Hannish stood ready to greet Olivia, but she was not the first to appear in the doorway. Nevertheless, his smile widened when he recognized sisters Blanka and Donnel, the elder housemaids who had been with the family since he was a boy. He took off his hat, put an arm around each, and kissed their cheeks. "How happy I am to see both of you again. This place will truly feel like home now."
Donnel pretended to scold him, "Your Grace, you dinna say 'twas such a big country. We have lived eight lifetimes on those trains."
"And you've yet to see half of America." He chuckled when she rolled her eyes.
Jessie, his favorite Scottish cook was the next one he greeted. "How I have longed for your custards, Jessie. You've not forgotten how to make them, have you now?"
Jessie quickly curtsied. "Nay, I've me secret recipe tucked under me hat." It was a fine brown hat too, although it was not large or decorated in the latest flamboyant fashion. Instead, it had small artificial red roses sewn around the band. Her traveling clothes were ordinary, the same as other women wore, except Jessie's looked nearly worn out and Hannish was surprised by that. "You look well."
"I am, thank you," Jessie replied.
Two men waited to be welcomed and Hannish recognized both as two of the footmen he grew up with in Scotland. Dugan and Ronan were Donnel's sons, both grown now and both just as loyal to the MacGreagor family as their mother was. They had light sandy hair and wore neatly trimmed mustaches. "Have you learned baseball yet, lads?" he teased, knowing full well they thought it was a silly American sport.
"Your Grace, we have changed our minds," said Dugan. "When in Rome, and all that, Sir."
"I am pleased to hear it. Welcome to America." Hannish motioned for the drivers to help his servants into the wagons and then turned his attention back to the train's passenger car.
The next to appear was a well-dressed woman, but her wide-brimmed hat with an abundance of large cloth flowers on top, hid her face as she stepped down. She wore a pastel green dress, with sleeves that were tight from her wrists to her elbows, and then ballooned to her shoulders. Her "V" shaped bodice was intended to make her waist appear smaller than it actually was, and the floor length skirt touched the top of her button-up shoes. Slowly, she lifted her head and let him see her face.
"McKenna?" Hannish gasped. He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her completely off the ground. "I dinna think you would come." He nearly knocked her hat off as he repeatedly kissed his sister's cheek, and refused to let her down until she pounded on his arms and giggled. At last, he set her back on her feet, let go and grinned. "You bring a bit o' Scotland to feed me starvin' soul, you do."