves disturbed the evening’s tranquillity. From Cameron’s left an almost apparition-like coach and horses came galloping through the misty darkness along the empty road. The phaeton sped to a point directly abreast of where he remained concealed; it’s passing marked by the disappearance of the dim carriage lights. Once again, Cameron began to count, and when he reached forty-five the noise stopped, as the rig rounded the curve in the road cut from the steep hillside. From there it was at least four miles to the estate house, so there would be plenty of time for him to get away before anyone noticed that Malcolm Campbell was late.
As far as he was aware, no one had seen him sneak back into town that night, nor for that matter on any other of the Sunday nights he’d been skulking around Dufftown. He had picked his route to and from the station carefully, ensuring he was always on the darkest side of any streets well away from the loom of any gas lamps. And his return to the railway yard was always made from the opposite side of the tracks to the station, having first waited in the long grass on the embankment to ensure the trainman had completed his final check.
A piercing blast from the guard’s whistle, followed by the cascading clanging of the couplers taking up the strain, signalled their departure to Huntly.
Cameron sat hemmed in by barrels of whisky on the floor of the last freight car, idly gazing through the crack in the open door beside him. Two weeks to go, he mused, and then it would all be over. Or would it? Once more, doubts began to cloud his mind. ‘Am I just starting another cycle of revenge?’ he muttered, under his breath. Don’t be stupid, he thought, of course I’m not. Bloody Campbell murdered my father and will never stand trial! On top of that there are seven more men in jail, just because they wanted a little better life for themselves and their families. No, this is not just revenge. Nothing will ever change in this country until people make the point that they’ve had enough!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
April 17th, 1874, started out like so many other Scottish spring days, with blue skies in the early morning, which by lunchtime had become overwhelmed by cloud, wind and rain.
‘Are you ready yet?’
‘Almost...I’ll be down shortly.’
Five minutes later Mary appeared on the landing gripping a small holdall.
‘Sorry, Cameron. I had to pack a few things for tonight, and everythin’ I needed were at the bottom of one of ma trunks.’
‘All right...but hurry up or we be missin’ the train. God forbid we be late for dinner at your Mother’s.’
Later that day Cameron rode in another train, but this time not as a passenger in one of its coaches. The light was fading fast as the eight-car goods train slowed for its arrival into Dufftown. From experience, Cameron knew that only the first two cars contained goods to be off-loaded. The rest, including the one he was riding in, would remain untouched until later that evening.
So far, today had gone like clockwork. After dinner at Mary’s parents’ house in Keith, he had said his goodbyes and headed for the station. As far as Mary and her family were concerned, he was headed back to Huntly for a meeting with Mr Mathieson, followed by a boisterous evening with Rob and a few of his other friends at the Kings Head. Mary, meanwhile, stayed on in Keith to bid farewell to her friends and relatives, and then spend the night with her mother and father.
A shiver ran through Cameron’s body, and his hands shook as he reached up to lift the collar of his coat. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining, although water from the saturated floor of the woodland still seeped into his boots; while at the same time, the musty smell of the damp, decaying vegetation pervaded his senses, injecting its own measure of grimness to the already chilling atmosphere.
Where the hell are they? I’m sure they should have been here by now, he thought
, as he crouched behind the bush. A sickly feeling began to claw its way upwards from the pit of his stomach, as his mind began to grapple with the consequences of failure.
Suddenly, his ears singled out the muffled drumming of hooves, and adrenaline surged through his body. Cameron reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved the small tin box containing his matches. Without taking his eyes off the road, his hand rummaged about near his feet, finding and then picking up the safety fuse. The wait seemed interminable; but then the horse and carriage passed by and he lit the fuse and ran.
‘Och…Cameron…’tis about time ye showed up! We bin thinkin’ ye had already left