Lochandar

In Scotland in 1909 the aged laird of Lochandar Castle lies dying. His fatherless grandchildren cluster aroundJamie, Mairi and 12-year-old Fergus. As eldest, Fergus gets his grandfather's blessing, along with a warning against Uncle Malcolm. When the children's mother dies, lawyers challenge their legitimacy. Dispossessed, they are scattered to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand by the sinister Orphans' New Life Society. Fergus becomes a sheep-shearer, then a soldier in the bloody battle at Passchendaele. Seduced and pregnant, farm drudge Mairi flees her abusive masters. ``Wee Jamie'' prospects for gold, strikes unexpected riches, and founds the ``Castle Hotels.'' At this point, the author definitively drops the interesting stories of these characters, racing in fast-forward to 1987, when all three are dead. Beverley Jamieson, their wealthy descendant, seeks out the past's cruel secrets and establishes Lochandar's true heir. This ill-judged rupture midway in the narrative mangles an otherwise promising story. (Jan.)