Destination Christmas - by Leslie Johnson
Last year, Maggie had
entered a contest to spend Christmas in a Scottish Castle. With a passion for the British Isles, Maggie
subscribed to a publication on British tourism. She had seen the advertisement
from Inverlochy Castle just outside Fort William, Scotland for years.
Unfortunately, it was out of her price range. But after COVID – businesses were
looking for ways to bring back clientele. She entered the contest and never
thought anymore about it until she received the phone call saying she had
won. Since it was a trip for two and
Maggie was currently in a state of unwedded bliss, she took her younger sister
Carole with her.
They flew over on the twenty-third
of December, landing in Scotland the morning of Christmas Eve. Arriving at the castle, the sisters checked
the list of activities planned. Guests could make their own gingerbread houses
for judging on Christmas Night. There was an hourly shuttle to the ski hill
where guests could go snowshoeing, skiing or snowboarding. There was a games
room with a billiard table, and several assorted board games and a large jigsaw
puzzle started but not finished. Across the hall was a library filled with
comfortable chairs and books to satisfy any reader’s taste. The girls dressed
warmly and went for a walk around the grounds to keep the jet lag at bay. At
six, dressed in their best Christmas finery they made their way to the Great
Hall where they enjoyed a champagne reception.
That’s when Maggie noticed
him. He stood across the room, near one
of the two fireplaces. He seemed to be alone, but Maggie couldn’t be sure –
there were nearly twenty-five people in the room, many couples but there were
more women than men. Her heart sank when she saw him talking with some
familiarity to a gorgeous brunette in a form fitting royal blue wrap dress. He
must be married.
As Maggie adjusted her dress over
her ample curves, she assuaged her disappointment by telling herself that she
wasn’t there to find a husband – she would just enjoy the supper and she
couldn’t wait to see Father Christmas as he bestowed each guest with a
champagne cocktail and a small gift on Christmas morning. She was looking
forward to it all.
After the welcoming speech, the
group moved into the large dining room. It
also boasted two fireplaces, a long table, elegantly set with crystal and
china. They found their name tags and sat down.
Maggie looked to her left and noticed she was sitting next to a Beatrice
Sharp and to her right…she saw masculine hand reaching for the back of the
chair and she looked up into his face.
She blushed and looked back at her plate. It was the man from the
fireplace.
Once the man was seated, he leaned
over and introduced himself. “I’m Hamish McGregor. And I see you are Maggie
Templeton. Please to meet you.”
Maggie nearly swooned as she
looked into his warm brown eyes. They twinkled with merriment and mischief and
she knew she was a goner. The night faded into a filmy and gauzy dream, the
live music, the caroling, the dancing. Hamish never left her side that night,
nor during the days that followed. Hamish made sure Carole was included in
their activities, though to her credit, Carole often begged off to spend time
with a group of widows she had befriended. When the sisters flew home to Canada
on January first, Hamish and Maggie were madly in love.
For the next year, they called
each other and flew back and forth a few times.
It was a whirlwind of getting to know one another and making decisions
about the future. On the twenty-fourth of December, they met again at
Inverlochy Castle.
Later that night in their
beautifully decorated room, Maggie watched Hamish try to relight the fire in
the gorgeous stone fireplace. Looking at his broad shoulders, his wispy brown
hair with silver threads beginning to appear, she thought herself the luckiest
woman alive. A moment later, she said, “I think you should call someone. You don’t know what
you’re doing.” She pulled the covers of the oversize four-poster bed up a
little higher, trying to stay warm.
“I was a boy scout.” Hamish
countered. Then he shivered loudly and stood up. “You might be right, though. I
can’t seem to get it to draw.” He crossed the room and climbed under the covers
bringing cold air with him. Maggie moved away but Hamish pulled her back. “Come
on, I need your warmth.” She let him
pull her to his side and they lay there looking into each other’s eyes.
The day was coming to
an end – a fairy tale wedding in the Great Room where Hamish had first noticed
Maggie, where he had asked his friend, the hotel manager to make sure he was
seated next to the lovely lady in the plum-colored dress, where Maggie had
noticed him and wondered… It was the perfect way to start their marriage.
Perfect, even if the fireplace had gone cold because Maggie could wrap herself
in the arms of the man she loved.
Christmas in a Scottish
Castle – Maggie whispered a soft thank you to the fates that had brought her
here and brought this man into her life. Then she pressed her lips to his as
the clock chimed the hour. Soon Father Christmas would come with champagne and
a little gift. She could hardly wait.
