lips.
“You must wonder what kind of man would put makeup on his face,” Andrew said, glancing at Duff in his mirror.
“No, I …”
Andrew’s laugh interrupted his response. “I know, I know, my own brothers tease me about it. But one must outline the eyes and the mouth when on stage, for next to the voice, those are the most important instruments in an actor’s profession. With them we exhibit surprise”—Andrew opened wide his eyes and mouth—”anger”—he squinted his eyes and drew his mouth into a snarl—”sadness”—he managed to make his eyes droop and his lips curl down—”and happiness.” Again his eyes were wide, though not quite as wide, and his mouth spread into a wide smile.
Duff laughed, and applauded. “That is very good,” he said.
“Yes, you could see it because you are here with me, in the same room and but a few feet away. On stage, however, the audience member in the farthest row from the stage must be able to see those same reactions, and in order to do that, we must use makeup.”
“I can see how that would be so,” Duff said.
There was a light knock on the door and a woman’s voice called through. “Andrew, are you decent?”
“Why, Sister, I am one of the most decent people I know,” Andrew replied.
“That had better be more than a joke, because I am coming in,” Rosanna said, pushing the door open and stepping into the room. Her makeup and costume had been removed, but she was still, Duff saw, a very attractive woman. She smiled at Duff. “Did Andrew tell you we want you to be our dinner guest tonight?”
“I told him, but he refused,” Andrew said.
“What?” Rosanna replied in surprise.
“It turns out that he wants us to be his guest.”
Rossana laughed. “I hope you accepted.”
“Of course I did,” Andrew said.
Chapter 3
After the show Duff took his two cousins out to dinner at the King’s Arms restaurant.
“It is Scot you are, so Scot ye shall eat,” Duff said.
“We defer to you, cousin,” Andrew said.
Duff ordered a rich, Scotch broth to start the meal, then a hearty pot of roasted chicken with potatoes as the main course, and he finished it up with clootie dumplings covered in a rich custard sauce.
During the meal Andrew explained how they were related.
“Our father, that is mine and Rosanna’s, was Jamie Ian MacCallister the Third. He was captured by the Shawnee Indians in 1817 on his seventh birthday and raised among them so that he was more Indian than white. He learned the warrior’s way and when he was only nine, he shot a deer with a bow and arrow he had made himself. And if that wasn’t enough, he fought off two wolves for the carcass. That earned him the name Man Who Is Not Afraid.”
“Father was at the Alamo,” Rosanna added. “He was the last courier Colonel Travis sent out before the final battle.”
“There is a statue of him in the town of MacCallister, Colorado. The statue was made by the noted sculptor Frederic Remington,” Andrew continued.
“My with a history like that, a statue and a town of the same name, your father must have been quite a successful man,” Duff said. “I’m sure you are very proud of him.”
“We are,” Rosanna said. “He was one of the true giants of the American West, and founder of the city that bears his name.”
“His father was Jamie Ian the Second,” Andrew said, continuing the narrative. “He was one of the early settlers and a successful farmer in Ohio. My great-grandfather was Jamie Ian the First, and he was truly a giant. He made the trek west with Lewis and Clark, and he became a mountain man, living and trapping on his own for many years before returning to civilization.
“My great-great-grandfather Seamus MacCallister, was a captain during our Revolutionary War. He was with Washington at Valley Forge, crossed the Delaware with him, and was at his side at the final Battle of Yorktown. In doing family research, I came across a letter written to him by George Washington in which he praises Seamus for his military skills and courage.
“My great-great-great-grandfather, Hugh MacCallister, was a captain in the service of Governor Joseph Dudley of Massachusetts during the Queen Anne War. Hugh MacCallister was the first of our family to emigrate from Scotland, and was the brother of Braden MacCallister, your great-great-great-grandfather. Both were sons of Falcon MacCallister, and that, my dear cousin, is where our family lines cross.”
“You said in the letter that you have a brother named Falcon,” Duff said.
“Indeed we do,” Andrew said. “And I hope you will forgive the familial pride, but Falcon is one of the most storied people in our American West. Have you heard of General Custer?”
“Of course, I have read much of him,” Duff said.
“Falcon was with Custer on his last scout.”
“But how can that be? I thought all who were with Custer were killed.”
