The Promise - 3. You Can Go Home Again

 

 

Finn stopped the Jeep in the curving driveway in front of the large house. He'd grown up here, but after his father's suicide, he'd never liked the place. "Full of ghosts."

After grabbing his bag, he walked over the flagstones, up the shallow stairs and rang the doorbell. The door was opened by a uniformed maid.

"Typical, Mother," he thought.

"Good evening, sir." The girl curtsied!

Finn grimaced, and then smiled. "Hello. I'm here to see Mrs. Green. I'm her son."

"Yes, sir. Please come in." The girl stood to one side as Finn entered. "I'll take you to Mrs. Green and if you like, sir, I can take your bag upstairs."

"Thanks, just I'll just leave it by the stairs and take it up later."

"Yes, sir. Please follow me then, to the parlour."

Finn dropped his bag by the wide wooden staircase. He looked at it for the thousandth time, it was ornate, with thick and heavily carved balusters and newel post capped with a large, ebony pineapple.

He reached out to touch it. "Still sharp, never did want to slide down into that thing!"

Turning, he found the maid waiting for him. He smiled at her. "Sorry. Memories."

"Yes, sir. Please come this way."

The young woman knocked on the door to the living room. His mother had always called it the parlour.

"But then Mother thought she was the Duchess of Sanctuary," Finn mused as he waited with the maid.

"Come."

The maid opened the door. "Ma'am, your son is here."

"Thank you, Nora. Show him in." Cynthia Green rose to greet her only child. "You may bring in the tea now, Nora."

"Yes, ma'am."

Finn entered the room and Nora backed out, closing the door behind her.

"Finn!"

"Mother." Finn reached out to grasp his mother's hands.

"How are you, dear? It's good to have you home." Cynthia pulled her son toward the grouping of chairs, where she'd been sitting. "Sit, darling. How long can you stay?"

"I'm fine. How long?" Finn sat and gazed at his mother. "I hope permanently … at least soon."

Cynthia sat back, eyes wide, mouth agape. "Perm … I … you'd said …."

After a small sigh, Finn continued. "I know. I made a mistake."

Cynthia sat for a moment, staring at her son. He knew inside she was running all the scenarios and computations.

"Has it been sold?" he asked.

"No, not yet. I had it valued however."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Close to a million, mainly for the land." Cynthia sat straight in the chair and eyed her son. "What's made you change your mind?"

"Time to think. History. Family. All those things are important. Keeping this place seems to be part of it." Finn met his mother's eyes. "Did Father ever tell you why we kept it, why we live here?"

There was a knock on the door, and Nora came in with the tea cart. On it was a china service—simple white china with gold accents. In addition to the teapot, cups and saucers, creamer, and sugar bowl, the cart carried several types of biscuits and petit fours.

"Thank you, Nora. This looks lovely." Finn's mother got to her feet. "I'll pour."

"Yes, ma'am. Will there be anything else?"

"No, thank you. Not until dinner."

"Thank you, ma'am." Nora left them alone, closing the door behind her.

Finn watched his mother pouring the tea. "Mother, why do you insist they, yes ma'am? And Nora curtsied—curtsied—when I arrived. I'm not royalty!"

"The help need to understand their roles." Cynthia held the creamer. "Milk, or have you gone off that?"

"Yes, please. No, I haven't. I think they likely realize they work here, Mother."

Mrs. Green handed her son his tea, and then offered the plate of treats to him. He selected a Bourbon crème and a white petit-four.

"Thank you."

After pouring her own tea, Cynthia retook her seat. "Well, now, you asked me if your father ever told me about this place. He didn't, no."

"Well, he didn't tell me either, but, I mean, there must be a reason it's been in the family for so long. Why the family stayed here."

After replacing her cup quietly onto its saucer, Mrs. Green said, "Must there be a reason? It's just what families do, dear. They have the family home and stay in it. Frankly, I've had enough."

"So, you have no problem if I want to carry on the tradition."

Cynthia smiled at her son. "Finn, this house and the land is yours. I live here because I'm your mother, but it is yours. It has been yours since your father died. The land and house passes to the son, not to the wife. You're expected to take care of me, of course."

"I know but …"

"That's a bit of an issue for you, since you're single. You have no partner and no children, at least right now. There must be an heir … a male."

"Well, I've met someone actually, Mom."

"Really? Oh, that's wonderful. Will I meet him?"

Finn laughed. "I've only just met him myself. He's a steward at Eagle Air, the service I use. And speaking of that … I should text him. Oh, God. Can I? I mean is there cell service up here?"

"They put a new tower up somewhere nearby, much to the residents' consternation."

"No, I'm sure they didn't like that." Finn pulled his phone from his pocket and gazed at the screen. "Oh, good. There are a couple of bars anyway. Just a sec, Mom, I'm just going to text Christian."

"Christian? That's a nice name. Strong."

Finn smiled as he used the phone's keypad. "There. We said we'd stay in touch, until we could get together."

"I'm glad. He can't be the heir though, you'd need a child."

"No, I understand that." Finn sighed. "So many rules."

Cynthia replaced her teacup and saucer on the cart. "Finn, while I'll always keep this as my home base, if you are living here, my plan is to travel."

Finn tore his eyes from the phone. "Travel?"

"Yes, travel. Your father left me very well provided for and I can afford to do so in style."

"But alone? I don’t like that, Mother."

Cynthia crossed her arms. "Well, you're not the only one who has met someone."

What? Finn was surprised. When had all this happened? "Who is he? Some gold digger?"

"Dear, I believe that term is used mainly for women, the male equivalent is gigolo. In any case, no, Stephen isn't one. He has his own money. He's retired, my age and is paying his own way."

"I see."

"No, dear I don't think you do. Stephen is a friend. We get on and enjoy each other's company. We are not planning to marry or anything like that. We both love travel and want to do some before we kick the bucket."

"You could marry, why not? Dad's been gone for twenty years." Finn reached for a couple more petit-fours.

"No, as you say, there are a lot of rules. One of them is that I cannot remarry and keep the money your father left."

Finn squinted. "Seriously? That's crazy, Mom. Has anyone tested these so-called rules? Who made them up?"

Cynthia regarded her son. "Those are good questions. I don't know. The rules just always were. We just knew them and followed them."

"Well Mom, that begs the question, what will happen if I marry a man? Will I be allowed here?" Finn wiped his mouth with a paper napkin plucked from the cart. "Who would say I couldn't? Are these rules kept somewhere?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I think they were always passed from father to son." Cynthia rose and poured more tea for herself. "Your father never said, but there is something going on here at Sanctuary. Some kind of secret. I've always just known it. Felt it. I've walked all over, checked all the books and things I could find. But I've come up with nothing."

Finn swallowed the last mouthful of his tea. "What could be going on?"

"I don't know, but as we've said there are lots of rules and secrecy."

"Yeah, you're right, Mom. It's too damn bad that dad never told me what, before he killed himself."

"Yes … but here we are. It's all yours now, Finn. I shall call Stephen and tell him I'm free anytime he is ready to go. I'll make an appointment with the bank, and you and I will go and do the necessary so you have access to the funds to run this place." Cynthia smiled. "All I ask is that you keep some rooms for me, because I will come to visit."

"Yes, of course, Mom. Of course I will."

"Good. Now, you go up to your rooms and well, do what you feel like. I have a few things to do." Cynthia rang for Nora. "I'll see you for dinner, yes?"

"Okay, Mom."

His mother bent and kissed his cheek, and Finn watched her sweep out of the room. There were a few things to think about, but more, look for.

Finn nearly ran into Nora as he left the parlour. "I'm sorry, Nora."

"No, not at all, sir. I should be more careful."

"Nora, are you aware my mother is leaving?"

"I wasn’t, sir. Does that mean you'll not need me any longer?"

"No, it doesn't mean that. I'll still need help—"

"Oh, you're staying?" She flinched, her hands flying to mouth. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Please, I'm Finn. I'd like it if you called me that rather than sir. And also, yes, I will stay on here. Seems the right thing to do." Finn smiled at the young woman. "I'm sure my mother will go over things with me, but it would be helpful if you can give me a list of your usual duties and other things you do that you feel are important. Also, I'd appreciate you letting me know if you've seen anything that needs changing or repairing for example. Please take some time over the next couple of weeks to make some notes we can go over together. Things won't be changing much, and if you like the idea, I'd be happy if you choose to stay."

Nora smiled. She had no desire to leave. "Yes, I'll certainly do that, Mr. Finn. Thank you very much for letting me know. I appreciate it."

"Of course." Finn took two steps and stopped. "Nora, do you have a set of keys?"

"Yes, Mr. Finn."

"I'd like all the keys for my father's study please. I'll be using it as my office and won't want anyone in there but me. I'll clean it myself."

"Oh, yes sir. I didn't go in there often as the room has always been closed." Nora pulled a heavy keyring from her pocket, looked through it and pulled off a key and handed it to Finn. "That's the only one I have, sir. Your mother may possess another, as she holds all the master keys."

"Excellent. Thank you very much." Finn started on his way down the hall toward his father's study, but stopped when Nora spoke again.

"Mr. Finn, what about food."

Finn turned. "What about it?"

"Well, sir, your mother only ordered certain things. I can cook quite well, sir, however I need to know what things you like."

"Thank you, Nora. I'm not fussy and like fairly plain things. I do not like to eat huge meals at night; I'd prefer a bigger lunch. Breakfast, I enjoy oatmeal or muesli, sometimes toast and now and again pancakes or French toast, oh, and breakfast for dinner is fine with me. Desserts, unless I'm having a party, keep it simple; fruit, jello, things like that. Simple food, healthy, and low in sugar."

Nora smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Finn. That's very helpful."

Finn returned the smile. "Things will be great, Nora. I feel it. Thanks again."

With the final dip of a curtsey, Nora trotted away.

Finn watched her go. "I need to stop her from doing that!"

The door to his father's study was impressive; solid oak with eight intricately carved panels had darkened with age. Finn stared at the panels, each a different woodland scene with trees and leaves, and each contained a small carved salamander.

"Huh. That's interesting. I do not remember seeing those." Finn ran his fingers over the smooth-carved panels, before he unlocked the door. It was very heavy, but moved silently on well-machined brass hinges. He stepped inside and pushed the door closed. The click and thunk of the latch was a very satisfying sound to Finn. He leaned back against the door.

It was his father's, no, his ancestors' study. It still smelled like his father's tobacco. Currently all the furniture was covered in white sheeting, and the heavy brocade drapes were closed. Beneath his feet was the oaken floor, which was partially covered by a beautiful and colourful Persian rug. Smiling, he remembered being in here as a child, using the patterns in the rug as roads for his toy cars.

Finn pulled open the draperies, filling the room with natural light. Carefully he pulled off and folded the sheets from the leather sofa and chair, then from the great cherry wood desk, and chair. He climbed the rolling library ladder to remove the hanging covers that protected the books.

With the pile of dusty folded sheets in hand, Finn went to the kitchen where he found Nora. "Hi, these need to be washed, and I'm looking for the vacuum cleaner."

Smiling, Nora wiped her hands and took the pile of dirty laundry and dropped it down the chute. "I'll get the machine for you." She walked into the utility room and returned with a vacuum cleaner.

"And I hope you don’t mind, because I'll be happy to clean your study, Mr. Finn, but since you said I shouldn't, I've put this little cleaning kit together for you. On the table she'd put a plastic caddy which contained a spray bottle of cleaner, can of polish and some clean cloths for dusting. "You can keep it in your office or in the utility room, there, sir … Mr. Finn."

"Thanks Nora. This is perfect. I appreciate it." Finn rolled the vacuum back to the study with the new caddy in his spare hand. "No, not, the study … my study."

The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning and then going through all the paperwork he could find.

Finn sat back in the chair. "Damn. Nothing about Sam and friends. Shit! Maybe I'll take a walk."

He left his study and popped into the kitchen. "Nora, I'm just going for a short walk."

"Yes, of course. Dinner will be ready in an hour, Mr. Finn."

"Great, thanks. It smells wonderful."

Pausing in the doorway, Finn turned back. "Nora, tell me, are there other employees? A gardener?"

Nora put down the spoon she'd been stirring with. "No, sir. There is just me. In the summer your mother hires a service to plant the gardens. They came in every couple of weeks, and they do the snow removal, if it's needed. Well, that is in winter, of course."

"I see. Thank you. I'll be back before dinner."

"Yes, sir."

Finn walked back to the front door, grabbed his jacket and left the house. He walked up the road to the cairn and moved the pebble as Sam had shown him. Finn hadn’t really seen which way Sam had taken but he decided to walk in the woods. He'd gotten only a few feet in when his text notification rang.

"Oh, maybe it's Christian!" He pulled his phone from this pocket and opened the message. "Yes, from Christian!"

Hiya. Just a quickie! Ha, I wish. So busy but thinking about you. I'll be in BC next weekend. I have a couple of days coming. Can we meet?

Finn grinned and replied. Yes! Tell me when/where. I will pick you up.

After a moment, another text appeared. I'll call you later with all details. Back to work. Xo

This was exciting. Finn typed a quick reply. Looking forward. Later! xo

After putting his phone away, Finn pushed on a bit farther through the undergrowth. "This is crazy without knowing where you're going."

"Yes, it is, Finn. Are you looking for me?"

Finn jumped at the voice. Sam stood in front of him. "Oh, hi. Where did you come from?"

"I wasn't far, and heard your phone. Why are you out here, Finn? You shouldn't come looking for me. You don't know the forest."

"Well, I used to, mostly. I know there's a cave out here."

"Is everything okay? Do you need me?"

"I wanted to tell you that everything is fine, that the land won't be sold. I've decided to move back here permanently. Mother is good with all of that and is going to travel the world." Finn stared at Sam. "Um, no clothes?"

"Not when I'm here, Finn. Only when I'm out in your world." Sam rolled a hefty fallen branch over, picked up a nice fat worm and popped it into his mouth. He chewed quietly.

Finn watched and his stomach churned. "Oh … geez. Okay."

"Thank you, for coming though, Finn. That is good news for all of us." Sam cocked his head and blinked. "Please don't look for us. You will not find our home. That was part of your forefather's promise. We keep our side of the bargain. You keep yours. If you need me please leave the pebble. If there is an emergency, come here and just yell hello several times. I will come."

Finn felt Sam's rebuff. "I thought we were friends. I enjoy your company."

Sam looked sad. "I enjoy yours also. But we are from different worlds. I can only live in yours for brief periods. We cannot be more than what we are."

"Yes, I'm sorry. I was just missing you." Finn turned away. "Take care, Sam."

"And you, Finny."

Finn didn't look back. He returned to the cairn and returned the rock to its original position. After a final glance back, and a deep sigh, he walked back to the house.

 

Back inside, Finn hung up his jacket and decided to take his bag up to his room. He picked up his luggage and climbed the stairs. He gazed down the hall to the master bedroom. "I guess I'll move in there eventually. Right now though I'll …."

"Finn!" His mother came from master bedroom. "Your rooms are here …."

She smiled as she stepped by Finn, and opened a door on the right side of the hall. "They've been redone. I had several of the rooms on this floor renovated, so they make more of a suite. I hope you'll be comfortable."

Finn stepped in. "Wow, Mom this is great."

"I'm glad you like it. There are three suites on this floor now, each with its own bathroom. Come down after and have a look at the master bedroom suite. You should move into that, as you are Master of the Sanctuary now."

"Yes, sure but you don't …."

Cynthia touched her son's face. "Finn, it's where you should be. When you have a husband, it's where you both should be. The rooms at the end of the hall will be just fine. These you can use yours for your child, when you have one."

Finn pulled his mother into his arms. "Mom, I'll miss you. I love you, I don't tell you enough."

"I love you too, Finn." She stepped back and smiled at her son. "Now, go, freshen up and let's have dinner."

"Okay. I'll be down shortly."

"Will you have some wine?"

"Yes, please." Finn stood in the doorway to his room. "Be down soon."

Finn looked around the spacious room as he shut the door. He walked through to the other side and dropped his bag on the bed. After unzipping it, he removed the few clothes he'd brought and put them in the dresser. His shaving kit he placed in the ensuite bathroom.

"I'll have a wash and then go join Mom for a glass of wine."

He dried his face and went downstairs to the parlour.

"There you are." Cynthia handed Finn a glass of red wine. "I've made an appointment with my banking officer for Thursday morning. I've also called the real estate agent and cancelled the listing agreement."

"That's great Mom. I bet they weren't happy about that."

"Indeed they were not. However, they will get over it."

"Cheers." Finn clinked his glass with his mother's and sipped.

"We'll get all the money things sorted out. Stephen would like to leave in three weeks. Then you and Christian can get on with things. Redecorate to your heart's content."

"Mom, well we'll see what happens with Christian." He paused for a moment. "Mom, did Father have a safety deposit box?"

Cynthia sat on the sofa and gazed up at her son. "I've never found anything or received a bill for one. We can speak with the bank and the lawyer, Mr. Gotlieb."

There was a tap on the door, and Nora announced dinner was ready.

"Thank you, Nora," Finn said. Then to his mother, "Shall we?"

"Yes, dear. Let's."

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