Chapter 7

On the Sunday afternoon the two other couples turned up in response to our invitation. We spent some time with them at the pool and in the Jacuzzi. As we chatted we learned more about them. Robby was a young lawyer who was in his first year working with a local firm of solicitors and Patricia worked for a local estate agency. Paul was a student at a small college specializing in rural studies and which currently held its classes in a building which it didn't own. I knew that in two years time it would move into its own premises and grow into the well respected Elmwood College which would be officially opened in nineteen seventy two. Paula worked as a secretary with one of the local medical practices.

I enjoyed their company and it was obvious the girls liked Katy and that she got on well with them. The fact that they all came from different backgrounds, was, I felt a good thing. It broadened Katy's experience and meant that with me by her side and with friends around her, she would not be as lonely and isolated as she was in the previous existence.

Over dinner that evening the same pretty relaxed atmosphere prevailed. At one stage in the evening I found myself talking with Paul and Robby while the girls seemed to be chatting among themselves. I learned afterwards that Patty and Robby had been thinking about moving in together, but since both their jobs were in the town they were finding it difficult to find a place to rent or buy. Katy had then told her about the flat she owned and from which she had moved out.

Being Katy of course, she immediately offered it to them if they wanted it. Patricia couldn't believe her luck. Immediately she received this offer she dragged Robby into their conversation and asked what he thought. Katy would have let them have it there and then without any thought of payment, But Robby's legal training kicked in and he wouldn't allow that.

"If we are going to do this, then we have to do it properly. We will agree a rent and I will prepare a lease so that you get some return from your investment. That is only fair."

After some discussion Katy finally accepted Robby's Idea and he said he would also find out the going rate for the rent of the property and get back to her with an offer. This done he then said that when his probationary year was over, if he was offered a permanent position and if she wanted to sell, they might well be in a position to buy. When our guests finally left that evening everybody was pretty happy about this unexpected turn of events.

Now that we had moved in together we settled into a routine. Most days I drove us into university and on an odd occasion we had to use separate cars. Katy and I drew ever closer and our love life blossomed in a way which was very satisfactory to both of us. As far as I was concerned she was a wonderful lover, who, if I became too involved in my studies and seemed to be neglecting her needs, she would make advances to me that insured I responded in the way she desired.

Our first year flew past. We worked hard and when the exams came around the month of may was glorious and we did a lot of our revising sitting in the sun. The day after our final exam Katy said she had to go into town and would take her mini. I never gave it a second thought and just told her to go ahead. I went for a swim and had just returned to the house as her car pulled into the drive and she had a young man with her. Despite the age difference I recoginised him immediately, It was the young man who would become General Argon.

I went slowly towards him as he got out of the car, his face was cut and bruised and he looked a bit shocked and worried. One thing was clear, he did not recognise me and I was relieved. I could now act as I would normally have done had Katy brought home a stranger. She told me how he had been mugged but did not want to go to the police. She explained that he had lost his wallet in the attack and had no means of getting where he needed to be.

I agreed that we should put him up for the night or until he recovered. We would then finance him to get where he needed to be. When he heard this he was very relieved. He stayed with us for two nights and I said that I would run him into St Andrews so that he could continue his journey from there. As we were driving back I decided to say something to him.

"I am going to say something to you now which will make no sense to you at all, but if you remember what I say, it may make sense to you much later on in your life.

He looked puzzled at this. He was probably wondering what this alien being could ever say to him that would make sense to him at some stage in his future.

"Katy is a very kind girl, and you know from your stay with us that she is the daughter of a lord, and quite wealthy"

"That is true," Argon said, "But why do I need to remember it."

That is not the part you most need to remember. Just let's say that I have reason to believe that you will pass this way again, if you do, don't go looking for her. You will by that time have set up a mission that makes a difference to her life"

"I really don't understand why you are telling me this," He said. "I assure you that I am very unlikely to be in this area ever again. And I don't think I would ever be able to do something which would repay her kindness"

"You may never be able to do anything for her, as you rightly say, but if you ever find yourself in that kind of situation then events will happen as a result of your action. I want you to know now that unless something strange happens they will achieve what you hoped for."

"I am very grateful to you both," he said, "And to humour you I will take note of what you have said in case that unlikely event ever happens."

"Then that is all I ask. While you thank us, I want to thank you for your kindness when that unlikely event happens."

He smiled, "You are a strange man with strange predictions which makes it very unlikely that I will forget this meeting or this conversation."

I laughed, "Then I have achieved my objective. Take care of yourself and have a good journey home."

With that we shook hands and parted. I turned the car and made my way back to my fiancé and my home. When I arrived she heard my car coming up the drive and met me at the door with a loving kiss.

"Did our nice guest get off safely?" she asked.

Yes he did, and thanks to our kindness he will get back home safely. We may never see him again, but I think he will remember us with fondness."

She smiled, "Perhaps, but we really didn't do much, just a bit of hospitality and a slight touch of generosity."

"That is so, but I believe that it will have a bigger impact on him than you think, and one day he might even seek to repay us for that."

"The way you talk, you would think you are what you Scots would call the seventh son of the seventh son."

I laughed at this remark, In the Celtic past, the seventh son of a seventh son was reputed to have the gift of second sight and be able to tell the future.

I may not have the gift of second sight I told her, but I have other gifts that give me intimations and feelings that things are going to result from certain actions I perform. Just you wait and see my lady.

"Sometimes you are a strange young man, but I love you anyway," she said with a giggle.

"That is just what our guest said. So that is the second time today I have been called strange."

"Oh I am glad to hear it he agreed with that bit of my conversation," she said with another giggle. "I thought for a moment that he had told you that he loved you, and that would have made me wonder what you two got up to when my back was turned."

I burst out laughing when she said this and she joined in.

Later that week we had a celebration dinner and invited our friends. Its purpose was to express our relief at the end of our exams and the fact that we both felt we had done well in them. But for me it was as much a celebration of having found Katy so easily, and the passing the first ordeal of meeting with General Argon on his first visit to our planet. But the thing I wanted to celebrate most was that of having found the woman, this time around, with whom I wanted to share the rest of my life with.

I decided I was going to give myself a present for having so successfully negotiated the first part of my mission, which I now labelled in my mind, as 'The Saving of Katy Winslet.' This was of course was a parody of the film title, 'The Saving of Private Ryan' which was yet to be filmed years in the future, It just sprang into my mind at that moment and seemed appropriate to the occasion.

That night I Decided to tell Katy about the resolve I had made just before I met her, that I wanted to learn to fly and explained the reasons why. Since then we have been so busy I have never got round to doing anything about it.

"If you really want to do it" she told me, "I think you should go ahead and make the arrangements."

"Since we are on the subject," I told her, "I have a house in France and a house in Spain and I think we should spend some time there towards the end of the summer when it is not quite so hot. Before that, however, I would really like to introduce to the beautiful wilderness that is part of my native land."

"Does that mean we are going to be touring around Scotland's Beauty spots and be stuck in our car for long journeys?"

"No just the opposite I told her I want to take you hill walking that is really the awesome breathtaking way to see the beauty of this land. Do you have any walking boots and good outdoor clothes? Yes I have, she told me.

"Yes I have, my school made us take part in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. I will have to go back to the flat since I left them in a big blanket box when I moved here."

The next morning we went back to her flat and looked out her walking gear.

Her jacket was a Barbour Wax Jacket which was a good quality waterproof for the time, though I knew that Gore-Tex would shortly be coming on stream with its advanced outdoor clothing. She also had a good pair of leather boots which had seen quite a bit of wear but were still serviceable. She also had a rucksack, so we rescued these things and to them back to our house.

The booked into the Killin Hotel for the following weekend and we travelled down on the Friday night. We arranged for provisions for the next day's walking and they made up sandwiches and filled our flasks with tea for her and coffee for me. We also packed our waterproofs since the morning was dull and gray. In Scotland this meant that it could be cold and wet or it could change suddenly and give us a lovely afternoon. I decided I would give her an easy test for her first two Munros, and take what would be a relatively easy stroll to the top of Ben Lawers about the fifth highest mountain in Scotland and then come back over the second Munro, Beinn Ghlas,