www.Glenbogle.com – Part 5
By: SnowWhite
Katrina, Lizzie, Sean and Martha arrived the day before the party as
requested. The minute they rounded the bend that put the house in full view
Sean's reaction was exactly what Katrina had expected
" Glenbogle House? Katrina that is not a house- that is a castle"
Katrina sighed as he turned to Lizzie in surprise
" That's where you grew up?"
" What?" Lizzie teased " Don't I look like royalty to you?"
" Oh the Macdonald's are not royalty" Katrina snapped back " You forget all
about it being a castle once you get used to it."
Sean nodded unconvincingly. Now he was starting to feel nervous- no one had
ever told him that his girlfriend's ex lived in a castle.... How could he
compete with that?
Meanwhile Lizzie and Katrina were still having a fight over whether she was
royalty or not, with Martha commenting that she wanted to be a princess.
Finally the driveway petered off and the four found themselves confronted
by the entrance to Glenbogle house.
Lizzie beeped the horn and then unbuckling Martha went inside followed by
Katrina and Sean
" Hello Hello" she yelled, her voice echoing around the hallway where they
stood.
Sean was just trying to take in the large wooden staircase that stood
before him when suddenly a strong Glasgowian accent chimed up from behind
them
" Hello"
The four spun around to face a small woman with dark brown hair framing her
face and bright blue eyes
" Aunty Lexie!" Cried Martha throwing herself at the woman
" Martha be careful" Lizzie commanded " You don't want to hurt your little
cousin now do you?"
Immediately Martha stopped in her tracks and looked up at Lexie expectantly
" Is it going to be a girl like I asked for?" " Martha!" Lizzie exclaimed again, but Lexie just smiled " Well" She replied leaning over as much as she could to give her niece a hug " We'll just have to wait and see now won't we." She led Martha back over to the group and embraced her mum " Hello Liz" " Lexie you look well. How's it going?" " Ach, well you know." She laughed " Let's just say the stairs aren't my favourite part of the house" Lizzie smiled " I remember it well" Lexie looked up at the woman next to her, her eyes suddenly hard to read as she added " Hello Katrina" Katrina's eyes were draw to Lexie's stomach. She had remembered Archie saying in his letter that she would be six months pregnant on their arrival, but hadn't truly taken it in until now when she stood before her. " Hello Lexie" she answered "Thankyou for inviting us" " You're Martha's Godmother" Lexie remarked " You have a right to be here" Then unexpectedly she smiled, and Katrina felt a glimmer of the times when they had once been friends. It was a weird sensation, but not entirely an unwelcome one Then she remembered who was standing next to her " Oh, Lexie this is Sean. Sean- Lexie" " Nice to meet you" Lexie announced as she shook his hand " You have a very nice place here" Sean commented " Yeah" Lexie responded " But it's hell to clean." " So" Lizzie remarked " Where is he then. Can't even be bothered to come meet us can he?" Lexie smiled and then yelled up the stairs " Archie! The Birthday Girl's here!" Part 6 A dark haired man suddenly appeared on the staircase. He looked as gorgeous as ever just wearing a white shirt and jeans. Martha ran up the stairs and threw herself into his open arms " How's my big girl now?" He asked " I'm good" she smiled giving him a big hug and kiss He smiled back and balancing her on his hip walked down to the others " Hello Sis" Lizzie smiled and kissed him on the cheek " Hello Arch. How are you?" " Oh well, Lexie's cravings are sending me up the wall. But besides that....." he sent his wife a teasing look and she replied by rolling her eyes Archie glanced across at Katrina and caught her eye. They stood without speaking for a moment, neither quite knowing how the other felt. The last time Katrina had been back was two weeks before Archie and Lexie were due to be married. It was then that she had confessed that she still loved him and wanted him back. There were many conflicting feelings running through Archie's mind at that moment and Katrina could see them in his deep brown eyes. He was not impressed by her behaviour last time; she had tried to break him and Lexie up- and nearly succeeded. But she had also been his friend since primary school, and that was not something that he was just willing to give up. Finally he stuck out his hand and said the same words as his wife " Hello Katrina" " Hi Archie" she replied slightly unsure " This is uh, Sean" The two men looked over each other, as only an ex and a current boyfriend could " Nice to meet you Sean. Archie MacDonald" " Yeah nice to meet you too" Sean replied before Archie turned back to his wife. The fact that Archie showed absolutely no jealousy went straight to Katrina's heart. She didn't know why, but she did feel the pangs it created inside. She looked up and saw that Archie was talking to Lexie. The conversation flowing back to their ears " So. Which do you want to do, show our guests to their rooms or try and find Golly, Duncan and Mother?" Lexie considered the options and then answered " Rooms. Even the stairs are easier then trying to track down those three. And anyway, I'll have Martha to help me, won't I sweetie" Martha, who was still perched on Archie's hip gave a wide smile and nodded. " Well that's settled then" Archie decided, placing Martha back on the floor. He lifted Lexie's chin up with a finger and smiling kissed her softly and quickly before turning to the others. " Lexie will show you to your rooms and I'll go and find everyone else." Part 7 Everyone but Sean knew their way around the house so Lexie's job wasn't really too hard. Lizzie took Martha by the hand and led her to the rooms they always stayed in, while Lexie took Katrina and Sean to the room she had made up for them. " I hope you don't mind sharing. I can make up another room if it's inappropriate" she commented as she put the bag she'd been carrying down on the double bed " No. It's fine" Katrina answered " You've already gone to enough trouble." " No trouble" Lexie corrected absent-mindedly " I'll just go and check on the other two, make sure that they're right" When she left Katrina turned to Sean and glanced around the room " Some place they've got here" He commented " Hmmm. I haven't realised how much I miss it till now" She replied " Archie seems like a nice guy" Sean tested Katrina gave a half-hearted smile " Yeah. Yeah he is." " Is this the first time you've seen them together?" Damn. He could already read her mind. " Yeah. Silly really, they've been married nearly two years." " They seem happy." Sean remarked, then seeing her expression decided to change the subject " Were you and Lexie friends when you lived here?" " Yeah, for quite a few years." " You seem alike in some ways" Katrina turned to him in slight shock " Really? How?" " I don't know, it's hard to pinpoint. I guess you just have the same strength of character, there's some kind of energy that comes from you both- independence or determination I guess." " Hmm. I suppose so" Suddenly Martha's voice rang out down the hall " Treena, come see this" Katrina smiled and followed the voice, leaving Sean to unpack. She found Martha in her room setting out her favourite toys along the bed. It took Katrina a minute before she recognised the room- it looked so different. Only the colour gave it away as being Lexie's old bedroom. " Is this where you always stay?" she asked, kneeling down beside the bed next to her " Uh huh" Martha replied distractedly " It's the 'Princess' room" She explained pointing to the childlike drawing of a castle on the bedside table " Oh" Katrina replied seeing the name ALEXANDRA printed along the bottom in black pen. Suddenly she snapped back to what Martha had called her in for " What did you want to show me?" " Look, I've arranged my toys into groups. See it's you and Sean, and Mummy and Grandma. And then you've got Duncan and Golly and Uncle Archie and Aunty Lex." " Wow" Katrina feigned awe taking in the array of toys that lay before her.
Apparently she was the blonde barbie with the impossibly high heels, Lizzie was a small porcelain doll, Molly was a rag doll with tufts of wool for hair, Archie was a teddy bear and Lexie was a smallish plastic doll with long black hair. Duncan, Golly and Sean were all varying different toys ranging from Lego to action man. She also noticed that the little girl had stuffed a handkerchief up the Lexie doll's dress to make her look pregnant. Katrina couldn't help a chuckle. " I don't remember you bringing all of these toys down with you" " Aunty Lex keeps some here for me" Martha announced happily. All of a sudden bagpipes were heard downstairs. " Dinnertime" Martha screamed running out the door and down the stairs nearly colliding with Lexie as she came to collect her. " Woah! Where are you going in such a hurry young lady? " She asked with a smile " Dinner" Martha replied simply " Not dressed like that you're not" Lexie answered, taking her by the hand and leading her back upstairs to change into her good clothes Katrina was still in the room when they returned, but she didn't hear them enter. She was still kneeling next to the bed and was fiddling with the plastic doll with long black hair. " Hi" Lexie remarked Katrina jumped " Oh, sorry. You startled me. Is it time for dinner?" " Yes soon. Do you think you could help Martha change- it's a bit hard with the bump" Lexie informed placing a hand on her swollen stomach " Oh ok." Katrina replied putting down the doll and moving to the other side of the room to open up Martha's bag and see what she could find " Where's Lizzie?" " I think she's out with Archie. Rounding up the others, she wanted to visit some people in the village while she was out." Katrina nodded still digging through the bag Lexie turned for the door " Well, I better go get changed too. Is Sean okay for everything?" " Yes, yes he's fine. We'll be down soon"
" Is it going to be a girl like I asked for?" " Martha!" Lizzie exclaimed again, but Lexie just smiled " Well" She replied leaning over as much as she could to give her niece a hug " We'll just have to wait and see now won't we." She led Martha back over to the group and embraced her mum " Hello Liz" " Lexie you look well. How's it going?" " Ach, well you know." She laughed " Let's just say the stairs aren't my favourite part of the house" Lizzie smiled " I remember it well" Lexie looked up at the woman next to her, her eyes suddenly hard to read as she added " Hello Katrina" Katrina's eyes were draw to Lexie's stomach. She had remembered Archie saying in his letter that she would be six months pregnant on their arrival, but hadn't truly taken it in until now when she stood before her. " Hello Lexie" she answered "Thankyou for inviting us" " You're Martha's Godmother" Lexie remarked " You have a right to be here" Then unexpectedly she smiled, and Katrina felt a glimmer of the times when they had once been friends. It was a weird sensation, but not entirely an unwelcome one Then she remembered who was standing next to her " Oh, Lexie this is Sean. Sean- Lexie" " Nice to meet you" Lexie announced as she shook his hand " You have a very nice place here" Sean commented " Yeah" Lexie responded " But it's hell to clean." " So" Lizzie remarked " Where is he then. Can't even be bothered to come meet us can he?" Lexie smiled and then yelled up the stairs " Archie! The Birthday Girl's here!" Part 6 A dark haired man suddenly appeared on the staircase. He looked as gorgeous as ever just wearing a white shirt and jeans. Martha ran up the stairs and threw herself into his open arms " How's my big girl now?" He asked " I'm good" she smiled giving him a big hug and kiss He smiled back and balancing her on his hip walked down to the others " Hello Sis" Lizzie smiled and kissed him on the cheek " Hello Arch. How are you?" " Oh well, Lexie's cravings are sending me up the wall. But besides that....." he sent his wife a teasing look and she replied by rolling her eyes Archie glanced across at Katrina and caught her eye. They stood without speaking for a moment, neither quite knowing how the other felt. The last time Katrina had been back was two weeks before Archie and Lexie were due to be married. It was then that she had confessed that she still loved him and wanted him back. There were many conflicting feelings running through Archie's mind at that moment and Katrina could see them in his deep brown eyes. He was not impressed by her behaviour last time; she had tried to break him and Lexie up- and nearly succeeded. But she had also been his friend since primary school, and that was not something that he was just willing to give up. Finally he stuck out his hand and said the same words as his wife " Hello Katrina" " Hi Archie" she replied slightly unsure " This is uh, Sean" The two men looked over each other, as only an ex and a current boyfriend could " Nice to meet you Sean. Archie MacDonald" " Yeah nice to meet you too" Sean replied before Archie turned back to his wife. The fact that Archie showed absolutely no jealousy went straight to Katrina's heart. She didn't know why, but she did feel the pangs it created inside. She looked up and saw that Archie was talking to Lexie. The conversation flowing back to their ears " So. Which do you want to do, show our guests to their rooms or try and find Golly, Duncan and Mother?" Lexie considered the options and then answered " Rooms. Even the stairs are easier then trying to track down those three. And anyway, I'll have Martha to help me, won't I sweetie" Martha, who was still perched on Archie's hip gave a wide smile and nodded. " Well that's settled then" Archie decided, placing Martha back on the floor. He lifted Lexie's chin up with a finger and smiling kissed her softly and quickly before turning to the others. " Lexie will show you to your rooms and I'll go and find everyone else." Part 7 Everyone but Sean knew their way around the house so Lexie's job wasn't really too hard. Lizzie took Martha by the hand and led her to the rooms they always stayed in, while Lexie took Katrina and Sean to the room she had made up for them. " I hope you don't mind sharing. I can make up another room if it's inappropriate" she commented as she put the bag she'd been carrying down on the double bed " No. It's fine" Katrina answered " You've already gone to enough trouble." " No trouble" Lexie corrected absent-mindedly " I'll just go and check on the other two, make sure that they're right" When she left Katrina turned to Sean and glanced around the room " Some place they've got here" He commented " Hmmm. I haven't realised how much I miss it till now" She replied " Archie seems like a nice guy" Sean tested Katrina gave a half-hearted smile " Yeah. Yeah he is." " Is this the first time you've seen them together?" Damn. He could already read her mind. " Yeah. Silly really, they've been married nearly two years." " They seem happy." Sean remarked, then seeing her expression decided to change the subject " Were you and Lexie friends when you lived here?" " Yeah, for quite a few years." " You seem alike in some ways" Katrina turned to him in slight shock " Really? How?" " I don't know, it's hard to pinpoint. I guess you just have the same strength of character, there's some kind of energy that comes from you both- independence or determination I guess." " Hmm. I suppose so" Suddenly Martha's voice rang out down the hall " Treena, come see this" Katrina smiled and followed the voice, leaving Sean to unpack. She found Martha in her room setting out her favourite toys along the bed. It took Katrina a minute before she recognised the room- it looked so different. Only the colour gave it away as being Lexie's old bedroom. " Is this where you always stay?" she asked, kneeling down beside the bed next to her " Uh huh" Martha replied distractedly " It's the 'Princess' room" She explained pointing to the childlike drawing of a castle on the bedside table " Oh" Katrina replied seeing the name ALEXANDRA printed along the bottom in black pen. Suddenly she snapped back to what Martha had called her in for " What did you want to show me?" " Look, I've arranged my toys into groups. See it's you and Sean, and Mummy and Grandma. And then you've got Duncan and Golly and Uncle Archie and Aunty Lex." " Wow" Katrina feigned awe taking in the array of toys that lay before her.
Apparently she was the blonde barbie with the impossibly high heels, Lizzie was a small porcelain doll, Molly was a rag doll with tufts of wool for hair, Archie was a teddy bear and Lexie was a smallish plastic doll with long black hair. Duncan, Golly and Sean were all varying different toys ranging from Lego to action man. She also noticed that the little girl had stuffed a handkerchief up the Lexie doll's dress to make her look pregnant. Katrina couldn't help a chuckle. " I don't remember you bringing all of these toys down with you" " Aunty Lex keeps some here for me" Martha announced happily. All of a sudden bagpipes were heard downstairs. " Dinnertime" Martha screamed running out the door and down the stairs nearly colliding with Lexie as she came to collect her. " Woah! Where are you going in such a hurry young lady? " She asked with a smile " Dinner" Martha replied simply " Not dressed like that you're not" Lexie answered, taking her by the hand and leading her back upstairs to change into her good clothes Katrina was still in the room when they returned, but she didn't hear them enter. She was still kneeling next to the bed and was fiddling with the plastic doll with long black hair. " Hi" Lexie remarked Katrina jumped " Oh, sorry. You startled me. Is it time for dinner?" " Yes soon. Do you think you could help Martha change- it's a bit hard with the bump" Lexie informed placing a hand on her swollen stomach " Oh ok." Katrina replied putting down the doll and moving to the other side of the room to open up Martha's bag and see what she could find " Where's Lizzie?" " I think she's out with Archie. Rounding up the others, she wanted to visit some people in the village while she was out." Katrina nodded still digging through the bag Lexie turned for the door " Well, I better go get changed too. Is Sean okay for everything?" " Yes, yes he's fine. We'll be down soon"