Heather Song

by Michael Phillips

  “How will I know which harp to bring, my lady?”

  “There should be one very large harp, two very small ones that you could pick up with one hand, and two in-between-sized ones— Is that right, Alicia?…Journey is at the hotel; I had the two new ones sent to Canada…Yes, there should be five still here in all. So bring either one of the midsized harps. There may be a small wheel-cart with them, if she had that removed with the harps as well. Otherwise, I think you will be able to manage carrying it.”

  “I’m sure I shall, my lady. I will be very careful.”

  “We will be in the Music Room at two. If Adela sees you, invite her to join you. I have nothing to hide from her. If she asks what you are doing, say you are under orders from the duchess and leave it at that. If she doesn’t like it, as I say, invite her along!”

  Feeling fresh in spite of having to wear our walking clothes from the night before, excited, and reasonably rested, Alicia and I set out through the castle about one. Getting to the Music Room proved easy enough. The castle was so big that, if you kept your wits about you and listened for footsteps, it wasn’t so very difficult to keep out of sight and not be heard. Going slow, with many stops and only two or three false turns from having to take the most circuitous route, we arrived at our destination in less than fifteen minutes. The Music Room as well as my studio end of it looked exactly the same. My heart swelled just to stand inside the wonderful room again. It contained so many memories. For the first time I felt like I was really back in Castle Buchan.

  A little less than an hour later, Nicholls appeared right on schedule. When my eyes fell on the Aida, it was like seeing a long-lost old friend rescued from a kidnapper. It looked no worse for wear other than two broken strings.

  “Thank you, Nicholls,” I said excitedly. “Did you see Adela?”

  “Thankfully no, my lady. Is there anything more I can do for you?”

  “Just don’t be too far away in case we need you. Leave the door ajar when you go—I’m not going to hide.”

  I checked the drawer in the sideboard and found my string supply still intact. I put on the new strings, and quietly set about retuning them all.

  “Shall we have a little fun with Olivia?” I said sometime around three when I assumed she was back.

  “What did you have in mind?” asked Alicia.

  “Oh, I don’t know…something like this!”

  I set the levers, then played out an F7 glissando up and down the strings several times as loud as I could.

  Alicia’s eyes popped out. “She’ll hear you!”

  “You think so?” I said, then repeated the brief slide up the strings even louder. Already I detected a slight stretching in the two new strings, and retuned them. Then I began to play: “Will Ye No’ Come Back Again”…“Charlie Is My Darling”…“The Black Isle”…“Wild Mountain Thyme”…“MacPherson’s Lament”…​“Highland Cathedral”…even a triumphant verse or two of “Scotland the Brave,” and others as they flowed effortlessly from one to another.

  It felt so good to make music in this room again! Not since I had returned to Canada had my fingers and heart felt truly one. Today they did. Gradually the music of Scotland gave way to the music of the angels, with reminders of Alicia’s “Heather Song,” and at length I found myself playing Gwendolyn’s music.

  Fittingly, it was those haunting melodies that eventually brought Gwendolyn’s aunt to investigate what could be causing this musical disturbance at the heart of her domain. We heard footsteps in the corridor, then Olivia came through the door and stopped, gazing in shock at the sight before her.

  I glanced toward her as if nothing were out of the ordinary, but kept playing. Gradually my hands stilled and Gwendolyn’s music, as it often did, drifted peacefully away into silence. I turned toward Alasdair’s sister.

  “Hello, Olivia,” I said.

  I must give Olivia Urquhart credit, when the situation demanded it, she could maintain remarkable poise. I detected the fire in her eyes and the smoke coming out of her ears as she came into the room and saw Alicia and me sitting there. Now, only a few seconds later, she forced a smile and advanced toward me.

  “Marie,” she said softly, “this is a surprise. How nice to see you again.”

  I rose and went forward to meet her. She offered her hand. I took it and we shook hands…limply, lifelessly on both our parts. We both knew we were playing a game. But we went along with the pretended cordiality.

  “You should have let me know you were coming,” she said, moving into her dreamy, beguiling, mesmerizing voice. “I could have prepared a guest room for you.”

  I doubted that her phrasing and choice of word were accidental.

  “Where are you staying, Marie dear?” she added.

  “I was at the Crannoch Bay for a couple of nights,” I replied.

  “But wanted to see your former home—I understand, for old times’ sake. How did you, ah…”

  “How did I manage to get in when you had the locks changed and gates installed?” I said bluntly.

  Olivia smiled as if humoring a child. “It seemed best under the circumstances,” she said. “New ownership is always so awkward and difficult for people to accustom themselves to. As I did not intend to continue the unpleasant come-and-go policies of my brother, I thought gates the simplest solution. I’m sure you would have done the same in my position.”

  “I would not have done the same at all. I think what you have done is a travesty.”

  “Ah, well, that is, of course, your opinion. But as you are no longer in a position to interfere in my affairs, it really doesn’t matter, does it? Did you, ah, speak with Adela? Was it she who allowed you access?”

  “I have not seen Adela,” I said, “though I am aware that you replaced Alicia with her.”

  “Yes.” Olivia nodded. “Again, I thought it best. Miss Forbes and I were no longer seeing eye-to-eye about many things.”

  “Such as mail delivery?” I asked.

  “I’m afraid I do not understand you, Marie dear. Even as the new duchess, there are certain things that remain outside my control. So, were the gates not locked?” she went on. “I saw no car outside— Did you come by taxi?”

  “No, we walked in,” I replied. “Actually, I have no idea whether the gates were opened or closed.”

  Puzzled and clearly unnerved by this breach in her security, Olivia nevertheless did not pursue it.

  “And you will continue on at the Crannoch Bay for your visit, or will you perhaps be staying with friends?” she asked, casting a brief glance in Alicia’s direction.

  “My immediate plans are, shall we say, in flux,” I replied. “Like you, I am facing changes in my life that will require adjustments by many people. You may be one of them, Olivia.”

  “I see, though I fail to grasp how anything in your life could possibly concern me. As I say, had I known, we might have made some possible arrangement to accommodate you, out of courtesy to my brother’s memory. However, under the circumstances, with you coming in apparently without permission—in what would in all likelihood be viewed by the authorities as trespassing—I do not see how I could entertain as a guest one who—”

  Alicia was not about to let the subtle condescension continue. She was no longer intimidated by Olivia, and had finally had enough.

  “Marie is not here as a guest, Olivia!” she blurted out. “She is not staying at the Crannoch Bay. She will not be staying with friends. She is staying here! She has returned to take possession of Castle Buchan.”

  “And you!” Olivia spat as she spun around to face her. “What do you have to do with it other than sneaking about where you have no right to be?”

  “I have nothing to do with it,” replied Alicia. “But Marie has everything to do with it. She is not trespassing, but exerting her legal rights. It is you who are trespassing, Olivia.”

  At last Olivia’s eyes flashed visibly with fire.

  “You deceitful little hussy!” she cried. “How did you get in
—climb the fence, bribe one of the maids? I told you I did not want to see your face on my property again, and this time I will make you pay for your insolence. If you do not leave, the police will be here within thirty minutes, and believe me, I will bring charges.”

  Alicia sat unmoving. Olivia turned again toward me. Her face was red, but she tried to regain a portion of her composure.

  “I don’t know what lies she has told you, Marie,” she said. “But I am certain they are just that—lies. I do not want to see you hurt. I have nothing against you personally, even though I believe you hastened the death of my poor niece. But you must understand that I cannot sit idly by and listen to absurdities and accusations. I am sorry, but you will need to leave…immediately, I’m afraid. Perhaps if you can talk some sense into Alicia, and with an apology, I might be persuaded to be lenient. Then perhaps you can come back for a visit, through proper channels rather than this sneaking about. But if you do not leave my property, I cannot be responsible for the consequences to either of you.”

  She turned and left the room.

  Alicia and I looked at each other with expressions that silently shouted, Whoa!

  “What now?” Alicia asked. “Are we going to leave?”

  “Of course not,” I replied. “We are not going to kowtow to threats.”

  “She will call the police,” said Alicia. “If I know her, she will tell them that there has been a break-in at the castle and that she has the trespassers in custody. She won’t tell them who we are, so they will come expecting hoodlums.”

  “Making it sound like an emergency and robbery attempt. A clever way to get the police here in a hurry, planning to make an arrest.”

  “What shall we do?”

  “You are going to call Mr. Crathie immediately to tell him I blew it and confronted Olivia and that he had better come rescue us. That’s what you are going to do. As for me, I am going to keep playing my harp.”

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Duchess vs. Impostor

  Lay the proud usurpers low!

  Tyrants fall in every foe.

  Liberty’s in every blow.

  Let us do, or dee!

  —Robert Burns, “Scots, Wha Hae”

  I continued playing from my Scottish repertoire. Alicia went to the far end of the room to telephone Nigel Crathie. She returned five minutes later.

  “Was he upset with us?” I asked.

  “A little I think,” replied Alicia. “But he said he understood. There had to be a confrontation eventually, he said, so we might as well have it over with. I know he would rather we had let him do it. But he said he would be here in forty minutes.”

  “I just hope we’re not being hauled off in the paddy wagon by then!” I laughed. “In the meantime, I intend to enjoy myself. Besides, surely the policemen will recognize me and give us the benefit of the doubt.”

  About twenty minutes later we heard sirens in the distance. They grew louder until they screamed into the grounds and eventually stopped outside the front of the castle. Two minutes later, many feet in the corridor came running toward us. The door burst open and two uniformed policemen rushed in, followed by Olivia. Alicia was seated calmly on a couch, and I was at my harp playing “Scotland the Brave.”

  The men stopped and looked around in confusion.

  “There they are,” demanded Olivia. “Arrest them.”

  “These are your intruders?” said one of the policemen, turning toward her with a puzzled expression. “They’re just a couple of women. I thought you said you had a burglary in progress.”

  They obviously had no idea who I was. Were they flunkies of Olivia’s, too? Where had they come from?

  “I said I had caught two trespassers who had broken into the grounds and also broken into the castle and that I had no idea what they might do.”

  “This hardly appears to be quite such a dangerous situation as all that, my lady.”

  “Nevertheless, they are trespassers. They broke into my property. I intend to file charges, and I want them arrested.”

  The man sighed, then looked back and forth between Alicia and me.

  “Either of you care to tell me what’s going on?” he said. “Are you here without permission?”

  “What she has told you is partially true,” I replied. “We are here without Mrs. Urquhart’s permission. However, we did not break in. Any charge of breaking and entering would be false. There are witnesses who can testify to that fact. I do not think it would go well for those who tried to arrest us on such a basis.”

  “That is patently absurd…as big a lie as I’ve ever heard,” said Olivia heatedly, lapsing, whether intentionally or not, into the rhyming habit of her childhood.

  “How did you get in, then?” asked the man.

  “We were let in,” I replied.

  “By whom?”

  “I would rather not say.”

  “I’m afraid you will have to say, ma’am.”

  “I am sorry, but I have no intention of divulging that information.”

  The man stared back at me, surprised at the brazenness of my refusal.

  “And you?” he said, turning to Alicia.

  “I have nothing to say,” she replied.

  Obviously irritated, our stubbornness to cooperate at last swayed him to take action.

  “All right, then,” he said. “You leave me no choice but to take you in. You’ll both have to come with me.” He stood and waited for us to get up and follow. Neither of us moved.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “We cannot comply with your request. We are under orders to remain in the castle.”

  “Under whose orders?”

  “I cannot tell you that.”

  “Look, lady, I don’t know what your game is,” he retorted angrily. “But I’ve had enough of it. Now get your bum off that chair and come with us.”

  Suddenly behind him footsteps again came along the corridor and a suited man hurried into the room. He glanced first at Olivia, then surveyed the situation.

  “I am Marshall Warmington,” he said, turning to the uniformed officer. “I am Mrs. Urquhart’s solicitor. She informs me there has been a break-in.”

  “It is contained and under control, Mr. Warmington,” said the policeman. “I was just in the process of arresting these two ladies.”

  During the brief exchange, the solicitor had thrown two or three quick glances in my direction. I did not know him, but he seemed to recognize me, and the wheels of his brain were obviously turning rapidly.

  The policeman in charge now turned to his assistant, who had not spoken a word. “Cuff her,” he said, nodding his head in Alicia’s direction. He then strode toward me, reached down, grabbed my wrist, and yanked me to my feet. I let out a little cry. I was more astonished than anything, though his grip did hurt. I thought British bobbies were supposed to be gentle!

  “Stop it, stop it!” now cried Alicia. “Don’t you know who that is?!”

  “A trespasser is all I know,” the policeman shot back. “Come on, lady!” he said and pulled me, still holding tight to my wrist, toward the door. “I’ll cuff you myself when we get outside. Sorry for the disturbance, Duchess,” he said, nodding to Olivia as we passed. The smirk of satisfaction on Olivia’s face was worth a thousand words.

  “Are you blind? Don’t you realize what you’re doing?” insisted Alicia as the younger man clipped a handcuff around one of her wrists and pulled her to her feet. “That is the duchess you’re dragging from the room!”

  Whatever he may have thought, her words stopped the man in his tracks.

  “Are you crazy, lady?” he said.

  “I am as sane as you, and I am telling you that you are about to arrest the Duchess of Buchan.”

  “And who are you, then, Mickey Mouse?” he retorted.

  “She is nothing but a disgruntled former employee,” put in Olivia. “I had to fire her two months ago. Now she is determined to get back at me however she can.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I
had seen a knowing look dawn on the face of Olivia’s solicitor the moment Alicia spoke up.

  “Just a moment, Officer,” he said, stepping forward. “You might ask the lady her name.”

  “You heard the man,” said the policeman to me. “Out with it.”

  “My name is Marie Reidhaven,” I said.

  “Reidhaven?” he repeated.

  “I am the widow of the late Alasdair Reidhaven, Duke of Buchan.”

  Instantly the man’s grip on my wrist relaxed.

  “Show them the papers, Marie,” said Alicia desperately. “They can’t treat you like this—show them the papers.”

  “I insist that you arrest them at once!” demanded Olivia.

  The policeman, however, suddenly hesitant, saw that he had stumbled into a more complicated situation than he had bargained for. Slowly he released me and stepped back, glancing helplessly back and forth between the solicitor and his client.

  “Arrest them!” repeated Olivia. “Marshall, I demand that these intruders be arrested. You know as well as I do that the fact that this woman was married to my brother gives her no right to trespass and break into what is now my property and my home. She has broken in and I intend to file charges. Now, Officer,” she said, turning again to the policeman, “if you value your job, arrest these women and remove them from my property at once.”

  Still the man hesitated. At last the solicitor spoke.

  “What papers is she referring to?” he asked me.

  I walked across the room to where I had laid my coat over the back of one of the couches. From its pocket I withdrew the envelope Mr. Crathie had given me at the hotel. I returned to the scene of the standoff and handed it to him. Everyone waited in silence as he took out the documents and quickly scanned their contents. The raised eyebrows and low whistle that followed evidenced his astonishment clearly enough. Finally he let out a long breath as he turned to me.

  “You are no doubt aware,” he said, “that your late husband’s will and the disposition of his assets and property are being contested by the duke’s sister and will be adjudicated by the courts.”

  “I am,” I said.