Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole Read Free Book Online Page A

Harry’s family moves in the same social circles, he’s actually completing his medical studies, he’s absolutely brilliant, and he’s flawlessly polite. What could my father find fault with?
    I suppose that a sharp mind can be wielded like any sharp weapon, and Harry can be quite disapproving of the snobbery he finds at many of the social functions we are forced to. He’s lucky that most of the people he mocks don’t catch his sarcasm and dry humor, or he wouldn’t be invited back nearly so often. It’s been quite a few years since Harry set off for Oxford. We write back and forth—not nearly as often as you and I write—but I’m looking forward to seeing him.
    And a Christmas gift for you, dear Sue. A mottled black-and-pen, so that you’ll always be able to write to me.
       To a new year,
       David
    Isle of Skye
    28 January 1914
    Already 1914, and the world hasn’t ended yet!
    Davey, you misled me! This isn’t a mottled pen at all. It’s marbled through with red and black, just like a polished length of jasper. What better pen for a budding geologist?
    I have a new set of chalks for Christmas, for drawing, but the rest of my gifts were unhappily practical—socks, three newspoons, a giant washtub. Tennis racket? I’ve never played, but it certainly sounds more exciting than a washtub.
       Elspeth
    Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
    February 14, 1914
    Dear Sue,
    I’ve just gotten back from a ski trip to Ishpeming, Michigan, with a few friends, which is why I’m a bit tardy in my response to you. Not only was your letter waiting for me when I got home, but I also had a letter from Harry. He’s proposed that I sail over to England, go on a sort of valedictory tour of Britain with him, before sailing back to the States together. I don’t know the precise itinerary yet, but Harry is talking about heading up to Edinburgh in our rambles. This is probably a wild idea, but, Sue, you should come to meet me! I know, a bit of a lark, but you have until June to figure out a way to get yourself on that ferry. May I suggest a great deal of whisky?
       Happy Valentine’s Day to you!
       David
    Isle of Skye
    10 March 1914
    David,
    Are you completely mad? You think you’ll be able to do what all my family and friends have been unable to do? My whole life, no one has been able to get me onto a boat. But you think you’ll succeed where others have failed? You think the lure of David is greater than the lure of university? My, but you are the cocky one!
       Elspeth
    Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
    March 26, 1914
    Sue,
    You forget, my father is a doctor. I have ether.
       David
    Isle of Skye
    11 April 1914
    My dear boy,
    Not nearly enough.
       E
    Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
    April 28, 1914
    Dear Sue,
    Plans are afoot! Itineraries are set, tickets are bought, rooms at the Langham in London booked, and I am ready to step on that boat. The question is, dear Sue, are you?
    Surely you are just as curious as I am to see who is at the other end of that pen-and-paper. You’re both scientist and artist, realist and dreamer. Curiosity is your middle name.
       David
    Isle of Skye
    6 May 1914
    Dear David,
    Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen my niece and nephews in Edinburgh. They would adore a visit from their auntie, wouldn’t they?
    I will expect that ether posted with your next letter. Buckets of it.
       E
    Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
    May 21, 1914
    Sue,
    Be still my beating heart! Can it be true? Sue is going to brave the ocean for me?
    If all goes well, we should be arriving in Edinburgh on the sixteenth. I know I won’t be able to wait a moment longer than that. The seventeenth at noon? St. Mary’s Cathedral on York Place?
       Crossing everything I’ve got,
       David
    POST OFFICE TELEGRAPHS
    SRP 5.55 EDINBURGH 25
    18 JUNE 14
    E. DUNN ISLE OF SKYE=
    WAITED IN CATHEDRAL AS PLANNED WHERE ARE YOU
       PLEASE REPLY=
          DAVID CALEDONIAN HOTEL+
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    June 22,