Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
Heather headed to the stairs. She just needed to get away for a moment, and she was intending on hiding in the East Wing of the castle where nobody usually went. However, halfway up the palatial carved wood staircase, she ran into Matty’s sister.
‘Annie!’ she exclaimed, surprised but pleased to see her.
She’d met Annie only once before, a month or so ago, when Matty had taken her over to Falkirk.
They’d had a walk along the canal and ended up at a charming little pub where they’d played backgammon and several hands of cards.
Matty had told Annie about the wedding after he’d proposed, he said – Heather had assumed that he’d also told the rest of his family then, but she now knew that he hadn’t.
‘Oh, hey there, Heather!’ Annie gave her a hug. ‘I was just coming to see if I could find the happy couple! I’ve just arrived.’
‘Oh, welcome!’ Heather slipped straight into gracious hostess mode. ‘Did you get here okay?’ She couldn’t very well say, I’m right in the middle of an argument with your brother; it wasn’t Annie’s fault.
‘Aye, not too bad. It’s further than you think, isn’t it? Ashamed to say I’ve never been to Skye before,’ Annie said. ‘It’s beautiful, though, isn’t it? So wild. I loved what I saw driving over. It would be great to go out and have a look around, if I could persuade anyone to be my tour guide?’
‘I’m sure that could be arranged.’ Heather felt a wash of relief at seeing a friendly face; unlike the rest of the Campbells, Annie had a calming aura that instantly made her feel better.
Still, she was furious about what she’d just learned about the golf course.
‘In fact. I’ll take you now, if you like? I could do with getting out.’
‘Now? Um. Sure, okay!’ Annie nodded enthusiastically. ‘Is there somewhere we can get coffee?’
Heather clicked her fingers. ‘I know the perfect place. Muriel’s is our cute coffee-to-go spot.’
‘Is Matthew around? I should say hi,’ Annie said as they walked back down the stairs. ‘That said, I feel like I need to psych myself up before I say hi to Mother and her minions.’
‘And by minions, you mean…?’ Heather raised an eyebrow.
‘Her mini-mes. Estella and Clara. They drive me insane.’
‘Oh. Right. Well, they’re here, so we should probably duck out while we can. Matty’s… around.’
Heather’s face must have given her away, because Annie gave her a knowing look.
‘He not your favourite person at the moment?’ she asked.
They walked past the ballroom. Heather saw Matty being harangued by his mother and sisters-in-law through the half-open door. She pointed to them, indicating to Annie that they should be quiet.
‘Not right now, no.’ Heather picked up the keys to the Range Rover as they walked past the castle’s antiquated post nook: an anteroom near to the main entrance where post was arranged in a number of wooden cubbyholes and keys to the castle cars, vans, sheds and outhouses were arranged on a series of brass hooks.
‘Oh dear. What’s he done?’
They walked onto the drive and through the gardens to the private car park at the back of the castle.
‘I like how you assume it’s your brother and not me that’s done anything wrong.’ Heather chuckled.
‘I know my brother. He’s the best out of the three, but he’s still a Campbell, and a man. You, by comparison, are a straight-up goddess.’ Annie shrugged. ‘Come on, then. Spill it.’
Heather outlined what had been happening for Annie as she manoeuvred the car out of the car park and drove out of the castle grounds.
‘Wow. I had no idea. I’m so sorry, Heather.
’ Annie sighed as Heather came to the end of the story, including the new information about the golf course.
‘I mean, I know that the family have various investments and that includes golf courses. I didn’t know they were planning one here – but then, I don’t get told about anything, being effectively disowned. ’
‘No, I know that.’ Heather followed the long road away from the castle.
‘And, to add some weird into the mix, I just got this really odd letter in the post. Sort of threatening? About your mum. Here.’ Heather reached into her pocket for a moment and handed Annie the letter. ‘I don’t know what to make of it.’
Annie took it, unfolded the letter and read it. ‘Wow. Crackpot number 1,035 calling.’
‘What, you mean you’ve had something like this?’ Heather glanced at Annie, frowning. ‘I mean, I can definitely say I am not a fan of a crackpot knowing where I live. Or, well, I suppose I don’t live at the castle, but still.’
‘Oh, yeah. This is standard.’ Annie looked up. ‘Unfortunately, since the family are very much in the public eye, it means that they attract the attention of the crazies. Sorry, that’s not very sensitive. I mean, the reality-challenged. Or something.’
‘No, that’s okay. I know what you mean. Do you think that’s what this is? Just a random crackpot?’
‘Yeah. Sadly, I do. They’ll have read that piece about you and Matty’s engagement, and sent this to you at the castle. In a way, it’s good – they didn’t send it to you at the Inn, right? So, they weren’t bright enough to notice where you actually lived.’
‘I guess so. That’s a good point. Ask Elizabeth about Drumchapel, though. What does that mean?’
‘I have no idea. Just random, I expect. Maybe Mum went there once, I don’t know.’ Annie shrugged. ‘Drumchapel’s a pretty rough Glasgow suburb. I can’t imagine why she’d go there. Must have been something charitable.’
‘Hm. Well, in a strange way, I guess I feel better about getting that, if it’s a really common occurrence.
’ Heather steered the Range Rover around a long corner; she was being careful, because the temperature seemed to be dropping, and the roads could easily get icy.
‘Also… I feel strange for saying this, but… there’s something else odd about your mum. ’
‘Oh, no. What else has she done?’
‘Well, nothing, per se. But I saw her have this quite secret-looking meeting with a man in a car. They argued. It looked like she gave him an envelope… like there was something in it. They had an argument. I wasn’t spying… I… well, I suppose I was, a bit. I didn’t mean to.’
‘Oh. Well, that sounds like Mother: it’s probably part of her web of control, somewhere along the line.
Absolutely please don’t pay it any attention, Heather.
Or the letter.’ Annie nodded. ‘I’m afraid it’s all par for the course, being a Campbell.
You can show Matty the letter if you want, but he’ll tell you the same. ’
‘No, I won’t worry him with it.’ Heather let out a long sigh. ‘There’s enough going on. So, you think… that meeting… I know it’s not my business…’ Heather trailed off.
‘Weddings are insane, babe. I’m amazed you haven’t become a bridezilla yet,’ Annie chuckled. ‘I would advise, just ignore Mother as much as you can, and let the rest wash over you. She’s like a hippo, and I wouldn’t want her to… what do they do? Swim under boats and capsize them. Okay?’
‘Okay.’ Heather smiled at her sister-in-law-to-be.
‘So, the castle’s never been the family home, then?’
‘No, actually. My uncle’s the laird; my dad is his cousin.
So, he’s not strictly my uncle; we just say that because it’s easier.
My mum and dad run the Balhennie Inn. It’s part of the family estate, but there was some agreement, a few generations back, that Uncle James’s bit of the family would look after the castle and hold the lairdship, and Dad’s side of the family would get the Inn.
Dad’s obsessed about the lairdship, mind you. He thinks he should be laird.’
‘Oh, haha. Family drama. I’m no stranger to it. The Campbells have hundreds of years of in-fighting.’ Annie made a face. ‘What does your uncle think about it all?’
‘Oh, he’s pretty chill about Dad, for the most part. I think Dad knows, underneath all the bluster, that running a castle is really hard. Mum wouldn’t want to do it. They both love the Inn. But, yeah, Dad won’t leave it alone. We all wish he would.’
‘Parents are hard work.’ Annie nodded. ‘I get on with my dad okay, but Mum is… well, you’ve met my mother.’
‘Ah… yeah.’ Heather laughed nervously. ‘Does she ever… calm down? Like, is she ever… relaxed about anything?’
‘Not really, no.’ Annie looked pensive for a moment.
‘I mean, don’t get me wrong, she has some good qualities.
She’s protective of her family. Her and Matty are super close, though they don’t always see each other.
But I know that they talk a lot, and they’ve always had that close bond.
He’s the youngest boy. Her baby. Matty’s always got away with so much more than the rest of us. ’
‘He hasn’t really talked about her much,’ Heather said. ‘I mean, I knew he had a mother, but he hadn’t mentioned her at all.’
‘Hm. That’s tough. They haven’t cut me off, financially.
I’m lucky, in that way. But as far as I’m concerned, Mother just can’t deal with the fact that I’m a beatnik – her words – and I live on a canal boat.
I’m not invited to their family getaways and what have you.
They think I’ll show them up in front of their friends. Which, I would, quite honestly.’
‘I worry that she thinks the same about me. About my family,’ Heather confessed.
‘I don’t fit into her idea of what a perfect wife should be, and I don’t know what to do about that.
I can’t make myself into something I’m not.
I’m wondering, from what you’re saying, whether it’s the fact that Matty’s her favourite.
You know, no one would ever be good enough. ’
Heather looked out at the road as she drove.
Icicles clung to the bare branches of the trees and the sky was a slate grey.
She’d woken up that morning to a heavy haar coming in off the loch, and it was still foggy.
Yet, within the fog, slivers of winter sunshine lighted on the icicles, making them glitter.