Page 8 of Edinburgh Escape
Excitement resurfaced. She was in London! Or almost.
Who would have thought the results of a DNA test would lead her to the UK to meet relatives she hadn’t known existed? She’d spent her entire life in Eagle Rock, Montana, only leaving long enough to attend college in Bozeman, to take a driving vacation to Reno and meet college friends in Spokane, Washington. She hadn’t even been on a commercial aircraft until she’d boarded the plane in Bozeman the day before. If not for help from her friend Sadie, she wouldn’t have known where to start when she’d made her flight reservations.
At first, Sadie had tried to talk her out of going, or at least waiting until Sadie could go with her. She’d reminded her that Maggie didn’t know anything about her newfound relatives. She should wait until Hank could check them out. However, Maggie only had two weeks until she had to be back in the classroom with her preschoolers for the new school year. Her half-brother had invited her to the family home in Edinburgh. If she wanted to meet them, she had only a short window to do so.
Thankfully, Sadie and her husband Hank walked her through making the flight reservations. Hank had even offered to send one of his ex-military men along with her as her personal bodyguard at his own expense.
Maggie didn’t make a lot of money, but she prided herself on paying her own way. She refused to accept Hank’s offer and assured her friends she’d be all right. If she didn’t feel comfortable around her half-brother, she’d find a hotel and continue with her plan to see more of Scotland a little sooner.
She hadn’t slept much on the plane, finding it difficult to nod off while sitting upright in her middle seat in the economy section. She’d had a man with broad shoulders taking up the armrest on one side and a teenage boy on the other side who had watched movies all night long, shifting in his seat every few minutes in an attempt to get comfortable. By the time they’d landed in London, she was tired, running low on energy but not on determination. She could sleep on the train that evening.
When Callum had offered to show her the way to the train, she’d been happy to follow. It wasn’t like he was taking her down a back alley to sell her into the sex trade. They were surrounded by people. If she’d felt at all threatened, all she had to do was scream.
And he seemed so nice—and wasn’t at all hard on the eyes.
When she’d shaken his hand, she’d been startled by the spark that had shot through her veins, dispelling any sleep-deprived grogginess. Since they’d be on public transportation and visiting public, tourist-heavy places, she’d never be alone with him. Why not take him up on his offer to show her around town?
“Thank you,” she said. “If you aren’t already regretting the offer, I’d appreciate the guided tour. I have all day, but I need to get to Euston Station this evening.”
“Great,” he said. “We can start with Buckingham Palace and work our way back to Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. If you aren’t afraid of heights, we can hop on the London Eye for a spectacular view of the Thames and the city.”
“Sounds wonderful,” she said.
Callum showed her how to use her smartphone to pay for her train ticket and then escorted her onto the train, along with dozens of other people eager to get into the city.
Once they arrived in London, they stashed their bags in lockers at the station. Then they got on the tube to get closer to Buckingham Palace and walked the rest of the way.
Callum was full of information about the palace, the changing of the guards and the statue in front of the gates. As they walked toward Westminster Abbey, he told her some of the history of the church and famous people interred there, including Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens.
“Isn’t it Stephen Hawking’s final resting place as well?” Maggie asked, remembering some of the information she had read recently.
“Indeed,” Callum said. “A brilliant man, Mr. Hawking.”
Maggie caught sight of Big Ben, the clock tower, standing high above a long, huge building.
“The House of Lords and House of Commons meet in Westminster Palace.” Callum tipped his chin toward the clock. “Big Ben is actually part of Elizabeth Tower, also attached to Westminster Palace.”
“You must have spent a lot of time in London to remember all of this,” Maggie said.
“We learn much about the history of the United Kingdom in school.”
“Is Edinburgh very different from London?” Maggie asked.
Callum chuckled. “Very. For one, London is much larger and more cosmopolitan. Edinburgh, with its Gothic architecture, transports one to another time. It’s quite lovely yet has many of the amenities found in London. On a smaller scale, of course.”
Maggie couldn’t wait to see it for herself. She’d researched online and found the photographs amazing. She could imagine it would feel like stepping back several centuries in time. Talking with Ewan Drummond, her half-brother, hadn’t given her any clue as to whether her newfound family was happy or dismayed at discovering a long-lost sibling. Nor had it given her any idea of where their home fit into the city of Edinburgh. Would it be near the old town or in one of the more modern suburbs?
“You say you’re on your way to visit relatives in Scotland?” Callum asked as they walked along the Thames toward the Tower of London.
“I am,” she said.
“In Edinburgh?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sure they’ll love showing you around the city,” he said.
“I hope so,” she murmured.
