by Agatha Frost
Dot cleared her throat, forcing them into silence. They turned back to the radio and listened attentively through bated breaths. She grumbled for a moment, whispering nonsensically under her breath. Julia was sure she was about to say something completely out of the blue, maybe even hang up entirely.
“I need an answer, Dorothy.”
“It’s Dot,” she said through gritted teeth. “I know it. I know it. I think it was September in 1979. Yes. That’s right. I’m sure of it.”
There was another long dramatic pause before congratulatory trumpets crackled through the speakers, surprisingly them all.
“Well I don’t believe it folks, but it seems Dot has pulled this one out of the bag! That’s absolutely correct. How did you know?”
“It was number one when my first granddaughter, Julia, was born,” Dot said, her tone softening a little. “I remember because it was playing in the delivery room and I told one of the nurses to shut it off. Total nonsense if you ask me. Not what I’d call music.”
“Well, you’ve won the holiday!” Tony cried as the trumpets faded out. “Would you like to find out where that nonsense is taking you?”
There was a drumroll, which echoed loudly around the small kitchen. Sue turned to Julia, an excited grin on her face as she clenched her hands against her mouth. Julia almost couldn’t believe what was happening, but it was her gran, so she had stopped trying to second-guess her thought processes a long time ago.
“You’ve won an all-inclusive five-night stay in a luxury spa hotel on the banks of the gorgeous Loch Lomond in Scotland!”
“Scotland?” Dot cried. “Bloody Scotland? The woman yesterday won a three-week cruise around the Bahamas. This is an outrage! I want to speak to your -,”
Before Dot could continue with her rant, Tony cut her off, and in turn, Sue clicked off the radio. They all turned to the bathroom door and watched as Dot shuffled out, a defeated look on her face as she mumbled bitterly to herself.
“Scotland!” she cried again. “Well, I suppose it’s better than a kick in the teeth.”
“I can’t believe you just won a radio competition!” Sue squealed, pulling her gran into a tight hug. “All thanks to Julia’s birth.”
“Me and the girls have been trying all month! They’ve been calling it their May-Cation Bonanza! I guess they ran out of the decent holidays in the first week! The questions are too easy. That’s their problem. And you better believe it, young lady.” Dot wriggled out of the hug and adjusted her roller-set curls. “Because you’re coming with me. You too, Julia.”
Julia looked to Barker, and then to Jessie, and finally to her gran. Just from the look on Dot’s face, it didn’t seem that Julia had any choice in the matter.
“Gran, I can’t,” she protested. “I have the café, and the -,”
“I’ll watch the café,” Jessie jumped in. “I’ve done it before.”
“And I’ll make sure she doesn’t burn it down,” Barker added, to which Jessie stuck her tongue out at him. “I can start teaching her to drive too. It’ll be fun.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call it fun,” Jessie grumbled.
Julia stared at Sue, who already looked like she had her heart set on it. Julia looked down at the cake, trying to remember the last time she had been on holiday, Scotland or not. It had been a long time before she had opened her café, and that was more than two years ago. She exhaled, and her mind wandered to the list of spa treatments that would be on offer. She could feel Sue’s eager eyes pleading with her to say yes, and she wasn’t sure she had the heart to say no to her sister.
“I’ll be able to juggle my shifts around at the hospital,” Sue said as she pushed into Julia’s side and rested their heads together. “Please, big sis. We need some girl time. It’ll be fun.”
“You had me at spa,” Julia said with a defeated smile. “When do you think we should go? Next month?”
“Well it’s Sunday today, and we get five nights, so we’ll go to the spa on Wednesday. I’ll get it all sorted on the phone, so you don’t have to worry about a thing! He did say all-inclusive.” Dot shuffled over to the door and picked up her shopping bags. “I must dash. I’m going to have to buy some new boots and a thick coat. Scotland is hardly the Bahamas, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make the most of it. Enjoy the rest of your birthday, Jessie.”
Dot waved a hand and disappeared out of the door like the whirlwind she was. In her absence, they all sat in baffled silence, staring absently at the birthday cake.
“I guess we’re going to Scotland,” Sue laughed, shaking her head. “The home of shortbread and kilts!”
“You know they don’t wear underwear under those things,” Jessie mumbled through a mouthful of cake with a small shudder. “What did you want to tell us?”
Sue looked awkwardly around the kitchen, her cheeks blushing. She looked Julia dead in the eyes, and Julia could feel the fear consuming her sister. When she blinked, she appeared to push it away in an instant, glazing a fake smile over the top. She shook her curls, which would have been identical to Julia’s own chocolaty curls if she didn’t insist on her monthly blonde highlights. She frowned and looked down at the ground, before looking up and staring absently out of the window and into Julia’s garden, just as the clouds started to clear and the sun began to peek through.
“You know what, it’s slipped my mind,” Sue said faintly, snapping her fingers together. “Couldn’t have been important. I think I’m going to follow Gran out. Shopping is in order, and I need to make sure Neil is going to be okay by himself. You know what men are like. Enjoy the cake!”
Barely a minute after Dot had left, Sue hurried out of the cottage. Jessie and Barker didn’t seem to have noticed the strange look in Sue’s eye, but Julia had, and she knew for certain that whatever it had been, had been important, despite her claims of forgetting.
“Scotland,” Barker whispered under his breath. “That sounds lovely. Let’s all go out for lunch at The Comfy Corner. My treat. I want to spend as much time with you as I can before Dot whisks you away.”
He pulled Julia in and kissed her on the side of the head. She realised she was going to miss Barker while she was away, even if it was only for five nights. Despite that, she knew Sue was right. It had been too long since they had enjoyed quality sister time together. Julia was embarrassed to say it had been months since she had really had an in-depth girls’ chat with her little sister. All it would take was a glass of wine and Julia would be able to get to the bottom of her stumbled announcement.
2
Relief surged through Julia when she saw a sign for the McLaughlin Spa and Hotel. Even though they had been driving in her tiny luggage-packed Ford Anglia for seven hours, it felt like she had been trapped in a tin can for days, no thanks to her gran’s sudden and unwavering enthusiasm for her radio competition prize.
“Did I mention the hotel overlooked Loch Lomond, which is the largest loch in Scotland by surface area?” Dot repeated again like a parrot that had swallowed an encyclopaedia. “Says in this book that it was formed ten thousand years ago at the end of the last ice age.”
Julia and Sue both glimpsed at each other in the front seat. If they weren’t so exhausted, they probably would have laughed at hearing the fact for the third time. She eased her car into second gear and slowed to a crawl as they entered a small village which looked like it could be Peridale’s twin.
“This is Aberfoyle,” Dot exclaimed enthusiastically. “It’s the nearest village to the spa. According to this book, there were only eight hundred residents during the census in 2010. Do you know how many residents Peridale has, Julia?”
“I don’t, Gran,” Julia said, forcing a smile as she glanced at her in the rear-view mirror. “We’re not far away.”
“I’m going to need a spa after this drive,” Sue mumbled out of the corner of her mouth. “Or maybe a nice long nap.”
The thought of a nap enticed Julia. She had been in such a rush to leave that morning, she hadn’t h
ad time to enjoy her usual peppermint and liquorice tea, nor eat any breakfast. Her stomach rumbled when she looked out of the window as they passed a small café, not unlike her own. The dry sandwich at the last service station hadn’t even touched the sides.
Despite her exhaustion and hunger coupled with the temptation of cake and tea, the dropping miles on her sat-nav encouraged her forward. Even if she hadn’t been completely sold on the idea of a spa break at first, it was all she had been able to think about since. She had never been great at relaxing, especially when she knew there was always something that needed to be done at the café, but with Jessie taking care of things and Barker watching over her, she was ready to forget all about Peridale and spend the next couple of days with an empty mind.
They drove out of Aberfoyle and followed a small winding road up a steep grassy hill. Her poor car groaned, so she shifted gears, slammed her foot down on the accelerator, and willed it to make it over the top. When the road eventually flattened out, she knew it had been worth it.
“Wow,” Dot whispered. “Would you look at that?”
“It’s beautiful,” Sue agreed.
The view completely stole Julia’s breath. It took all of her strength to keep her eyes on the road, and not on the sprawling green hills and misshapen loch. Small islands dotted through the water, as though they had just drifted downstream and decided they were going to settle where they were. Beautiful swathes of grey, blue, and green all mixed together, bringing to mind a murky watercolour painting where the artist had forgotten to clean their water.
“I see the hotel!” Dot cried, jumping forward and cramming her finger between the two of them. “It’s there!”
Sue and Julia both looked to where she was pointing. Their eyes landed on a large, imposing medieval castle on one of the larger islands nearer the bank. Its pale gold stone almost blended in with the colours of the landscape, and if it wasn’t for the blue and white Scottish flag flying proudly at its entrance, Julia might not have noticed it out of the corner of her eye.
“Are you sure that’s it, Gran?” Julia asked as she checked the tiny map on the screen, which wasn’t showing her anything beyond the winding road ahead.
“Of course I’m sure!” she snapped. “I’ve done my research on the place. It dates all the way back to the 13th century.”
“They had spas back then?” Sue asked with a wrinkled nose.
“Of course not!” she snapped again, rolling her eyes at Julia in the rear-view mirror. “The spa was a recent addition in the last twenty years, but the castle, official title Seirbigh Castle, has been with the McLaughlin family since the 1930s. It was nothing more than a couple of ruins on an island when they bought it, but they fully restored it and gave it a purpose.”
Julia spotted another sign for the hotel and almost couldn’t believe her gran was right. The road took a sharp right turn, and the castle appeared in front of her. She turned to her sister, who was sharing the same look of disbelief. Julia let out a small laugh as she looked up at the grand structure. She hadn’t expected much, considering it was a radio competition prize, but Seirbigh Castle had blown those low expectations right out of the water.
“This is going to be the best five days of our lives,” Sue said as she took in the incredible vista. “Look at this place!”
The road narrowed, forcing Julia to slow to a snail’s pace. Her car rocked as they transitioned onto the stone bridge that connected the land to the island. Dot hurriedly wound down her window and crammed her head through the gap.
“We’re driving over the loch,” she cried into the breeze.
“Somebody has changed their tune,” Sue whispered to Julia. “I thought she wanted the Bahamas?”
“If I’d have known Scotland was so beautiful, I wouldn’t have complained,” Dot snapped back, her hearing not failing her once again. “The TV makes it look like an awful dreary place. If they showed more of this, people might actually want to come here.”
Julia and Sue both shook their heads in unison as they dismounted the bridge and drove towards the castle. The gravel crunched under the tyres below as the crisp loch air drifted in through the open window. She inhaled, and a feeling of calm washed over her, forcing her to sink a little lower into her seat as she pulled her car into one of four empty spaces at the base of the castle entrance.
Before Julia had finished unbuckling her belt, Dot jumped out of the car and ran to the edge of the small island. She whipped a small disposable camera out of her handbag, wound it along, crammed it to her eye and started snapping the breath-taking view. Julia was sure an entire roll of film wouldn’t be enough to capture the true beauty of the place.
Julia and Sue unloaded the car while their gran scuttled from spot to spot to get different angles. Julia had managed to fit all of her luggage into a single weekend bag, but her sister and gran had taken a more liberal approach to their packing, each bringing what appeared to be the entire contents of their wardrobes.
“A hat box?” Julia asked as she reached out for the oval case, arching a brow.
“I didn’t know what the weather was going to be like,” Sue said, snatching it out of her hand. “I bought it when me and Neil went to Moscow, and I’ve been trying to find an excuse to use it. I thought it would be snowing.”
“It’s spring.”
“It’s Scotland.”
Julia laughed and shook her head. She shut the boot and locked the car before picking up as many of the bags as she could. Between them, they managed to grab everything, leaving their gran to continue her photo shoot. Before they set off up the slope towards the castle’s entrance, Julia looked out at the dark loch once more, which stretched out for miles in either direction. She inhaled again as the wind licked her hair, the air moist and floral.
“Heather,” she said to Sue, pointing to the purple flower covering the bank around them. “It smells beautiful.”
“Your baker’s nose never fails you,” Sue said, before turning to their gran, who was halfway back along the bridge and snapping the water below. “Gran! We can’t check in without you.”
Dot reluctantly dragged herself away and dropped her camera into her bag, not without snapping a picture of Julia and Sue first. Without offering to take any of the bags, she shuffled past them and up the slope, which wound around the side of the castle.
The entrance, which was signposted as ‘McLaughlin Spa and Hotel Retreat’ in bold gold lettering, looked like any other traditional castle entrance Julia had seen. It was door-less, and tall, double any of their heights. The castle appeared to be divided into three separate buildings, all joined together like a mismatched jigsaw. Julia wasn’t much of a history buff, but she was sure if she had a look at her gran’s guidebook, she would read that parts of the castle were older than others, with different invasions and families adding on their own sections. The entrance, which was the simplest part of the building, appeared to also be the oldest.
Led by Dot, they walked in through the entrance, which took them to a large ajar mahogany door. The first sign of modern civilisation was a table containing tourist leaflets next to the door. Dot picked up one of each, before yanking on the gold handle. The door creaked open, and she slipped through, letting it slam shut again. Julia shook her head, and Sue let out a long sigh. Julia dropped her bags and opened the door for Sue, who slipped in, and in turn she dropped hers and held it open for Julia.
Julia walked along the embroidered red carpet into the grand entrance hall. A matching mahogany staircase swept up the left side of the space, ending at a landing, which led off to many doors. The walls were exposed in some parts, and wood-lined in others, with heavy-framed oil paintings cluttering them in equal quantities. A large reception desk, with the spa’s logo, sat at the far side of the room, with a door directly behind it leading off to what appeared to be an office. The desk was unmanned, but that didn’t stop Dot from hurrying over and enthusiastically slapping the small metal bell. It rang out through the entrance hall, echoin
g into the corners. Julia slowly sauntered over as she attempted to take in every detail. She dropped her bags by the desk and turned to face the roaring fire that burned in the fireplace, which was as tall, if not taller, than her. It put her cottage’s fireplace to shame.
Just from her first glimpse of the spa, Julia was sure she was going to enjoy it very much. She could already feel herself relaxing, and it was a feeling that she enjoyed, even if it was foreign to her. Peridale felt all of the three hundred and sixty miles away that it was, and even though she loved her little village, she was surprised how glad she was to be away.
Unfortunately for Julia, that tranquillity didn’t last long. A door slammed, casting out any peaceful thoughts from her mind. She stepped back and looked up at the landing where the noise had come from. To her surprise, a black bag flew towards her, and she barely darted out of the way before it landed on the ground and split open. The plastic bag burst on impact and women’s clothes, in a size much smaller and much more expensive looking than Julia’s, spewed across the stone floor.
“I’ve told you once, and I’ll tell you again!” a man’s deep voice bellowed, his Scottish accent the strongest Julia had heard. “We’re over!”
The man appeared from the door the clothes had flown out of, dragging a woman by the arm. He seemed to be in his early sixties, but slight in frame and very short. His head was completely bald and shiny and looked as though it was barely balancing on his narrow shoulders. His sharp cheekbones and sunken sockets created two shadows where his eyes should have been. The woman, on the other hand, was curvaceous and looked to be in her mid-forties. She struggled against the man’s grip, but he was clearly much stronger than her despite his weak appearance. The hairs on Julia’s neck instantly raised and every instinct in her body told her to help the woman.
“Please, Henry!” the woman begged. “You’re hurting me!”
The woman’s pleas fell on deaf ears. He dragged her towards the stairs, her long jet-black hair flying over her face. Julia stood and watched, completely numb, but fully expecting the man to fling her down the stairs.