lovingly stroking her hair she whispered, ‘My man is a good man. For sure I know my Colin will take your laddie in and not only welcome him into our home but he will also treat him as if he was our own son.’
Harry and his mother did return to beloved, beautiful Smithton but only twice after the family row. Their last visit was for the funeral of Granny. After the service, Flora approached Fergus and begged him to relent and allow Shonag to see her son, but he remained adamant. Unable to hide her contempt for him, she abruptly turned away, but she did vow to herself there and then that she would never, ever set foot in Smithton again as long as he breathed. The croft she had inherited was now to be rented out.
Harry never regretted William coming to stay in his home and, up to a point, Colin, his father, didn’t either. It was just that when Flora truthfully told Colin why Fergus had banned his son from Smithton that Colin seemed to ponder before saying, ‘The lad is welcome, but I don’t think our Harry and he should share a bed.’ This statement seemed to irk Flora, so to soften its effect Colin drawled, ‘And tomorrow, if we all agree, that is …’ He paused and looked Flora straight in the eye before continuing, ‘… I’ll take him with me and get him a start on the railway.’
At first this decision about the sleeping arrangements annoyed Harry because William, being older and now a working man, was given his spacious bedroom and he found himself crammed into the box room.
Harry was never sure whatever way it happened, but as the years passed by he forgot about being inconvenienced by William and the two of them bonded as close as brothers. Harry would always be so grateful to William for the help and support he gave to his mother and himself when Colin had a fatal fall at work.
Up to that time, seventeen-year-old Harry, who had stretched to five feet nine inches and was fortunate enough to have his slim, athletic form complemented by lightbrown wavy hair, twinkling blue eyes and a infectious smile, had never envisaged that his parents were mortal.
When his father was killed, it seemed to Harry that it was an unnecessary cruel blow and he found himself questioning God’s wisdom. Why, he wondered, did the Almighty take such a good man as his dad before he had enjoyed the full biblical threescore and ten years?
Thinking that only weak men wept, Harry had sought out times and places where he could weep in solitude. One of these places was in William’s bedroom, until William surprised him by coming home early. Harry was surprised then when William, instead of berating him, said, as he offered Harry a handkerchief, ‘Here son, cry your heart out. If Colin had been my dad, I would be suicidal at his loss.’
To everyone’s surprise, Shonag came down for the funeral. She had just got in the door when Flora said, ‘Don’t you be telling me you brought Fergus with you. I won’t be responsible for anything I say to him today.’
Going over and firstly embracing her son, she replied, ‘No. He is where he belongs – on his own.’
Cradling his mother closer to him, William, in a voice choked with sobs, managed to croak, ‘But Mum, how did you mange to persuade him to let you come?’
Releasing herself from her son, Shonag went over to sit on the arm of her sister’s chair, where she gave a triumphant laugh. ‘Well, as you all know, he is a man of strict religious beliefs and principles, so he never allows alcohol in his mouth. So when he forbade me to come down to pay my respects to a man I am indebted to, I just asked him to accompany me out into the cow byre, and going over to the back wall I removed one of the stones and lifted out the half-bottle of Johnnie Walker whisky that he keeps secreted there.’ Everyone in the room was dumbfounded. Shonag then continued with a wicked little laugh, ‘And handing Satan’s brew to him I said, “Here, throw it right down and over your throat like you
Harry and his mother did return to beloved, beautiful Smithton but only twice after the family row. Their last visit was for the funeral of Granny. After the service, Flora approached Fergus and begged him to relent and allow Shonag to see her son, but he remained adamant. Unable to hide her contempt for him, she abruptly turned away, but she did vow to herself there and then that she would never, ever set foot in Smithton again as long as he breathed. The croft she had inherited was now to be rented out.
Harry never regretted William coming to stay in his home and, up to a point, Colin, his father, didn’t either. It was just that when Flora truthfully told Colin why Fergus had banned his son from Smithton that Colin seemed to ponder before saying, ‘The lad is welcome, but I don’t think our Harry and he should share a bed.’ This statement seemed to irk Flora, so to soften its effect Colin drawled, ‘And tomorrow, if we all agree, that is …’ He paused and looked Flora straight in the eye before continuing, ‘… I’ll take him with me and get him a start on the railway.’
At first this decision about the sleeping arrangements annoyed Harry because William, being older and now a working man, was given his spacious bedroom and he found himself crammed into the box room.
Harry was never sure whatever way it happened, but as the years passed by he forgot about being inconvenienced by William and the two of them bonded as close as brothers. Harry would always be so grateful to William for the help and support he gave to his mother and himself when Colin had a fatal fall at work.
Up to that time, seventeen-year-old Harry, who had stretched to five feet nine inches and was fortunate enough to have his slim, athletic form complemented by lightbrown wavy hair, twinkling blue eyes and a infectious smile, had never envisaged that his parents were mortal.
When his father was killed, it seemed to Harry that it was an unnecessary cruel blow and he found himself questioning God’s wisdom. Why, he wondered, did the Almighty take such a good man as his dad before he had enjoyed the full biblical threescore and ten years?
Thinking that only weak men wept, Harry had sought out times and places where he could weep in solitude. One of these places was in William’s bedroom, until William surprised him by coming home early. Harry was surprised then when William, instead of berating him, said, as he offered Harry a handkerchief, ‘Here son, cry your heart out. If Colin had been my dad, I would be suicidal at his loss.’
To everyone’s surprise, Shonag came down for the funeral. She had just got in the door when Flora said, ‘Don’t you be telling me you brought Fergus with you. I won’t be responsible for anything I say to him today.’
Going over and firstly embracing her son, she replied, ‘No. He is where he belongs – on his own.’
Cradling his mother closer to him, William, in a voice choked with sobs, managed to croak, ‘But Mum, how did you mange to persuade him to let you come?’
Releasing herself from her son, Shonag went over to sit on the arm of her sister’s chair, where she gave a triumphant laugh. ‘Well, as you all know, he is a man of strict religious beliefs and principles, so he never allows alcohol in his mouth. So when he forbade me to come down to pay my respects to a man I am indebted to, I just asked him to accompany me out into the cow byre, and going over to the back wall I removed one of the stones and lifted out the half-bottle of Johnnie Walker whisky that he keeps secreted there.’ Everyone in the room was dumbfounded. Shonag then continued with a wicked little laugh, ‘And handing Satan’s brew to him I said, “Here, throw it right down and over your throat like you
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