Auld Acquaintance

by Ruth Hay

  Breakfast awaited at the hotel and it was going to be a busy day requiring serious caloric fortifying. One thing Anna knew for sure from her parents, was that Scottish breakfasts were substantial and not to be rushed.

  * * *

  Pushing aside one of the largest china plates she had ever seen, Anna settled back in her padded chair by the hotel window and poured a second, or was it a third, cup of steaming hot tea. The dining room was not full and procuring a table with a ground-level view of the pier had not been difficult. None of the tables near her was occupied.

  “I think I am ready for this now,” she murmured to herself, as she placed the envelope from Helen Dunlop on the tablecloth in front of her.

  There was no point in delaying any further, so she slit the envelope with a knife and saw two documents slide out. One of these was sealed and addressed to George McLennan.

  The other was the letter from Helen.

  Anna’s fingers quivered as she unfolded the letter. The mystery of Helen Dunlop’s connection to Anna Mason was about to be revealed.

  Dear Anna,

  This letter will come as a shock. I apologise for the secrecy that accompanies it.

  I am your aunt, half-sister to your mother Marion Jarvis McLeod. My birth name is Aileen Anne Wilson and my adopted name you know.

  My childhood was unhappy, resulting in an early marriage to Harold Fraser.

  When my husband died, I had the financial resources to move away from Stirling leaving behind a life and its sad memories.

  My years at the Farm House near Oban were the happiest I ever knew.

  I sought you out in the hope that you, also, might relish the peace and serenity of its country setting.

  There are no conditions. The property is yours to dispose of in whatever manner you may deem suitable to your circumstances.

  I wish you, my only remaining female relative, joy and happiness.

  Sincerely,

  Helen Dunlop.

  Postscript: Should you decide to stay in the McCaig Farm House, please visit The Osborne Residential Home. The manageress will expect you.

  What a strange, sad letter, thought Anna. I don’t know what I expected but this is a shock, indeed.

  She read the letter again and found her tears blurring the careful writing.

  So little information and so much left unsaid. The mystery of Helen’s life was solved, but only partially. More questions were raised than answered.

  What had happened during that early marriage to make Helen leave her home and move to a remote farm house? Why had she left behind her married name of Fraser? How did she find out about my family in Canada? What must her life have been like?

  Sitting in silence, contemplating the brief letter in her hands, Anna could distil only one concrete thing from Helen’s letter. The house was where Helen had been happy and she wished Anna to know that same happiness. How could she ignore this request?

  The negative feelings of the previous day dissolved in the more positive atmosphere created by Anna’s early morning discoveries.

  “I must give it a try!” she whispered to the letter. “I’ll start planning today, Helen. Thank you for your generosity.”

  She bent forward and, in an act created by a sudden wave of emotion, she gently kissed the letter before placing it back in the envelope.

  Chapter Fourteen

  George’s office was one of a suite, guarded by a formidable-looking older lady at a desk replete with In trays and Out files and at least three telephones.

  Anna was reminded of Susan’s former job and knew how many responsibilities she had managed for her bosses. In an earlier conversation Anna had told Susan of Helen’s brief letter and outlined her tentative plans for the day. Now it was time to tie up a few loose ends with George.

  As she walked into his small office, lit by a window at the back of the building, looking out on a tiny concrete parking lot, she could see George’s somewhat-battered Ford alongside a red sports car and a shiny, silver Subaru.

  “How are you feeling this morning, Anna? Is it permissible to call you Anna? I had the feeling you were not too happy with me last night.”

  Anna turned from the window to see George entering the office with an anxious expression clouding his handsome young face.

  “Forgive me, George,” she rushed to apologize. “I had a lot to think about last night. We are certainly first-name friends, and I am more than grateful for all you have done to make it possible for me to be here today in this amazing country.”

  “Ah! So you like our wee town?”

  “It is so beautiful, George. The hills and the sea are quite spectacular. I had no idea it was like this. Maps and Google do not do it justice, let me tell you.”

  “Can I take it, then, from your enthusiasm, that you are thinking of staying for a while?” To Anna, George sounded quite keen on an affirmative answer.

  “Before I answer that question, George, I need to ask your help again to make some necessary arrangements.”

  “Of course, Anna, I am at your disposal.”

  “Now, that sounds more like the gentleman who wrote to me in Canada and to whom I spoke on the phone!” she exclaimed in delight.

  Anna had wondered why George’s speech when face to face was so different from the formal language of his legal correspondence.

  George blushed slightly and the colour rose through his fair skin. “The blame must be laid at the feet of Mrs. Aitken, our secretary, I am afraid. She is most particular about a professional manner of speech and literacy and as I am the youngest member of the firm, I am obliged to follow her rules. I hope I did not mislead you in any way.”

  “Not at all, George! At the risk of embarrassing you further, I have to say that I am very fond of your lovely Scottish accent, although it may not be typical. I have noticed a wide range of accents in this area already.”

  “We are not as isolated here as we once were, Anna. You will find folk here from all over nowadays. I’m sure there are staff people in your hotel from Sweden, Germany and Poland as well as most parts of the Highlands.”

  “Well, I am happy I am not the only ‘foreigner’ around! But that reminds me, George, there are a number of accounts I need to settle right now.”

  Anna produced a sheaf of bills and handed over the international money order she had brought for this purpose, made out to George, in person. He seemed relieved.

  “Please check these totals, George. You have undertaken quite a lot of expense on my behalf. I have been to the bank this morning and deposited more money orders but I understand I can’t make withdrawals on the account until five days have passed and my information can be verified.”

  “That is correct. Do you have sufficient funds for the time being, Anna?”

  “Yes, I came supplied with a variety of financial sources, thanks to the good advice of friends.”

  A memory of sitting in Bev’s kitchen flashed past Anna’s mind, accompanied, unexpectedly, by a wave of nostalgia. What was a Samba minus an A for Anna, she thought briefly?

  “What else can I do for you? You mentioned some additional help?”

  “Yes. I hope you can supply some local information for me. I have made a number of purchases this morning and I need a hired car, a van or taxi, with storage room, to collect these things and take me out to the farm.”

  “I would be happy to help with that..........”

  “No, no, George! I can’t impose on your generosity any further. I am sure I have distracted you from your business quite long enough. If you can recommend someone reliable I will probably use them fairly frequently as I am not intending to hire, or buy, a car.”

  “I can do that right away, Anna. Can I presume from this that you will be staying for a time?”

  “I am hoping to do so, George, and that brings me to a very important subject of interest to both of us. I mean, of course, Helen Dunlop’s letter.”

  Anna could detect an immediate change in George’s posture. Clearly, he was
as eager to learn about Helen as she, herself, had been. In fact, George had initiated the entire search for Helen’s connection to Anna.

  “The envelope you gave me last night, contained two items,” she continued, “a letter for each of us.”

  Anna reached across the desk and gave George his letter which he received with some surprise and then placed in a drawer, turning his attention to Anna once again.

  “Helen’s letter to me establishes the link to my family through my mother, as you may have guessed, George. It also mentions a marriage that Helen left behind her, in Stirling when her husband died. After that event, she bought the farm house.”

  “I never knew about that. She never mentioned a husband to me in any of our discussions.” George’s shock was evident at this unexpected news. Anna could almost see his lawyer’s brain calculating the legal repercussions on Helen Dunlop’s estate, of an undeclared family.

  “I know nothing about this man, Harold Fraser, from Helen’s letter, George, but, if I can presume upon your kindness again and ask you to use your sources to find out more about this marriage, I would be in your debt once again.”

  “Absolutely! As executor of Helen’s will it is my duty to follow this lead Anna. I will be in touch as soon as I have any information.”

  “Right!” Standing and stretching her back, Anna remembered one more request.

  “This is somewhat of an anti-climax, George, but I could not find a grocery store this morning. Where do people buy their food around here?”

  “Oh, you would not have seen it from the seafront. We have a very large Tesco store hidden behind the main streets. Anything you need can be found there. My wife, Jeanette, won’t shop anywhere else although we live outside Oban. Oh, I almost forgot. Jeanette would be very annoyed with me if I don’t invite you to have a meal with us as soon as you are settled in.”

  “How kind of her, and of you, George. Please thank her for me.”

  After a moment’s thought, George added, “May I suggest you make your way to Tesco and select your supplies and I will send a taxi to pick you up and take you to the farm after collecting your other purchases? You will need your receipts, of course.”

  “Excellent idea, George! I have already checked out of the hotel and my luggage is stored there for me.”

  “I’ll just pop down and fetch the farm house key for you and point out the way to the store.”

  * * *

  Anna found the Tesco grocery store without difficulty. The large parking lot was filled with cars at this hour of the morning and Anna followed the shoppers into a store that compared favourably in size to one of Loblaw’s Super Stores in Canada.

  Since her earlier shopping had taken place along George Street where the small shops were more similar to the older parts of Toronto, she was amazed to discover such a large modern convenience lurking behind the traditional facade of the town.

  The next hour passed pleasantly as she filled a shopping cart with a variety of goods, some recognizably Canadian and others British in style. She tried to find a selection of food items to stock the farm house kitchen although she was unsure about cooking and refrigeration facilities there.

  It was obvious to Anna that trips to the grocery store in Oban would be occasional rather than the simple daily task she did not need to give much thought to at home.

  The cart soon filled with the basics plus a number of things Anna was pleased to see, as they jogged her memory regarding the inadequacies she had noted in the quick tour of the farm house. Matches and candles, a couple of soft pillows, a rain hat similar to a Nova Scotia sou’wester, a package of household rubber gloves for cleaning jobs and a selection of lamp shades were piled onto the cart. When she could no longer see over it, she knew it was time to struggle to the check-out.

  She paid with the Visa card she had obtained especially for expenses in Scotland.

  She considered that it was a wonder the card was not hot to the touch after the number of times she had used it already this morning. Bev would need to be warned about the size of this bill.

  Anna calculated that the cost of the groceries, converted to dollars, was not much more than she would have been charged for a similar expedition in Canada. Tesco’s was following a North American policy of charging for plastic grocery bags, so Anna took the opportunity to purchase some of their own huge, colourful, inexpensive bags, labelled ‘Bag For Life’ with a promise written on them that they would be replaced for free if they ever tore or wore through.

  Although she was buying more plastic, Anna consoled herself with the thought that the bags could be taken back to Canada with her as a souvenir.

  She made a mental note not to leave the farm without one of these bags in future as they might have a number of uses.

  Emerging from Tesco’s, Anna scanned the parking lot for a cab. Unlike Canada, taxis in Scotland often seemed to be private cars with a phone number painted on the side, making them harder to spot. She pushed the laden cart along the store forecourt and searched for a likely vehicle among the ranks of parked cars and trucks.

  Near the exit doors she spotted a woman carrying a cardboard sign with ‘Mason’ printed on it. Thankful that George had been thinking ahead, Anna rolled over to the woman and noticed that although she was young, and small in stature, she looked strong and capable.

  Introductions were soon made and Anna shook hands with Fiona Jameson (“Jist call me Fee, everyone does!”), confirming her observation that this was a powerful young lady, if her handshake was anything to go by.

  “Right, Fee! As you can see, I have a big load here and more to come from places in the town. I hope you have a sizable vehicle?”

  “No worries, there! Mr. McLennan told me what was needed. I have a People Mover waiting. Stay here and I’ll drive up to you.”

  With that she was off with a swing of a brown pony-tail and a blue car coat over jeans, leaving Anna with a reassuring impression of confidence and strength.

  That impression was confirmed in the first two hours of Anna’s acquaintance with the formidable Fee. Not only did she do a fine job of packing Anna’s groceries into the back seat of what turned out to be a type of sports utility vehicle, but she managed to find space for two cases and assorted bags from the hotel and still have sufficient cargo room for the variety of goods Anna had selected and paid for, earlier in the day.

  In order to access the local stores on the one-way street, Fee had to drive from the Columba Hotel along a road that skirted the sea, giving Anna the chance to admire the view in more detail. Fee’s services now included tour guide, and she happily informed Anna that they were on the Corran Esplanade, looking over the Sound of Kerrera, (not the open sea at all), towards the small Island of Kerrera where Anna could see a harbour and only one or two cottages on the shoreline.

  The Esplanade passed shops, a hotel, a fine church and a row of elegant houses with boards advertising B&B facilities, then looped through a forested section to arrive at the north end of George Street.

  It appeared that cars were permitted to steer from one side of this street to the other and park there at will, as long as they moved in one forward direction. Watching these manoeuvres, Anna was glad she had made the decision to leave the driving to someone else. After only a short period of time in Fiona’s capable hands, she could not have been more delighted that George had selected Fee as the candidate.

  * * *

  On the way back to the McCaig Farm House, Anna was able to see the countryside in all its splendour and with Fee’s local knowledge, she gathered valuable information.

  It seemed there were no villages in the area. Fee declared they had faded away when the post offices were removed.

  “You will find a crofter or two nearby for emergencies,” Fee volunteered, “I’ll be stopping at their cottages on the way back and I’ll be telling them they have a new neighbour now.”

  Fervently hoping no emergencies would arise in this isolated place, Anna smiled in gratitude. She was gl
ad to see Fee’s driving was rather more sedate than George’s frantic pace, but then she realized the weight of her purchases would undoubtedly cause the large automobile to move more slowly, especially when they reached the unpaved track, of about a kilometre in length, that led to the farm house.

  By the time they arrived, rain had started. When Anna commented on the beautiful weather at the start of the day, Fee’s response was; “The old folks say, ‘Bright too early in the day means rain’s on its way.’ It’s spring after all. We’ll get plenty rain this month and through the next.”

  “Well, I won’t mind,” replied Anna. “In Canada we still have snow until May most years and rain does not have to be shovelled out of your way.”

  Anna took the heavy key out of her purse and managed, with some twisting and turning, to open the door so that cases and bags could be stowed in the porch. She found the gravel path from the front gate was difficult to walk on when carrying heavy loads.

  It took a number of trips back and forth to unload the SUV and at least one of the pair of women was tired when the last of the grocery bags landed on the kitchen table.

  Anna could see Fee’s curious glances at the kitchen.

  “Would you like to take a look around the house?” Anna asked. “I would love to offer you a cup of tea but I am not entirely sure how that could be done.”

  “I’ve never been in this house before,” Fee confessed. “It used to be the old estate manager’s place, is that not so? I didn’t know the lady who lived here. She kept herself to herself, as they say. Mr. McLennan asked me to give you a hand in any way I could, so if you show me around a bit, maybe I can help you out.”

  “O, Fee! I was hoping you would say that. The truth is I’m a fish out of water here.

  I have no idea how to run a house like this and I would really appreciate some tips.”