Two days later, Ann was on her way to Drummond Hall, situated on a private island in Bennett Bay, on Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Following the directions on the scrap of paper Shelly had given her, she drove through an elegant neighborhood of grand houses overlooking the lake, before coming to the bridge.
Thinking back to the phone call she had with Jim’s aunt, she recalled learning all about the island estate. Aunt Faye explained how it had been in the Drummond family for generations. How their Scottish ancestors, who had immigrated there, built a replica of Drummond Castle on the estate. It was a piece of their Scottish home from Perthshire, Scotland, in the wild west of America.
The large, stone, castle had been built on a private 732 acre island of pine forests, grasslands, and rocky shores. A great meadow of grass and wildflowers, at the east end, overflowed down a crumbling cliff into the deep end of the lake.
On the lake side, stone walls elevated the palatial estate, while stone balustrades gave way to the lawns below, by arched stairways.
As Ann turned off the main road, she traveled between two splendid estates overlooking the water.
Descending the hill, she slowed as she came to a majestic stone bridge spanning the lake, with stone arches beneath the structure and balustrades extending their architectural beauty across the sparkling water to the gatehouse on the other side.
In front of her, next to the opening on the bridge, a sign read, “Drummond Hall, Private Property, No Trespassing.”
Slowly, taking in the beautiful scenery, she drove over the bridge to the tall, ornate gates barring her way.
At the gatehouse, the door opened and an elderly gentleman in Scottish working attire emerged.
“Goot morn, may ah help ye?” asked the aging man, with white bushy hair, and a handsome, tailored beard.
His Scottish brogue is so cute, Ann thought to herself.
“I’m Ann Henderson. I have an appointment with Mrs. Drummond,” she told him, liking the look of the friendly old man smiling down at her.
“She’s expectin’ ye. Goo right thru an follow da main rood ta de hoose. Faye will meet ye thar,” he told her as he pushed a button, opening the gates.
“Thank you,” Ann said, as the large gates swung open silently.
Excitement stirred as she comprehended she was about to enter a realm where not everyone could go, to meet a person of great wealth, something she had never known.
This unfamiliar world began to frighten her, and she wondered whether she would ever fit into a place like this. As she tried to ease her fears, she resolved to give it a chance.
The long driveway made of brick pavers, lined with exposed aggregate shoulders, wound its way through the pine forest for a way. After a while, just before the house, it crossed an open field, revealing the gardens surrounding the mansion.
The drive took her past the castle, showing its stone structure sitting beautifully among tall, mature, majestic trees that sheltered the house. On the lake side, a manicured lawn and rose garden descended to the shore below.
Circling back now toward the mansion, the drive ended in a large circle in front of the house with a colossal water fountain in the center of the turnaround. The sound of frolicking water mingled with the singing of birds nearby, was a joy to listen too.
The gigantic house was made of local granite. Large and small turrets embellished the building, with steep roofs poking the sky, while tall windows allowed plenty of light to flood the structure. This magnificent edifice indeed looked like a castle of old.
A wide porch with a few shallow steps to the front double doors provided an elegant entrance to the three-story home rising high into the sky, with ample attic windows peeked from under the roof line, onto the world below.
On the front steps, waiting for her, was Aunt Faye.
She looks so much like Jim, only older. She has the same black hair, blue eyes and tall, slim frame. And her smile is so much like his, Ann realized.
The two women waved heartily at each other, as Ann parked her car.
Faye ran down the steps and gave her a big hug.
Well, this is a good start, thought Ann, as she accepted the friendly gesture gratefully.
“Come on in, Ann. Nessa’s waiting for you in the morning room. Now, don’t you worry about a thing. She’s really looking forward to meeting you. She’s quite a wonderful lady and I think you’ll find her a treasure to know. She’s a little lonely and needs someone to talk to, of course,” Faye chatted on.
“But, it’s me that needs your help, Ann. I can keep up with most of the house work in this grand old place, along with the cooking, but I can’t do the rest without help. Truthfully, Ann, I need help getting the shopping done, and taking her on errands if she has the strength to go, and doing her correspondence and such. It shouldn’t be too much. I’ve the Winslow girls in here five days a week to help with the house work,” Faye explained.
Ann felt pleased to be helping this bubbly woman, she liked her immediately, and the thought of working in this elegant house was exciting.
What an adventure, she realized.
They walked down a wide, lavish great hall made of elegant wood paneling and flag stone flooring. Huge wooden beams held up the massive floors high above them. A majestic, wide stairway rose to the second floor and its balcony on the left side of this great room.
This hall is larger than a small house, Ann thought to herself in wonder.
The back of the hall opened out into a solarium full of light, tropical plants, and white wicker furniture.
Ann delighted in the wonder of the room, as she walked through the splendid garden, light filtering through the palm leaves and foliage, the smell of damp earth and growing things filling her senses.
To the left of the room of glass, was the morning room, with streams of sunlight falling through its own wall of windows onto an elegant room with an antique sideboard displaying a marvelous assortment of silver serving dishes on delicate, white lace doilies. The smell coming from them made Ann’s stomach growl with desire. Sitting at the table laden with china, crystal and silver in the center of the room, was an elegant woman in white.
Nessa Drummond had beautiful green eyes, in a gentle face, and happy lines mingled with her wrinkles. Her silver hair fell in a bob to her shoulders, giving her an air of youth on a face of age and wisdom.
“Nessa, this is Ann Henderson,” Faye said as she held out a chair for their guest to sit in.
“Good morning Ann,” Nessa said softly. “Do you mind if I call you Ann?”
“No, not at all, Mrs. Drummond,” Ann responded cheerfully, sitting down.
“Nessa, please,” the elderly lady countered. “There’s no need to be formal here.”
“Would you like a cup of coffee?” Faye asked Ann.
“Yes, please.”
“Refill, Mrs. D?” Faye inquired.
Mrs. Drummond held up her cup with a smile.
Ann sat studying the elderly woman. She had the appearance of elegant beauty, pleasantly aged, with a face sweetly tempered and happy. Yet Ann thought she detected sadness in her eyes.
I must be imagining things. What could she be sad about, having all that she has? Ann thought, shaking the image away.
After serving Nessa and Ann, Faye sat down with her own coffee and proceeded to ask Ann about her life, and experiences. Nessa joined in, once in a while, but allowed Faye to do most of the talking.
When the preliminary questions were over, Faye looked at Mrs. Drummond and received a nod of approval.
“Ann, we’d like you to take over Mrs. Abernathy’s responsibilities. She helped running the house for Mrs. D, did the shopping, and took Nessa to doctor appointments and such. She also did Mrs. D’s correspondence. Would you be interested in doing that for us?” Faye inquired.
“Yes, very much. I ran my ex-husbands office for quite a while. It shouldn’t be a problem,” Ann told them.
“Good!” Faye said happily, “Would $80,000 a year be agreeable to you for a sta
rt?”
“$80,000!” Ann responded aloud, astonished.
That sum’s outrageous. Why so much? There must be something wrong with the job.
“That’s an awful lot of money to pay for a part time job,” Ann said in wonder. “How many days a week do you want me to come in?”
Faye and Nessa looked startled.
“Ann, this is a full time job and we need you to live on the estate. We need you to be available anytime Mrs. D needs something done. I thought I told Shelly all about it,” Faye said with concern. “You’d have Sunday and Monday off, unless there’s an emergency. We’d try to keep to the hours between 9:00 in the morning and 5:00 at night during the week, but there will always be a few occasions when you’ll be needed past that time.”
“Oh,” was all Ann could say, becoming disheartened.
Hurriedly Faye continued, “Mrs. Abernathy had wonderful rooms on the third floor overlooking the lake. The rooms are large and spacious, with wonderful light. We really need someone living here.”
“But, I have a child, and my mother lives with us. I don’t see how it could work out,” Ann said sadly as she saw a good job fading from her grasp.
Nessa Drummond spoke softly, “Ann, there’s plenty of room up there for all of you. We even have an elevator for easy access. I’d like you to seriously consider moving here, if you can, with your whole family.”
“I don’t know,” Ann expressed her concern. “Marty has just turned seven. Would you want such a young child around?” Ann asked Mrs. Drummond.
Faye and Ann looked to the elderly woman for her response. She said kindly, “I love children. It would be wonderful to have the laughter of a child around the house again,” but this time Ann was sure she saw longing and real pain behind those crystal green eyes of hers.
“Ann, do you need some time to think about it?” Mrs. Drummond asked her.
“It’s a lot to take in all at once,” Ann said, unsure of what to do. “It’s such a big decision, with enormous changes to our lives.”
“I understand. Faye, why don’t you take her up to the rooms and let her see them,” offered Nessa. “Maybe that would help.”
“Sure, I’d be happy to,” Faye said, standing.
“Thank you,” Ann said, as she thought about what was being offered.
If the place is large enough, it could be a blessing to move here.
But what if something goes wrong? What if the job doesn’t work out, for instance? Where would we go? Yet, we’re almost homeless, as it is. This could be the answer to my prayers, but what if it isn’t?
If there’s enough room, I know Mom would come, but how about Marty? How will this change affect her? She’d have to change schools. What should I do?
Ann worried as she followed Faye through a spacious, modern kitchen.
One thing at a time. Let’s look at the rooms first.
The new, updated kitchen had ample granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances set in among rich wooden cabinets and a set of beautiful copper pots hanging above the island stove. Walking over the flagstone floor, they entered the formal dining room.
Two, large, crystal chandeliers hung from the beamed ceiling, high above a long elegant table surrounded by twenty-two high backed chairs in the center of the room. On the longest wall, opposite of the bank of windows, was a magnificent mural of the 1746 Battle of Culloden between Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Duke of Cumberland. The morning light seemed to give the painting life, as the rays of sunshine illuminated the last epic struggle for Scotland.
Leaving the magnificent room, they emerged into a small hallway. Turning right, they passing closed doorways until, at the end of the hall, one door opened into a small paneled room the size of a walk-in closet. It was the elevator.
Entering the small lift, Faye chatted away about the house. She told her guest about the huge library and family room off the great hall, and the billiards room and study on the other side.
“I hope you’ll like the rooms on the third floor, Ann. They originally belonged to Gordon Drummond’s eldest daughter. Though a spinster, she lived a graceful and useful life here, helping the sick and poor in the area. All the rooms up there were updated by Thomas Drummond and his wife just a few decades ago,” Faye explained.
Ascending to the third floor, softly, silently, the doors opened without a sound onto a large sitting room, with a fireplace at the far end. Off the sitting room, to the left, were large spacious bedrooms, overlooking the lake below. Each room had their own on-suite bathroom, clean, stylish, and roomy. A matching set of bedrooms existed on the other side of the sitting room, overlooking the fields and gardens below.
The bedrooms were constructed with various angles and edges accommodating the steep angled roof and dormers, she had seen earlier in the day. Exposed beams, every few feet or so, rose to the peak of the roof overhead, with white plastered ceilings in between, making the rooms look ancient and medieval. Ample light filtered into the rooms from the windows. She was thrilled with the abundant space, and the accommodations.
“Everything you see here stays, if you wish,” Faye told her as they toured the rooms.
If she chose to accept the job, there would be plenty of room for her family.
Back in the sitting room, to the right of the fireplace, she noticed a small doorway opening into a kitchenette, with a small table and chairs, a microwave, and hot plate, along with a few cupboards. The angled roof of the little room made it cozy. A cottage window, over a small sink, looked out over the various roofing angles of the castle, giving a varied view of the hills and mountains beyond.
What a lovely room to start the morning. What a wonderful opportunity this could be for all of us. Marty would be attending a better school. Mom would be comfortable up here in these beautiful rooms and I’d have steady employment and feel useful again. I might even be able to save my wages for the future. What a God given gift this could be, to live here, and the blessings that might be ours.
But, there are issues to be taken care of first, she realized.
“Faye, this is a big decision. I’d like to let you know for sure, say… by tomorrow? This isn’t what I expected when I arrived this morning, but it’s a wonderful opportunity for all of us,” Ann explained.
“I’m sure that’ll be just fine with Mrs. D, but let’s go down and make sure,” Faye offered as they left the beautiful rooms.
Mrs. Drummond agreed, and as Ann drove home she thought about the new job and the different world she would be living in. But, what to do about the problems she faced if she wanted the job?
Where am I going to get the money to pay off my back rent? I can’t ask Mrs. Drummond for it. Will Mr. Weinsteen allow us to leave, owing it to him? How can I quit my job completely and leave Shelly all alone? And, most of all… will Mom and Marty “go for it,” as they say?
Drummond Hall