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many thanks as always to those who review. it makes my day
Dear Laura,
Thank you so much for the flowers; it was a very kind thought. William and I, and the little ones of course, thoroughly enjoyed meeting you as well.
It does William good to talk music at times. I’m afraid that sometimes it’s a little beyond me.
I would love for you to keep in contact, please tell your mother it’s no bother at all. William was quite serious about producing a record for you, but I understand you wanting to finish school first, that is a very mature choice to make, but this offer won’t go away. I promise.

If you want to keep the friendship quiet, stop your ‘friends’ from pestering you, just write to William Giles, C/o Traymour Castle, Traymour Scotland, I’ll see he gets the letters. I know what you mean about the popular crowd. I was a victim of their cattiness when I was at school and if you get a chance to speak to Willow, Dan Osbourne’s wife, she was a computer nerd who loved homework, really not popular with the cheerleading crowd. Surprising how many of them reckon on what good friends they all were at school.

If you want a nice signed photo let me know, I’ll have one sent to you. I enclose a CD of some of the songs from the tour. I remember you saying you couldn’t get one at the concert, William, sorry Spike Devlin, and Oz have signed it and I hope you like it. It is your birthday next week, isn’t it?
If you ever come up to Scotland, please come and visit. I hope we can see you again.
Buffy Giles




Dear William,

Good luck with the next bit of the tour. Willow is busy writing to Oz at the moment, then we’re off for a walk around the grounds. The swimming pool is being refilled, seems someone dropped car in it whilst we were away!! I thought we were the ones living the rock star life style, but no, for us it’s shopping and playing in the children’s park and early nights because of the family, and here at Traymour…parties and dropping cars into swimming pools. Seems Dawn was learning to drive and missed the parking space. She’s worse than I was, and that really is saying something.
I sent a copy of the tour CD to Laura, her mum has asked her to finish school before considering a career in music, she was so upset that she had missed her opportunity, but I’ve told her not to worry, we’ll still be here in a year and a half’s time. I hope that was OK.

The arrangements are starting to come together for the wedding. All you have to do is turn up and look wonderful. So not too difficult. Sorry about all the threatening conversations the men folk have had with you recently, but I think they only mean it for the best. And I am sorry that Uncle Charles tried to intimidate you so much.
Did it work?

Are you still thinking about the film work? You know, I hope, I will support you in anything you do. And don’t forget the offer from Stirling to do the course on the influence of Victorian poetry on modern music. They have been hassling for an answer.

The little ones have settled down after all their excitement and are loving the nursery class that Tara has started at school. Dru wrote to me last week. She hopes to finish her course this year, working for you over the summer pays well enough to keep her for most of the year. And she’s worth every penny; then she will be coming over to see how things go with Tara. They seem so good together… she says the voices aren’t so intrusive and fearful now she knows how to quieten them.
Giles has found some very rare manuscripts in the library whilst he was cataloguing in there, as well as some rather spectacular paintings in the attic, including a Gainsborough and a Van Dyke. Along with a selection of Victorian watercolours, including three by Queen Victoria! She often came as a guest when she came to Balmoral. I think he’s having fun exploring all of the Castle.

We are turning the old stable block into yet more workshops. This time for woodworkers and stonemasons. Then Anya has some ideas for building a new café on site. The old one is just getting too small for our needs. We have also been asked if we want to be licensed for weddings. I am seriously thinking about it. We could do a complete package wedding, reception and honeymoon. The old Rolls would make a lovely wedding car and there are some lovely sites for photos.

The Chapel is still consecrated for those who want a religious service and if not there are a couple of rooms that could be used. We plan to only allow weddings at most once every couple of months. It would make them very special.
There is some excellent news. The brewery won a couple of awards at the Beer festival in Liverpool. Seems they agree with you about our beer.
We are officially losing Sarah. She is off on holiday for the next month to six weeks visiting all the places on her list and then sets up the Royal Nursery for Amy’s and Jamie’s baby. So she’ll be living mainly in London.
Speaking of the new princeling that is on the way, Jamie has asked me to be God Mother.

The new band Vampire that you hired out the farm to seem very nice. I invited them up to the house for dinner last week, but I think I broke them. They thought I only worked here. I was with Xander and he just kept calling me Buffy and talking about business. I think they thought I was his wife. No getting jealous now, they had no reason to believe that other than me saying I’d see him at home later.
Well they came for dinner and once over their shock we had a great evening. They have asked to do a show at the Little Theatre, seems it’s going to be a tradition for all groups and bands recording at the farm to put on a show in aid of the village. They really appreciated the way that they weren’t bothered by folks during their stay. The villagers doing their normal press ‘run around’ game. The only reporter that got close was Andrew who works for our local paper. The big papers find that they aren’t welcome or helped.
We miss you but we are waiting patiently for you to finish the tour, then come home. Oz said you were looking to take time off, Devon wanted to go surfing and girl hunting, Oz will have a new baby to bond with and I only hope that you still want to come home to us. I know you said you did, but in honesty… needing some reassurance here.

All my love, now and always,
Buffy

PS you didn’t say do you want a civil or religious service for the wedding?
Buffy, Billy and Joy…who miss their Daddy like mad.




Dear William,
Are the next four months going to be filled with thank you notes for the flowers? They were lovely.
And yes I believe that you want to come home to us. I just get scared.

There is a lovely Faberge posy coming up for sale at Bonhams next month, forget-me-nots enamelled with emerald leaves, estimate about £250,000. It used to belong to one of my forebears. And NO, I am not hinting.
The sale will also carry some of the things Giles has found in the house. Seems there have been antiques hiding around the place. A whole set of Chippendale chairs, from the original factory, were found in one of the outbuildings, along with a matching sideboard and buffet, worth about £225,000, in original, untouched condition. My gran could never stand them and had them banished from the house when I was little. We thought they’d all been burnt. There is loads of other stuff too. A load of Jacobite glassware, which we are donating to the museum, along with family papers and estate management books.

Giles and Jenny seem to be happily settled. Jenny has announced she is expecting a baby, and Giles is delighted. He said he’d be writing to you soon anyway. Giles’ job in the museum is going well.

Anya is also expecting, this place will be over run with little ones soon, so we’re planning on opening a nursery on site for the estate workers. Flexible opening and we’ll subsidise it to help with costs.

The school is expanding, two new teachers, and Tara is now head.
We have a new minister coming next month. And the village are planning ten new houses. All the old housing stock that could be renovated, has been, and we are running out of affordable homes. The doctor is hiring another nurse as well. So, more folk joining us.
Xander has passed his latest exams for the lifeboat and is now relief Cox, he is thriving, the estate is flourishing and as a gift for the birth of their baby I’m giving them the freehold for the cottage they’re in, they’ll need to expand it soon anyway.

Glad all is well your end,
All my love,
Buffy




Dear Willow,
I’m glad you enjoyed your rest and have reached home safely. Only three more months to go.
I hope you like the enclosed presents. The shawl is made to a traditional pattern used by my family for generations. They are made by a wonderful lady who lives in the village.
I’m glad Oz will be home soon, six more weeks and he’s in America, eight and he’s back with you. I hope he makes it in time for the baby, if not I’ll hold him down while you hit him.

Things are going well with the plans for the wedding. I’m doing everything differently this time. We’re planning on using the chapel in the castle, my family have used it for 500 years, although it is still called the new chapel, the old one was destroyed during one of the Border Raids.
Please let me know how things are going.

My love to Oz

Buffy
Ps I’m glad Faith is there with you.

Dear William,
Well, the minister came, and left. The church living is in my gift, so a lecture about unmarried mothers and the evilness of bringing up children without a father, then him referring to the local girls as harlots when they were dressed up for a dance, didn’t go down well. He then upset Jenny and Giles by threatening to not baptise their baby, on the grounds that Jenny had been married before. Then this Caleb man says he won’t perform our wedding because we’re divorced. The fact that we are marrying again was of no interest.
Xander says I went slayer on him, he was ‘asked to leave’, when he refused I rang the Bishop and he was out within a week. So were are looking for another minister at the moment, one who realises that the twenty first century has different problems to the nineteenth.
The bishop has said he will look for someone a little less controversial.




Dear Anya,
More orders for the house. I tried to catch you before Xander took you to town but no luck.
We have a woman coming from ‘Brides’ magazine to do a feature on our all inclusive weddings. She’s due on Monday about 2pm. Could you please show her around if I’m not back from the school?
I have a meeting with Tara at 1, nothing nasty, just a talk about how things are going to be with the new day care opening. But unfortunately it’s the only time she’s free.

Then we have to check the wine cellar at some time. We need to get in some more decent stuff. I know we are getting low on Shiraz and Burgundy and for some reason, champagne. I thought you and I could take a trip to London and visit some of the good merchants and stock up, maybe next month.

William is doing really well on tour. He is hoping to be in LA later this week and then should be home in just a few more weeks. So we’ll need someone to go to the Crypt and get it ready. Could you maybe find someone in the village who needs a couple of extra hours work a week and could take over as his housekeeper?

Speak to you tomorrow
Buffy

Dear William,
We have just found a secret stairway from my bedroom to the old nursery. I thought we could do it up and use it for a short cut.
Things are doing well here. The new day care opens in a couple of weeks and we had a wonderful review for the weddings in Brides magazine.
More business. The Farm is doing well, Anya says to tell you that there are bookings through to next year now. Seems some big, big names are interested in coming.
Lorne is recommending it to those people who want to be able to record in peace without getting swamped by fans. The villagers are still protecting everyone.
I have organised a kilt for you for the highland games. It’s Traymour tartan, Billy looks cute in his. The games will be on one week after you’re due home, so please don’t be too late.
I know you were hoping I’d come over to see you, but I don’t know if I can. I think I’ll wait for you here. I’m sorry to be such a coward, please forgive me. I do love you so much, but I’m still scared. I have nightmares about that night still, and no this isn’t supposed to guilt you out it’s just the truth.

Take care my darling,

All my love
Buffy



Dear William
YES YOU ARE WEARING A BL***Y SKIRT!
Ever other male there, including the King and Prince of Wales, will be in a kilt and you are so not letting me down.
Love Buffy
Ps I’ll make it worth your while.
XXX





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