Tapestry of Love

By Catherine Carson

Isa Farrington is a needlework restoration expert working in a museum when she is asked to travel to the Lamont Estate in the Highlands of Scotland to repair an ancient tapestry which is rumoured to hold the key to lifting the curse imposed by the original needlewomen.
Lachlan Lamont the Laird of the estate makes it quite plain that he will only tolerate Isa if her presence does not disrupt the routine of the estate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9781326214364

Book preview

Tapestry of Love

Tapestry of love

By Catherine Carson

Standard Copyright © Catherine Carson 2015

ISBN 978-1-326-21436-4 eBook

About the author

I live in the North West of England and have been married to the same man (whom I left my native Scotland to be with) for some considerable time. We have three grown up children who between them have given us six grandchildren who are the light of our lives.

Writing was always something I enjoyed but confined it to letters, but over the years the recipients of those missives used to say I could write a book, to which my set answer was ‘I daresay I could but who would want to read it’.

Thanks to my very good friend Lisa who convinced me to have a go I found the courage to release the stories which had always been in my mind.

I hope anyone who reads my stories will enjoy them, and the characters I have created as much as I loved writing them.

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to Julie who is always first to read my stories

The characters in this book are completely fictional and bear no resemblance to any living person.

Other books by this author

The Mouse in the Library

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Family Ties

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Tapestry of Love (Book 1)       

Twins Exchanged (Book 2) 

Highland Feud (Book 3)         

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Overall Construction

Wounded Wolf

Coffee and Cakes

Memories Rekindled

Wholesale Love

Hope’s Conflict

Estates of the Heart

Sibling Rivalry

Fighting for Custody

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Soil, Seed & Betrayal (Book 1)

Desert Prince, Exiled Princess (Book 2

Body Language (Book 3)

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White Knight Black Knight

Through the Garden Gate or The Girl Next Door

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An Open Book (Book 1)

Afraid to Love (Book 2)

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A Second Chance (Book 1)

Taming the Playboy (Book2)

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Love Lost and Found

Chapter 1

Working behind the scenes restoring tapestries and embroidered art work in a north of England museum and art gallery Isa Farrington never expected to be making this journey but when Mrs Effie Lamont was invited into the workshop by the curator of the museum she took a great deal of interest in the work Isa was doing on a French tapestry recently acquired for the museum by one of its patrons.  It must take a great deal of skill to reproduce the exact work carried out by the original needle worker who created this work of art Effie Lamont said to John Williams the curator.  It most certainly does and Isa here is one of the most skilful and diligent needle women we have ever employed.

Isa had heard the comments and looked up into the bright blue eyes of a woman in her middle years her own grey eyes shining with happiness to know that her boss thought highly of her.  She had trained at the local textile college and it was there that she discovered her love of old embroidery and tapestry.  Researching the history and finding the exact colours and silks to repair such fine works gave her as much pleasure as actually sitting in front of a loom creating new pieces.

Following Mrs Lamont’s visit Isa was called into John Williams’ office and was asked if she would like to take on a challenge.  What sort of challenge Mr Williams? her curiosity aroused.  The lady who saw you working yesterday lives in the highlands of Scotland on a very old country estate and in the Great Hall of the house hangs a tapestry dating back to the fourteenth century and as you can imagine being that old some sections of it require extensive work.  To put it in a nutshell Isa Mrs Lamont has requested that you go north and look at the tapestry and assess the damage and give an estimate of the cost of repairing it.  The cost of your journey will of course be paid by Mrs Lamont, what happens after that will be negotiable with the good lady.  If the tapestry can be repaired it will probably be a lengthy process and Mrs Lamont may wish to hire you to carry out the work and if that is the case we cannot guarantee to keep your job at the museum open.  I will give you a little time to think about it but I will need your decision by the end of the working day on Thursday so that a train ticket can be purchased for you to travel north on Friday afternoon.  Feeling as if she was in a dream Isa left the curator’s office and returned to the workshop. 

By Thursday morning Isa had weighed up all her options and decided that nothing ventured nothing gained and after knocking at John Williams’ office door she entered and told him she would be delighted to travel north and look at Mrs Lamont’s tapestry and take it from there.

This being her first visit to Scotland Isa had her nose pressed against the window as the train left Carlisle station not wishing to miss the scenery unfolding before she looked out on the rolling hills of Scotland’s southern uplands as the train carrying her north speeded over the tracks

Her animated expressions as the scenery unfolded drew the attention of a young man sitting opposite her and he found that he too was noting the changing colours of the hills and the plantations of fir trees with their fire breaks.  Travelling this route as often as he did he could not remember when he had last been aware of anything other than the train interior and the laptop open on the table between him and the young woman?

As each new sight opened before her Isa’s face became like an open book and the young man sat fascinated at her opened mouthed, wide eyed look of awe.

Is this your first visit to this part of the world?  Drawing her eyes from the window Isa looked into blue eyes which held a cynical mocking expression but also a reminder which for the moment eluded her. Sorry am I that obvious?  Feeling like a child who had been chastised for getting too excited Isa picked up the catalogue of silk threads which she had brought with her.

He too turned his attention from the window and the young woman and once more looked at the screen of his laptop showing the projected figures for the coming year.  ‘Good going man, you just had to spoil it!’ he chastised himself.

Leaving the rolling hills behind, the train was now approaching the industrial heart of the central lowlands and the next stop would be Carstairs Junction where the train split, one half going to Glasgow and the other to Edinburgh, before the train travelled north into the highlands and Perth, where Isa would alight and hopefully be met by someone who would take her to her final destination.

Hoping that the young man would leave the train at Edinburgh Isa was disappointed when he continued to tap the keys on his laptop.  Being in the first class section the steward constantly kept the passengers supplied with drinks and snacks and she could not help noticing that the young man seemed to be addicted to coffee as he was now on his fourth cup.  ‘Perhaps if he drank less caffeine he could relax and enjoy the scenery instead of picking on me?’ My caffeine intake is none of your business young lady, and I can assure you I was not picking on you, merely amused by your childlike expressions of wonder. 

Feeling totally embarrassed that she had made her observations out loud Isa flushed bright red and lifted her catalogue to hide behind.  Quietly seething at his remarks about her expressions being childlike, ‘just who did he think he was anyway?’ she thought and immediately dropped the catalogue to look at him and make sure that she had not made the same mistake again.

The guard blew his whistle and the train slowly pulled out of the station and the sight of Edinburgh Castle sitting high on the rocks with the tenement buildings of the old town and the Georgian mansions of the new town lying before it once more brought Isa’s attention to the window, deciding if he didn’t like her childlike reactions then he could lump it.

We shall be crossing the Forth Bridge soon and you will have a good view of the Firth.  Did you know it used to be tradition for someone travelling over the bridge for the first time to throw money from the train and make a wish?  They say that the locals used to sit under the bridge with large sheets spread out between their boats collecting the money, but I’m not sure how true that is.  Closing his laptop Lachlan Lamont could no longer concentrate on Estate business with this grey eyed young woman thinking he was some kind of cynical unfeeling person.

Isa looked across the table at the young man her first thought that he was making fun of her once more, but his smile was inviting and she asked Did you throw money on your first trip over the bridge, or were you too grown-up to indulge in such fantasies?  Lachlan’s smile did not reach his eyes as he assured her that on his first journey over the bridge, or at least the first he could remember, he did indeed throw some pennies from the window and made a wish.  Did your wish come true? Isa could not resist asking.

Lachlan looked thoughtful and a little sad for a few minutes as if remembering something which happened a long time ago.  "I was on my way home from boarding school and I wished that my Father would be there to