The Forgiven, Ian Mcluckie [best e reader for academics .TXT] 📗

my aunts and I was her only relation , so it came to me . Its large ten bedrooms I think , and sits on 100 acres of land , Bill her lawyer thinks its worth over £500,000 “ .
“ What “ , Gary shouted , obviously taken by surprise at the amount . “ £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 “ , Gary said excitedly .
“ 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 “ .
“ True “ , said Gary “ when are you going “ .
“ Monday “ , replied David , “ I,m going to get there early spend a bit of time and try and forget the past couple of months “ .
“ Glad to hear it , I,m fed up you moaning in my ear “ , Gary said as he got up .
“ Well David , I better get going she,ll be looking for me , phone me when you get back will you “ .
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 , “ WALLACE HOUSE THIS WAY “ , 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 .
“ Man I,m going to love this “ , 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 .
“ Well its better than I imagined “ , he thought .David walked closer to the house but was startled by a voice from somewhere behind him . “ Hello “ , the voice said . David spun around but didn,t see anyone . “ Hello there “ , 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 .
“ You must be David “ , he said as he approached to shake hands . “ I,m Alec Campbell I looked after the place for you,r aunt “ . The two men shook hands .
“ 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 “ .
“ Oh no , I was told to expect you today so I thought I,d better hang around the house and show you around “ , said Alec . The two men chatted , and began to make there way toward the house .
“ What do you think of her then David “, asked Alec , pointing to the house .
“ she,s lovely Alec , better than I could have imagined “ , said David gazing at the grand old house . “ Well let me show you around David , you don,t mind if I call you David “ , asked Alec .
“ No , David will be fine thanks “ .
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 .
“ It has a lot of history this place , there has been a house here for maybe 700 years “ , Alec said , “ it goes right back to the days of William Wallace that’s where the house got its name “ .
“ It doesn,t look that old “ , remarked David .
“ This house isn,t , its only a couple of hundred years old David “ .
“ So how come its named after the Wallace “ , asked David .
“ 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 “ , explained alec .
“ Brilliant he,s a hero of mine , “ 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 .
“ My oh my “ , said David , “ I bet this hasn,t changed in a long time , its like stepping back in time , its lovely “ .
“ 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 “ , 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 .
“ That’s lady Elizabeth “ , said Alec , “ she had the house built around 200 years ago as a hunting lodge for her wealthy friends “ .
“ She’s beautiful “ , David said , a little taken aback by her stunning looks .
“ 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 “ .
David laughed , “ I know a women who fits that description exactly “ .

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 .
“ 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 “ .
“ Tell her thanks very much , that’s really thoughtful very kind