A Chance Meeting in Glasgow

Chapter 7

True to his self-description, Andrew rose early the next morning and, fortified with coffee, pulled out his writing materials.  The first letter pertained strictly to business and ultimately bore the address of the Pan-Pacific offices in San Francisco.  The next one, to Mary, was personal and more in the manner of a travelogue.  The information contained had been a joy to share, but the information left out was disconcerting and Andrew did not achieve the expected happiness at the letter’s completion.

He was a long way from that home and it wasn’t for the first time.  When he was younger it had been different, but for the last few years he’d let senior employees of Pan Pacific handle this kind of trip.  Why had he agreed with Mary’s suggestion that he go himself this time?

He was afraid to voice the answer.  There was something missing in his life.  He hadn’t come to find fulfillment, thought – he’d run away from the emptiness.  By so doing he’d left behind a good life and people who loved him and depended on him.  Don’t do anything here in Glasgow to complicate returning to the good things you have, he thought.

Correspondence completed, he made rapid preparations to spend most of the day in the saddle.  He donned his riding clothes and pulled on his boots, then rode the lift down to the lobby.  “I’ll be out until mid-afternoon, then leaving again for dinner” he told the desk clerk as he handed over the key.

“Yes, sir, very good,” came the exacting reply.

He had worried with the letters longer than he had intended, and Andrew went over-striding down the street, rapidly covering the distance to the stable. When he rode out a few minutes later, he spoke quietly to the big horse, “Duke, I have some thinking to do and I need to get it done and have a clear mind for my evening with Ian.  Your job is to get me in the mental state to do it.  Let’s see your long legs in action!”

Katherine woke late and giddy.  A male friend was a new experience for her.  He was kind and thoughtful and funny, and he said the dearest, sweetest things to her.  He enjoyed the company of children, which had always been a touchstone for Katherine.  When she’d spoken at length about her passionate work to improve women’s lives there in Glasgow, he’d sat and listened - really listened!  And then the carriage ride home!

Katherine realized she had her eyes closed and was squeezing her legs together.  She released and relaxed her body and rolled onto her side.  She tried pressing into the mattress to recreate the feel of being pressed up against Mr. Spears.  It wasn’t the same.

He hadn’t smelled like salt sea air anymore, but the other scent – the one she liked so much – was still there.  She grabbed her pillow and hugged it to her.  She realized what she was doing and put the pillow back under her head.

She saw there on her bedside table the card she had purloined from the package in the coat.  She picked it up and ran her finger tips along its edges as she reviewed yet again the events of the evening before - and then the printed words before her eyes burned into her brain:  “Wallace Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland through June, 1875”.

She pulled the covers over her head.  You are a fool, Katherine.  He is a rich, important man who will ultimately have no place for a woman like you.  He sailed into Glasgow, and in three months he will sail back out of Glasgow.  It will be best to let him will sail out of your life, too.  That way…arrgh!  She pounded the pillow.

The pillow took it in stride.  Besides, she learned practically nothing about him – nothing important, anyway.  Did he have family?  Was there someone in his life?  She’d been unprepared to meet him on her own; families were supposed to arrange that sort of thing.  She and Mr. Spears had no mutual connections to inform her of the fundamentals of a man: his background and character.