Cold All the Way Through, But Warming

A Much Needed Visit

After a couple of weeks, Mr. Collins was much more comfortable with writing with his left hand, even if it was still rather shaky. I had taken every one of his shirts and jackets and pinned up the empty sleeve, stocked the shelves with food from Mother and made sure to leave instructions for Mr. Welton to send food to Sylvie and the Murdochs. Kate had come around, she had been one to join up during the rush for nurses and only came around a couple times a week, and she had promised to help Mr. Collins as needed while I was gone.

I had offered to bring Collins with me to Scotland, but he had refused. "I'm viewing your absence as a bit of a test, ma'am." He had turned to me with his latest writing effort, a sheet covered in scrawl that slowly grew more legible. "If I can survive with you being gone for a few days, then I can start finding a place for myself sooner."

I felt awful for actually being relieved that Collins would be staying behind, but it meant that I might be able to slip away and see if I could visit Will. I had booked myself a room, had made arrangements for Rigel to accompany me, and had even purchased my tickets the day before I boarded the train. A porter had charge of my trunk, a conductor saw me to my compartment, and I settled in with a book for the ride.

During my time living in Will's house, I had traded my adventure novels for the naval theory books I had bought for him. I still read my preferred books, but they were the ones I took to the hospital. The men there enjoyed them as much as I did, and thankfully Andrew had been moved to a different ward after there had been a flare of infection in his back. I had heard one of the nurses talking about the doctor missing a piece of shrapnel, which had meant a painful treatment of having the cut reopened, the pus drained and the shrapnel removed.

Despite my dislike of the man's musical taste, I had still felt awful for him and had given the nurse a dozen chocolate bars for him.

I found my eyes blurring as I read my way north, the words swimming before my eyes. I could not figure out how the author managed to make Nelson's victory at Trafalgar boring. I flipped past it, instead searching for more thrilling narratives. Unfortunately, the author was so thorough in his explanations of every event that I had thrown the book aside barely an hour after we left London. I dug in my bag for the romance I had brought, having anticipated this.

It was rather mindless but at least I was entertained.

Rigel was glad to get off the train when we reached Edinburgh, half dragging me through the station while the porter huffed to follow with my trunk. I hadn't booked the same hotel, it would be a bit much for just myself, but a perfectly fine establishment was located only a few streets away. My room was well appointed and looked out over a park, the footman who was to look after Rigel was quite glad to have an excuse to avoid polishing silver, and the hotel's restaurant made an excellent mutton stew for dinner.

In the morning I breakfasted on scones and honey, accepted Rigel's leash from the footman and got into a cab to meet with my realtor. A local by the name of McTaggart he had been glad to receive my inquiries, and his letter had informed me that he had a number of properties to show me. The cabbie drove me to the first one, located near Edinburgh Castle. I could see McTaggart waiting outside, an older man in a tweed suit who immediately came forward to open the door. "Mrs. Murdoch, I see you managed to find the place."

I passed the fare to the cabbie before exiting, followed by Rigel. "It's rather hard to miss." Indeed it was, the house we were in front of could rightly be called a manor. Its grounds had two gardens side by side before the front door, and when I was led inside, I had to purse my lips. Before being put on the market, it had obviously been some Duke's northern retreat and was decorated as such.

If I hadn't been put off by the various trophies displayed, the sheer size of the place put me off. Three stories with a basement, a courtyard out back, a small stable and garage, I couldn't handle it. I needed something smaller, a few extra bedrooms for visitors, but not entire wings of bedrooms. McTaggart was understanding when I raised these points, and we spent the morning driving from place to place.