“Wood-burning?” Judith inquired.
“Wood and coal,” Mrs. Gibbs replied.
The counters were made of old, well-worn wood, fragrant from decades of cutting fruit and vegetables. There were two sinks, both enamel with old-fashioned faucets like the ones in the guest bathroom. The big black refrigerator, however, looked new. The only hint of nonfunctional decor was a framed tartan on the far wall next to a glass-covered cupboard.
“You do all this yourself?” Judith said with admiration.
“Aye. That is,” Mrs. Gibbs explained, “except for summer when the regular guests come. I have a daily or two to help.”
“I should think so. What about cleaning? This place is vast.”
Mrs. Gibbs agreed. “Daily help for that, too, in summer.”
“Does your grandson live here all the time?” Judith asked, admiring the heavy cookware that hung from a circular rack.
Mrs. Gibbs frowned as she used a wooden spoon to stir what looked like cake batter. “He’s paying us a visit.”
“Oh.” Judith smiled. “That’s nice. Where does he live?”
The frown deepened. “Close by.”
“Do he and his wife have children?”
Mrs. Gibbs dropped the spoon and bent down to retrieve it. “He told you about his wife?”
“No,” Judith admitted. “But he’s married, isn’t he?”
“Aye.” Mrs. Gibbs wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. “They had a wee bairn, Jamie, last November.”
“That’s wonderful. You must be thrilled.”
Mrs. Gibbs didn’t respond. Judith changed the subject. “What are those flat soft rolls? I ate two. They’re delicious.”
“They’re baps,” Mrs. Gibbs replied, “from an auld recipe. Tomorrow I’ll make bannocks. You call them… what?”
“Pancakes or flapjacks,” Judith said. “I remember bannocks from when my cousin and I were in Scotland many years ago.”
Mrs. Gibbs nodded once and stirred the mixture in the bowl. “No lunch. High tea at four, if you like.”
“My cousin and I will probably go into the village to explore,” Judith said. “We’ll eat there. What do you recommend?”
“A tearoom, a Chinese restaurant, a curry house, two pubs, pizza. Take your pick.” Mrs. Gibbs kept her eyes on the dough.
Judith pointed at the tartan on the wall and moved for a closer look. “That’s different from the Forbes and Fordyce green and blue plaid in the hallway. I like all the red. Is that the clan’s hunting colors?”
“Nae.” Mrs. Gibbs still didn’t look up. “That’s my family, the MacIver tartan.”
“Oh.” Judith peered at what she assumed was the clan motto. “
The other woman finally glanced up, her eyes narrowed and her tone bitter. “It means ‘I will never forget.’” She turned back to the dough and gave it a hard thump with her fist. “I must finish this.”
Judith sensed that she was being dismissed. “Thank you.” Without another word, she returned to the dining room. Renie was at the sideboard, heaping food onto her plate.
“I thought you’d run off with Chuckie,” she said.
“I was trying in vain to befriend Mrs. Gibbs,” Judith explained.
Renie was surprised. “If you flunked, she can’t be human.”
“The only thing I found out is that Harry is just visiting, and his wife had a baby boy last November,” Judith said, pouring herself a third cup of coffee. “He lives nearby, which, I assume, given the smaller distances between places in Scotland, could be the village.”
Renie topped her scrambled eggs with a couple of kippers. “So?”
Judith shrugged. “Nothing, I guess.”
“I’m more concerned that our husbands will be arrested for poaching,” Renie said, sitting down and sprinkling salt and pepper on her food. “Land along the UK’s rivers and such are usually owned privately.”
Judith had also sat at the long trestle table. “Joe mentioned that MacGowan had permission to fish in certain spots around here. He’s going to serve as their ghillie, which is what the locals call a guide. Apparently you don’t have to buy a fishing license, only some kind of permit that gives you the property owner’s approval.”
“Good. So what do we do for amusement?” Renie asked.
“Explore the village? We may need Gibbs to row us ashore.”
“You could make it up that hill?”
“I think so,” Judith said. “It isn’t very far, though I couldn’t see much in the fog. I found Joe’s castle layout and a local map. We’re close to several interesting places and not all that far from Inverness.”
