Four Times the Trouble, Four Times the Charm

A mystery and a trip to Scotland part 2

          Diana was glad she had taken dated shots of the sword including ones of her holding it. The year before she had purchased an exquisite sword and it had been stolen but because of the pictures she had taken of it, it had been quickly recovered and returned to her. She had then donated it to a museum for their exhibit on the Civil War era. The police had given her a hard time until she had shown them the dated photos. Now she had them stored on several devices just in case. Calling it a night they went to bed.

          At three thirty am the alarm went off and Diana got up, showered, dressed and was in the kitchen making breakfast for them while Devon went into the shower. The sandwiches she wrapped in aluminum foil and put the coffee into a large thermos. They would eat one sandwich each and have some of the coffee then give the rest to one of the homeless people that hung out at the airport. She then called for the cab to be there at exactly four thirty. They sat there and waited for the cab. They both looked around. Diana had sold her house with all it's furnishings to a young couple. They allowed her to stay there for the last week and they would be there later that day to move in. She cleaned and dried the dishes that they used and put them away as she heard the cab pull up. She grabbed their luggage and Devon grabbed the food and airline case, closed and locked the door. Diana took one last look at the house before getting in the cab. "I know it's hard to leave something that was yours for so long and move halfway around the world to someplace new but it's our destiny, don't you agree?" Devon said as she saw her sister's eyes glisten with unshed tears. Diana nodded. "So who bought the place?" Devon asked. "Benny and Joanne. I gave them a payment plan on it as a wedding gift. They only owe me ten thousand dollars in 'the whenever they can pay me plan. They just have to let me know when they are sending me the payment and keep up on the taxes. They have already paid me seven grand and they are looking to finance the rest through his father" she said. Devon smiled. It was only a five minute ride to the airport so they were there in plenty of time. They checked in and had their luggage taken to the plane loading area except their carry-ons. They still had plenty of time before their boarding call so the went back outside and sat down to eat their sandwiches and have a cup of coffee each. A homeless man approached them as they were finishing up and Diana handed him the bag with the two extra sandwiches and the thermos of coffee. "Bless you ladies and have a wonderful day" he said and walked away to enjoy his bounty.

          They walked back inside and went through the security checkpoint where they showed there Visas and boarding passes then to their gate. They still had a bit of a wait so Diana sat down and pulled out her book on 'The Clans of the Highlands' and looked up where the village they were going to was located. The boarding call came at five thirty, she put the book away and they boarded the plane. Diana placed her briefcase and her flightbag into the overhead compartment. Devon did the same and sat next to her sister who had the window seat. Diana watched as the luggage cart arrived at the plane's hold. Diana smiled as she saw the case containing the sword was loaded onto the conveyor belt and going into the hold of the plane. 'Well now if it disappears it will be because someone in England at baggage handling took it or someone at baggage claims tries to take it. The plane took off at exactly six am. The flight was uneventful but Diana's worry over the the case wouldn't allow her to work on the parchment. They landed in London and went through customs  and baggage claims without any problems. They walked over to the cab stands and took one to the train station heading to Edinburgh, bought their tickets and we're on their way to Scotland. Diana called her cousins and let them know that they were on their way and would be arriving at the Edinburgh station at seven in the morning the next day. Diana handed her phone over to Devon. And as she chatted with Marian, Diana fell asleep. She dreamed of an old man smiling at her and saying, "Trust in the magic of the land. Trust in your heart and believe in your will and you will come to know great joy." Then her dream changed and she saw a much younger man. He was holding out his hand to her and smiling. Again she didn't work on the parchment. They wound up arriving two days later than scheduled because of a cow giving birth on the tracks. When they arrived, both Marian and Maris were waiting for them. "We had heard about the delay and stayed in a hotel close by. Now let's get your things loaded and be on our way" Maris said. They hugged each other and looked around for a cart. There were looks of surprise on some of the people's faces as they passed by the four women. One little boy tugged on Marian's sleeve. She squatted down and they all smiled because they knew what the boy was about to ask. "Lady, are ye all sisters?" he asked her. She smiled and replied, "Yes and no. Diana and Devon are sisters and Maris and I are sisters. Diana and Devon are our cousins." He studied them for a moment and grinned. " 'Splains it all" he said. Diana ruffled his hair and he grinned up at the tall woman. His mother came hurrying over to them. "Sorry iffen he's been a bother to ye" she said in apology. "He's no bother at all, he's just curious and that's a good thing. It means that he is using his brain the right way" Diana said and the woman smiled before she led her little boy away. They loaded up their luggage onto a cart and made their way out to the car. The four women loaded up the station wagon. "Where did you find this thing? It looks like it came out of the nineteen seventies for God's sake" Devon asked as she opened the door to get in and it groaned in protest. Maris laughed. "We borrowed it from the local doctor. He uses it as an ambulance. It was this or a lorry, a type of truck used to haul farm animals and can only fit two in the cab" she explained. Devon shivered at the thought of riding in the back of a farm truck, possibly with manure all over it. Devon laughed weakly as Diana smiled and shook her head. "You had to ask" Marian said and laughed out loud.

          It was another five hour drive into the Highlands, so they caught up on the happenings. Marian told them about the people and the countryside. Maris told them about the manor house and the castle that was tucked up to the mountainside. "And the swords are fantastic. It's surprising how similar they all are" Marian said. At this, Diana's head swung around from her study of the countryside. At her look of interest, Marian went on, "As I told you, there are four swords, the only differences are the colors of the gems on each one, the etchings on the blades and the one I sent you is the longest and heaviest of them all. They each have a parchment with them." This led Diana to discuss what she had found out about the sword she had. "My God you've got to be joking!" Marian exclaimed. "Wow it has to be a joke, this just can't be real" Maris stated. Devon just stared at her sister wide-eyed. Diana shook her head and said, "No" and meant it. "But women were just considered property, weren't they?" Maris asked. Diana had no answer to her cousin's question, so she turned her attention back toward the countryside once again and thought about it. Her mind drifted to why her family had left such a beautiful country to begin with. She felt as if she was coming home. They turned onto a cobbled street as they came into the village just outside their lands. It looked as if time had turned back its hands to give them a glimpse of the past. They were going to spend the night here and get an early start in the morning. Diana spoke up then. "There is an old work that had been done on the history of the Highlands and their customs. It is theorized that the Picts were a warrior class but had a matriarchal society. Women warriors were not unheard of among them. Just maybe this clan was so remote enough for this custom to have survived into the Dark Ages and maybe even into the Middle Ages. Then again there may have been a shortage of men and the women had to take up arms to defend themselves and their homes. There could be any number of reasons for the runes on the swords. They could possibly be symbolic or ceremonial you could say. I won't really know until I examine all the swords and decipher the parchments" she explained. "You know, your first idea is very plausible. The estate is in a very remote and inaccessible location" Maris said. "How inaccessible are we talking about?" Devon asked raising her brows up. "From this village, we are going to  have to go the rest of the way by horseback, so I hope you have your riding dude handy" Marian said. Devon groaned but it wasn't because of her riding skills. Everyone but her laughed. " I had my riding clothes sent ahead when we shipped the horses over. I didn't know we were going to have to ride there" she said glumly, " I should have been told sooner, I would have gotten more in London."  Marian smiled. "I have a spare set that I can loan you. I knew that Miss Business Woman would remember her suits and forget about comfort" she said and Diana nodded in agreement.

          Diana would have given her the clothes she needed but they wouldn't have fit her as well as Marian's will. Diana is six feet tall and Devon is only five feet eight inches tall. Devon is fit and slender whereas Diana is curvier and  more muscular. Even though they all look alike there are these subtle differences in height and build plus a few others to tell them apart. They all have chestnut colored hair ranging from the lightest shade in Maris to the darkest in Diana. Their eye color is another way to tell them apart. Maris and Marian have blue and blue green eyes respectively, Devon has green gold eyes and Diana has dark, intense green eyes. Diana has two distinctive scars, one running from just in front of her right ear down along her jaw to her chin. The other is thick and shorter that is on the left side of her neck. She had gotten these scars from her psychotic ex-fiancé.  She still suffers nightmares from it but they weren't as frequent as before.