Chapter Three – New Surroundings
Meg watched out the window as the car sped down the highway. You couldn’t call this a two-lane road. The fastest they could drive was 65.000 Kilometers per hour. However, it was interesting to see all the landscape go by. Unlike in the US, where you sped by so fast, you don’t see anything.
When Hank handed her a soft drink, Meg smiled her gratitude. Taking a deep drink, she smiled her appreciation.
“Thank you. That hits the spot. I was thirsty. Guess traveling does that to you.”
“It’s my pleasure, lassie. The bairns, oh, I’m sorry children, all say the same thing. They will drink soda all day if the wife lets them. She is tough and makes them drink once a week. I ken they’re sneaking in more than that, but I keep their secret.” He laughed as he took a deep drink.
Meg once again, let her mind wander back to the previous weeks. It broke her heart to say goodbye to the small house she had shared with her da. Many times during the past few days she picked up the phone to call him, she soon realized her opportunity had slipped past.
Stifling a sob, she leaned back against the soft leather of the car seat. It wasn’t long before she was sound asleep.
Meg had been napping for what seemed like a few minutes when Hank shook her shoulders.
“Wake up, lass. We’re here.”
She straightened and gave him a half-smile to hide her embarrassment at falling asleep. Meg brought her hand to her mouth as her eyes rounded.
The Castle
A vast white castle sat in the middle of a shallow valley. Large circular towers rose on all four corners, and they were connected by rectangular buildings that were three stories high. Meg could see the crisscrossing buildings, which from where she sat, were two stories high. On either side of a massive drawbridge were thick ropes, each with a large circular pull.
As they crossed over the drawbridge, a face appeared in the window of the gateway. With a smile and a wave, the young girl jumped for joy.
“That’s my youngest daughter Fiona. She’s an eager six-year-old.”
Smiling, trying to appear that she wasn’t nervous, Meg waved back. They passed under the arch, and Jamie maneuvered the car to stop at the front door.
Jamie opened the door, and Hank stepped out, extending his hand to Meg. She took his hand and smiled. “Thank you so much for the ride.”
Turning, she saw an older woman standing in the doorway. Meg about took a step back at the resemblance between herself and her Grandmother. What she was seeing was herself in fifty or sixty years.
Everyone standing around looked from one to the other. Smiles and chuckles came from the servants, who were standing in a row ready to meet the newest granddaughter.
Meg noticed a very handsome man standing beside her Grandmother. When he smiled, her heart skipped a beat, and her breath caught in her chest. With ginger-colored hair, his green eyes appeared the same shade as a polished emerald. His smile revealed straight, white teeth.
“I’d like to introduce you to Lady Leonora James, your Grandmother, Lady James, may I introduce Megan James.” Hank bowed to Lady James and nudged Meg up the stairs to face her Grandmother.
“Well, how do you do, Megan James? You remind me of someone, I — just don’t remember who.” Leonora smiled. She took Meg’s hand in both of hers, then brought it up to her lips and placed a kiss on the back.
Meg smiled and reached for her Grandmother, enveloping her in her arms. As she hugged her, she noticed they were both small women.
“Hello, Grandmother. I’m so pleased to meet you.”
“Come in, let’s have some tea and get to know each other better. Oh, I almost forgot, this is Connor Sinclair. His mother and I were best friends all our lives. When she passed, Connor came to live here at Castle Dun. Connor, please meet my granddaughter Megan James.”
Connor extended his hand, which Meg took and shook. This elicited a smile from him.
“Welcome, Meg. It is okay if I call you, Meg?” He held the door open for her.
“Yes, in fact, I prefer Meg.”
Meg stopped and looked around. What she saw amazed her. In the drawing-room, beautiful original paintings adorned the walls, lovely sofas, and chairs arranged in front of a massive six-foot fireplace. As Meg walked over to the fire, she realized she could walk under the arch without a problem. They could have roasted a hog in here. The room was beautiful and reflected wealth.
Meg’s Grandmother patted the seat next to her on the sofa. A woman around Meg’s age dressed in a uniform sat a tray with a teapot and cups and saucers on the coffee table. Also on the plate were little sandwich’s; small cakes iced with pink, white, and chocolate frosting. Small tarts filled with some custard and topped with a cherry completed the tray.
After signaling the maid to leave, Leonora turned to face her granddaughter. “I’m sorry it has taken sadness to bring us together. She tried to patch things up with your father to no avail.”
“I knew nothing about you. Do you know why? Why did my father choose to keep it a secret?” Meg rubbed her arms as her face reddened. “I’m sorry, but you have to put yourself in my shoes. What makes it worse is that I didn’t learn this from my day. Instead, I had to hear it from your lawyer.”
“That’s my fault. I would like to talk to you about that after you have some rest. Milly, please take my granddaughter to the lavender room. It has wonderful views, your room is down the hall, and Connor’s is at the other end. If you don’t like the room, let us know, and we’ll move you to one more suitable. We have many bedrooms.”
Meg stood and wished her Grandmother goodnight as she followed Milly out of the room.
***
As Meg walked along the hallway, she was amazed at the number of paintings that graced the walls. On her left-hand side, were the men, and on the right women. Looking at them closely, she thought that maybe they had paired them up, husband and wife.
The remarkable feature of all the paintings was each one had smiles on their faces. This must be a happy family.
Meg realized she was far behind Milly, so she beckoned to her to slow down.
“I’m sorry, lass. I walk fast.”
“It’s my fault, Milly, I guess I haven’t gotten my legs under me yet. I was wondering if I had time to take a nap before dinner.”
“Yes, lass. I have a bath drawn for you. I know I always want a bath when I travel.” Milly told her as she slowed down to accommodate Meg’s slower gait.
“Oh, thank you. I appreciate your helping me. I’m used to doing everything myself. This will take some getting used to.”
When they reached her room, Leonora, Meg, gasped at the beautiful room.
Along one wall was floor to ceiling windows. Each had heavy rose-colored drapes that kept the sunlight out when they closed. Milly was busy opening them up, which brought the room to its brilliant colors as the sunlight poured in.
The large bed had a soft down spread of the dewy rose color. Along one end, was another massive fireplace, where a cheerful fire was already warming the room. Two large armoires stood along the wall opposite the windows. Thick carpet covered the entire floor, except in front of the fireplace. Two chairs big enough to seat a large man sat in front of the fire, each with a Queen Anne table seated to the side.
Even with all the furniture in the room, Meg was sure she could have no trouble fitting all of her old furniture in the room, should she choose too.
To the right side of the fireplace was a door. When it opened, Meg gasped at the huge bathroom. It contained two sinks, a large Jacuzzi bathtub, which had faucets on the side to prevent interference with the comfort of the bather. A stand-alone shower with twelve showerheads stood opposite the tub. The color scheme was sand, rose, and a Mediterranean blue. Huge bath towels hung on two sides of the room, and a large thick rug covered the floor.
Walking into her room, Milly opened the other door on the opposite side to reveal a walk-in closet. She was surprised to see her clothes were already hanging inside, with her shoes and various other items. Meg noted the closet was more substantial than her bedroom had been at her da’s house.
Just thinking about her da made Meg so lonely. Milly seeing her mood change, excused herself and left Meg alone to rest.
An hour later, Meg walked out of the bathroom dressed in a long, thick robe and a large Turkish towel wrapped around her hair.
*****
The Dream
Eying the bed, she felt the pull of it, drawing her to its softness. Stretching across the soft spread, she pulled a large pillow to her head and was asleep. It wasn’t long until she was once again deep in her nightmare, which included a life experience.
The small, dingy room smelled terrible. Meg could see between the leavers of the closet door. Her mother had placed her there, covering her with dirty clothes. If anyone were to open the closet, there would be clothes. Meg watched as her mother walked up to the strange man and rubbed her body against his.
Meg stuffed a dirty sock in her mouth to keep from screaming when the man pulled back and hit her mother, knocking her across the bed. Her mother fought the man, then pleaded as he dropped his jeans and raped her.
Shutting her eyes, Meg placed her hands to her ears and burrowed down under the pile of clothes. When she realized that there were not any sounds coming from the bedroom, she looked, and all she could see was her mother’s head and long beautiful hair hanging off the side of the dirty mattress.
The man had left. She climbed out to see blood everywhere. Reaching for the phone, she called 911 and then her Da’s number. She wanted her Da to come and get her.
Soon, there were several men and women in the dingy apartment. The people were using words she had never heard before. Words like prostitute, junkie, and neglect. Four years olds should not have listened to these words, much less known their meaning.
When warm, strong arms encircled her, she knew she was safe. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Meg woke to a pillow wet with tears. Shuddering, she wrapped the cover tighter around her. Meg had not had this dream in years. Sitting up, she noticed it was dark outside her window. When Meg looked at the clock, she saw it was 2am. She had slept for 11 hours. The trip had taken all her strength.
She walked over to the chest of drawers, opening it up she found her nightgowns. Slipping one over her head, she once again crawled into her bed, and she was sound asleep. This time she did not have a nightmare.
