Family Ghosts
Chapter Three
Hamish soon pulled into a long dirt drive. With a bit of squinting, Mikey and Gerard could see the broken battlements and turrets of a modest but still impressive castle in the distance.
"Is that MacWhae?" asked Mikey.
"Yes, sir," replied Hamish. "Your ancestral home."
"Please, please, Hamish, enough with the 'sir' business!" Gerard exclaimed. "We're just Gerard and Mikey!"
Hamish reddened and smiled a bit. "I'll do my best to remember, sir."
Before long, they had left the bumpy dirt road behind and came to a large gate, behind which was a grand circular drive.
"What, no moat?" muttered Gerard, who was beginning to enjoy himself. Mikey's only reply was a sharp jab to Gerard's ribs.
"So do you and your daughters live here at the castle?" Mikey asked Hamish.
"Aye, we live in three of the smaller rooms on the ground level. None of your family has had residence here since the turn of the century, so most of my family has lived here while caring for the castle. Both me lasses were born here."
"How old are your lasses- er, daughters?" Gerard asked casually.
"Let's see, Mina is twenty-four now, and that would make me little Lucy... Twenty-two! Seems only yesterday she was three years old." Hamish sighed. "Do either of you lads have children?"
"No!" cried both Mikey and Gerard rather quickly. Gerard actually looked a little frightened at the thought.
"Ah, well, when you do, you'll certainly cherish the moments you have when they're young, because once they're gone, you'll never get those moments back."
By the time he'd finished reminiscing about his daughters' childhood, he'd gotten all the luggage out of the car and was beginning to tote it into the castle. Mikey and Gerard could do nothing but stare in awe at their family's legacy.
The castle was slowly falling to ruin, for certain, but it still commanded the respect of all those who gazed upon it. it was fairly small, as far as castles go, but still regal in every way. To one side, Mikey could make out a large garden filled with every kind of flower known to the British Isles. To the other side, Gerard to see a tiled courtyard filled with fountains and weather-beaten statues. Everything was surrounded by a high wall covered in ivy.
"One thing's for sure," he murmured to his brother. "Fergus MacWhae definitely had style."
* * * * *
They followed Hamish into the entrance hall and were dazzled once more by the tapestries covering nearly every inch of wallspace.
"Are these tapestries all over the castle?" Mikey asked.
"Aye, sir, everywhere but the portions which are no longer sheltered from the elements. All the furnature has been removed from them, and they've been boarded up. Those are mainly in the South wing, which is to the left." Hamish answered. "But you'll have time to explore the castle later, sir. For now I'll show you to your rooms and let you get settled before dinner.
After two flights of stairs, with poor Mikey wheezing all the way, Hamish brought them to two large rooms and dropped their luggage. Much to Gerard's disappointment, they'd not yet caught a glimpse of Hamish's daughters.
The rooms were lavishly decorated, with giant Baroque beds in them and many tapestries and portaits on the walls. The two rooms shared a bathroom, which bothered neither of the guys. They doubted they'd be spending much time in there, anyway.
Mikey was done unpacking before Gerard, and went to check on his older brother's progress. Gerard, he was not surprised to see, was stranded in a sea of clothing.
"Here's an idea, Gee: Put each piece of clothing away as you unpack it, rather than pulling it all out at once," he said sarcastically as he began to toss Gerard's clothes into dressers.
"That's very practical of you, Michael. Where's your sense of adventure?" Gerard said, who was secretly grateful to have his brother's help.
"So what do you think this problem is?" Mikey said, changing the subject.
"I don't know. Hamish sure doesn't seem to want to spill it, does he?"
"But if he's trying to cover something up, why would he request the help of a couple of strangers? Especially strangers who own his home?"
"I don't know, dude," Gerard sighed. He tossed the last of his socks into a drawer and stuck his suitcase under the bed. "He seems like a nice enough guy for now, so let's just see what he has to say after dinner and go from there."
"Dinner!" moaned Mikey, suddenly remembering that his last meal had been over twelve hours ago. "I'm starvng, let's go!"
"Is that MacWhae?" asked Mikey.
"Yes, sir," replied Hamish. "Your ancestral home."
"Please, please, Hamish, enough with the 'sir' business!" Gerard exclaimed. "We're just Gerard and Mikey!"
Hamish reddened and smiled a bit. "I'll do my best to remember, sir."
Before long, they had left the bumpy dirt road behind and came to a large gate, behind which was a grand circular drive.
"What, no moat?" muttered Gerard, who was beginning to enjoy himself. Mikey's only reply was a sharp jab to Gerard's ribs.
"So do you and your daughters live here at the castle?" Mikey asked Hamish.
"Aye, we live in three of the smaller rooms on the ground level. None of your family has had residence here since the turn of the century, so most of my family has lived here while caring for the castle. Both me lasses were born here."
"How old are your lasses- er, daughters?" Gerard asked casually.
"Let's see, Mina is twenty-four now, and that would make me little Lucy... Twenty-two! Seems only yesterday she was three years old." Hamish sighed. "Do either of you lads have children?"
"No!" cried both Mikey and Gerard rather quickly. Gerard actually looked a little frightened at the thought.
"Ah, well, when you do, you'll certainly cherish the moments you have when they're young, because once they're gone, you'll never get those moments back."
By the time he'd finished reminiscing about his daughters' childhood, he'd gotten all the luggage out of the car and was beginning to tote it into the castle. Mikey and Gerard could do nothing but stare in awe at their family's legacy.
The castle was slowly falling to ruin, for certain, but it still commanded the respect of all those who gazed upon it. it was fairly small, as far as castles go, but still regal in every way. To one side, Mikey could make out a large garden filled with every kind of flower known to the British Isles. To the other side, Gerard to see a tiled courtyard filled with fountains and weather-beaten statues. Everything was surrounded by a high wall covered in ivy.
"One thing's for sure," he murmured to his brother. "Fergus MacWhae definitely had style."
* * * * *
They followed Hamish into the entrance hall and were dazzled once more by the tapestries covering nearly every inch of wallspace.
"Are these tapestries all over the castle?" Mikey asked.
"Aye, sir, everywhere but the portions which are no longer sheltered from the elements. All the furnature has been removed from them, and they've been boarded up. Those are mainly in the South wing, which is to the left." Hamish answered. "But you'll have time to explore the castle later, sir. For now I'll show you to your rooms and let you get settled before dinner.
After two flights of stairs, with poor Mikey wheezing all the way, Hamish brought them to two large rooms and dropped their luggage. Much to Gerard's disappointment, they'd not yet caught a glimpse of Hamish's daughters.
The rooms were lavishly decorated, with giant Baroque beds in them and many tapestries and portaits on the walls. The two rooms shared a bathroom, which bothered neither of the guys. They doubted they'd be spending much time in there, anyway.
Mikey was done unpacking before Gerard, and went to check on his older brother's progress. Gerard, he was not surprised to see, was stranded in a sea of clothing.
"Here's an idea, Gee: Put each piece of clothing away as you unpack it, rather than pulling it all out at once," he said sarcastically as he began to toss Gerard's clothes into dressers.
"That's very practical of you, Michael. Where's your sense of adventure?" Gerard said, who was secretly grateful to have his brother's help.
"So what do you think this problem is?" Mikey said, changing the subject.
"I don't know. Hamish sure doesn't seem to want to spill it, does he?"
"But if he's trying to cover something up, why would he request the help of a couple of strangers? Especially strangers who own his home?"
"I don't know, dude," Gerard sighed. He tossed the last of his socks into a drawer and stuck his suitcase under the bed. "He seems like a nice enough guy for now, so let's just see what he has to say after dinner and go from there."
"Dinner!" moaned Mikey, suddenly remembering that his last meal had been over twelve hours ago. "I'm starvng, let's go!"