“Well, we have a lot to see, many steps to climb, and limited energy,” Darius finally said, “so we should get going.”
They’d made arrangements ahead of time, so they were able to avoid the line to the ticket office. He hadn’t been kidding when he said they had a bunch of stairs to climb. Eve purposefully led the group and walked slowly to keep them from going too fast, stopping frequently to look at plaques or views or anything else she thought would be a decent excuse. She tried to be discrete and not bring attention to Sophia’s fatigue.
“I’ll be thinking it’s time for you to use the chair,” Noah said solicitously as he slid it behind the girl, and she sat down with a grateful glance.
Carmen had brought along their self-guided tour map. She and Sophia must have decided what they were particularly interested in. The mother took control, and they wandered ahead with the photographer and her son trailing. Noah stayed close in case Sophia needed any help getting in and out of the scooter.
“This place is massive,” Darius said, glancing up the towering walls. “It must’ve been pretty impressive to defend in a battle.”
“Did you see the size of the guns?” Joe asked, pointing to the Mons Meg. “It was built in the mid-1400s.”
“My Dad used to talk about this being able to shoot two miles.” Eve ran her hands over the big black cannon. “I always wondered how they knew back then what they were shooting at.”
“Is your father from this area?” Darius asked.
“Well, Edinburghisin the Lowlands, but my father was born south of here, near the Borders.”
“I’ve only ever heard of the Highlands.”
“There’s a fault that separates the two. North and west of the fault is considered the Highlands. It’s where a large portion of the population lived until the people started migrating away,” Eve said, walking to the short wall that overlooked the city. Below them the others were stopping at the snack bar for a drink. She pointed to the view. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“It is.” Darius came to stand beside her and put his hand next to hers on the top of the wall.
She doubted that anyone but Joe would see if she covered Darius’s hand, but if he could be professional, so could she.
“What’s different about the Lowlands, besides them being south of this fault?” he asked.
“The Highlands actually have a ruling council, but the Lowlands aren’t an official administrative area. There’s even a difference in the languages between the Lowlands and the Highlands. From what my father has told me, my grandfather owns a lot of land in one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the country.”
“That’s pretty impressive. Have you ever wished you could see it?”
“Yes, but out of respect for my father, I’ve never mentioned that to him.”
“Do you want to get something to eat or drink?” he asked, pointing to the snack bar.
“Maybe something to drink.”
The three of them started down the curvy walk to where the others were sitting. Once there, Darius headed toward the cafe, but Eve’s phone started to ring.
“Those scones look good,” she called after him. “Grab me one of those and a water, please.” She put the phone to her ear. “Hey, Dad. Is everything all right?”
“Are you still in Scotland?” he asked without any other opening comment, which was very typical for him.
“We’re at the Edinburgh Castle and just about to get some food. It’s pretty early back home, so what’s going on?”
“’Tis your grandfather.” Her father’s voice was gruff with emotion, but Eve couldn’t tell if it was sadness or anger or even maybe frustration.
“Has his health gotten worse?”
“He’s calling me home.”
Eve went still. Would her father actually back off on his promise to never return to Scotland while his father lived? She and her mother had both tried to encourage him to let go of his anger if only to visit the land he loved so dearly. They’d argued that he could visit Scotland without going anywhere near his ancestral home, but he’d always refused.
“Are you going to come?”
Her father started to swear in Gaelic. She held the phone away from her ear until his ranting finally died down enough that she could hear her mother in the background trying to calm him.
“I take that as a no.”
