Chapter 18
Elizabeth had said good-bye to Mona and Dante for the time being, but not to Scotland. She still had one last quest. Her hopes for the future had come true, she would be able to return home to Oxford and Charlbury, knowing that she would be able to live there indefinitely. Her little cottage she had grown to love would be hers for another drafty winter. She would be able to tell all her friends: Barrett, Meg, Browning, Abby, Alexa, Dr. Nottim that she wouldn’t be leaving for Canada next month as expected. And all her work on Raymond would only be the first step of a much larger project. She couldn’t wait to let herself dream bigger with her research. But before she could do any of that, there was a little town in southern Scotland, called Mindon that was calling Elizabeth’s name.
She took a small train from Glasgow to the nearest station to Mindon. From there, she had to walk through town to the main street on the northern edge, where she would need to wait for the bus to take her to Mindon. She had researched this all online before she came, but she stopped to ask a local in the bakery to double check. She had a hard time believing there was only one bus line. But, according to the salesperson at Fredrickson’s Bakery, there was only one bus, and if she stood on the street corner, it would come eventually.
The bus did come, and Elizabeth asked the driver to tell her when they reached Mindon. It was a good thing she asked, because she wouldn’t have guessed that the one street surrounded by fields was the town. But she took the driver’s word for it, and climbed down, getting clear instructions about how to catch the return bus. As the bus pulled away, Elizabeth surveyed the town. There wasn’t much to Mindon, clearly it had seen better years. She decided finding the church would be the easiest first step. She started walking down what seemed to be a deserted main street, when she was quite happy to see an elderly man exit a house and start down the sidewalk towards her. Elizabeth inquired of him about the Raymond family house and the church’s graveyard. He said “That house was torn down quite a few years back, in the 1970’s, I believe. It was in awful shape, everyone was glad to see it go – it was dangerous, the young hooligans would play out there, and you’d never be sure it wasn’t going to topple in on top of them.” Elizabeth was disappointed, “So there’s nothing left there at all?” “Nope” said the man, giving her a look that clearly showed his curiosity over why anyone would want to find an old house anyway. Elizabeth persisted, “But, what about the church and the graveyard? Where are they?” “Well, that I can tell you.” The man pointed with his cane to a point farther up the street. “Just go up there past that clump of trees, and you’ll find them.” She thanked him, and quickly went to follow his directions.
She found the church and the graveyard lying right where the man said they would. Although it was just about noon, there was no service going on, and no one in sight. Elizabeth started to wander the graveyard, looking for a grave that read either “Raymond, Mae” or “Raymond, Joseph.” She did a circle of the entire graveyard, and found not a single Raymond. She circled again, reading every stone carefully, figuring that she must have missed them in her excitement. Still, nothing. If the town wasn’t so small, she would have thought it was the wrong church. She looped around once, more to be sure. Having satisfied herself that there was no Raymond graves in the graveyard, she wandered over to the stone bench she had passed four times, and sat down. She pulled the package of letters that she had brought out of the little pouch she had made to protect them. “Well, at least I know she lived her, and this was her church. I guess that’s the closest I’m going to get to finding her surviving relatives. I suppose these letters are for me to keep then.” She started to re-read them, one by one. As usual, she got completely caught up in the beautifully written letters, and only when she glanced up to brush a bug from her hair did she notice the woman kneeling in the far corner of the graveyard. “Well, I can at least ask her and see if she has ever heard of the Raymond graves and where they disappeared to.”
As Elizabeth got closer to the woman, she noticed that the lady was pulling weeds from what seemed to be one big pile of weeds. “Odd” thought Elizabeth to herself. She walked loudly so the woman would notice her approach. She was greeted warmly, “Hello there!” Elizabeth smiled back: “Hello. I’m just visiting Mindon, and I’m trying to find a grave. Perhaps you might be able to help me? Have you ever heard of Mae and Joseph Raymond or seen their graves?” “Well, you’re in luck dear, you happen to be speaking with the great granddaughter of Mae and Joseph Raymond, and you are currently standing on Joseph’s grave. What else can I help you with?” Elizabeth jumped back. She had thought she was simply standing on a pile of weeds, but upon closer inspection, Elizabeth could see that the pile of weeds on which she had been standing and the pile of weeds which the woman was working on where both grave shaped, and outlined with a stone box.
“You’re their great granddaughter?” Elizabeth asked in wonder. “Yes, I am. Lucy, their daughter, was my grandmother. They both died before I was born, but I certainly heard many a story. May I ask why you are interested in them?” The woman seemed confused. Elizabeth was quick to explain, “I am doing my doctoral thesis on Mae Raymond, and I have come here hoping to find someone who knew of her or, my wildest hope was to find one of her descents. And here you are! Oh, I almost forgot, my name is Elizabeth Hanover. What did you say your name was?” The woman stood up, raising herself to her full height of less than 5 feet. “I am Diana Raymond, and I am very pleased to meet you.” Elizabeth dug the letters out of her bag, and held them out for Diana. “I have been waiting 14 years to give these to you. Do you think we could go talk somewhere?” Diana took the letters offered to her with one hand, and gently grabbed Elizabeth’s hand with the other. “Why don’t you come to my house for a cup of tea? You can meet my cats and I’ll tell you all my stories about Mae. You’re the first person to ever ask to hear them.”
The End
She took a small train from Glasgow to the nearest station to Mindon. From there, she had to walk through town to the main street on the northern edge, where she would need to wait for the bus to take her to Mindon. She had researched this all online before she came, but she stopped to ask a local in the bakery to double check. She had a hard time believing there was only one bus line. But, according to the salesperson at Fredrickson’s Bakery, there was only one bus, and if she stood on the street corner, it would come eventually.
The bus did come, and Elizabeth asked the driver to tell her when they reached Mindon. It was a good thing she asked, because she wouldn’t have guessed that the one street surrounded by fields was the town. But she took the driver’s word for it, and climbed down, getting clear instructions about how to catch the return bus. As the bus pulled away, Elizabeth surveyed the town. There wasn’t much to Mindon, clearly it had seen better years. She decided finding the church would be the easiest first step. She started walking down what seemed to be a deserted main street, when she was quite happy to see an elderly man exit a house and start down the sidewalk towards her. Elizabeth inquired of him about the Raymond family house and the church’s graveyard. He said “That house was torn down quite a few years back, in the 1970’s, I believe. It was in awful shape, everyone was glad to see it go – it was dangerous, the young hooligans would play out there, and you’d never be sure it wasn’t going to topple in on top of them.” Elizabeth was disappointed, “So there’s nothing left there at all?” “Nope” said the man, giving her a look that clearly showed his curiosity over why anyone would want to find an old house anyway. Elizabeth persisted, “But, what about the church and the graveyard? Where are they?” “Well, that I can tell you.” The man pointed with his cane to a point farther up the street. “Just go up there past that clump of trees, and you’ll find them.” She thanked him, and quickly went to follow his directions.
She found the church and the graveyard lying right where the man said they would. Although it was just about noon, there was no service going on, and no one in sight. Elizabeth started to wander the graveyard, looking for a grave that read either “Raymond, Mae” or “Raymond, Joseph.” She did a circle of the entire graveyard, and found not a single Raymond. She circled again, reading every stone carefully, figuring that she must have missed them in her excitement. Still, nothing. If the town wasn’t so small, she would have thought it was the wrong church. She looped around once, more to be sure. Having satisfied herself that there was no Raymond graves in the graveyard, she wandered over to the stone bench she had passed four times, and sat down. She pulled the package of letters that she had brought out of the little pouch she had made to protect them. “Well, at least I know she lived her, and this was her church. I guess that’s the closest I’m going to get to finding her surviving relatives. I suppose these letters are for me to keep then.” She started to re-read them, one by one. As usual, she got completely caught up in the beautifully written letters, and only when she glanced up to brush a bug from her hair did she notice the woman kneeling in the far corner of the graveyard. “Well, I can at least ask her and see if she has ever heard of the Raymond graves and where they disappeared to.”
As Elizabeth got closer to the woman, she noticed that the lady was pulling weeds from what seemed to be one big pile of weeds. “Odd” thought Elizabeth to herself. She walked loudly so the woman would notice her approach. She was greeted warmly, “Hello there!” Elizabeth smiled back: “Hello. I’m just visiting Mindon, and I’m trying to find a grave. Perhaps you might be able to help me? Have you ever heard of Mae and Joseph Raymond or seen their graves?” “Well, you’re in luck dear, you happen to be speaking with the great granddaughter of Mae and Joseph Raymond, and you are currently standing on Joseph’s grave. What else can I help you with?” Elizabeth jumped back. She had thought she was simply standing on a pile of weeds, but upon closer inspection, Elizabeth could see that the pile of weeds on which she had been standing and the pile of weeds which the woman was working on where both grave shaped, and outlined with a stone box.
“You’re their great granddaughter?” Elizabeth asked in wonder. “Yes, I am. Lucy, their daughter, was my grandmother. They both died before I was born, but I certainly heard many a story. May I ask why you are interested in them?” The woman seemed confused. Elizabeth was quick to explain, “I am doing my doctoral thesis on Mae Raymond, and I have come here hoping to find someone who knew of her or, my wildest hope was to find one of her descents. And here you are! Oh, I almost forgot, my name is Elizabeth Hanover. What did you say your name was?” The woman stood up, raising herself to her full height of less than 5 feet. “I am Diana Raymond, and I am very pleased to meet you.” Elizabeth dug the letters out of her bag, and held them out for Diana. “I have been waiting 14 years to give these to you. Do you think we could go talk somewhere?” Diana took the letters offered to her with one hand, and gently grabbed Elizabeth’s hand with the other. “Why don’t you come to my house for a cup of tea? You can meet my cats and I’ll tell you all my stories about Mae. You’re the first person to ever ask to hear them.”
The End
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