Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
‘This hardly looks safe,’ Clara Campbell said as she teetered onto the boat.
‘It’d be a lot safer if you weren’t wearing stilettos.’ Primrose held out her hand to help Clara aboard. ‘There was a dress code on the email. Practical, warm clothes. Don’t you think you might get cold?’ She turned to help Estella, who was, at least, wearing some very expensive-looking flat boots.
The boat itself was quite large; a white craft with wooden benches along both sides of the open air deck, with another double-sided bench down the middle.
It could have held thirty people, but no-one else was taking seal tours just days before Christmas.
Anyway, Heather had booked the boat for a private tour.
‘They’re Prada,’ Clara said, as if that was an explanation. Primrose looked unmoved.
‘Okay, ladies! Are we all on board? Take a seat, take a seat. Blankets and tarps, help yourselves. It’s going to get a wee bit chilly if the sun goes in, but we’ll do our best, and the ship has heaters.
’ The captain of the seal tour ship, a middle-aged woman who had introduced herself as Gloria, rubbed her gloved hands together and beamed at everyone.
‘Now, who’s been on a seal-spotting tour before? Show of hands.’
All the Balhennies raised their hands. The Campbells looked blank.
‘Right. So, some of you are new to this and some of you are seasoned professionals.’ Gloria nodded. ‘And I believe this is a trip for Heather’s hen do? Heather? Which one are you?’ She looked around.
‘Me.’ Heather raised her hand.
‘You didn’t fancy strippers and prosecco, then?’ Gloria chuckled. ‘Good choice, anyway. Not the best weather, but good choice.’
It was roughly eight degrees, windy and rainy, but Heather was still excited to go out on the boat.
‘I love animals. I love seeing them in their natural habitats.’ Heather shrugged. ‘I didn’t want to do anything else. Well. Lunch, later.’
They’d planned to go to their friends Dom and Farid’s café in Portree after the boat tour; Dom had planned to close the café just for them, and Heather was looking forward to one of Farid’s amazing fresh seafood dishes.
Dutifully, she’d emailed Dom details of Estella and Clara’s macrobiotic diets; his response had been a series of incredulous emojis.
‘Perfect. Well, just to outline what’s going to happen on the trip, then.
We’ll be aboard the boat for about one and a half or two hours, and we’ll explore the Sound of Raasay, which is the body of water that lies between the Isle of Raasay and the Isle of Skye.
This is our captain, Sandy, my dad, and I’ll be your tour guide.
’ Gloria introduced a bearded man in his sixties, dressed in a warm brown coat, scarf and captain’s hat, who waved at them from the front of the boat.
‘You can check out seabirds as we go past the cliffs; we’re hoping we see seals – I know they’re Heather’s favourite. We may see dolphins and sea eagles too, if we’re lucky.’
‘Sounds fantastic!’ Annie said; Heather was grateful for her, once again. ‘I can’t wait!’
‘Wonderful!’ Gloria looked pleased. ‘Now, then. As it’s Christmas, or more or less, I’ve brought some flasks of hot chocolate, and there’s a bottle of the hard stuff for those that’d like to add an extra warmer in.
I’ve also got an insulated food bag there with bacon sandwiches, fried egg sandwiches, cheesy potato wedges and other warm food.
So, as long as we all stay by the heaters, keep our blankets on and keep stocked up with calories, we’ll be snug as bugs in rugs. ’
‘Well, I won’t be eating any of that,’ Clara scoffed. ‘Sounds like a heart attack waiting to happen.’
‘Actually, starving your body is a sure-fire way to serious health issues, including a heart attack.’ Blossom took a thick woollen blanket and wrapped it around herself.
‘Plus, if you don’t eat something when we’re out on the water, you’ll freeze.
You haven’t got any heft to keep you warm as it is. ’
‘That’s a very personal remark,’ Clara said, huffily, as the boat pulled away from the harbour. ‘I don’t think my weight is any of your business, actually.’
‘You’re right. And I think we’d all kill to have your lovely figure, my darling. But I don’t want you passing out from the cold on my watch.’ Blossom handed Clara a blanket. ‘Don’t argue.’
‘So.’ Elizabeth turned to Heather and looked her up and down, sizing up her new daughter-in-law as Gloria cast off and the boat started chugging slowly into the harbour water. ‘You like outside pursuits. Do you hunt?’
‘Hunting? Do you mean fox hunting?’ Heather asked, appalled.
‘Yes. Hunting, riding, shooting. All the traditional pursuits.’ Elizabeth stared at her impassively. ‘Clara tells me that you don’t ski. You’ll have to take lessons, but it’s never the same if you begin as an adult.’
‘Oh. I mean… I suppose I wouldn’t mind learning to ski…
’ Heather began, feeling wrong-footed. She didn’t have anything against skiing in particular; it was just that Matty and she had never discussed it, and now, here was Elizabeth Campbell, telling her that she’d have to do it, as if it was part of her CV as Campbell Wife.
‘I can shoot. But hunting, no. I love animals.’
‘Loving animals has nothing to do with it. I love animals. I love my dogs. Foxes are vermin,’ Elizabeth replied breezily. ‘It’s a country tradition. I wonder that your parents haven’t taught you these things.’
‘My parents let us follow our own interests. I work for an animal charity. I’m opposed to fox hunting.
I sort of feel like if I wanted to get dressed up and ride around on a horse, I could do dressage.
I’d quite like to learn to ride a horse, though,’ she added, politely.
‘Helpful in the apocalypse if nothing else.’
‘What?’ Elizabeth blinked at her.
‘I don’t know. If we end up in a sort of Mad Max-type apocalyptic world and no one has petrol and the cars are all rusted up, a horse would be quite useful to get around.
’ Heather twinkled at her mother-in-law-to-be.
She was trying to make Elizabeth smile or laugh, but it was like trying to crack a statue.
‘What an odd girl you are.’ Elizabeth sniffed. ‘Anyway, you’ll be giving your little job at the animal charity up when you get married, so what does it matter?’
‘Um…’ Heather did a double take. ‘Where did you get that idea?’
‘You want children, Matthew says,’ Elizabeth said smoothly. ‘How do you think that you’ll have time? You’ll be looked after, there’s no need to worry about that. You don’t need to work.’
Annie, who was sitting nearby, interjected, ‘Mum. Have a day off. Come and look at the view.’
‘But… I want to work. I love my job,’ Heather said. ‘Yes, I do want a family, and I realise that I’d have to go on maternity leave. Maybe I’d work part time for a while. But I’d always want to have something that was mine, outside of my family. Mum and Dad run the Inn. I want to work too.’
‘Many young girls would envy your position. I don’t know why you’re so recalcitrant,’ Elizabeth scoffed. ‘It can hardly be paying you much at all. A pittance, I expect.’
‘It’s a small charity, so, no, I don’t earn a huge salary,’ Heather replied, honestly. ‘But I live at home at the moment, and then I’m going to move in with Matty, so it’s doable. Matty understands, what with his charity work as well…’
‘Hm. So you expect my son to support you, after all.’ Elizabeth sighed and looked at her phone. ‘You modern girls. You say you want independence, but only on your own terms.’
Annie, who had been talking to Bluebell, interrupted again.
‘Mum, leave her alone, for goodness’ sake. You’ll make her think that we aren’t the charming Campbells TV has made us out to be. Or has made you out to be, anyway.’
‘I have the right to talk to this young lady. She wants to become a Campbell, after all,’ Elizabeth replied, haughtily.
‘Yes, she does,’ Annie replied. ‘Let’s be grateful that Matty found such a lovely girl to join our family, maybe?’
‘I am grateful. Goodness. I was only asking,’ Elizabeth muttered.
Annie turned to Heather. ‘So, these boat trips were something that all you guys used to do when you were kids?’ she asked, as the boat left Portree behind and headed into the Sound of Raasay.
Wavelets splashed the outside of the boat; Heather drew in a deep breath of the cold, clean air and let it out, slowly.
She loved being out on the water so much.
‘Yeah. Dad used to take us, now and again. I think when he wanted to give Mum a break. She came sometimes, too.’ Heather was grateful for Annie’s intercession in her and Elizabeth’s conversation.
She smiled over at her mother, who was gazing out at the water with a thoughtful expression.
Heather wondered if Catriona was remembering those times, too.
‘It was hard, having six kids. She was ill quite a lot. I can’t imagine how I would have coped in her position. ’
Heather knew that Annie was deliberately asking her questions about herself to make up for Elizabeth, and she was grateful for it. Good to know that I have at least one ally in my tradwife, enforced ski holiday future, she thought wryly.
‘Me neither. I mean, I love kids, but I love giving them back at the end of an hour or two.’ Annie laughed. ‘Mum had the four of us, but we had nannies. Like, a team of nannies. I didn’t even know who Mum was until I was, like, four or five.’
‘Wow. Really?’ Heather shot another look at Elizabeth, who was frowning at her phone.
Heather wished she would look up and see the stunning scenery unfolding around her; the tall, grass-topped cliffs that buttressed the clear black water; the salmon farms, visible as vast circles atop the icy water; the glint of the sun on the Sound. But Elizabeth was glued to her screen.
‘Yeah. But at least I got to stay home. The boys got sent to boarding school at six. It’s why they’re sociopaths.
Well, Gerald and Charles, anyway. Mum softened and let Matty stay at home until he was eleven.
She and I were close when I was a kid. But then, when I started rejecting her way of doing things, we grew apart. ’
‘I’d never send my kids to boarding school. Not at that age, anyway. It’s awful.’ Heather shivered. ‘I don’t think I could.’
‘Eh. It’s good for some people. Depends who you are, I guess. What kind of temperament. I think Matty turned out okay, although it was hard, but he wouldn’t have been at six. Nobody should go that young. Did you guys all go to school on the island?’
‘Yeah. It was nice.’ Heather smiled, thinking about her school days. They’d been happy, for the most part.
‘You’re so lucky, having sisters,’ Annie said. ‘And you’re a twin. I wish I had a twin sister.’
‘You’ve got Clara and Estella,’ Heather replied, but laughed as she caught Annie’s expression. ‘Oh, come on. They’re not that bad,’ she added, giggling.
‘They are. Lady Clara and Lady Estella are just carbon copies of Mother. Or they desperately want to be,’ Annie replied quietly. ‘I wish they’d stand up to her. You have to, you know. Stand up to her. Or she’ll just walk all over you.’
‘I’ll try.’ Heather looked over at Elizabeth again. ‘But she makes it hard work.’
‘I know. I mean, I’m the black sheep, and I’m fine with it.’ Annie rolled her eyes. ‘I just can’t, with it all, though. You have to live your own life, Heather. Don’t let her make you into a carbon copy of her.’
‘She won’t. I won’t let her.’ Violet sat down next to Annie and handed them both a roll. ‘Babe, I got you bacon, and Annie, I thought you might be a veggie, so you got a fried egg roll. No luck if you’re vegan, I don’t think.’
‘Egg works fine. Thanks.’ Annie took the roll and bit into it.
‘Damn, that’s good.’ She sighed. ‘This is so nice, you know. I mean, I love boats anyway. But it’s great to be out in the wild, seeing nature, with the Balhennies.
I just wanted to say, you’re all really cool.
I, for one, am very glad Matty found someone awesome and…
real… to marry. Thank goodness. I don’t think I could take another fashion robot. ’
‘Hey. I work in beauty.’ Violet nudged Annie playfully. ‘Do I qualify?’
‘Absolutely not. You have a job, for one thing. And you’re cool, for another.’ Annie took another bite of the roll.
‘I don’t think you should be so mean to Clara and Estella,’ Heather said, seriously. ‘They’re nice. And it’s not their fault if your mum’s… a big character.’ Heather searched for a nice way to say it.
‘Hm. I think you’re the nice one, but that’s lovely,’ Annie said, kindly. ‘Oh, look! Is that a dolphin?’ She leaned out of the side of the boat a little and pointed.
‘Wow. Yes! Look, a pod of dolphins, swimming along with us!’ Violet exclaimed. ‘Look, everyone!’
Nearly all the women came to one side of the boat and looked over. However, Elizabeth stayed on the other side, holding up her phone in the air.
‘I can’t get any reception out here!’ she complained. Heather turned her head back to see Elizabeth stalking up and down the wet middle of the boat; she, like Clara, was wearing distinctly inappropriate heeled boots. ‘I’m expecting an important call!’
‘Lady Campbell! Come and see the dolphins!’ Heather called out, trying her best to be inclusive and kind, but Elizabeth scowled in their direction and climbed up on one of the seats on the other side of the boat.
She held her phone above her head again as she stood precariously on the shiny plastic seat.
Heather could hear her complaining about the lack of signal.
‘Miss… you need to get down. That’s not safe,’ Gloria shouted; she’d joined everyone else in looking at the dolphins.
‘I’m fine!’ Elizabeth snapped – just as the boat crested a sudden, large wave, and she was jolted off her feet and over the side of the boat into the freezing black water of the Sound of Raasay.