A Kind of Magic--Reprise

Dear Bettys!
So sorry this post is a wee bit late.  I canna believe that I have five bairns and tis Summer! Ach! Ye ken?
Love and cock a leekie soup!
Betty Keira

The heroine is Scottish! The hero is...Scottish! Och aye, and it's away to the Highlands we go.

Rosie Macdonald, 25, lives with her parents down in the land of the Sassenachs.  They've been exiles for sixish years, while Uncle Donald Macdonald (who is really a cousin) has taken over the family homestead because dad lost some money some way and now works as an agent at a large estate in Wiltshire(Callooh! Callay! A Working Dad!) .

Grandmother, Mrs. Macdonald Senior, is a martinet.  Imperious, icy, demanding, selfish and stubborn - not your cuddly kind of granny at all. Mrs. Macdonald lives in Edinburgh with her housekeeper and downtrodden daughter, Carrie. Granny has decided to make a Royal Progress by way of a railway tour of Scotland and decreed that granddaughter Rosie will accompany her as her minion. Rosie is not all that keen to go - she knows acting as granny's companion won't be all sunshine and fluffy bunnies - but go she does.  The tour is just what she expected - full of older Americans with a smattering of Germans.

Granny, with all the good nature of a particularly vile strain of amoebic dysentery, declines to disembark the train at any of the scenic stops, and since she isn't getting off, neither is Rosie. The route passes within a few miles of ye olde family farm...which is still in the nasty hands of Cousin/Uncle Macdonald.  A word about him.  We know he is a Bad Man.  Why?  Evidently he had the bad taste to marry a...*gasp*...heiress, which rates only slightly below premeditated murder as far as crimes against humanity go.  That by itself would be bad enough, but we're also given an insight into his true nature. Rosie caught Uncle/Cousin beating his dog - way back when...and she's never forgotten it. Granny just hates him on principle (that's her default setting). 

The one and only time Granny gets off the train, she sprains her ankle. Enter Dr. Cameron. He's prompt and to the point - his patient comes first.  Rosie is peeved that he barely spares her a glance. And so it begins.  Rosie isn't sure she likes him (the apple isn't falling far from the tree - granny's not the only one who wants attention).

Rosie spends a lot of time and energy taking care of her crotchety grandmother - even to the extent of making her tea at 4am and losing out on some of her own beauty sleep.  This does not go unnoticed.  Dr. Cameron prescribes fresh air - which isn't going to help the lack of sleep, but will put some roses back in her lovely cheeks.

While taking her now daily constitutional, the gentle dew from heaven becomes more than a little torrential. Dr.Cameron, on his way to an emergency, picks up Rosie.  There's no time to drop Rosie off at the hotel. Uncle/Cousin Donald is gravely ill.  Rosie visits him in hospital, thus ensuring her family a mention in the will.
And now for a little refresher course on one of my least favorite plot devices:
Girl asks, 'Are you married?' Boy says, 'No, but I'm hoping to be in the near future.' Girl then assumes he has a girlfriend, boy assumes girl can read his mind, even though it's shielded like the starship Enterprise on a secret mission through Romulan territory.

Dr. Cameron drives Rosie and Grandmother back to Edinburgh in a dark blue Rolls Royce (which granny accepts as her just dues...and Rosie worries about the rental costs).

Aunt Carrie has a boyfriend! Despite being a dry and dusty solicitor, Mr. Brodie would like to marry her.  Granny thinks it's a load of rubbish for Carrie to run off and get married at her age...but her beau is made of stern stuff and manages to cut the ground neatly from under Mrs. Macdonald.

Dr. Cameron turns out to be Professor Sir Fergus Cameron - he works at the Royal Infirmary. Granny embarrasses Rosie clear down to the toenails with her 'you are on National Health?'

Rosie heads back to England.  But not for long.  Uncle/Cousin has the grace to pop off and before doing so, had the great good sense to change his will so as to leave the farm to Rosie's father. The family packs up and moves back to Bonny Scotland. Mum and Dad take the car and the family silver, while Rosie is relegated to taking the luggage on the train. Sir Fergus surprises her at the station in Edinburgh and drives her home.

Her: You're very far from home.

Him: Home is where the heart is.

Maybe his Scots accent was a wee bit too broad, but for whatever reason, Rosie is too thick to understand the veiled hint...then again, she thinks he's got, at the very least, a girlfriend if not an actual fiancee.

Most of the the middle of the book is taken up with much gadding about Bonny Scotland.  Walks to Rannoch Moor and drives through the countryside.  Rosie takes a couple of days to visit Edinburgh  - with a little bit of discretionary funds from dad to spend on new clothes..then hauls Granny back to Old Macdonald's farm. For some reason Rosie gets saddled with keeping granny happy.

Rosie is starting to think a little more kindly about Fergus - she likes him enough to be sad that he's going to marry soon.

While in Edinburgh, Rosie spots Fergus driving around with a beautiful woman. Oh yeah, the waters are positively murky.  Visibility is down to zero.   

There's a lovely little scene grocery shopping together in Edinburgh - tossing fairy powder and the like into a trolley, but it's quickly spoiled by the worst part of the book for me: Rosie asks Sir Fergus Point. Blank. if the woman she saw in the car with him was his fiancee. Point. Blank. Instead of doing the Extremely Simple Thing - which would have been to just tell her who it was (his married cousin), he avoids answering.  He thinks she might be...maybe...possibly dating young Dr. Douglas - and since he's being so cagey about the mystery woman, Rosie pretends she IS dating the young doc. Oh what a tangled web...

After finally realizing she's in love with Sir Silent-About-Important-Details, they spend the day together. More gadding about Bonny Scotland. Fort Williams, Lock Shiel, Glenfinnan, Lock Eilt...oh, this is a private drive - does it belong to you? Yes, and here's my mother.  

Being in love means pretending to be serious about young Douglas...but Fergus soon susses out the truth about Dr. D:  Young Dr. Douglas has no intention of marrying anytime soon, wants to marry for money, and much prefers the small and helpless type of female...which doesn't sound a bit like Big Beautiful Rosie. Next up:

• Aunt Carrie gets married in Tron Church - Grandmother looked rather like the bad fairy bent on casting gloom over the party.
• Fergus is again seen driving the beautiful mystery woman around.
• Highland Ball - Rosie asks young Douglas to take her. Fergus looks smashing in his kilt.
• When Rosie finds out that Fergus knows about her attempted deception, she's furious...
• Fergus plans to wed Rosie...but in the meantime he's the antithesis of a woo-er. She will have to figure everything out all by herself - he is not about to pluck ripe apples from the tree. Argh.

How will The Great Betty resolve this muddled mess? In spite of darkness and rain, Rosie spies a torch (that's Britspeak for a flashlight) waving and deduces that someone is in trouble. Three hours later Fergus drives by and comes to the rescue. His words, 'My brave little love,' break the ice a wee bit. But there's still the pesky matter of his fictional fiancee.

When Fergus does finally run her to ground and kisses Rosie soundly, she protests. What about the girl????
My darling, you forgot to read my mind - that was my cousin. Haven't I been driving all over Bonny Scotland with you? Let's have a big wedding - you can have three weeks to plan, otherwise it's off to Gretna Green! More kisses and a really delightful final paragraph. The End.

Rating:  The sound you hear is me, grinding my teeth. For a romance, A Kind of Magic is a great tribute to Scotland.  The Great Betty must have gotten a sponsorship deal with the Flying Scotsman...or the Scottish Tourism Board. Either-Or. So...lovely scenery...deliciously horrible Grandmother...but only a so-so love story.  Rosie seems to be taking after her grandmother in thinking mainly of herself - the least little thing seems to set her off.  Fergus may be hot, but he takes being a strong silent type a bit far. I can't quite picture a happily ever after for these two crazy kids.  Rosie will  spend as much time as possible taking offence at things, and Fergus will only get more and more silent as he ages. There will be some great behind closed doors bits...but for day to day living...not so much. Somewhere between a treacle tart and mince pies for me.

Food: Granny has lemonade with her pills. Shortbread, beef casserole, dumplings, treacle tart. Poached salmon, mushrooms in garlic butter(I made these last week!!), cucumber salad. Picnic lunch of sandwiches - smoked salmon, cold beef, cheese and pickles between thinly cut bread, lavishly buttered. Smoked salmon, roast beef with all the trimmings, millefeuille for afters. Lunch with his mother: smoked salmon (again!), trout, strawberry tartlets. Cock a leekie soup, shoulder of lamb, a dream of a trifle.

Fashion: Cream jersey, lovat corduroy skirt and country blouse with matching gilet (which seems to be what we Americans would call a vest - or a sleeveless jacket). Mrs. Macdonald wears a black crepe number with pearls. Pale green cotton jersey, chiffon and taffeta evening dress in old rose, denim skirt (see cover art!) for walking with Fergus - he wears cavalry twill trouser and a cotton sweater over an open necked shirt. An old dress and worn-out gym shoes and extra large gloves for weeding the rose garden. Grandmother's hat (for Aunt Carrie's wedding) is a masterpiece of black straw, tulle and curled feathers. Rosie wears white chiffon with a tartan sash to the Highland Ball, Sir Fergus rocks a kilt.