The Forgiven by Ian Mcluckie (inspirational novels txt) π
- Author: Ian Mcluckie
Book online Β«The Forgiven by Ian Mcluckie (inspirational novels txt) πΒ». Author Ian Mcluckie
β What β , Gary shouted , obviously taken by surprise at the amount . β Β£500,000 you lucky swine , if it was me it would be sold by next week , and I would be lying in the sun mate , not thinking of keeping it β , Gary said excitedly .
β Well I,m going to see it , maybe stay a while , its not far away and I think I owe my aunt that , its not every day someone leaves you a house β .
β True β , said Gary β when are you going β .
β Monday β , replied David , β I,m going to get there early spend a bit of time and try and forget the past couple of months β .
β Glad to hear it , I,m fed up you moaning in my ear β , Gary said as he got up .
β Well David , I better get going she,ll be looking for me , phone me when you get back will you β .
Gary left the pub and David alone , feeling excited wondering what the next day would bring , but he had a strange feeling that something unexpected was just around the corner .
Chapter 2
David woke early on Monday morning , to find it lovely and bright . The sun was bright , the sky blue , with just a few whiffs of white fluffy cloud . He still had this feeling of excitement in his stomach , which made him feel alive, on top of the world . He couldn,t remember the last time he had felt like this , certainly not in the last couple of months . That had felt like hell , but I suppose lots of people know that feeling , that heartache when you lose someone you love . But today was different , he felt great and wasn,t going to let the past ruin his day .
The drive through the ayrshire country side was warm and pleasant . On and on he drove , down through Kilmarnock , past Newmilns and into Darvel . Soon he had arrived at what was a large old fashioned gate house . A sign hung on the gate , β WALLACE HOUSE THIS WAY β , it read . How it seemed funny that a guy like him , could own such a precious part of the country side . On he drove through the gates past the house and on up a grand country driveway , past rows of large gentle trees which lined the road . How beautiful it looked , with the trees giving the effect of driving through a cathedral , with the tree canopy blocking out the sunshine high above him . Birds played and danced in the trees and on the road , in front of his car , with peaceful grace and contentment . David was surprised at how relaxed he felt , a sort of peaceful detachment he hadn,t felt since he was a child .
β Man I,m going to love this β , he thought . On up he drove for what seemed like miles , until he came to a clearing in the woods . In front of him sat a large blue house with a neatly cut lawn surrounding it .
David parked the car in front of the house and got out .
β Well its better than I imagined β , he thought .David walked closer to the house but was startled by a voice from somewhere behind him . β Hello β , the voice said . David spun around but didn,t see anyone . β Hello there β , the voice said again , but he still didn,t see anyone , and then was surprised to see an old man climbing down a large oak tree in the middle of the lawn .
β You must be David β , he said as he approached to shake hands . β I,m Alec Campbell I looked after the place for you,r aunt β . The two men shook hands .
β Nice to meet you Alec I,m glad someone,s here I was worried there would be no one and I wouldn,t get in β .
β Oh no , I was told to expect you today so I thought I,d better hang around the house and show you around β , said Alec . The two men chatted , and began to make there way toward the house .
β What do you think of her then David β, asked Alec , pointing to the house .
β she,s lovely Alec , better than I could have imagined β , said David gazing at the grand old house . β Well let me show you around David , you don,t mind if I call you David β , asked Alec .
β No , David will be fine thanks β .
The two men walked over to the grand entrance door , which was surrounded by stone pillars on either side , with a large carved stone engraved with WALLACE HOUSE standing on top .
David was overjoyed by it , but had a strange feeling of being watched , and watched he was by a figure and shadowy figure in the upstairs window .
β It has a lot of history this place , there has been a house here for maybe 700 years β , Alec said , β it goes right back to the days of William Wallace thatβs where the house got its name β .
β It doesn,t look that old β , remarked David .
β This house isn,t , its only a couple of hundred years old David β .
β So how come its named after the Wallace β , asked David .
β Wallace used the house here as a refuge after his first battle at loudon hill , which is just up the road and people have remembered ever since , so after that all the houses built here were called Wallaces house β , explained alec .
β Brilliant he,s a hero of mine , β said David with a grin on his face .
The two men stepped up to the large carved wooden front door and went in . David was surprised how grand and bright the entrance hall was , with the walls filled with polished wood and large portraits hanging on each side of the hall .
β My oh my β , said David , β I bet this hasn,t changed in a long time , its like stepping back in time , its lovely β .
β I,m glad you like it , your aunt wouldn,t change a thing , about the only thing she did was put in central heating . She would always complain about her aching bones , so we managed to persuade her to upgrade the heating β , explained Alec .
Alec showed David through a door on his left , which was the main living room . The room was large , just as grand as he had expected after seeing the hall it was easy to imagine elegant balls and party,s in here . There was a large fireplace and hanging above it was a beautiful portrayed of a lovely looking lady , she was all done up in a golden gown and a large diamond necklace .
β Thatβs lady Elizabeth β , said Alec , β she had the house built around 200 years ago as a hunting lodge for her wealthy friends β .
β Sheβs beautiful β , David said , a little taken aback by her stunning looks .
β Yes she was , but looks can be deceiving lad , she was ment to be a right bitch and would ride over the top of anyone , who got in her way β .
David laughed , β I know a women who fits that description exactly β .
The rest of the house was very much the same style all grand and cared for . One thing was different , the bathroom in the main bedroom had been modernised and fitted with a spa whirlpool bath , and when he asked about it , Alec told him it was put in because your aunt had a lot of aches and pains , and it helped her a great deal . Thankfully the bedroom had been brought up to modern standard , as well so David picked that one as his . David had a snigger to himself when he thought of the spa bath , as he had some very good memories of one on holiday , but maybe this one wouldn,t be as much fun on his own .
After he had brought his bags in , Alec shouted him into the hall .
β Oh by the way David , my wife has left some food in the kitchen for you , its not much but it will keep you going for a couple of days β .
β Tell her thanks very much , thatβs really thoughtful very kind
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