Chapter 16

The librarian had to kick Elizabeth out of the Radcliffe when it was closing time – Elizabeth was reluctuant to leave because she was afraid her research roll would be nowhere to be found in the morning. Still, the librarian seemed to have no pity for people “on a roll” so Elizabeth gathered her stuff, and made a clear notation of where she left off in her notebook:
June 2
Breakthrough! Have Raymond’s birth and death dates, also husband and child’s name. Found out where she was born, grew up, wrote from and was buried. Have brief description of place and appearance of Mae and Joseph’s graves. Need to: follow up with research on the town of Mindon, where the Raymond’s family home, parish church and graves are. Also need to research what happened to their daughter, Susan Raymond – perhaps still alive or her descent? To give letters to.

Elizabeth closed her notebook and left the library. She couldn’t decide where to go, though, she had so much energy she couldn’t imagine just catching the train and going home to bed. She didn’t exactly have a circle of party friends in Oxford she could call up to go celebrate her discovery, in fact, she didn’t think she would have a clue where to go to find a cool night spot in the city. It seemed to be the general rule that the undergrads knew where to go to be seen, and the graduate students had a corner on the coziest and quietest coffee shops. Usually Elizabeth was quite happy with this trade off, most days she was only interested in a quiet place to read in the mornings, not somewhere to get all dressed up and go out to at night. But tonight she would have liked to have somewhere she was a ‘regular’ where people would be happy to celebrate with her. As it was, she had a limited number of choices of people with whom to ‘share her joy.’ “Okay, well in Oxford, there’s Dr. Nottim – no too late at night, Browning – no, he’s too competitive, he’d just try to one up my story, Meg – maybe. Oh, and of course, there’s Barrett in Charlbury. Or I could call Alexa or Dante, but they’re both older and it might be past their bedtimes.” So Elizabeth narrowed the list down to Meg and Barrett. She called first Meg, then Barrett, to no avail, both didn’t answer their mobiles. Dejected, Elizabeth couldn’t think of any other valid options, other than just going back to Charlbury. Maybe she’d just have to wait and find some people to celebrate with tomorrow.

When she got off the train in Charlbury, the station was dark and deserted as usual. Elizabeth looked around and thought about what to do with her excitement of the day and her disappointment at not having anyone to share it with. She decided a good run would help. Elizabeth ran nearly the entire distance from the train station to her cottage. She slowed through the village for decorum’s sake, but otherwise, she kept her legs going full-speed. There were two reasons, first, she wanted to get home and journal, second, her adrenalin was still pumping from the day’s excitement and she had energy to burn. This was it – the day she had been dreaming about – the missing piece of the puzzle and all her research fell into place. Maybe she’d call some of her friends back home – they hadn’t really had any part in the process like her friends here, but still, a listening ear was better than talking to herself.

She trotted up the lane to the farm, intended to go straight to her cottage to journal and then call some of her Canadian friends. Instead, she found herself pausing at the path to the front door of the main farmhouse. “I wonder, should I go knock and tell Barrett? Would he really care? Would I wake him up? The light is on. He usually seems pretty interested in my research, but maybe he’s just putting it on. Oh, dear, I wish I could make decisions instead of just talking to myself all the time.” She felt torn – on the one hand, she had already called him and he hadn’t answered, and she didn’t want to disturb him. On the other hand, she had really come to value his friendship, and she did really want to tell him what she had found, and she was pretty sure he would want to hear about it. She decided to knock, and was surprised when he opened the door quickly.

“Elizabeth – heh there! My mobile had a missed call from you –sorry – I was upstairs trying to get a rat out of the attic and I couldn’t hear the phone. Is there something wrong at the cottage?” Barrett looked concerned, he was a very conscientious landlord and Elizabeth appreciated how quick he had been to fix anything that was wrong in her little home. But it was not a broken pipe this time, “No, Barrett, nothing’s wrong with the cottage. Actually, I was hoping to chat with my friend Barrett not my landlord.” Elizabeth grinned as Barrett’s ears turned a bit pink. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to jump right into the role.” Elizabeth hadn’t meant to make him feel uncomfortable, “No, no, I have no complaints about you as a landlord or a friend. No, I just wanted to talk to you for a bit, I have some good news I want to share. Barrett took the “get off the hook” gesture and invited Elizabeth in. “Would you like tea or coffee?” “Umm, I love the tea you make – it must be the brand of tea bag or something, but it’s my favorite cup of tea in the Cotswolds” Elizabeth raved. Barrett laughed, “Well, I guess that’s a compliment, it depends on how many cups of tea you’ve had in the Cotswolds.”

Soon they were settled in the large easy chairs by the grand fireplace in the main hall. There were some truly magnificent parts of the farmhouse, and Elizabeth loved visiting. The fireplace was as tall as she was – it had obviously been the showy luxury of choice for whoever had built the farmhouse originally. Now, Barrett used it in the winter for warmth, mainly. It appeared that when not needed, Barrett liked to use it for storage, and Elizabeth was disappointed to see it full of boxes and tools. “You know, Barrett, as handy as the fireplace is for storage, don’t you think it would be beautiful if you put some fresh greens or trees in there for decoration during the summer months. Barrett turned to survey his neatly piled boxes, and then looked quizzically back at Elizabeth, “Trees? In there? Are you kidding?” Elizabeth could see that the aesthetic value was of little use to Barrett compared to practical needs. She decided to let the subject go. Barrett was quite happy to change the subject, Elizabeth believed he might have been worried that she was about to volunteer to ‘decorate’ the fireplace for him. “So, what’s your good news?”

Elizabeth was really happy to have a friend who would sit down, and devote his full attention to her, and want to hear her tale. “There aren’t many friends who really would do that, and even fewer who would listen to me rave about an old book I found.” She settled back into her chair, took a sip of her tea and began her story.

Fifteen minutes later, Barrett was still listening with rapt attention as Elizabeth went on and on about the book and where she would take her research next. She was already planning her travels: “I think this means that I will have to go to Scotland to keep my research on track. Can you imagine? I could find the village, and then find her family home, and then, hopefully her grave! It would be like a pilgrimage. Oh! I can’t wait.” Barrett smiled, and seemed genuinely happy for Elizabeth’s excitement, “Well, it seems like you’ve got quite a plan, there. I know you can do it. And you deserve it – I’m glad you found the book after all the work you’ve put into it.” Elizabeth gave him a gentle smile, “Barrett – you’re such a great friend, thank you so much for listening and caring to my silly story.” “Heh, it’s not silly – it’s important research! And you know I’ve said that I’ll be happy to listen anytime.” Elizabeth had been keeping an eye on the clock that was on the wall, conviently located behind Barrett’s head where she could see it easily. They had been talking for almost an hour and a half, and she knew that Barrett had to get up early each morning to start the morning chores with the animals. “He would never tell me to leave or make a hint about getting up early tomorrow morning, but I’ll bet it’s past his bedtime.” Elizabeth decided to be considerate and leave without having to be asked. Barrett’s big yawn as he showed her to the door may her realize she had made the right choice. Barrett said goodnight, with the promise of calling her later in the week to set up a date to go to the theatre. Elizabeth set off down the darkened path, noticing the glow of the full moon that made the farmhouse and cottages seem to be magically glowing. She was again thankful to have Barrett as a friend, even though Elizabeth felt it was becoming more apparent that they weren’t exactly compatible romantically. No, Barrett was quiet, considerate and truthful. But Elizabeth felt too random and emotional around him, and she felt sure that he wouldn’t want to have a relationship with a crazy Canadian woman who talked to herself, locked her keys in the room, and got really, really excited about research.

Elizabeth found her way from the farmhouse to the cottage. By the light of the moon, she could see through the window that the mail was lying on the floor where it always did. Elizabeth had unlocked the door and shoved her shoulder into it, which caused a good deal of pain. “This stinkin’ door – I’m going to have the most bruised shoulder in the world when I leave this place. Oh, no, I didn’t mean to get started thinking about leaving again.” Elizabeth sighed as she carefully stepped inside, avoiding stepping on the mail with her muddy shoes. She took off her shoes, and threw down all her ‘academic stuff’ on the couch. She bent over to pick up the mail, and flopped down on the couch to turn on the TV and read her mail, what had become her usual evening ritual. The first piece of mail was from Magdalen College, inviting all the graduate students to the academic banquet celebrating the end of term. Browning had already told Elizabeth all about it, since he was on the planning committee. He had also asked her to go with him, which she had agreed to, so she checked off the RSVP box, put it in the return envelope, and double checked that the date was written in her day planner. Having thus dealt with the piece of mail, she threw it on the floor. She had found the key was to only open one piece of mail at a time, and do everything needed to respond to it, before going on to the next one. She had made this system, once she found that she opened all her mail, and let it pile up on her desk waiting to be responded to, which had left her with more than one late credit card payment. The next piece of mail Elizabeth came to was in fact from her bank – not a bill but a statement which clearly showed her in black and white the state of her affairs. She had been trying to ignore the truth, but it had still been nagging her in the back of her head. The piece of paper left no room for other interpretations – she was almost out of money. She had been lucky enough to stay debt-free through her entire education, and this first year of her doctorate had been no exception. Although Oxford was not cheap, and living in England was about as expensive a place as any; Elizabeth had come with a clear financial plan that would allow her to live in the Oxford area while she did all the necessary research in the libraries. The plan was then to move back to Canada and work while writing her thesis in her spare time. The plan made financial sense, but Elizabeth hadn’t counted on loving living in Oxford so much. Now, the idea of going back to Canada and having to work instead of research all day sounded like torture. And according to this bank statement, torture would need to start very, very soon. She had run through all the other options – she wasn’t legal to work in the UK, and even if she didn’t have an ethical problem with it, illegal work was hard to come by and poorly paid. “Unless I suddenly win some lottery I never signed up for, I’ve got to leave.” She felt like crying. It had been such an exciting day – she hated ending it on this note. Still, there was a bit of a bright side: “Well, at least now I’ll have a good lead to finish out the last little bit of my UK research, and hopefully I’ll be able to go back to Canada and put all the parts into place.” But what she really wanted was to keep her little home, her friends, her desk at the library, and her excitement about her research exactly the way it was, and not have to leave at all. “Like that’s going to happen – you’d need a miracle.”

The miracle happened two days later. Even Elizabeth hadn’t really been expecting it. She hadn’t really given much more thought to the conversation she and Dante had after his little ‘surprise interview’ the week before. She had been thoroughly distracted, first with her research breakthrough, and second with the looming threat of having to plan to leave. So she had to think for a second, when Dante’s secretary Mona called to make an appointment for her. “I’m sorry, Mona, what is this regarding?” The voice on the other end of the line was patient and professional, “I was given this number, and the name Elizabeth Hanover, is that correct?” “Yes” “Well then, Mr. Dante Macgregor, director of the National Scottish Research Foundation, has asked you to meet with him to discuss some ‘exciting possibilities’ as he called he. He has asked that you visit the foundation to meet with him in person, and then perhaps later with the board of directors. I am calling you to make the first appointment.”

Elizabeth remembered, “Oh, yes, I’m sorry for my confusion. Of course, I would like to make an appointment to meet with Mr. Macgregor.” “Now, before we pick a date, we should discuss travel arrangements. I understand from Mr. Macgregor that you currently reside in Oxford. Our foundation is based in Glasgow, and I believe he would like you to come here for the meeting. Of course, all travel costs would be at our expense, but we do need to find a time when you will be able to spare at least 2 days.” Elizabeth was getting excited, she had wanted to visit Glasgow because of her research with Raymond, but she had given it up as not financially feasible. Now, the foundation would pay for it. “Well, my research schedule is flexible, so perhaps I could come up at the beginning of next week? And would it be possible to extend my stay an extra day? There is a bit of research I need to do in Glasgow.” Mona’s voice was relaxed yet professional, “Of course, I’m sure Mr. Macgregor would like to support your research in any way possible. Why don’t we set your visit for three days, but you can extend that once you’re here if you find more avenues to explore.” To Elizabeth, it all sounded to good to be true, but then again, she had met Dante, and she did believe he would want her to be able to fully pursue her leads of Raymond’s Scottish roots.

Mona and Elizabeth made all the plans, and Elizabeth threw herself back into her research. She wanted to have all the background built up to be ready to make the most of her days in Scotland. She was excited to have an ‘all-expenses paid’ research trip to look forward to, even if she still would have to go home in less than a month. “Unless Dante has a job for me in the office or something? Then maybe I could stay. Of course, I would have to move to Scotland, but that’s better than having to move back to Canada and work in a coffee shop. Stop it – I decided not to get my hopes up about what Dante’s meeting is about, and I will not.” Having thus chastised herself back into hopelessness, Elizabeth went about the business of finding Mindon on the internet, and researching the travel options to find it, and how she would find the church, etc. She made pages and pages of notes, and lists of the libraries she wanted to visit. She even called a few of the more exclusive ones to ensure she would have permission to access their collections. When she was finished her “pre-Scotland” planning, she had about 20 pages of notes, and a two-page long “to-do” list for while she was there. “I don’t think that’s going to get done in a day. Oh well, I’ll worry about asking Dante for more time, when the time comes. As it is, I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” Having spent the week hard at work, by Friday she had finished readying herself academically, so Elizabeth decided to spend the weekend in Charlbury.