While the coach was yet a half mile from Aviemere, Robbie began to sense that he wanted to be on his own for this most special reunion. He asked the driver of the hired coach to stop, then got out.
“Wait here,” he told the man. “Give me ten minutes. It’s beyond that grove of trees, about three more furlongs.”
Taking only his cane, Robbie struck out on foot along the long drive lined with birch trees on either side.
The last time he had been this way, Robbie had come to claim the woman he loved. He had departed not with a bride, but with the assurance that he possessed the dearest friend he would ever have. Even as he had walked out of the massive doors with the intimidating words Aut pax aut bellum engraved over the lintel, not knowing whether he would ever again return, he knew that Jamie—even as Edward Graystone’s wife—would continue to influence his life. As she indeed had. The seeds of faith planted by her in his heart had borne fruit manyfold. Of the three persons God had used to awaken his spirit—including Hsi-chen and Wallace—she was the only one remaining on earth for him to share the depths of his being with. She could never replace Hsi-chen, nor could she replace Wallace. But now at last with Jamie he would be able to share his new nature—the awakening for which she had so diligently prayed.
Despite the joyful, sometimes gregarious, and sometimes poignant reunions he had thus far experienced with people over the years, Robbie sensed more than ever that this was his true homecoming. The estate of Aviemere itself meant little to him; he had only spent two or three days here. But as long as Jamie and Edward were here, he knew it would be a home to him, a haven, and everything dear. He knew their hearts were open wide to him, and now at last his was able to open to them in like fashion.
Slowly he made his way in solitude along the wide dirt road. His leg was much better by now. In another two or three months the effects of the bullet wound would be completely forgotten. But there still remained pain when he put all his weight on the leg, which the cane helped to alleviate.
He passed the last bend in the road and saw the imposing gray mansion in the distance. Time had changed nothing. He might still be the rash young man in his twenties, for all the external appearance of the estate about him, rather than the injured, limping, returning sailor of forty.
Yes, he had changed, despite the unchangeableness of the Scottish landscape. What will Jamie think? he wondered. Would she be repulsed by his cane, by the stump on his left arm, by the gradual graying of his hair? Would she react to him as little Ruth had to wretched old Pike when she had first seen him that day in the mission compound?
What kind of a man was he now, for all that he had been through, for all that he had experienced, for all that the Lord had worked in him?
Though Robbie asked the question, inside he knew the answer well enough. He had left Aviemere, and Scotland, as one who thought he held the world by the tail, as one who thought he possessed the might to carve out his own destiny, as one in search of adventure, fulfilled dreams, and romantic illusions.
But instead, through the years that had passed, he had discovered something he had never expected—the true meaning of life, the true significance of what it means to live life as a man.
He had entered into the greatest adventure of all—a life lived in tune with the Creator’s design.
So many men, mused Robbie sadly, seek to fulfill themselves in all the wrong places. Oh, Lord, thank you! Robbie thought. Thank you for opening my eyes. For all that I was striving to do and to be, I never realized what I was missing at the core of life. Thank you for making me the man you wanted me to be!
But there was no more time for Robbie’s reflections, and his prayers of thanks had to be suspended temporarily. For the crunch of the carriage wheels was rapidly approaching behind him, and the door of the house was swinging open in front of him.
———
Jamie Graystone reread the telegram.
Robbie was in Aberdeen! He would arrive at Aviemere this very day!
When she had received his first telegram from London two weeks ago with apologies that he could not have informed her of his plans sooner, she had been overwhelmed with delight. He could have turned up on her doorstep with no warning at all, and she would have welcomed him no less. But her excitement with his anticipated visit went deeper than simply the joy of seeing an old friend.
Troubles had fallen upon Aviemere in recent days. It reminded Jamie of the time she had first arrived at the estate as an untried nurse to young Andrew. It almost seemed as though the strife that had so long been associated with the Graystone family was too deeply ingrained ever to be erased. When they had returned to the estate six years ago, she and Edward had been full of hopeful expectations. Yet now things were so different.
Somehow the news from Robbie came as if in answer to a prayer she had not yet spoken. He had always been a strong force in her life; he had saved her life and set her on the road that had led her to Edward and the Lord. And now that he also shared her faith, she knew he would bring something vitally needed to her troubled spirits.
Jamie sighed. She had not forgotten the words of her grandfather: I will lift up mine een t’ the hills, frae whence comes my help. My help comes frae the Lord, who made haiven an’ earth. But she also knew that many times in her life God had used others to inspire and encourage her. She hoped perhaps, in some way none of them could yet understand, that Robbie’s entrance back into their lives after so many years was part of the Lord’s design for the future strengthening of the beleaguered Graystone family.
All at once Jamie heard the clamor of horses, wagon wheels, and leather harnesses.
A coach was coming down the drive! But who was that man hobbling toward the house in front of—
Oh, Lord! she cried. God bless him . . . it’s Robbie!
Jamie turned and flew down the stairs. Cameron had already started toward the door, but Jamie rushed past him, threw it wide, and ran out into the courtyard and into Robbie’s arms.
“Jamie!” exclaimed Robbie, sweeping her feet off the ground and lifting her small frame in his exuberant embrace. By the time her feet again touched the ground, their eyes were wet, and glistening streams ran down their cheeks.
“Just look at you!” said Jamie, as Robbie set her down. “You haven’t changed at all . . . and yet everything about you is changed!” She had expected the missing hand. But she had been unprepared for the limp, and the two deep scars on his handsome face. “You seem almost like the valiant soldier returning from the wars! As indeed is true—for you are God’s warrior now, aren’t you, Robbie?”
Robbie smiled. “Oh, Jamie, how can I possibly tell you all that has happened? I can’t even think where to begin! I did tell you about my hand? Are you shocked?”
“No, Robbie. It’s your badge of honor—for the Lord, a constant reminder of His grace.”
“It’s been a hard lesson for me to learn. But I think He’s finally gotten through to me.”
“I can tell! It’s in your eyes, Robbie. I can sense the presence of God in you. Oh, Robbie, it is good to see you!”
“And you, dear friend! But where is Edward?”
A shadow crossed Jamie’s face. “He’s been ill. He’s upstairs now and can’t come down. I’ll take you to him later. But who is this beautiful girl?” exclaimed Jamie, looking toward the coach.
Robbie walked over, opened the door where Ruth had been peeking out, and swept his daughter out and to the ground.
“This is my daughter, Jamie. Her name is Ruth.”
Fresh tears rose at once to Jamie’s eyes as she beheld the lovely Chinese child. Suddenly she was aware of the changes in Robbie she had not perceived at first glance. He was a different man—matured and seasoned. He was a missionary, a father, a widower, and indeed a scarred veteran from the battles of life.
Next he reached his hand into the coach and helped out an elderly Chinese lady, who immediately took his arm when she reached the ground, for even with her cane she had difficulty walking.
“And now, Jamie, I would like you to meet my mother-in-law, Shan-fei Wallace, Hsi-chen’s mother.”
“I am honored, Mrs. Wallace,” said Jamie. “Welcome to our home.”