Doug, Daisy: Character from the manga

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CHAPTER 5: Legend of the Lost Map

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In Florida, Neal had a narrow escape with the terrible influenza. Luckily he recovered. After several long months, finally his doctor allowed him to go to Chicago to visit his family.

One afternoon, Sarah with her husband, James, and Eliza were preparing to pick up Neal in the train station. They were walking down the mansion stairs when Doug coming pushing a cart full of fresh fruit and vegetables that he just picked from the Leagan's private garden.

Doug... The mansion chef assistant and gardener, whom James brought home from one of his business trips long times ago when Neal was just a toddler and Eliza was a baby.

"Whatever were you thinking, James?" Sarah was fuming back then, looking at the thin pale boy who sheepishly hid behind her husband.

"I dropped my my wallet outside the train station. This chap saw it. He wanted to return it to me but the guard didn't let him enter the station. He yelled, kicked and fought several big guards to jump through the gate and gave me the wallet."

"So?" returned Sarah, impassively. "What will we do with him?"

"Give him work. He's an honest, brave, and persistent boy. He'll be a great addition to our mansion when he grows up."

Sarah exhaled impatiently and shook her head. "Did you do background check? What's his name?"

"Doug. He is just an eight-year-old homeless orphan. I was too much in a hurry to catch my ship otherwise I'd look for a decent orphanage for him. He's an honest little lad. He'll make a fine person, trust me, darling."

So they kept Doug in the mansion. Like what James predicted, Doug worked diligently. When Candy joined the family, he was just a servant working in the kitchen. Gradually he earned everyone's approval. Sarah promoted him as the chef assistant and put him in charge of the mansion organic garden. When Doug married last year, James and Sarah gave the newlywed one little cottage as the wedding gift.

Doug took off his white chef cap and greeted the family. "Good afternoon Mr. Leagan, Mrs. Leagan, Ms. Eliza."

Sarah nodded curtly. "Nice." She looked at Doug's cart which was full of fresh greens and reds.

"We have mini tomatoes today, Mrs. Leagan. Look." Doug enthusiastically picked a bunch of red ripe tomatoes and proudly displayed it to them.

"Neal loves that," said Sarah. "Good timing. We're going to pick him up."

"Master Neal is coming home? He's well from the flu then?"

"Yes! He's been well for a while but the doctor said he shouldn't visit us until now."

"That's splendid! I will wash these tomatoes for master Neal. He loves freshly picked tomatoes with lots of mint." Doug carefully put the tomatoes back in his cart.

"We'll go to Europe next week. Neal won't go. Take good care of him."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Leagan," Doug assured her. "I make sure Master Neal eat warm fresh soup every day."

Sarah nodded.

Doug nudged his cap again and returned to push his cart to the kitchen.

"Good there's Doug to look after Neal," murmured Sarah. She trusted Doug and the whole family liked his cooking.

"Time flies," said James looking at Doug. "Even Neal will be in charge of the company when we're in Europe."

"Let's just go!" pushed Eliza.

Walking behind his daughter, James put his hand on his wife's back and walked beside her to the car.

oOoo

When Neal awoke the following morning, he found the time was still too early. Lazily he lay in his cozy bed passing the time and stared at the empty wall, and at the coo-coo sound from a bird that beckoned outside the window – suddenly he remembered all.

I'm in Chicago!

Neal stretched out and quickly sat up. No wonder it's still early, Chicago is one hour behind Florida! He dressed quickly and left his room.

In the living room, the servants had just opened the mansion curtains, the morning papers had been displayed neatly on the coffee table next to a plate of freshly baked cookies and selection of fresh drinks. He gulped his favorite cookie, drained one cup of milk, and picked his favorite paper. Slipping it under his arm, he took it with him.

A familiar clang-clunk sound alerted him outside. Doug was pushing that vegetable cart to be filled with the vegetable for today's meal. He stopped and bowed, welcoming Neal home. All smiling, he then waved his white chef-cap before disappeared into the mansion garden.

Neal walked to the lake, hands deep into his pockets. Nothing seemed to change in this past two years. It was noticeable quiet with no sound of waves broke on the shore unlike in Florida. At one place under a big tree, he remembered Candy. He made her cry there once when he teased her with the Andrew's medal.

Neal fastened his pace, wanting to leave the place quicker to forget the woman who made him cry day and night for weeks even after he arrived in Florida. He started jogging, then ran. At his favorite reading spot, he stopped, pulled a newspaper out from his pocket and sat there, reading.

The front page stories were all about the influenza virus. Neal shook his head. The disease kept spreading claiming victims with no sign of slowing down!

Neal was so absorbed in the newspaper until he heard Eliza and Sarah calling him. He glanced at his watch and jumped up right away, didn't realize how quick time had passed.

"I'm here!" Neal came to them.

"I know we can find you here," said Eliza. "You're up very early!"

"It's already nine in Florida." Neal grinned, tapping his watch.

"Wear your coat, Neal." Sarah motioned close. She hastily draped the jacket she took over his son's shoulders.

"Oh mom, I'm so hot now." Neal slung the coat around his one shoulder. "It's July!"

"Look how thin you are!"

"Thin?" Neal shook his head firmly. "Nope. Lean is the correct word. My doctor said I was a bit overweight and my current weight is perfect. Be lean and get healthy!" He grinned, giving himself a thumb up.

Stunt, Eliza stared at her brother before she laughed out loud. "You put too much faith in doctors!" she mocked.

"Don't think so. I almost sue my hospital. He said I was only having a regular cold in the beginning!" Neal grumbled.

"Why didn't you?"

"Later on I found there were ten incidents on that day. All the other patients died, only me survived."

"Damn!" exclaimed Eliza.

"The good thing is since I survived the flu, now I'm immune to the nasty virus." He took the newspaper and pointed to the main news. "Look what it did!"

"They closed the whole city of St. Louis!" Sarah muttered, horrified.

Neal noticed how scared his mother was and quickly changed the conversation topic. "You're looking for me you said?" He folded the newspaper back and put it in his pocket.

"Yes, we must go to Jen's baptism," said Sarah.

"William and Ira's daughter," added Eliza seeing her brother's confused face.

Neal rolled his eyes. It was the greatest embarrassment in his life to be rejected bluntly in front of everyone by William and he's not over it.

"No!" quipped Neal. "I pass. I am not going to meet William and I don't want to attend his daughter's christening."

"I told you so," said Eliza, glancing at Sarah.

"Why ever not?" asked Sarah. "Everyone surely had forgotten about that engagement party."

"It's nothing to do with that!" said Neal, lying.

"It's a family event! You haven't been to any for two years and I have told them you will come."

"Still mom...," Neal protested.

Sarah frowned. "You must go," she said firmly. "I have asked Daisy to come. When will you propose to her?"

"Soon," Neal muttered.

"Good. Candy will be there too, no doubt. Show everyone, especially Candy, that you're happier now than you have ever been. That's the correct attitude not hiding in a closet and avoid everyone!"

Neal wanted to whine something but found his mother arching her eyebrows, glare sharply at him.

"Okay, mom," sighing, Neal nodded obediently.

Reluctantly, he went back with them to the mansion to get ready. They had some breakfast and before long they were already on the road. Neal drove, Eliza sat next to him and their parents on the back seat.

"Look at that construction, Neal," pointed Eliza, trying to enlighten her gloomy looking brother. "That is Sir William's new mansion."

The new mansion looked colossal. It made the Andrews current Lakewood mansion seemed tiny.

"Big." Neal snorted shortly. He really disliked the idea that he would meet William.

"Aunt Elroy said William builds that to accommodate his new larger family."

"Business has been doing well for them then," Neal sneered.

"Aunt Elroy says William is a shrewd business man. I don't believe it. I am sure he just uses the family's inheritance unlike us who have to work hard for each penny we earn," Eliza grumbled.

"William is just a shark who likes to bully little fish," said Neal. He still had a sour spot remembering Albert openly rebuke him in front of everyone.

"If only that legend were correct, our position with William would be reversed," said Eliza bitterly.

Neal nodded, shrewdly navigating the vehicle along the curvy country road.

"Our great-great-grandfather is a fool!" murmured Eliza.

"An educated young lady should show more respect to the ancestor," James reprimanded his daughter from the back seat.

"She's not wrong." Neal looked at his father from the rear-view mirror. "How could one lose tons of gold? That's so careless. Right, mom?"

"I'd blame it to bad luck." James cut in.

"Someone could have drawn a map!" Neal retorted.

"The old gentleman did," said James.

"They shouldn't move the gold in the beginning," added Eliza.

"America was a new land of opportunity at that time. He didn't want to miss it, I'm sure. Cuba is also very far away. His family was all in Scotland, obviously he's missing them." James took his wife's hand and smiled at her.

"He? Who?" asked Neal.

"Cuba?" quipped Eliza, confused.

Sarah sniffed to express her impatience on her children's cluelessness of the matter. "They've got so many facts confused," said Sarah severely.

James looked at his wife and grinned. "They were too little when we told them the story. Would you tell the story again, darling?"

"That he is your great-great-grandfather. His name is Thomas P. Leagan," explained Sarah. "When Thomas was a teenager, he left Scotland to be a sailor. Later on, he settled in Cuba and became an extremely rich merchant. Decades later, he decided to retire and settle down in Chicago. He relocated his family there from Scotland and had his enormous wealth transferred from Cuba. Gold, tons of it, was transported from Cuba to his new home in Chicago."

Neal and Eliza could feel sweat started to form on their brows. Neal opened the window wider to let cooler air entered.

"Too bad Thomas died soon after. In his will to his son, Robert, Thomas drew a map detailing the location of the gold. Unexpectedly, Robert was killed shortly in some hunting accident before he told anyone about the map's whereabouts," Sarah continued.

"So there really is a map!" cried Eliza, incredulous.

Neal tightened his grip on the steer wheel to remain focus on the road and not to get dangerously lost in the map story.

"Yes, there is. But no one knows where Robert kept it. Legend has it that the map was hidden in one tree but which tree nobody knows…"

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-To be continued-

Thanks for reading.