Four Times the Trouble, Four Times the Charm

Another mystery on their hands: Who's the man?

          Diana sat down at the makeshift table that Joshie had made for her while the great hall tables were being repaired and pulled on a pair of cotton gloves. She went through the papers slowly to see if she could find anymore clues to who their ghost was. Diana looked over to where Maris was working and saw that she already had a small section cleaned and was working on the next one. "How's it going cuz?" she asked. Maris looked up and grinned at the pile of parchments in front of her cousin. "It's slow going but I'm getting it done without damaging the paint. What is all that?" she responded, pointing a swab at the parchments."I found most of these in a hidden compartment in a Mantle and the rest were in a desk drawer upstairs. While Willie and his son are working up there, I figured that I would bring these down and go through them to see if I can figure out who our ghost is. The men should be done with the rooms upstairs by dinner time and then you three can decide on which rooms you want to use" Diana replied. Maris grinned. "I would love to have the rooms you claimed but I feel a presence in there. Doesn't it bother you?" Maris said and Diana shook her head no. They both got back to work. Diana took out another notebook and pencil then opened the first parchment she had pulled out of the desk. It was the accounting of the livestock that had been raised in eleven ninety one and by whom. The next was an accounting of the  crops that were raised in that same year. The next one was an impressive listing of everyone living within the boundaries of the land. The next was the account of a dispute between two of the villagers. There were more accounts of crops, livestock and people and disputes. She came across a detailed battle plan and she studied it carefully. It was good,very good, probably better than her father could have come up with and he was a military man. Her throat tightened as she thought about her parents and her aunt and uncle. She shook her head and wrote down all the information she had gleaned from the parchments so far. She still hadn't come across the name of the ghost of that of the Laird so far. She reached back into the box and pulled out the parchments from the mantle space. She went through them more slowly. There was one from the Pendragon King of England demanding the immediate surrender of the Laird of the Clan MacLaughlan and all his lands and title if he didn't swear his fealty to the king. Diana furiously wrote down the names and dates. She carefully placed the parchment back into the case. Still she hadn't found a specific name to put to anything she had read so far. The Laird of Clan MacLaughlan was becoming more mysterious by the minute. She placed that one back into the case as well. She unfolded the last one and found the marriage contract and where the names should have been there were symbols instead. One of them she finally recognized. It was the one on the keys to her rooms. So the one was the Laird's symbol and she wrote it down but was thoroughly frustrated by the fact she still didn't have any names. She ran her fingers through her hair and growled. Maris looked up at her for a moment, shrugged her shoulders and went back to work. Diana placed that one back in the case. There was only one parchment left. She crossed her fingers and hoped it would shed some light on who he was. Diana unfolded it carefully. It was a birth record for an Alec MacLaughlan and next to his name was the symbol that was on all the parchments, the keys and the doors. She finally had a name of the Laird but were he and the ghost one and the same? Was Alec the ghost that was on the video and in her dream? She read through the birth record. Alec had been born in eleven sixty five a.c.e. that would have made him twenty seven in eleven ninety two. It could be possible. She still needed more proof to put the name to the face. Betsy and her daughter came into the great hall to serve dinner. Maris had stopped working and went to get the men and the other two women. They had just finished with the rooms and tub upstairs and we're getting ready to come down. They all sat down and discussed what they had done that day and what still needed to be done. Devon had found a set of stairs that led down into the depths of the castle but held off on exploring it until they could do it together and all were able to help for safety reasons. They had explored the barracks and the armory before helping Willie and Joshie. "It's eerie. It's almost as if they all suddenly died or just vanished, like in the mural. All their weapons and their personal belongings are still there as if they expected to return" Devon said and Marian nodded in agreement. Diana told them what she had discovered in the parchments. "The Norman king had demanded that the Laird surrender himself and all rebels or face an all out battle. I had also found very well thought out battle plans. Devon, I would like you to take a look at them and tell me your opinion of them. The only name that I have been able to come up with so far is, Alec MacLaughlan. As to whether he is the ghost of not, I won't know until I get more information. I do know this, he was twenty seven in eleven ninety two and he was married" Diana said. Maris spoke up next. "It's slow going but the painting had a landscape in the background. I have uncovered the stone circles from the village so far. I'm going to work on it some more after dinner for as long as I can. I have to go very slow because I don't have the exact age of the painting. If I'm not careful, I could destroy it. I figure it will be another two or three days before I finish it" she said. "Ladies, her rooms be ready fer ye to use. We have even brought up tubs fer ye to bath in and placed  water over the fires fer not water and extra buckets of cold water to mix in iffen it be too hot. The portcullis gate will be removed tomorrow and the new one will be ready in a fortnight. Joshie will be overseeing the job himself" Willie said and then turned to Diana, "Milady, ye mentioned the paintings on the wall?" Diana nodded. "Yes, I had noticed that one of them the plaster had chipped and there were what I had first thought were scratches. Don't worry, they actually belong there. They aren't scratches but carvings under the plaster. What I want to do is carefully remove the plaster and see what lay underneath. If we need to, we could fill in the carved lines with fresh plaster and sand down the excess so that only the lines will be filled in. This will make them stand out against the stone" she explained. Willie nodded his head in understanding. "It will be me pleasure although tis a shame to ruin the paintings but they are in really poor shape. It does me heart good to know that them scratches belong there. I had thought that me son Joshie had done them when we were cleaning the walls of cobwebs" he said. They finished their meal so Betsy and Maggie cleaned the kitchen up before heading back to the manor house for the night. Diana and Willie brought the floodlights back down and set them up as Maris resumed her work on the painting. Devon looked over the parchment containing the battle plans.

          Diana and Willie set up two stepladders and started to examine the chipped painting. They carefully scraped at the plaster to expose more of the carvings below it. It was apparent that unless they did something to highlight the carvings, it would be hard to see. They  climbed back down to discuss it. "What if we use a light coating of plaster and sand down the high spots so the plaster stays in the etchings and then seal it with a clear coat of varnish?" Diana suggested. "She that might work but I was thinking of those paint pens. It may take longer though" he replied. "Well we could try both and see which method works best" she stated. Willie agreed. "Get the supplies we will need tomorrow. We'll start on it the day after tomorrow. We are going to check out some of the lower areas tomorrow and may need your help like with the bath chamber" she explained. "She, with the lights and the siren and all?" he asked. Diana nodded. They said good night and the men left. The four women turned out the lights and by flashlight, they took their sleeping bags upstairs to their rooms. Willie and Joshie had done a wonderful job of fixing the furniture and cleaning up the rooms. There was even fires in the fire places. Devon and her cousins decided to share one room, so they chose the feminine chamber that was close to the ones Diana had chosen. The thought of ghosts wandering around and the eerie carving on the one headboard was enough to make them want to stay together. Diana wasn't afraid of the ghost. He seemed to be protective for some reason. She went into her bedroom and got ready for bed. Then she sat on the bed with the box holding the scrolls. She remembered the one in Arabic and Diana dug through them until she found what she was looking for. She carefully unrolled them. If these were truly written by Merlin, it was the only proof in the world that he actually existed. They were beyond value. It would also mean that the legend of King Arthur was true. She could never let the world know the truth. If his power were to be discovered it could mean world destruction. "Bless ye child, I chose well for truth and justice" the voice said in her head. "So, I'm haunted by you as well, Merlin"she said out loud. "She lass, but ye doona have to tell. I can hear her thoughts" Merlin responded. Diana shook her head and chuckled. Merlin's voice laughed in her head. "There be more to the story. Sleep now and see the truth. Bring back life to the magic. Open yerself to the wonders of my world" his voice said. Diana put aside the scrolls and the box. She crawled under the covers and lay her head upon her pillow. "Show me" she whispered through a yawn. She was soon fast asleep. Diana floated up and out the window. She crossed the ground quickly and came to the village circles. Her sister and cousins were already there, waiting. They were inside the outer stone circle. There was an elderly man dressed in robes with all the colors of the forest. He smiled and her family looked scared. Diana smiled back, "We are here Master Merlin. "Very good. The swords will be placed into the inner circle, in these holes, in this order" he stated and looked at each woman, "Yellow is first in the East followed by green in the north, blue in the West and lastly red in the South. Ye will walk eleven full turns and ninety two steps in a counter wise direction. This must be done on the day of the lunar eclipse. It must be done  precisely as I say are all will be for naught as everything will not have the right outcome. My son's life depends on it as well as his people." He explained looking at each woman in turn to make sure they understood what he was saying. Devon, Maris and Marian stood there in stunned silence. Did they hear correctly? Did Diana call the old man Merlin? Diana smiled and nodded. "Aye lassies, I am the one that was known by that name but it were not the name I was born with. It was so long ago that I have even forgotten it" he said chuckling. They still couldn't believe it. He raised his arms and the stones began to glow. He lowered his arms and the light faded. Diana walked up to him and asked, "Why did you say your son's life depends on it?" He smiled at her. "Ye will understand soon enough. Now lassies, ye will have to practice with the swords fore ye will have to be exceptional afore ye go back. Ye will need the proper clothing and be warned, 'twil be a time of brutality" he said in warning, "Now it be time to return to yer slumber." He raised his arms in the air and they flew back to their rooms, to sleep. Diana started to have the nightmare again but as the darkness threatened to take her over again, the mysterious man once again appeared. He held her in his arms, chasing away the darkness and fear. He bent his head and kissed her. The darkness screeched in agony as it retreat further away from them. Diana woke with a start and her lips tingled. She looked towards the window. The sky outside was growing lighter. Diana looked around the room and brought her fingers up to her lips. They were swollen and the tingling sensation intensified. "Very funny. Do you always bother women while they are either bathing or sleeping" she said sarcastically to the air around her. She heard a deep chuckle.