Page 14 of The Moon Sister
‘Thought this tree would cheer you and the old place up,’ Cal commented. ‘I dug it up from the forest, roots an’ all, so we can replant it afterwards. Maybe yae could go tae Tain tomorrow and buy some lights and decorations for it?’
Tears pricked my eyes at the sight of the little tree, currently standing at a lopsided angle in its bucket of earth.
‘Oh Cal, that’s so sweet of you, thank you.’ I went over to him and gave him a hug. ‘I’ll go after I’ve fed the cats tomorrow.’
‘Well, make it early, the snow is coming in tomorrow for sure. Them Sassenachs down south are always dreaming o’ a white Christmas, but I cannae remember one Yuletide up here without the stuff.’
‘And I can’t wait,’ I said with a smile.
*
As Cal had predicted, I woke the next morning to the first snowfall of the season. I took the spare Land Rover, which was even clunkier and older than Beryl, and drove carefully into Tain.
With only a few days to go, the small town was bustling with Christmas shoppers and after I’d bought my tree lights and decorations, I chose a soft tartan scarf for Cal and a pink woollen jumper for Margaret. When I arrived home, I noticed there was a beaten-up Range Rover parked in front of Kinnaird Lodge. Beryl had been in a flap for days because Charlie and his family were coming up from Inverness to spend Christmas at the Lodge, before giving it over to the first paying guests for Hogmanay.
By the time Cal arrived home, our own little tree was decorated and lit, and a fire was burning merrily in the hearth. A CD of Christmas carols that I’d bought in Tain was playing on Cal’s ancient portable system.
‘I’m expecting Old Saint Nick himself to fall down the chimney any second,’ Cal chuckled as he hung his jacket, hat and scarf on the coat hooks I’d had him screw in by the front door. ‘We even have the reindeer outside, Tig, look.’
I peered out of the window and saw that the six deer that usually hung around on the lawn by the Lodge had ventured across to see us. All stags, they were tame enough to feed, and Cal had told me that they’d been hand-reared on the estate.
‘Are you feelin’ the spirit o’ Christmas yet, Tig? You wait until you’ve had a taste of my mulled wine. You’ll certainly feel it then. What’s fer supper?’
‘Bean casserole, or you can cook your own kill,’ I retorted as I left the sitting room to go to the kitchen.
‘Aye, go on then. The last one you made was really tasty.’
Over the casserole and a bottle of cheap wine, Cal and I discussed the cats’ progress.
‘At least the pigeons and deer hearts are now disappearing from where I leave them every day, but apart from Posy, the other three are still refusing to come anywhere close to me. I’ll have to get them all checked by a vet soon and I don’t know how I’m going to get near them.’
‘Tig, you cannae force animals to adjust to their new habitat on a timetable.’
‘I know,’ I sighed, ‘but I feel under such pressure, Cal. The mating season starts in January, but they’ve been so unsettled that they’re barely stirring from their separate boxes, let alone spending time getting friendly. And to be honest, I’m not sure they ever fancied each other in the first place. There was no chemistry that I ever saw.’
‘I’m not sure that mating has anything tae do with chemistry. In rutting season, I’ve seen stags mount six hinds one after the other. It’s called nature, an’ you just have tae hope that those boys o’ yours feel the urge.’
‘Some wildlife consultant I’m turning out to be,’ I said. ‘If no kittens arrive by the spring, I’ll feel I’ve totally failed Charlie.’
‘Och, the Laird’s no’ a monster, Tig. I saw him earlier up at the Lodge, and he says he’ll be down tae see you and the cats sometime over Christmas.’
‘Oh my God,’ I groaned. ‘What if they won’t come out when he comes to visit them?’
‘He’ll understand. By the way, I was wanting tae ask your advice, given you’re a girl and Missus Christmas tae boot. I have tae buy something for Caitlin. And I haven’t a clue in my head what.’
‘Caitlin?’
‘My girl. She lives in Dornoch, but she won’t be my girl for much longer if I don’t come up with something decent as a Christmas present.’
I looked at Cal in barely concealed surprise. ‘You have a girlfriend? Wow, Cal, why have you never mentioned her to me before?’
‘Personal stuff, isn’t it? Besides, the subject’s nae come up before.’
‘But you’re always here on the estate. Doesn’t Caitlin get . . . irritated by the fact she barely sees you?’
‘No’ really, because it’s always been like this. I see her fer a weekend once a month and every first Thursday.’
‘How long have you been together?’
