Kansas, surrounded by grassland and the miles and miles of mud that goes with grazing pastures in winter.
This was the first visit Bill and Laura had made to Scotland since first they had left together in the winter of 2004. Sir Iain had twice visited them in Kansas, but there had been terrible family scars caused by the brutal court battle that had taken place over the children.
Laura MacLean, mother of two, had, at the age of thirty-four, left her banker husband, Douglas Anderson, for the American Naval officer to whom she was married. The MacLeans and the Andersons, lifelong friends, had banded together to make the girls wards of the court in Edinburgh, and absolute custody had been granted to their father.
The judge had made it perfectly clear at the hearing that if Laura insisted on running off with her American lover, it would be a very long time before she would see the girls again. As the Anderson lawyer had pointed out, these girls were daughters of Scotland, granddaughters of a famous Scottish admiral on one side, and, on the other, of one of the most important landed families in the country. There were critical questions of inheritance to consider. No, the court would not permit them to be taken to the American Midwest, from where they might very well not have returned.
It was Admiral MacLean himself who had begun the healing process. He told his disapproving wife, Annie, that he could no longer bring himself to turn his hand against the daughter he loved. He added that he didn’t give a bloody fig for Douglas Anderson, whom he considered an extremely dreary man, and that he liked Bill Baldridge very much and was determined to do something about the situation.
Assisted by the fact that Douglas wound up in the London tabloids, having an affair with an actress from Notting Hill Gate in London, the admiral moved to have the court order overturned. And he succeeded, citing the facts that Lieutenant Commander Baldridge was the son of one of the biggest ranchers in Kansas, that he had a doctorate in nuclear physics from MIT, that he had been one of the leading weapons officers in the U.S. Navy, and was a personal friend of the President of the United States. “And, perhaps more significantly, of mine,” he added with uncharacteristic immodesty.
The admiral enjoyed firing a powerful torpedo, and the judge decided that without his support the court order was essentially worthless. Yes, the girls were free and entitled, and could by rights visit their natural mother during any and all school holidays. And now, the imminent arrival of Bill and Laura, on this day, was an occasion of great excitement. Because they were staying for ten days, then taking Flora and Mary to Kansas for the first time, for the remainder of Scotland’s long Easter break.
The other objective to be achieved was a reconciliation between Laura and her mother. The two had hardly spoken since the custody case ended, since Lady MacLean felt that poor Douglas Anderson had been dealt a cruel and unnecessary blow. But he had married the actress, and things were rather different, particularly since Douglas was fond of saying publicly, albeit self-protectively, “Natalie is a lot prettier than Laura, and a lot less bloody trouble.”
Sir Iain thought he was a lousy judge, a man to be pitied. But his wife, reversing course, had leapt to the side of her absent runaway daughter like a tigress defending her young, and began making no secret of the fact that, finally, she supported her daughter’s decisions. Both Sir Iain and Laura were hopeful that in the next few days the deep family rift would be healed.
The Range Rover made it to the airport a half hour early. They parked the car and headed for the international exit gate. Bill and Laura, traveling first-class, were among the first out. Bill, wearing a big leather cowboy jacket over a dark grey suit and tie, his rolling gait straight from the High Plains, was unmistakable.
Laura followed him through the door. She looked slim and quite stunning in a long, fitted, dark green suede overcoat with matching trilby hat and burgundy leather boots. Iain MacLean had never seen her look so well, nor so happy. The girls fell into her arms, and the two ex — Navy officers shook hands warmly. “She looks marvelous,” said the admiral quietly. “I was quite worried about her a couple of years ago. Thank you, Bill…for looking after her.”
The Kansan grinned. “And thank you, Admiral, for being so goddamned decent about the whole thing…neither of us could help it, you know. It just happened, and it wasn’t a mistake.”
“No. I know it wasn’t.”
Laura introduced the girls to their new stepfather, and for a few moments they just gazed up into the deep blue eyes of the six-foot-two-inch Midwesterner who looked like a young Robert Mitchum. In the end, the elder daughter, Mary, asked earnestly, “Sir, are you really a cowboy like my father says you are?”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Bill, grinning. “I sure am…ridin’ them dogies home, out there on the prairie…” This caused the little girl to fall over with laughter.
“And you’re really my stepfather?”
“Guess so, Miss Mary. Sure hope we git to ride the range together sometime.”
“Stop it, Bill,” Laura admonished, laughing. “Mary, ignore him. He really doesn’t talk like that at all.”
“Jest cain’t wait to git back in the saddle agin,” added the lieutenant commander.
With the introductions complete, Laura kissed her father, and they walked back to the Range Rover, and the frenzied barking of the Labradors. The 55-mile journey took them almost two hours, thanks to the morning traffic in Glasgow. Bill regaled the girls with tales of Wyatt Earp and the Dalton brothers, never once dropping his cowboy act. He told them about the prairies, and the fact that his mother was on the board of the cowboy museum in Dodge City, “where I’m sure gonna take both you girls, once I git you fixed up with a couple of six-shooters…jest in case we meet any cattle rustlers on the trail.”
Even Sir Iain was laughing by that time, and it was not until they headed north up the bank of the Gareloch that Bill suddenly offered his hand to Mary, and told her in a completely different accent, “Just kidding, Mary. Lieutenant Commander Baldridge. United States submarine officer by trade. You can call me Bill.”
Mary looked quite disappointed. “Hmmmm,” she said, “I wish you were still a cowboy.”
“Well,” said Laura, “I’m glad we got that little charade over…he’s so silly, Daddy. He’s actually been practicing his cowboy act in case we meet any of your stuffy friends.”
“Good idea, Bill,” said the admiral. “Give ’em the full Wyatt Earp.”
It was just before ten o’clock when they arrived at the house, and the admiral moved in to deal skillfully with the tensions that remained between his wife and the visitors from the United States.
Bill did his part here, too. “I just wish you could find some time to come over and visit us, Annie,” he said. “I’ve always thought you would like it, and my mother would love to meet you at last.”
Lady MacLean smiled. It was a smile that did not quite ask for forgiveness, but almost. It had been so much easier for her husband, who had liked Bill from the very start, and indeed had worked with him on a Royal Navy mission. And even she had to admit that Laura’s second marriage had worked out, that she had never seen her daughter so happy, nor in such a bloom of health. At the end of the winter, too. “Kansas certainly seems to agree with Laura,” she said. “I am sure it will be fine for me as well. Iain loves it there as you know…and I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forget the bitterness of the past…it was such a shock for us all, you know.”
“As far as I’m concerned, the past is already forgotten,” replied the rancher, gallantly. And turning to Mary, he added, with a conspiratorial wink, “Yes,
“He’s a cowboy, Grandma,” she said. “That’s how they talk.”
“Only sometimes,” said Annie. “Don’t forget. I’ve known him longer than you.”
“Yes, but he’s
“And he’s my son-in-law,” replied her grandmother.
“Easy, girls. Hold your fire. I don’t want y’all to start fightin’ over me.”
“
At that point Admiral MacLean assumed a loose command. He suggested Annie organize some coffee, and he sent Angus, the red-bearded butler, upstairs with the suitcases, calling after him, “The blue room in the front.” Then, turning to Bill, he added, “There’s a big double bed in there now, so don’t look too forlorn.”
“Oh, right. I forgot. That’s my old room. I haven’t been in there for what? Four years?”
“Must be. It was 2002 wasn’t it, when he got the
“Well, it was 2002 when the Mossad thought they got him.”
“Oh, I think they got him, sir. Did I ever tell you the President presented me with Adnam’s little submarine
