Chapter 25 #2
Heather was amazed to see that her great-aunt, who had been the more infirm of the two sisters for some time, had launched the stone with considerable aim and vigour. It flew through the air in a delicate arc, aiming straight for the drone.
‘Winged it!’ she shouted, triumphantly, as her stone clipped the edge of the flying machine.
It wobbled in mid-air and then righted itself.
Elizabeth chortled. Heather thought it was the first time she had ever heard Lady Elizabeth Campbell actually let go and laugh: she stared in amazement at her soon-to-be mother-in-law.
‘Good shot!’ Elizabeth threw another stone and missed. ‘Damn!’
‘Try an overarm shot, Lady Campbell!’ Aunt Chrissie cried. ‘We’ll get these bloody spies if it’s the last thing we do!’
Elizabeth picked up another stone, watched the nearest drone to her intently, and launched the stone in an overarm throw, an intent expression on her face.
The stone met the drone with an audible thunk, and the drone dropped onto the beach.
‘Oh, well done!’ Aunt Chrissie applauded, giggling like a schoolgirl.
Heather ran to where the drone lay on the beach.
‘Crush it, Heather!’ she called out. ‘I want my revenge! Those good-for-nothing newspapers, making fun of my modelling days. I’m proud of those photos and I’m proud of what I did! ’ she shouted.
Here goes nothing, Heather thought as she knelt down, picked up the heaviest rock she could hold, and dropped it on the drone. Its little light, which had been wavering, went out as Heather dropped the rock on it again and again.
Shivering, she gathered up all the parts of the drone that she could see and carried them back to the summer house. Then, she put all the pieces of the drone into a Tupperware box that some of the food had been delivered in.
Heather looked up. Everyone else was still in the water, splashing each other and swimming, but Elizabeth and Chrissie stood like angry queens on the beach, hurling rocks at the second drone.
‘Intrusive beasts!’ Elizabeth yelled. ‘How dare you take pictures of me and my daughters-in-law on holiday and then talk about our weight, as if that’s anything to do with anyone!’ She threw another stone.
‘Our bodies and our lives are not entertainment for public consumption!’ Aunt Chrissie added, throwing her last rock. ‘Go away! Leave us alone!’
Perhaps because the first drone had been destroyed, or perhaps because someone had heard Aunt Chrissie, the second drone suddenly veered off and buzzed away, off the beach and towards the land.
‘Good riddance!’ Elizabeth shouted, coming to stand next to Aunt Chrissie. Heather watched as Elizabeth took the older woman’s hand and held it gently.
‘I’m sorry, Chrissie,’ Elizabeth said, as they returned to the summer house.
Heather helped her great-aunt into one of the camping chairs and laid a blanket on her lap.
‘I was so rude to you about those photos from your younger days. It really wasn’t any of my business what you did, and you’re right.
You weren’t doing anything wrong. And you did look rather marvellous.
’ Elizabeth knelt down beside Aunt Chrissie. ‘Will you forgive me?’
‘Oh, of course, my dear. All water under the bridge.’ Chrissie sighed. ‘It’s not our fault, anyway. It’s these damn men. They want us to be a certain way and then they criticise us for it. You can’t win, either way. I hope it’s better for the younger ones, don’t you?’
‘I do. I hope it will be. Especially when you have a daughter, Heather.’ Elizabeth smiled; Heather was amazed at the sudden warmth in her expression. ‘I can’t wait for that. I can’t wait to be a grandmother. None of my other children have obliged, so far. That child will be so spoiled.’
‘Ha. Not too spoiled, I hope,’ Heather chuckled.
‘Just the right amount.’ Elizabeth winked. ‘She’ll come from a long line of feisty women, anyway. And that’s good. You need to be strong in this world. Otherwise, it will grind you down.’
‘How do you know I’ll have daughters?’ Heather asked. ‘I might not.’
‘It seems deeply unlikely that you wouldn’t, coming from a family of six sisters, dear,’ Elizabeth said, drily. ‘Anyway, whatever you have, I’ll be delighted.’
‘That’s so lovely to hear, Elizabeth. Thank you,’ Heather said quietly.
‘I’ve been a bit hard on you, haven’t I?’ Elizabeth sat down in another camping chair and looked at the fire. ‘Since we arrived. I know I have, don’t pretend.’ She waved her hand at Heather, as if to stop her from disagreeing.
‘Er… well… a little, yes.’ Heather nodded. ‘But it’s okay.’
‘It isn’t okay at all,’ Elizabeth retorted.
‘What you have to understand is that I didn’t grow up with all of this.
When I met Arthur, I was a very normal, working-class girl.
I didn’t grow up in a castle, like you, or…
yes, I know, you didn’t technically grow up in the castle.
Attached to it, then.’ She waved her hand dismissively again.
‘Arthur and I met because I was his personal assistant. I bet you didn’t know that?
’ She looked up at Heather and Aunt Chrissie.
‘No.’ Both of them shook their heads.
‘No, you didn’t know, and that’s because I’ve kept it a secret for all these years.
’ Elizabeth took a moment before she spoke again.
‘I grew up in a very poor suburb of Glasgow. Drumchapel. It was tough. My mother and I lost my dad; he was killed in a brawl in a pub when I was five.’ Elizabeth took in a deep breath and let it out, slowly.
Heather’s heart broke at the look of sadness on Elizabeth’s face.
‘I did as well as I could at school, though it wasn’t a good school at all.
I went to secretarial college. I lost my accent on purpose.
I used to spend hours training myself in front of the mirror at home.
How to speak. How to stand. How to dress and do my hair and make-up.
That’s something I concentrated on keeping out of the papers, let me tell you.
That day when we arrived, Chrissie, do you remember that Joan asked me about my family, and I walked out? ’
‘Yes, dear. You got very aerated about it.’ Aunt Chrissie reached into a food bag, took out a home-made cookie and then handed the bag to Heather. ‘We all wondered why.’
‘Hm. I know it was an overreaction. But I’ve always kept my family history a secret. My mother has a nice life now; she’s all set up. But I never wanted anyone to know that I was the daughter of a drunkard. That he died in a fight. That my mother had to scrimp to get by to put food on the table.’
‘That morning, before we left for Skye, I had a call from a particularly horrid investigative reporter. I didn’t tell him anything, but when you asked me about my family…
I had the horrible feeling that you knew, somehow.
I know that’s silly. But I was just feeling so sensitive about it all.
’ She sighed. ‘Then, he had the gall to come to the castle, when we’d all just got there.
Goodness knows how he got that far – I think my security were still setting up, and they hadn’t got the perimeter secured yet.
Anyway, he drove through, and I had to go out and head him off while we were all having champagne. Horrible little man.’
‘Oh!’ Heather realised that was what she’d seen, that day outside the castle. ‘I saw you talking to a man in his car. I couldn’t work out what was going on. It all seemed very cloak-and-dagger. You threw something at him. I thought it was an envelope of money.’
‘It was an envelope of money.’ Elizabeth rolled her eyes. ‘I had to pay him off. I’ve been paying him off for years,’ she added quietly. ‘He’s the only person that has bothered to research my background. He’s been blackmailing me all this time.’
‘Oh… I got a letter too. That was what mentioned Drumchapel. I’m so sorry that I mentioned it to you, in front of everyone, that day. But I was so cross about the golf course, and what you were saying about wildlife.’ Heather put two and two together. ‘Was that from him, do you think?’
‘Oh my dear… I’m so sorry!’ Tears brimmed in Elizabeth’s eyes. ‘I had no idea… you had a letter from him?’
‘I think so. It said nasty things about you, and that I should ask you about Drumchapel.’
‘And you did, through no fault of your own.’ Elizabeth looked appalled. ‘Heather, please accept my deepest apologies. I really would never have wanted you involved in all of this.’
‘Well, it was a short letter. And it was addressed to me at the castle, so I figured he didn’t know where I lived, or hadn’t bothered to find out.’ Heather reassured her mother-in-law. ‘Annie and Matty said I should ignore it.’
‘Oh… I’m so mortified.’ Elizabeth hid her face in her hands.
‘It’s nothing to be ashamed of, dear. So, you came from humble beginnings.
So what? You worked hard, presumably, and then you and Arthur fell in love,’ Aunt Chrissie said.
‘Listen. I don’t feel ashamed of my modelling days.
I was damn good at it, and I made a lot of money.
That money paid for my flat in Portree, among other things.
’ She wagged her finger at Elizabeth. ‘You should not be ashamed of where you came from, or the fact that you had a job, and that your boss wanted to marry you. It wouldn’t be the first time and it won’t be the last. For goodness’ sake, don’t be so hard on yourself.
So, you grew up with not a lot. So what?
It gave you grit. Didn’t it?’ Aunt Chrissie raised an eyebrow and regarded Elizabeth for a minute.
Heather thought that this regally stern talking-to was more something Aunt Joan would normally have said, but Aunt Joan was laughing and paddling with Catriona at the edge of the water.