The Nickum Page 13

  It was Emily who answered, her voice unsteady but determined. ‘That’s very kind of him, but tell him Jake will be back tomorrow. There’s really nothing he can do here.’

  As soon as the two men left, she made both Willie and Jake go back to bed and busied herself with the housework as being the only way to take her mind off the tragedy. It didn’t work, of course.

  Chapter Thirteen

  1938

  Connie’s murder three years earlier had badly affected all the Fowlies. Jake had been working every minute of the day, refusing to let Willie leave school to help him. ‘I’ll manage mysel’,’ he snapped. ‘I’m nae a decrepit aul’ fool just yet.’ Willie was torn between grief for his sister, who had been the only one ever to show him true affection – apart from Gramma Fowlie, who was now crippled with arthritis – and yearning for the education he knew he was capable of. Emily was most affected. Not only had she lost her elder daughter for ever, Becky had written nothing since her arrival in America. To cap it all, her own mother had gone to live with her other daughter in London. She had never been all that friendly. She had been against Jake from the very start, but she was the only relative Emily had had in Scotland. She had withdrawn into herself and still showed no interest in anyone or anything. But life seemed to go on around her.

  When the results of the examinations came out, both Millie Meldrum and Willie had passed every subject with flying colours. Millie was jubilant, and the elated Willie had grabbed her round the waist and whirled her round in front of students and masters. The denouement had come when he arrived home. ‘I canna afford to put you to University,’ Jake said, ‘so put it richt oot’n your heid.’ A tentative appeal to his mother was met with silence, and Willie knew that the subject was closed.

  Millie threatened her father that she wouldn’t go if Willie couldn’t go, and there the matter may have remained if Fate had not taken a hand. Mrs Meldrum, who generally paid little attention to what her husband and daughter talked about, suddenly observed, ‘Why can’t you pay for Willie at the Varsity like you’ve done for him at the Academy? What the bursary didn’t cover, I mean.’

  ‘My dear, it’s an entirely different situation,’ her husband replied, but she had given him cause to think. Not being a man to dive at things without thinking, he gave it some deep consideration, and at last came up with a solution. It would all depend, of course.

  Willie offered his services to his father for the holidays, with the promise of looking for a job for himself later, and having been refused – Jake’s way of making up for not letting him go to University – spent the next two weeks going cycling with Millie. Their favourite destination was a small loch, its grassy banks concealed from prying eyes by bushes. It was too good a place to waste, and the two young people took full advantage of it. Millie took a picnic with her, and they would sit on the lush, velvety grass for an hour or more sometimes, the talking and eating periods getting shorter as they spent more and more time telling each other of their love.

  It was difficult for Willie to think that he would hardly ever see Millie after she started at University, and not only that, she would likely fall in love with some other boy. She laughed at him for saying this, and sometimes countered it by saying, ‘I’ll never look at another boy, but maybe you’re wanting to get another girl. Is that it?’

  They were lying side by side, in a good position for kissing, so he pulled her towards him and kissed her as neither of them had kissed before. Time passed unnoticed, each experiencing emotions that they were aware were fully adult, and not knowing what to do. Desperate as he was to show her how much he loved her, Willie pulled back suddenly. It wouldn’t be right. They were too young to take on the responsibility of the child that could result from his ignorance.

  She seemed hurt as they looked at each other, but he could only say, ‘No, not yet, Millie.’

  ‘You don’t want to?’

  ‘Don’t ever think that,’ he burst out. ‘Of course I want to, but we’ll have to wait until I’m earning enough to support …’

  ‘But you’ll be coming to University, please, Willie? Please?’

  ‘I wish I could, my darling, but I’ll have to work for a living.’

  Jake was astonished to see Mr Meldrum on his doorstep at nine o’clock that night. He had not long finished his supper, working until darkness fell, and was sitting in his shirt sleeves and galluses. ‘Come in, sir,’ he said, deferentially, for he was well aware that this man had paid for many items Willie had needed at the Academy.

  ‘Is William in? I want to be sure that he doesn’t hear our conversation.’

  ‘Aye, Willie’s in, but he’s up in his room readin’. He’ll nae hear what you have to say. When his heid’s in a book, he’s dead to the world.’’

  ‘It’s about Willie, you see, Mr Fowlie. My daughter tells me that you don’t want him to go to University.’

  ‘It’s nae that I don’t want him to go,’ Jake said carefully, looking at his wife and pleased to see that she was listening.

  ‘I understand, but I still feel that it is a shame for him to waste such ability as his.’

  ‘I canna afford to put him, and that’s a fact. If you’re thinking on offering to pay for him again I canna accept.’

  ‘No, Mr Fowlie, I am not exactly offering to pay for him. What is being offered is …’ He pulled a face and followed it by a mischievous smile. ‘I’ve been talking to the Reverend Fyfe, who said he knew that your William was a very intelligent boy. When I explained that he had enough qualifications for University, but that he couldn’t go because of your financial situation, he made the offer to me and saved me having to ask. We will go fifty-fifty on all William’s expenses.’

  ‘I’ve had enough charity,’ Jake exclaimed, thumping his fist on the arm of his chair. ‘You ken I’ll never be able to pay you back, an’ I canna be in debt to the minister as weel.’

  ‘You misunderstand, Jake,’ Mr Meldrum soothed. ‘Neither of us want to be repaid. We are both very fond of the boy and would hate to think of him losing his rightful place in the world. Please try to see it from his point of view. He is so clever, there is nothing that he couldn’t tackle and do well. He could be a doctor, a minister, a schoolmaster, a politician even. There is no limit to what he could achieve – if you will only allow him his chance.’

  Emily spoke now, for the first time. ‘He’s right, Jake. We’ve both known for a while that Willie could go on to better things, but I’ve been as big a stumbling block as you, and now he’s on the doorstep to a good career, we have to give him the chance.’

  Mr Meldrum beamed at her. ‘Thank you for this, Mrs Fowlie. You will never regret it.’

  She gave a wry smile. ‘I wouldn’t be too sure of that, though. Willie has always been a puzzle to me. My mother-in-law used to call him a wee nickum, and so he was, always full of mischief, and maybe he always will be, but I can’t stand in his way now.’

  ‘May we keep it a secret between us until tomorrow?’ he asked. ‘As you possibly know, my daughter and your William have been seeing quite a lot of each other lately, and I’m sure she would love to be the one to tell him the good news.’

  Jake nodded. ‘So be it, but I’ll make sure Willie pays back every penny you spend on him. Be sure o’ that, Mr Meldrum, you an’ the minister baith.’

  ‘If he graduates with honours, that will be all the payment we need. It’s been good having this little chat with you, but I must bid you good day. No need for you to get up,’ he smiled to Emily as she made to stand. ‘I can see myself out.’

  Husband and wife looked at each other when they heard the door close behind him, Jake raising his eyebrows as he said, ‘Well, that was a surprise, but I’m nae that keen on the idea o’ bein’ beholden to him and the minister.’

  ‘They’re doing it for Willie,’ Emily sighed, ‘and while I wonder if they’ll come to regret it, I’m grateful to them for it. At one time, I’d never have thought he had it in him to go to the Academy, never
mind the University, but give him his due, he’s worked hard and he deserves to get on.’

  When Willie came downstairs about half an hour later, he sat down in silence for a few moments and then burst out, ‘I’ve been thinking, Dad. You know I’m not that keen on working on the land?’

  Puzzled at what his son was about to say, and half believing that he had been eavesdropping on the conversation with Mr Meldrum, Jake just nodded.

  ‘What if I was to give it a try for – say a couple of months, and if I said I still couldn’t face it as a full-time job for life, or if you thought I was useless, would you let me look for another job for myself? Something I felt I could be happy at?’

  If his mind had not been so engrossed in his own thoughts, he might have seen the conspiratorial look that passed between his parents, but he did not recognise it. ‘I’ll work really hard for you, Dad, I’ll give it a good try, I promise.’

  Stifling the urge to put his son out of this uncertainty about his future, Jake managed to say, ‘Aye, well, we’ll wait an’ see what happens, eh?’

  ‘OK. I’d better start tomorrow, then.’ He was clearly anxious to get to the end of the next eight weeks, but recalling what was going to happen the next day, Jake said, ‘Ach, we’d be as weel leavin’ it till Monday.’

  ‘Thanks, Dad, and if tomorrow will be my last free day for a while, I may as well make the most of it.’

  He set off on his bicycle, kept spotless and in good running order, just after nine, his heart singing as he took care not to hit any of the large stones that always seemed to litter the track down to the road. This part of Aberdeenshire was mostly stony ground, evidence of the scree taken down by the glaciers making their way down the mountains to the sea at the end of the Ice Age. However often the farm labourers tried to clear them off, there were as many again the next time the fields were ploughed.

  At Burnton schoolhouse, the three Meldrums were just finishing breakfast, and Willie apologised when Janet, the little maid, showed him in.

  ‘It’s all right, my boy,’ grinned his old headmaster, ‘There’s no need to apologise for being early. It is we who should apologise for being such sluggards.’ And his wife added, ‘Don’t bother clearing the dishes, Millie, Janet and I will easily manage.’

  Willie did not have time to speculate as to why the man and his wife looked so pleased with themselves; Millie had jumped up from the table and was dragging him outside. ‘Bye Mum. Bye Dad,’ she called, picking up the small picnic basket as she went through the hall.

  She looked so lovely, so happy, her dark blue eyes dancing, her goldie hair blowing in the breeze, that Willie found difficulty in fixing the basket to the carrier on the back of his cycle. What he wanted to do was grab her and kiss her until they both ran out of breath. But he couldn’t do that in full view of the dining room window.

  ‘Could we go to Carter Loch?’ she asked, as they set off. ‘I’ve something to tell you, and that’s as good a place as any.’

  ‘Something good, or something bad?’

  ‘Something good – well, I hope you’ll think it’s good.’

  ‘I’ve something to tell you, as well,’ his smile was forced. ‘But I’ll let you go first.’

  ‘When we get there.’

  Their journey took them the best part of an hour, but neither of them minded. They loved the fresh smell of the pine trees on either side for some miles, the rainbow colours of the wild flowers on the grass verges, masses of foxgloves swaying in the wind, patches of blue forget-menots, white Stars of Bethlehem, sorrel. ‘When I was little,’ Millie told him, ‘we used to play at shops, and we used the red bits of sorrel for mince.’

  He wished he had known her when she was a little girl. ‘Poopie and I just used to play cowboys and Indians.’

  ‘Poopie?’

  ‘Don’t ask.’

  ‘I am asking. Why was he called Poopie? It wasn’t very nice.’

  ‘No, you’re right, and it was why you thought it was. He couldn’t help it.’

  ‘What a shame. Was he a nice boy?’

  ‘He was my best friend for years. He’s a year older than me, but he didn’t pass the qualifying exam, and we don’t see so much of each other now. Last time I saw him, he was working at Easter Burnton as ploughboy.’

  ‘You shouldn’t lose touch with him, though. Try to see him again.’

  ‘I do sometimes see him, but just long enough to exchange a few words.’

  They had passed the old mill, not in use for many years, and the grass and weeds were practically blocking it from view. Without thinking, Willie remarked, ‘There’s a story that two little twin boys fell in the mill race and were drowned. They had been picking wild rasps. Look, you can still see them growing there.’

  ‘Oh, that’s really sad. Let’s speak about something different.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ He very much regretted it, for her shoulders had slumped, and there was a general air of sadness about her. He searched for something to cheer her and spotted something ahead that might do the trick. ‘See this old hut coming up. They say that was used by men making illicit whisky. They kept their stills hidden in there, so the Revenue Men wouldn’t catch them. There was a lot of that going on round here at one time, and poaching.’ She seemed happier again, he was glad to see. ‘They say the Covenanters roamed about this area, as well.’

  ‘I suppose there are stories like that wherever you go in Scotland. I’m quite interested in history, but so are you, of course?’

  ‘Yes, I am. I like to read about the past. If I’d been able to go to the Varsity, I would maybe have aimed at being a history master somewhere, but …’ He shrugged his shoulders.

  On the point of telling him her news now, Millie was glad to see the start of Carter Loch just ahead. ‘Well, here we are,’ she said, slowing down as they mounted the grass and pushed the cycles slowly and carefully between the clumps of heather and other low bushes until they reached their favourite spot – secluded and sheltered, and carpeted by mossy grass that was very comfortable to lie on.

  First opening the straps that held the basket, Willie set it on the ground, laid his cycle carefully down beside it and then helped Millie with hers. Then they spread their jackets out, although there had been no rain for some time and everything was bone dry. He helped her down first and then sprawled by her side. ‘Will you tell me your news now? Or shall I go first?’

  She regarded him thoughtfully, yet her eyes soon began to dance again. ‘I think you should go first.’

  So he told her what he had suggested to his father and the response that he had received. ‘So this is the last day we’ll be together for I don’t know long. But I’ll surely get a day off now and then.’ He felt saddened that she was not looking disappointed, and decided that he didn’t really want to know what she had to say, all about the university, he presumed.

  ‘Well, now it’s my turn,’ she began, sounding far too cocky for his liking. ‘I’ve been studying a railway timetable, and it’s not handy going to Aberdeen by train.’

  Wondering why she bothered to tell him this, he muttered, ‘So what are you going to do?’

  ‘Dad says the bus isn’t much good, either, but his sister has a large house in the Spital and she has offered to take us.’

  ‘No!’ he said, sharply. ‘Don’t include me. I’ve told you I can’t go.’

  She laughed gaily. ‘I know you have, but arrangements have been made.’

  ‘They’ll have to be unmade, then.’ He was disappointed in her, hurt by her determination to ignore his position. ‘I can’t go and that’s final.’

  She didn’t seem in the least perturbed by his persistence. ‘But, Willie, you don’t know what I know.’

  ‘Stop joking, Millie! It’s not funny.’

  ‘I’m not joking.’ She looked round into his face, then stroked his cheek. ‘I wouldn’t do that to you, my dearest. But it’s been arranged by my father and the minister that they’ll pay all your expenses.’

 
; He shook his head mournfully. ‘My father won’t agree, and anyway, even if he did, I couldn’t accept such an offer.’

  ‘But they really believe you deserve it, and you surely aren’t going to let them down?’

  ‘You make me feel bad about it, but I really can’t. Not only would it be my fees, but books, and now, you’re telling me, board and lodging to your aunt.’

  ‘She doesn’t want us to pay. She’s got plenty of money. Her husband was a skipper and left her very well provided for.’

  ‘But I can’t …’

  She rolled over to stop him with a kiss, a kiss that lingered, was repeated over and over again, and he knew he had been overruled. He could not argue against her now, he would have to accept and be grateful to all the people who were making his dream possible; it would be up to himself to make it come true. He would actually be starting his first year at Aberdeen University with Millie at the beginning of October, 1939.

  Part Two

  Chapter Fourteen

  Willie had worked on his father’s plot of land for most of the summer, with one day off every week, which he spent with Millie, but things changed somewhat on the third day of September, when Neville Chamberlain announced that Britain was at war with Germany. Many of the young men in the Burnton area were fired with patriotism between then and Christmas and volunteered to fight for their country. Poopie Grant – Willie could never get into the habit of calling him Cecil – came to say that he’d made the decision and had to report at the Scottish Horse base at Perth.