Legacy

Legacy Read Free

Book: Legacy Read Free
Author: Jeanette Baker
Ads: Link
over Ellen Maxwell’s head. “Poor dear,” she said softly. “The strain was too much for her. We’ve been expecting this for quite a while. I’m sure the diagnosis will be heart attack.”
    “Do you mean she’s dead?” My voice cracked. “Just like that?” Visions of Hollywood emergency room scenes and frenzied doctors shouting for digitalis, while heart monitors bleeped their reassuring vertical lines, signaling the victim’s return to life, flashed through my mind.
    “I’m afraid so, miss,” the nurse said regretfully. “It was only a matter of time. She didn’t want to be kept on with life support. It was her last wish that she meet you before she died.”
    “But why? I didn’t even know her.”
    “I couldn’t say. Perhaps your questions will be answered by her solicitor.”
    Desperate for fresh air, I found my way down the stairs, past a maze of rooms, to the front door. A soft Scots brogue stopped me.
    “Can I help you find anything, miss?”
    My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I recognized the stone-faced maid who’d ushered me inside when I’d first arrived. I considered telling her about Lady Maxwell but decided against it. It certainly wasn’t a stranger’s place to break the news of an employer’s death. “I needed some air and thought I’d take a walk,” I answered instead.
    “I don’t blame you. The weather is lovely. Why don’t you take the path toward the Bear Gates. It’s a charming walk, and maybe you’ll find a docent who can give you a tour.”
    “A docent?”
    “Traquair House must make a living, Miss Murray. There’s a small restaurant and gift shop around the corner. In the summer, the company rooms are open all week for tourists.” She looked at me strangely. “Have you never been to Scotland before, miss?”
    “Many times,” I replied. “I can’t imagine how I could have missed Traquair House.”
    “Perhaps it was meant to be.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “We Scots believe in the sight . Some things are best left to the hand of fate.”
    I almost smiled, then thought better of it. “If I meet anyone, who shall I say sent me?” I asked instead.
    “Kate, miss.”
    “I’d be grateful if you would point me in the direction of the Bear Gates, Kate.”
    “Just walk the path, and you’ll find them. Enjoy your day, Miss Murray.”
    I stared at her back as she walked away. For an instant, she’d reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t recall who it was.
    The late afternoon sun warmed my head and calmed my frayed nerves. Drawing a deep, cleansing breath, I walked up the hill to the end of the gravel path. From there I turned back to look at the house. Never, in all my travels through Scotland, had I seen anything quite like Traquair House. It was as if time had rolled back, and I, Christina Murray, an unwelcome stranger, had intruded on the ancient fief of Maxwell.
    The grounds were steeped in a halo of welcoming light. Four stories high with a gabled roof and rounded towers, Traquair looked more like a large manor house than a fortress. I knew from reading the brochures Ellen had sent that the original structure dated back over eight hundred years when Alexander the First signed a charter in the common room and that the modern wings weren’t completed until 1680.
    In times of peace, Traquair had been a pleasure ground for royalty, in war, a place of refuge for Catholic priests. The lairds of Traquair had remained loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Jacobite cause without counting their personal cost. Imprisoned, fined, and banished for their beliefs, their home still stood, a sentinel to a nobler, more gallant age.
    Something moved on one side of the far tower. A workman climbed down the scaffolding and disappeared behind the house. So much for romanticizing. In spite of all my efforts to the contrary, practicality had its own insidious way of invading my fantasies. Living in a home over eight hundred years old had some disadvantages after all.

Similar Books

Delia’s Gift

V.C. Andrews

Texas Tiger TH3

Patricia Rice

Make Me

Parker Blue

The Wilful Eye

Isobelle Carmody

Jack Wakes Up

Seth Harwood