10 Some Things Old
Glenbogle House was nearly empty. Ewan was the only person home and he was sleeping late, as he didn't start work until 11:00. In the hall just outside his door, Useless was chasing the half-grown half-breed tabby cat, Yowler, down the stairs. Once in the great hall, Yowler turned around abruptly and swatted Useless on the nose with his claws. Useless yelped, turned around, and ran upstairs. Yowler followed in pursuit.
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"Thank you so much for helping me," Molly said to Golly as they drove onto the Kilwillie Estate and pulled round to the out buildings.
"It's been a long time since I worked around horses," Golly said. "Close to 30 years since Hector got rid of yers."
"Yes, one of the sadder economy moves we had to make," she said as they entered the stables. "The rake and the shovel are over there. If you can clean up the back end, I'll feed the front."
"So what time do ye expect Lizzie home with Martha?"
"I don't know. Stéphane's going to spend some time with them at the airport so she can get reacquainted with Lizzie before he leaves. I don't know how long that will be."
"And Flem?"
"Flem's there for moral support. It would be difficult to face Stéphane alone, but most satisfying to be able to show off her new beau."
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Lizzie and Flem were entering the airport terminal in Inverness, hand in hand.
"The airplane should be landing any minute now," Lizzie said nervously.
"I hope she likes me," Flem said.
"I hope she recognises me," Lizzie said. "If she cries when Stéphane leaves, I'm going to cry too.
"You've talked to her every week on the phone," Flem said. "She'll remember you."
"And she has my photo, if she didn't lose it."
"I think that's it touching down now," Flem said. They were looking out the window-wall overlooking the tarmac. A small British Airways jet taxied to the gate and passengers began streaming through the door.
A dark man holding the hand of a little blonde girl appeared and Lizzie started waving. "She's gotten bigger," she said.
"Maman," the little girl called out in French. She wouldn't let go of Stéphane's hand but she pulled him over to Lizzie. Lizzie threw her arms around Martha and Stéphane let go. Lizzie picked up Martha and covered her in kisses.
"Zees is your Mummy," Stéphane corrected in accented English. "In English, you say Mummy."
"Mama," Martha said.
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Archie and Lexie were sitting in the waiting room at the blood lab at the Inverness Hospital and browsing through out of date magazines. Lexie was there for a blood test to check her sugar level, which the midwife thought looked high. Winnie assured them that everything would most likely turn out fine, so they were trying not to worry.
"Mrs. MacDonald" please. Lexie got up and looked back at Archie, who was giving her a reassuring smile. She followed the receptionist into the clinic area and sat down in the patient's chair and rolled up her sleeve. An older man dressed in the blue uniform of hospital technicians came over and smiled at her.
"Hello Alexandra," he said, his bright blue eyes sparkling. He took a rubber tourniquet and tied it around her upper arm. He swabbed the site with an alcohol pad and reached over for the syringe. "I have a daughter named Alexandra," he said, as he plunged the needle into Lexie's arm.
She was never sure whether it was the shock of the jab or the shock of the suddenly familiar face that did it. Lexie fell forward in a faint.
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Jess and Paul were carrying a small wooden crate marked "Live Animal". Both were wearing heavy duty canvas gloves and long sleeves. They went to the wildcat pen and found Stripey where they wanted her - in the cruelty free trap. Paul unlocked the gate and they went inside.
Stripey was not happy. She was miaowing pitifully as they approached.
"I was hoping she'd be asleep," Jess said as they put the crate down and opened it. Paul lifted the trap and set it inside the crate. He opened the trap door. Stripey continued to howl but did not leave the trap.
Jess reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a plastic bag that contained some rabbit meat. She put the meat into the crate, but still Stripey only howled. "She's not making it any easier for us," Jess remarked.
"Here," Paul said. He lifted the trap from the back end until gravity forced Stripey out the front. He pulled the trap out of the crate and Jess shut the lid.
"Okay let's lift the crate," Jess said. "One, two, three." They each took an end and carried the crate to the Land Rover.
"Sorry, Stripey," Jess said "but you weren't much of an exhibit, sleeping in the rubbish bin most of the day. You got beat out by the beavers."
"We're sending you to a place where you'll have your pick of boyfriends," said Paul, "and where your purebred kittens will be returned to the wild Scottish Highlands of their ancestors. You, however, are going to be a zoo cat."
Jess slammed the boot door and got into the driver's seat. Paul joined her up front.
"Congratulations in finding homes for all the kittens," Paul said.
"It was touch and go there," Jess said. "I didn't know whether people would want a pet that was half wildcat, half housecat. And that Yowler was such a spitfire I was sure we were going to have to put him down."
"Molly would never let you do that."
"I know. It was a good thing he calmed down after he was neutered."
"That would take the spitfire out of any guy," Paul said, crossing his legs.
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Duncan was sitting in the garden tractor giving the front lawn the last mow of the season when Rosie rode up on an old stand up scooter she had bought from Archie. Now that her job at Glenbogle was just weekends again, she was working as a lollipop lady at the Glenbogle school mornings and afternoons. She would usually stop by to see Duncan in between her shifts.
Duncan waved to her as she came to a halt on her scooter. She looked lovely, her cheeks rosy in the cool fall air. He turned his head to keep his eyes on her.
"Watch oot Duncan," she called out to him.
He turned around but it was too late. He had just driven into a hedge.
"Duncan?" She ran over to him. "Don't let Callum see ye do anythin' like that," Rosie warned.
"Don't let Archie, either."
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At Kilwillie's stable, Molly and Golly were done with the cleaning and feeding phase of their work.
"Now we take them for some exercise," Molly said. "We'll saddle them up and go for a ride."
"Molly, it's been a while since I've been on a horse. I dunno how well I can ride."
"Don't worry, Golly, it's like riding a bicycle. Once learned, never forgotten."
"Considering I've never ridden a bicycle, that's not reassuring."
Never-the-less, Golly put the saddle on Braveheart and mounted him.
"There's a path here that leads to the moor. From there we can go wherever we want," Molly said.
Molly lead the way on Misty. Golly followed on Braveheart.
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In the airport Martha sat between her parents and opposite Flem as she attacked a bowl of ice cream. The grownups sipped coffee, tea, or Coke.
"Shall we give Mummy her present?" Stéphane asked Martha.
"Yes," Martha said, bouncing in her seat.
Stéphane took a gaily wrapped parcel out of his bag and handed it to Lizzie.
"It's from Martha," he said.
"For me?" Lizzie said, with delight.
Martha shook her head yes and waved her spoon. Lizzie opened the package to find a photograph of Martha at the beach, wearing a multi-coloured striped bathing costume, a pair of jellies on her feet, and a self satisfied smile on her face.
"Thank you, Martha. This is a wonderful present."
"Where's my present," Martha asked Stéphane."
"I'll give you your present after you finish your ice cream."
Martha looked at her half filled bowl. "I'm done," she said.
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Archie went up to the reception desk. "My wife has been in there a long time. Is there a problem?"
"I'll check for you." She went through a door for authorized personnel only. In a moment she was back out. "Right this way, Mr MacDonald." She led him to a curtained off area where Lexie was lying down. A nurse was sitting next to her.
"Lexie, what happened," Archie asked.
"I fainted."
"You can sit here," the nurse offered her seat to Archie. "Just don't let her up yet. I'll be back with the doctor."
Archie sat down. "Lexie, are you okay?"
"I feel a little weird. Mostly okay."
He took her hand. "What happened.
"It was silly of me, really," she continued. "I thought I saw someone I knew when I got the jab. It made me feel strange and I fainted.
"Who did you think you saw?"
"My dad. The man who took my blood. He reminded me of my dad."
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Jess and Paul reached the train station and parked the car. They got out and opened the boot and took the crate out. Stripey started howling again.
"I know, Stripey. This isn't going to be fun for you. But you'll like it once you get there. They have caves and logs for you to hide in. No more making do with rubbish bins." Jess tried peaking through one of the slits in the crates.
"Watch out, she'll scratch your eye out," Paul warned.
They walked to the end of the platform and put the crate down. Paul checked his watch. "It will be here soon," he said.
In a few minutes the train arrived. They handed the crate to the baggage handler.
"This is a live animal. Please keep the crate horizontal or the water will spill," Jess instructed. "Don't put anything on top of it, or you'll block her air. The travelling papers are taped to the side." Stripey added a few comments of her own.
"A cat?" the baggage handler asked.
"A wildcat," Paul corrected. "It's an endangered species."
"Hmm," the baggage handler grunted. He seemed unimpressed.
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Duncan sat on the garden tractor and backed it up out of the hedge. He and Rosie frowned at each other when they saw the damage that had been done. It looked like someone had taken a bite out of the thing.
"What are ye gonna do noo?" Rosie asked.
"I think I'm gonna use the hedge trimmer and try to smooth it over so it doesna stand oot so much."
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Molly and Golly were out on the moor, now. They cantered for awhile side by side. Are you ready to try galloping," Molly asked.
"Why not," Golly said without much conviction. Molly urged Misty to pick up her pace and Braveheart followed without any prompting from Golly. Golly held on tight, looking uncomfortable.
Molly and Misty began to slow down again. Golly pulled in the reins and called out "Whoa," but Braveheart continued to gallop. When Molly realized that Golly had lost control of his horse she urged Misty on at full speed. Braveheart finally began to slow down and ultimately came to a stop. Now he wouldn't move no matter what Golly did.
"Cripes," Golly said, as he got off the horse. "Ye havin' a problem, Braveheart?" He said looking the horse in the eye. "Or are ye just bein' a pain in the backside." Braveheart was lifting his front left leg a bit, so Golly took a look. "He lost a shoe," he said to Molly who had caught up with him.
"I'll see if I can find it," Molly said as she retraced Golly's path at a slow trot. "Here it is," she called out. Then something else caught her eye. It was buried in the ground with one squarish corner poking out. The original colour was bleached beyond description. There was some metal on it too, which must have once been shiny. "Come over here, Golly." she called. "There's something you ought to see."
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At the airport, Stéphane was wiping Martha's ice creamy hands and mouth. "Now I will give you your present," he said.
Martha's whole body wriggled with pleasure. Stéphane gave her a package, which she unwrapped, with only a little help from him. It was a framed photograph of her with Stéphane. "This is to help you remember your Papa while you are living with Mummy...What do you say, Martha?"
Martha was pouting now. "That's not a present," she said. "Presents are toys." She nearly dropped the photograph to the ground, but Stéphane snatched it in time.
"You don't want this? Perhaps I should give it to someone who does."
"I'll take it," Lizzie said. "She'll appreciate it later."
"Martha, soon I'll be getting on the plane, and I will be saying au revoir to you. I'll go back to France and I will miss you very much. You will go home with Mummy and you will live... where? Do you remember where you and Mummy are going to live?"
Martha was still pouting, looking down. "Le chateau," she mumbled.
"Le chateau," Stéphane repeated. Do you remember how to say it in English? Martha shook her head no. "Ze castle," Stéphane said. "Can you say ze castle?" Martha shook her head no.
"Come with me, you silly girl," Stéphane said. "They have a gift shop here. Perhaps we can find you a toy."
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Archie was sitting by Lexie's bedside in the recovery area, still holding her hand.
"Did the tech remind you of your father or do you think he might have been your father?" he asked.
"I dunno, Archie. He had the same bright blue eyes that I remember, and the same friendly smile, and he was aboot the same age as my father would be noo. Oh, I remember. It was when he said he had a daughter named Alexandra that the idea came to me."
"Those are striking similarities, but they could easily be a coincidence."
"That's probably all it is," Lexie said. "It was just silly of me."
"It's not silly," Archie said. "I think you should find out."
"Oh, how could I? What if it's no' him. I'd be so embarrassed. What if it is him?" she said with a look of panic.
"I'll be here." Archie reminded her.
Just then the curtain parted and the technician walked in. "Hello, Alexandra. I just had a moment and I wanted to see how you were doing."
"I'm fine," Lexie said softly.
"Good, I don't usually have patients faint on me," he said. "but I caught you, so you didn't hit your head."
"Look here," Archie said standing up and extending his hand. "I'm Archie MacDonald."
"I'm Charlie MacIsaac," the technician said pleasantly as they shook hands.
Archie looked over at Lexie. She shook her head no.
"Thank you for taking good care of my wife."
"No problem." Charlie said. "Good luck with everything. Bye, now. "
When Charlie left, Lexie burst into tears. "It wasna him," she said. "He didna even talk like he was from Glasga."
Archie sat down handed her a tissue from a nearby box.
"I'm sorry, Lex," he said rubbing her shoulder as she wiped and blew.
"I'll be awright."
"Of course you will."
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"I would like to have kept Stripey," Jess said as they were driving back. "I tried to get the zoo people to send a male to us, but they wouldn't."
"They do have a renowned captive breeding program, as you said."
"They do. But we had this nice educational component, urging people to get their housecats spayed and neutered to prevent interbreeding. Without a wildcat, we'll have to drop that."
"How about putting Yowler on exhibit. He's not a pure wildcat but he looks a lot like one. You can point out the differences between him and a purebred and still have your educational campaign. Yowler's an example of what happens when people don't fix their cats."
"That's not a bad idea. Thanks, Paul. I knew there was a reason I asked you along."
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Duncan was walking along the damaged hedgerow, but some distance from it, with an artist's eye. Duncan was a sculptor whose media were blocks of wood and greenery. What was he going to sculpt to hide the damage made by the runaway garden tractor?
Duncan seemed to make up his mind.
"What I could do is trim everythin' back to where the damage is," he said authoritatively.
"I don' think so, Duncan," said Rosie. "There would hardly be anythin' left."
"I agree. So I've decided on somethin' a wee bit more ambitious. Watch the artist at work."
Duncan put on his helmet and his goggles, picked up the power trimmer, and began buzzing away at one end of the hedge.
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Golly was able to lead Braveheart on foot without any difficulty. "Here's the shoe," Molly said when they reached her. "But look at this." She kicked the emerging end of the buried thing.
Golly knelt down, took out his handkerchief, and began to rub it. Molly crouched beside him. "It's leather. Probably black, originally. And brass, I'd say. It's a trunk or footlocker of some sort."
"Do you think it's pirate treasure?" Molly asked, delighted as a child.
"We're a bit far from the sea," Golly said. "And it looks too new."
"Golly, you always told us that this place was teeming with pirates and their ghosts."
"Aye, I did, Molly. That was fer the children."
"Indeed," she said. "Do you think you can get it out?"
Golly grabbed it and pulled, but it didn't budge. "We need some tools. I'll call Duncan." He pulled out his walkie-talkie. "Duncan are you there? Duncan?"
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Duncan had made his way down to the other end of the hedgerow with the power trimmer and decided he was done. He turned off the machine and stood back to admire his work with Rosie.
"It's beautiful," she said. "Duncan, you're an artist, but are there three Gs in Glenbogle?"
"Ach," Duncan hit himself on the side of the head. It was beautiful, if you liked that sort of thing and weren't particular about spelling. The side of the hedge was chiselled with the word, GLENBOGGLE.
A crackling voice sounded from Duncan's pocket. "Duncan, where the hell are you?"
"Oh, Golly," Duncan said. He pulled out his walkie-talkie. "I'm here, Golly."
"I'm about 100 yards north of trail 4b. Can ye come over with some shovels and give me a hand? Molly thinks there might be buried treasure here." He winked at Molly.
"Right away," Duncan said. "Did ye hear that, Rosie? Buried treasure."
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Archie and Lexie were leaving the hospital and getting into the car.
"The good news is that you're okay and the Bairn's okay," Archie was saying, as he pulled out of the parking space.
"And the good news is that I don' hafta deal with my dad," Lexie added. "That tech seemed like a nice man, but he would of had a lot to answer fer if he were my dad. After all these years with no word, I dunno if I could ever forgive him."
"You still miss him though."
"Yeah. Like you miss Hector, I suppose."
"Like I miss Hector," Archie repeated thoughtfully. "I don't think I miss Father any more now that he is dead, than I did when he was alive. I always wanted him to be someone he just wasn't capable of being, you know?"
"That's yew and me, Arch. Two fatherless kids, aboot to give birth to someone who is gonna expect two parents."
Archie gave a wistful smile. "That's a scary thought. We'll help each other through, okay?"
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Stéphane returned with Martha clutching a soft toy to her chest.
"She has a whole bag filled with these little things," Stéphane said. "But still she wants one more."
Now loading British Airways Flight Number 2067 to London could be heard from the overhead speaker.
"That's my plane," Stéphane said. He crouched down to speak to Martha. "Now it's time for us to say goodbye, ma cherie. Can you say goodbye to your papa?"
"Goodbye, Papa."
"Goodbye, Martha." Stéphane squeezed her tight and gave her a kiss. "You be a good girl for Mummy. Je t'aime."
"Je t'aime, Papa. Au revoir."
Stéphane separated from her and she let him go. "Au revoir," he said as he got into line. The two waved until he was past the ticket taker and out of sight.
"Do you want to look out the window and see Papa's plane take off?" Lizzie asked.
Martha nodded yes. Flem, Lizzie, and Martha went to the window and stared at the small silver jet with the blue and red markings.
"That's Papa's plane," Flem said.
"I know," said Martha.
They stared some more, Martha, with her nose and hands pressed to the glass.
After some time, the plane began to taxi to the take-off lane. "There he goes," said Lizzie.
The plane began to increase in speed and finally leave the ground. It rose higher and higher until it was out of sight.
"Au revoir, Papa," Martha said still staring out the window. Then turning to Lizzie she held up her soft toy. "Mama, look what Papa got me. A cat."
"How sweet," Lizzie said. "What are you going to name it?"
Martha thought for a moment. " Stéphane," she said.
"Good Lord," Lizzie said as if hit by something. Then she thought better of it. "That's a lovely name, Martha."
"It's to help me remember Papa," she said. "Now I want to see the castle."
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Duncan and Rosie drove up in the Land Rover to the spot where Molly and Golly were waiting. They tumbled out with the shovels and Golly and Duncan began to dig.
"So ye really think this is pirate treasure?" Duncan asked.
"Naw, probably not," Golly said. "But I thought ye'd get here faster if I told ye it was."
Duncan looked annoyed and slowed down his digging.
They quickly got it to the point where one whole side of the trunk was exposed.
"Pull it by the strap," Molly suggested.
Golly, pulled but the strap broke loose in his hand. "Rotted through," he said. He got the shovel under the trunk and pried it loose. Duncan was able to lift it out easily.
"It's not heavy," Duncan said. "No gold coins in here."
"Not big," said Golly. "It's mebbe 3 feet by 1½ by 1½. Lemme see." Golly took the trunk from Duncan. The sound of something rolling around could be heard.
"I hope it's not fragile," Molly said.
"There's a combination lock on it," Golly said. He ran his thumb over it. "It's rusted. We couldna open it even if we knew the combination. But it's a wee one. We can get it off. "
"Which we won't do until Archie gets home," Molly said.
"Aww?" was the response from Duncan, Golly, and Rosie.
"He's the laird," Molly insisted. "This was found on his property. It belongs to him."
Three sighs came from her three companions, who couldn't argue with her logic.
"Maybe he'll at least share it with us, if it's anythin' valuable," Duncan suggested.
"Meanwhile, we have to get it home, get these horses home, and eventually get them back to Kilwillie's," said Golly. "I suggest, Molly, ye ride Misty. Duncan you lead Braveheart back. He's missin' a shoe. Rosie ye can ride back with me and the booty."
"Aw, why does it always have to be me doin' the dirty work," Duncan complained.
"Because yer so good at it, son," Golly said.
Duncan frowned.
"I suggest that Molly go back with yew, Golly," Rosie spoke up, "and I walk her horse and keep Duncan company."
Everyone agreed that that was a reasonable plan.
"Just don't yew open that thing before we get back or I quit," Duncan said.
"Me too," said Rosie.
"I promise you, we won't open it," Molly said as she got into the Land Rover.
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Paul and Jessica got home and walked into the kitchen. "I'm starving," said Jess. "What do you have?"
"If we're lucky we have some leftover tomato soup from last night. It was very good." He opened the fridge door. "Yeah, we have some. We can have it with sandwiches." He began tossing meats, cheeses, lettuce, and a tomato on the island counter that doubled as a table. Jess found the plates and utensils.
"If you make us some sandwiches," Paul said. "I'll tend to the soup." He emptied the container of soup into a pot and began to heat it on the stove.
The door opened and Golly came in. "Hello folks," he said. He was carrying a large dirty box which he proceeded to dump on the counter."
"Um, Golly..." Paul began.
Molly came in. "Oh hello," she said to Paul and Jess. "That's a good place for it Golly."
"Um, Molly," Paul said. "That's terribly dirty and we're about to have lunch. Should we move to the dining room?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Molly said with a laugh. "It is lunch time, isn't it. We can move it. We have to wait for Archie and Lexie anyway."
Golly picked up the trunk.
"Let's put it back in the car." Molly said.
"What is it," Paul asked as he wiped down the counter.
"Possibly buried treasure," Golly said, as he walked out the door.
"Buried treasure?" Paul repeated sceptically.
"I'm going to see what they're talking about," Jess said. She followed Golly out.
From elsewhere in the house Lizzie's voice could be heard. "Is anybody home?"
"Helloo," the voice came closer. Lizzie, Martha, and Flem entered the kitchen. "Oh hi, Paul. Martha, this is Uncle Paul. Can you say hello to Uncle Paul?
"No," Martha said.
"I can say hello to you, Martha," Paul said. "Hello, Martha."
"Do you know where Mummy is?" Lizzie asked.
"Outside," Paul gestured with his head as he stirred the soup.
Lizzie, Martha, and Flem traipsed out the back door.
Ewan came in. "What's fer lunch?" he said. "I'm hungry."
"Sit down," Paul said. "Make yourself a sandwich. We're having yesterday's soup."
Jess came back in. "They found a locked trunk buried on the moor. It's probably not buried treasure but until someone opens it, it could be anything."
Archie and Lexie walked in the room. It was beginning to resemble Victoria Station with so many comings and goings.
"Oh lunch," Lexie said. "I'm famished. I didna have any breakfast." She sat down and started eating one of the sandwiches. Ewan kept preparing more.
"How many are we having for lunch?" asked Archie.
"Oh, Archie," interrupted Jess. "You're supposed to go out back. Your mum and Golly are there with something that's supposed to be buried treasure but is probably somebody's old shoes."
"Okay," Archie said with interest. "I'll see what it is." He went outside.
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Molly, Golly, Lizzie, Martha, Flem, Duncan, and Rosie were gathered round the Land Rover. "Hi, Archie said. "What's going on?"
"Archie, you must see this," Molly said. "Golly and I found this trunk buried on the moor." Archie glanced at the thing on the tailgate.
"Wait," he said. "Let me say hello to Martha first." He knelt down to speak. "Hi Martha. I'm Uncle Archie." Martha buried her head into Lizzie's thigh. "Welcome to Glenbogle." She still didn't respond. "We'll talk later when you're ready." He stood up. "How did it go, Lizzie?"
"Not bad," she said. "Archie, did you see that trunk?" She gave him a significant look.
"Not really," he said. He turned back to examine it. He looked at it carefully, running his hands over it and fingering the lock. "I looked at it Lizzie," he said smiling at her. She was smiling back.
"Archie, we were waiting for you to get back to open it," Molly said. "There's probably nothing of value inside, but we're hoping it's something interesting."
"What she means is everybody's hopin' it's buried treasure," Golly said. "Like mebbe Red Bonnet's"
"Oh," Archie, said, scanning the expectant faces around him. "I'll go get Lexie and the others and we'll take a look."
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Archie returned momentarily with Lexie, Paul, Jess, and Ewan.
"I have a hacksaw here," Golly said. "We can saw through this lock in no time."
"Before you do that, let's see if we can work the combination," Archie said.
"It's rusted," Golly said.
"I know. I have some lubricating oil from the kitchen," Archie said. He worked the oil into the lock.
"Even if you oil the lock, how will you know the combination?" Molly asked.
I'm hoping Lizzie will know," Archie said.
"Lizzie?" various people repeated.
Lizzie was grinning now. "I think you should try 1, 9, 6, 6."
"1, 9, 6, 6," Archie repeated. He moved the numbers as instructed.
"1966," Paul said. "That's the year of my birth."
"It's the year of somebody else's birth, too." said Archie.
"Jamie's." Molly said.
At that moment the lock clicked open and Archie removed it. He opened the trunk lid. Everyone moved forward to get a look inside.
"Lizzie, will you come help me with this?"
"Me too," said Martha.
"Of course, you too," said Lizzie. She and Martha walked up to the tailgate.
"Show them what's inside," Archie said.
Lizzie reached into the trunk and pulled out a steel cylinder about a foot long. It seemed to have a lid of some sort. She held it up and moved it in an arc so everyone can see. The thing was met with murmurs of excitement and curiosity.
"Let me see. Let me see," Martha insisted. Lizzie showed it to her. "It's cold," Martha reported when she touched it.
"It looks like the thermos my mum used to fill with soup and send me to school with," Duncan said.
"Ye had a big appetite fer soup in those days," Golly observed.
"I think we ought to move into the house now," Archie said.
"Archie, Lizzie," said Molly. "Do you know what this is?"
"Yeah, tell us," said Lexie.
There was a chorus of "yeah," "come on," "not fair" and so on.
"The suspense is killing me," Ewan grimaced, his hands on his heart, his knees buckling.
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Archie and Lizzie just grinned and everyone followed them to the house. Of course, the kitchen table was covered with people's half eaten lunches. People stumbled over each other trying to clear it off. When it was cleared and wiped and Martha had been placed on top so she could see, Archie said, "Lizzie, see if you can open the thing." Lizzie struggled with the lid, but couldn't open it.
"You try, Archie," she said and handed the canister to him. Archie struggled and loosened it. He took off the lid. It did indeed look like a long thermos, but there wasn't soup inside. Archie held it at an angle for Lizzie to begin taking things out.
Lizzie slid a finger in and gently pulled out a piece of paper that had been rolled up and left to cling to the sides of the cylinder. There was writing on it. "Archie," she squealed. "You can still read it."
"What does it say," "Read it," "What is it?" the chorus clamoured.
Lizzie started to read, but immediately began to cry. "We are...I can't, Archie. You do it."
Archie took the paper and read with no small amount of emotion in his own voice.
We are James (age 12), Elizabeth (age 10), and Archibald (age 8) MacDonald. The date is August 16, 1978.
This is our time capsule that we want to dig up in 10 years on August 16, 1988. If you find it, please put everything back where you found it if it is before 10 years. If it is after 10 years, please bring it to Glenbogle House. If we aren't there you can give it to our parents. They will know where to find us. Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
Jamie
Lizzie
Archie
"The time capsule, of course," Molly said. "Aunt Elizabeth gave it to you for Christmas."
"What else is in there," Lexie prompted.
Lizzie went in with thumb and forefinger and pulled out, "Ta dah", a crudely cut piece of MacDonald tartan.
"I cut that," Archie said. "It came from an old baby kilt kept in the attic." The fabric was passed around.
Lizzie went in again and pulled out... a crumpled up Scottish flag. Also passed.
She reached in again, and with difficulty, pulled out... A Beano comic book. "It's a Lord Snooty," she announced.
"Lemme see that," Duncan grabbed.
"Did your father give that to you?" Molly asked.
"No, we just took it," Lizzie said. "He had so many strewn about all over the place. We didn't think he'd miss it."
"You, rascals," Molly laughed.
"I think Aunt Elizabeth said we were supposed to do this without our parents' help," Archie explained. "We took that to mean we could take things without asking."
Lizzie reached in again and come up with... a photograph. "It's Lucinda," she exclaimed. "My pony. I loved her but we had to get rid of her."
She dipped in again and came out with another piece of paper. This one she could read. "What I want to be when I grow up. For Jamie it was an astronaut laird. Remember when Jamie wanted to be an astronaut laird?"
"I remember," Molly said. Golly nodded.
"How was he gonna do that," Duncan laughed. "Run the estate from outer space."
"He was ahead of his time," Paul explained. "He envisioned telecommuting."
"I had it all worked out," said Lizzie. "Every morning he'd pick up a lunch basket from Mrs. Scott, walk the dogs, confer with Golly, and go out to the moor where he parked his rocket. He'd fly around all day and be home in time for dinner."
Everyone agreed it sounded like a sensible arrangement.
"Okay, I wanted to be a horse jockey, and Archie wanted to be, here you read it." She handed the paper to Archie.
"Assistant laird or footballer. Jamie said I could be his assistant. Quite decent of him."
"He would need it if he were spending the day in outer space," Lexie agreed.
Lizzie dipped in again and came out with a recipe card. "It's Mrs Scot's recipe for black bun cake," she announced.
"Let me see that," Archie said. "She gave this to me for the time capsule. Later I wished I had it when I started baking it myself."
Again the fingers went in. This time it was a magazine photo of the Royal Family. "That was Elspeth's contribution," Lizzie said. "The housemaid."
"Ye had a cook and a housemaid," Lexie said. "My, you were livin' high."
"Look how young they all were," Jess murmured, examining the photo.
"At this point I think we should dump it out," Archie said. "You catch things Lizzie so they don't scatter."
A number of things tumbled out, but one thing caught Molly's eye immediately. "My starburst diamond earring," she exclaimed. "You father gave me that when we got married. I thought he was going to divorce me when we thought I lost it. And you took it." She was really angry.
Archie picked up the earring, which still sparkled, and handed it to her.
"It's worth a lot of money," she continued. "I ought to give you each a good spanking right here in front of everyone."
"Not my mama," Martha protested, throwing her arms around Lizzie.
"Mother, I think the statute of limitations is up on this one," Archie said, raising his eyebrows.
"Mummy, it's not as bad as you think," Lizzie explained. "You lost the first one, Daddy blew his top, terrifying all of us, and then we took the second one, thinking it was of no use to you."
"But I still have one," Molly said. "I think... Oh it doesn't matter. What else do you have there?"
Archie held between thumb and forefinger a toy soldier of Jamie's. It was wearing a kilt and playing the pipes. "It's from the Royal Highland Regiment known as the Black Watch," he said, passing it through the air so everyone could see. "What do you think of this, Paul," he said, handing the miniature to his brother.
"It's heavy," Paul said. "It's made of lead." How old is it?"
"It was our father's and our grandfather's and our great grandfather's. We don't think it's any older than that."
"That's amazing. The paint is a bit worn. All it needs is a little touch-up." He examined it from all angles admiringly and reached over to hand it back to Archie.
"No, it's yours, if you want it," Archie said.
"Really? Thank you."
"The rest of the regiment is boxed in the attic. That's yours too."
"Archie, this isn't my birthday. Don't you want Jamie's old things for yourself?"
"I think the soldiers should go to the soldier in the family. Father would have liked that and Jamie, too, I think," Archie said solemnly.
"Thank you, I'll treasure it," Paul said fingering the toy appreciatively.
"Besides, I have what I want," Archie said breaking the emotional moment with a tight lipped smile. He picked up a little plastic superman about the size of the soldier. "I got this from McDonald's."
"Mummy, remember" Lizzie said. "You refused to take us, to McDonald's until you realized you could bargain with us for good behaviour at the museum."
"I bet you remember more of that meal at McDonald's than anything you saw at the museum." Molly said.
"Did we go to a museum?" Archie asked innocently. Lizzie, being nearer, gave him the swat on the head that Molly would have liked to. Archie ducked and laughed.
Golly cleared his throat loudly as he took a piece of bone from the table. "I don' remember givin' ye this deer tooth."
"You probably didn't," said Archie. "We probably took it."
"But ye were supposed to ask me. I thought you were stealing only from yer parents."
"We considered you family," Archie explained.
"Awright, I'll forgive the transgression this one time only," said Golly sternly.
Archie and Lizzie nodded contritely before everyone broke into smiles.