The Secret of the Stone House (21 page)

“You know, Kate,” Aunt Liz said as an afterthought. “We could run a bed and breakfast just during the summers.”

“Don’t you start, too!” Kate moaned.

“I think that’s a brilliant idea,” Emily said. “Maybe we could even do hiking trails and I could take them on walks.”

Aunt Liz laughed. “You are always coming up with a million ideas, Emily. You remind me of our Uncle Geordie.”

“What about him?” Emily perked up with interest. She’d forgotten her aunt had known him.

“He was the mad inventor of the family! He was the first in the family to have electricity and running water. He even had an indoor bathroom long before they became fashionable. He built all kinds of contraptions and windmills and electrical things to make his life easier. He drove Aunt Harriett crazy with all his new-fangled gadgets. Sometimes they worked and sometimes they didn’t. He was always curious.”

Emily laughed, remembering Geordie’s interest in the house when he came to visit her.

“Wasn’t he instrumental in getting a library set up in the area?” asked Kate.

“Yes, he was. Education became very important to him, and he read so much, learning about the world around him. He had this old set of encyclopedias that he read from cover to cover.”

The chatting at suppertime continued to be animated and full of hope for Emily. She could hardly contain herself. Even when she was left alone to do the dishes, while her mom and aunt took their tea onto the veranda to watch the sun setting, she felt happy. Life wasn’t so bad after all, except for her parents’ divorce. Her father came to mind. A flash of determination came over her and she marched over to the phone.

“Hello, Dad,” she said, when she reached him.

“Hi, pumpkin,” he answered. “I’m surprised to hear from you. What’s up?”

“Dad, before I get into all that, I think I’m getting a little old for that nickname.”

“All right, Emily,” her dad said. “So, what do you need?”

“I just wondered how your plans were coming for our holiday?”

“I haven’t made any arrangements yet. I’ve been too busy, but I will,” he answered. “Why?”

“Well, I miss you and I’m disappointed not to be able see you for such a long time. And I was wondering if you really want to see me?”

“Of course I do,” he sputtered.

“It doesn’t seem like it.” Emily could feel the hurt and anger rising within. She said, “Face it, Dad. You don’t want me around. “

“Emily, that’s not true!” he declared. “Where did you get that idea from?”

“Well, you sure aren’t making much of an effort to see me soon, are you?”

“I thought I’d explained the situation and you understood,” he said.

“Well, I don’t. That’s way too long to wait,” she answered. “I have to go.”

“Wait, Emily, don’t hang up,” he pleaded. “We should talk about this.”

“Some other time, maybe. I can’t right now,” she said. “I’m going to hang up.” She let the receiver drop into the cradle and leaned against the wall, weak with emotion. She took a couple of deep breaths and thought about what she’d just done. At least, she’d told him how she felt. With a wry smile, she realized how her mother must have felt when her dad explained why he couldn’t be home, all those times. His reasons must have felt like excuses, as if he didn’t want to try very hard to spend time with them.

Suddenly, she heard a male voice outside. As she quickly wiped the dampness out of her eyes, she strained to make out who it was. She heard her mom and aunt laugh and then the voice again. It was Donald. She heard the voices move away from the door and then some hammering against the house. He must be fixing the clamps on the downspout. He sure showed up often these days.

A little twinge of jealousy touched her and then was gone. Donald was a nice man, and Emily was confident her mom wouldn’t do anything so rash as to bring him into their lives any time soon. He was a good friend to them all, though, and they were fortunate to have him around to help. Especially if they were going to open a bed and breakfast! Emily smiled at the thought, and was just about to join them outside, when she suddenly remembered the key. Where had she left it?

As she headed upstairs again and made a pit stop in the bathroom, an idea struck her. She dove over to the garbage can in the corner. She lifted the dripping mass of bedraggled clothes from it and felt in her pants pocket. There it was! She hadn’t remembered putting it there. Nevertheless, she rinsed it off, and leapt up the stairs to her room, taking them two at a time. Eagerly, she inserted the key into the lock. Yes! It fit!

Emily hesitated before opening the carved box. Should she call her mom and aunt first? Would they be disappointed if she didn’t wait? She heard their voices down below. They must have come into the house again. Donald must have left. Perhaps she’d just take a little peek. Flipping up the clasp, she edged the lid open.

A small hand mirror, beautifully carved with inlaid stones in the handle, nestled in blue satin. It looked Old World to her, as if it belonged to some ancient time. She didn’t know the names of all the stones, but she did recognize garnets and topaz. She had the same stones in some of her jewellery, which her dad had given her as gifts when he returned from his various trips. Shutting the lid gently, she carried it downstairs.

When she found her mom and aunt, they were sitting in the living room, trying to find a decent show on the television set. They took one look at her face and what she held in her hands and they turned it off. Emily presented the box to them, opening the lid carefully.

“Wow,” Aunt Liz stared in awe at the striking stones embedded on the back of the mirror.

“It’s beautiful,” said her mom. “But this doesn’t look like something your great-grandfather would be passing on to you.”

“It looks way older than something he would have bought, too,” agreed Aunt Liz.

“That’s because it wasn’t meant for me,” Emily said.

“Well, I know it’s not mine, either,” said Aunt Liz.

“No, it’s not. I’m sure it belonged to Emma.”

Aunt Liz and Kate were speechless.

Emily drew it out of the box and turned it over in her hands. She felt a current of power and connection running through her. As she held it, she saw Emma’s face in the mirror, and beside her, she could see Gran Renfrew, and they were both smiling. Emily could also see other women from times gone by, and sensed a feeling of bonding warmth and goodness.

“I don’t know that it was ever meant to be found,” she said.

“Just by the very fact that you have it in your hands, I think it was,” said Aunt Liz. “And by you.”

Her mom seemed subdued and when she spoke, she said, “Yes, I agree. I know your gran would have wanted you to have it.”

“I wonder what its history is?” Emily said.

“No doubt, it’s a Scottish relic, or at least of Celtic origin, but there’s no telling how old it is. Although I’d venture to say it dates back to very early times,” Aunt Liz guessed.

“Well, however old it is, I will treasure it.” Emily gently laid it back in the box.

The phone rang then, and when Aunt Liz answered, she passed it over to Emily.

“Hi, Emily,” her dad said from the other end of the line.

“Hi, Dad,” Emily replied, her fingers trembling slightly. What was he going to tell her now? That he didn’t want to see her at all? Was he angry? She felt her throat tighten.

“Em, I was just wondering, do you have any plans for the next couple of weeks?” he asked, sounding optimistic.

“Not really,” she answered, as calmly as she could. “Just hanging out with my friends, going to the pool and the mall. That kind of stuff.”

“Would you consider coming on a little research expedition with me to Scotland? I’ll have to work some, but I thought you might like it in the highlands. We’ll have a cottage to stay in, and there are horses and trail rides, and castles to explore and...”

“Dad, Dad!” she cut into his description. “It doesn’t matter what it has. I’d love to come.”

“You would?”

“Yes!” Emily was at a loss for words. Her dad wanted to see her, right away.

“Can I speak to your mom, then, and we’ll make your flight arrangements?”

“Sure, Dad. Thanks. See you soon.” She handed the phone to her mom.

Emily took the mirror out of the box and studied her face. Her eyes shone with delight. There were so many things to be happy about; she didn’t know where to begin to count them.

No, her parents weren’t getting back together again, and no, she probably wasn’t going to travel back in time again to see Geordie and the rest of the Elliott family, and no, she knew the days ahead with her mom wouldn’t always be smooth sailing, but for all of that, she was content with her life. There were many possibilities, and she felt certain that somehow they’d figure out how to keep Grandmother Renfrew’s house.

She could appreciate the hard work and the way of life of her ancestors more because she’d experienced some of it, but she didn’t want to live that way. The modern conveniences, indoor plumbing, going to the movies, and travelling with her dad from time to time, would be just fine.

When her mom replaced the receiver, Emily went over to hug her. Surprised, her mom wrapped her arms around her. Emily said, “I’m so glad we live here, in this time, right here, right now.”

Scottish Vocabulary

•
bairn
- a child

•
cannae
- cannot

•
feart
- scared

•
hen
- term of endearment

•
lass
- a girl, a young woman

•
lassie
- a young lass, a term of endearment

•
kirk
- church

•
wee
- little, young

•
Geordie
- short for George - pronounced jor’-dee

Scotch Oatcakes

•
1 cup flour

•
1/2 tsp salt

•
1/4 tsp baking soda

•
2 cups rolled oats

•
1/2 cup shortening

•
1/2 cup cold water

Sift flour, soda, and salt into a mixing bowl. Add rolled oats and mix well. Rub in shortening, add cold water, roll thin. Cook on top of the stove or griddle. They can also be baked on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350°F until they are lightly browned.

Bibliography

Holt, Faye Reineberg,
Out of the Flames: Fires and Fire Fighting on the Canadian Prairies,
Fifth House Ltd., Calgary, AB, 1998.

Long, Charles,
The Stonebuilder’s Primer,
Firefly Books Ltd., 1988.

Parley, Kay, “Remember Assiniboia,”
The Wolseley Bulletin,
Friday, February 18th, 2005.

Parley, Kay,
They Cast a Long Shadow: The Story of Moffat, Saskatchewan,
Desktop Publishing by Root Woman & Dave
tm
, Saskatoon, 1965.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to Kay Parley for her assistance in my “getting things right” with the Moffat area and the people who settled there and for forgiving the liberty I have taken in skewing the time somewhat to make my story work. Thank you for the wonderful material in your book,
They Cast a Long Shadow: The Story of Moffat, Saskatchewan,
which I used extensively to ensure that my facts were accurate. Any errors are my own.

The actual Moffat area was settled much earlier than when my characters came to Canada and I have therefore set my story on the nearby eastern fringes of the Moffat community, in what was settled later as the Glenavon area. The settlers from Glenavon identified with Moffat, associated themselves closely with the people of Moffat, and were often related to them.

I am proud to be associated with the Moffat and Glenavon communities, and to have spent several early years living there. I appreciate the many stories my relatives shared about our pioneering families. I really did have a great-uncle Geordie, just like Emily.

Thank you to my son, Aaron, for his patience, assistance, and support, which is encouraging and reinforcing.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my editor, Barbara Sapergia, whose gentle steering and thoughtful resourcefulness brought so much to this book.

As always, I appreciate the valuable team at Coteau Books: Nik, Karen, Duncan, Joanne, Deborah, and Melanie for their excellent attention to detail, resourceful promotion, creativity, and continued support.