'We'll stop at Spean Bridge,' I said, looking at the map while Arrow drove. 'Or we could go on to Fort William.'
'I remember Fort William from the drive up,' Arrow said. 'It's rather large. I prefer the smaller places.'
'Large being a relative term. It's not Glasgow large-to say nothing of Los Angeles large. All the people in northern Scotland wouldn't fill a Los Angeles suburb.'
'You know what I mean. The smaller towns are more picturesque.'
Speaking of picturesque, we were driving along the southern shore of Loch Lochy. The smooth surface of the water displayed a mirror image of the cliff rising from the north shore of the loch. The sun had decided to put in an appearance, making the picture clean and sparkling.
'About getting rooms…,' Arrow started, then stopped.
'The guidebook talks about several B amp; B's in Spean Bridge,' I said. I was becoming an expert at this travel business.
'What I'm trying to say is, maybe we should get only one room.'
That was a surprise. I didn't have a suitable answer prepared. 'You mean with twin beds?' Since we were on an expense account we weren't exactly pressed for money. 'What will my father and John say if we put in an expense report for only one room?'
'They won't say anything because they both think you're gay. But no, not twin beds. After all, we slept in the same bed last night.'
'There were extenuating circumstances. If we did it again I would expect to be more than just a comfort to you. My male animal lust…'
'Karl, don't you like me?'
This was getting very confusing. Was she implying what it sounded like she was implying? If so, was it because she felt obligated to me? 'Of course I like you.' Too glib, too pat. 'You are smart, and beautiful, and sexy. Of course I like you,' I ended, lamely.
'But you don't want to sleep with me. I mean, you don't want to have sex with me.'
I was stuck for an answer. Along with her other traits, Arrow was dangerous. Meaning that she would be easy to fall for. How did I explain that?
'Am I damaged goods? Is that the problem?'
'Of course not.'
'I mean from last night. I know that getting pawed isn't in the same class as getting raped. But still…'
'It had no effect on my feelings about you.' That was only a little lie. How could something like that not have some effect? 'Arrow, I like you very much. But I have a girlfriend.'
We were entering the village of Spean Bridge. Almost immediately, I spotted several B amp; B's off to the left, and Arrow turned at my suggestion.
'There's Larry,' Arrow said, as we approached the first one.
'Larry?'
'The walker.'
There he was, sitting in front of a B amp; B. Arrow stopped the car and said, 'He must be staying there. So it has to be a good one.'
I couldn't argue with that logic. We crossed the narrow street and greeted Larry, who was sitting in the sun in shorts and a T-shirt. I noticed he was barefoot.
He was surprised to see us. 'I took the day off today,' he said, somewhat sheepishly. 'It wasn't on my schedule. You would think, after all the walking I've done, I'd know how to prevent blisters.'
'At least you've got a scenic place to rest,' Arrow said.
'Yes.' Larry pointed to some peaks in the distance, with snow on them. 'The tallest one is Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the UK. The legend says that when the snow on Ben Nevis melts, Scotland will become independent from England.'
After chatting with him for a minute I went inside and booked two rooms.
Larry lifted his beer mug and proposed a toast. 'May you be in heaven an hour before the devil knows you're dead. Or is that Irish? I can never remember.'
Whatever it was, we drank to it. And to other toasts. It was a relief to be with someone who wasn't after something or trying to hide something. As we ate dinner, Larry told us about himself.
'I'm going to hit the road again tomorrow,' he said. 'It gets lonely being in one place, especially since I don't have a car. I don't notice the loneliness so much when I'm moving. I ended up walking around town today, even though I was trying to rest my feet.'
'Are you married?' Arrow asked.
Her cheeks were flushed and she appeared to be having fun. She hadn't mentioned our earlier discussion again. She had changed into a very flattering short skirt and blouse. Larry had complimented her appearance, something I should have done.
A shadow crossed Larry's face. 'My wife died a year and a half ago. She used to provide support for me when I walked, even though it was boring for her. She told people I was hard to explain. I still am. But now I don't have anybody trying to explain me. And her complaint was that after walking 25 or 30 miles I couldn't have sex.'
'But now you've had a day to rest,' Arrow said.
'Yes, a day of rest works wonders for my old body.'
'You're not old. Anybody who can walk 900 miles is young.'
We told him why we were there-it wasn't classified information-and he said he owned some Dionysus stock and was in favor of any action that would make the price go up.
'I own other stocks too. As long as the stock market holds up I can do this instead of working.'
We weren't feeling any pain by the time we left the restaurant. We walked through the streets of Spean Bridge singing 'My Bonnie Lassie,' as well as we could remember the words, and then 'The Heather on the Hill,' from Brigadoon.
We climbed the stairs to the second floor of the B amp; B. The doors to our rooms were on the same hallway. Arrow stopped at her door and said to Larry, 'Would you like to come in for a minute? You can show me on the map what route you're taking.'
Larry hesitated, and looked at me.
'Go ahead,' I said, faking a yawn. 'I'm beat. I'm going to bed.' I went into my room and shut the door.
Beer sometimes gives me insomnia and the noises I thought I heard through the wall didn't help, either.
Chapter 24 LONDON
Sussex Gardens has a line of small and narrow hotels on either side of the street, crowded together like vertical dominoes. These are not the London hotels where the rich and famous stay, but they were very suitable for our purpose, interviewing Seamus Zeebarth, because we had agreed to meet him in nearby Hyde Park.
I had called him from the Glasgow Airport the day before while Arrow and I waited for our plane to London, half-expecting him not to be home because it was Monday. However, he answered the phone after two rings and when I briefly introduced myself, said he would be happy to talk to us.
We flew into Heathrow and were whisked via the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station in only fifteen minutes, which was amazing considering the length of time this trip took by bus or the Underground. From there it was a short walk to our hotel, pulling our wheeled suitcases behind us.
We had Tuesday morning free because Mr. Zeebarth worked evenings and slept late. Arrow wanted to see everything at once. We settled on a tour of the Tower of London, led by a Beefeater in his fancy costume, topped by a beaver hat.
We saw prison cells with graffiti from hundreds of years of prisoners, the crown jewels and the place where Anne Boleyn lost her head. I remembered a song I learned in college with lyrics that went, 'With her head tucked
