Mrs. Fergus was standing there ready to greet them.
Already now in this unwelcome exile to the wilds of Scotland Penny had found two reassuring things: the first was the loveliness of this island where she had landed - the hills and the soft colours and the distant sea; and the second was Mrs. Fergus. Mrs. Fergus had the kindest face that Penny had ever seen. Her grey hair was neatly drawn into a bun, her smile was sweet and gentle and her eyes were wrinkled with laughter.
"Och, Doctor Henry, I am just delighted to see you," said Mrs. Fergus, beaming. "and this is the wee lassie..." and she took Penny's hand in her work-hardened one. She spoke in a soft Highland voice, pronouncing her s's as "ss" and her "j's" as "ch". Penny smiled back at her and felt slightly less strange and homesick.
From PENNY FOOLISH, Chapter 1, Exile for Penny. To help her recuperate after a bout of typhoid fever, Penny's father decides that his daughter needs country air and decides to send her to Arran, a beautiful island just off the Ayrshire coast in Scotland, to stay with Mrs. Fergus. Penny is less than enthusiastic at first, but when she arrives on Arran, she begins to cheer up.
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