MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE

About the Book

To understand James Douglas’ defiant behavior at Bonnybraes it is important to learn a little of his aunt and her unwitting pat therein. Matilda Douglas was a proud and stubborn old woman who stood firm and unyielding on those matters where she held strong views. Indeed, Matilda held strong views on great many matters, but none with more determination and vigour than on her nephew’s obligation to remarry and produce an heir for the family estates. In fact, she saw it as her bounden duty to ensure his doing so. To this end, Matilda had rounded up numerous eligible females, of suitable background and breeding of course, and these she trotted before James with increasing regularity. To her chagrin, the charms of these nubile maidens left her nephew quite unmoved, and seemingly content to remain a childless widower. Her constant harping and continued efforts in this area produced in James the opposite effect to that she desired, it inspired in him a grim determination and stubbornness to match her own. All her arguments, pleading and cajolery, fell on deaf ears. The situation between them had reached a state that could best be termed ‘stalemate’, and could well have remained so indefinitely, but fate saw fit to take a hand in the game. In the normal turn of events James would not have gone to Bonnybraes, but when his aunt intimated her intention of having several young ladies to visit over the following two days, he saw the business with Thomas Weir as a means of escape. The look in Matilda’s eye was warning enough for James; it heralded another attack on his solitary state. To say Matilda was annoyed when he told her he would be absent would be an understatement; she was furious. After all, the whole point of the exercise was dependent on his being there. The look of frustration on his aunt’s face gave James a feeling of jubilation, a glorious feeling of having triumphed over the old schemer. He had outflanked her, and with an added spring in his step, joyfully he took his leave. The mood stayed with him during the long ride to Bonnybraes and there can be little doubt that it had a great deal of bearing on his later actions.

About the Author

Born in Scotland in the 1930s, I migrated to Australia with my young family in 1962. My early years in Australia included being mother for several years with a well-known institution that cared for Aboriginal children. Being head chef in a commercial kitchen was followed by running a private catering company for a few years. During this time, I found little time for leisure activities, but when the opportunity arose, I enjoyed painting, pottery, and in particular, writing—winning a number of awards and accolades, including publications of poems and short stories, and the production of several plays. Working as the volunteer in charge of a charity shop, my life became hectic for the next twenty years. Having retired in December 2010, my focus has now returned to my pet interest: writing.