RATING: GOOD
SPOILERS!!!
First Published: 2011
In 1894 Meg Campbell leaves her parents' home on Christmas Eve to return to Edinburgh after feeling upset with her brother, Alan. When Alan was ten, he suffered an accident when a drunk young man, Gordon Shaw, hit him with a curling stone, which left him crippled. Alan is a bitter man, and during Meg's visit he recriminated her the fact that their aunt left her the house in Edinburgh, which he should be entitled to as well.
It is snowing a lot, and on the train that Meg is travelling on ther is the man who injured Alan. Gordon Shaw is a journalist, and when he hears the conductor call Meg by her name, so he thinks that this is his chance to make amends. The train stops half way because of the snow, and the passengers have to walk back to Stirling. Meg and Gordon talk, and at first he doesn't dare to give her his name, but he eventually tells her the truth and he says that he wants to apologise and say how sorry he is to Alan. Meg is outraged and tells him not to dare to approach her family. When they reach the station, Meg's mother is there, and before Meg can do anything, her mother invited Gordon as she has lied and told her that his name is Mr Gordon.
Gordon accepts the invitation to stay for dinner and overnight. It is on Christmas Day when Gordon comes clean and tells them who he really is and wants to show his regret for what happened long ago. Mr Campbell tells Gordon to leave, and Meg is sorry to see him go because she has feelings for him.
Later that day Meg goes to the curling game with Alan and their parents. Gordon has decided that to make repairs to what he did long ago, he is going to give Alan his inheritance. It is what he feels God wants him to do. Meg sees him approach, and she goes to him, and near the curling field he tells her about how he feels, and she also confess to her feelings. Then he says that if they want to have any future, he needs to talk to her parents and her brother again. So they approahc her family, and it is then that Gordon gives Alan a document in which he hands his inheritance to Alan. Mr Campbell says that they can't accept, and Alan becomes upset and forgetting where he is, he gets up and eveybody sees that there is nothing wrong with his legs. His parents are shocked and outraged, and then Alan leaves.
Mr and Mrs Campbell apologise to Gordon and invite him back to the house. There Meg gives him a scarf that she couldn't hand him after the mess in the morning, and he also gets a present from Mrs Campbell. Then Alan appears, saying that he has nowhere to go. Mr Campbell says that this is his home, but from now on they need to see what he can do to contribute to society. Meg tells him that she understands that he wanted to have their parents' attention exclusively, but she hopes that they can find a way to sort out their problems because she loves him. After that, Meg and Gordon have to leave for the station where they take the train to Edinburgh, where Meg is a teacher. Gordon is to be in Edinburgh just one day and then he needs to return to Glasgow, where he lives, but he tells her that they only live an hour from each other by train, so they will be able to see each other often.
This was a sweet Christmas story. I really loved it.
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