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Letter from Duckburg
Dear Miss O'Gilt,
Ah am really sorry ye will receive this letter from someone ye consider a stranger. Though, Ah am no stranger. My name is Matilda McDuck, and maybe this name will be familiar to ye. I found your name and address in me brother's stuff. Once, I saw that in his precious safe box, among other things, he kept a golden lock of hair, and I have reason to believe it belongs to ye. And maybe, to be kept in such a way, it must have been a precious memory, of his girlfriend maybe! My brother Scrooge doesn't really talk aboot these things much. He dinnae mention your name at all, but I found some letters, an address. And I thought that maybe you ken him very well, while he lived in the Yukon, maybe better than Ah do. Scrooge is everyday more and more distant, and Ah miss him. Maybe ye do, as well. Please, if this doesn't offend ye, please tell me if there was a time when me brother was happier, if he has ever cared to anything -anyone- aside gold.
Hope this letter finds ye in good health, I leave my address so you might answer my letter, if ye want to
Matilda McDuck
Letter from Dawson
Dear Miss McDuck,
I'm sorry to ruin your expectations, but yer brother, as you say, was the biggest idiot I have ever seen, of all the miners I have met in my life. Glad to know he moved to Duckburg, he never said goodbye to me. One day he just disappeared. I waited for him for so long, went to his property in White Agony Creek, surely he told you about the claim where he was working, but found a letter to the door of his house which said that he was going back to Scotland. He was leaving me and didn't even have the courage to say it to my face. Because I would have punched it back on his face, his fucking letter.
Please, do not write to me about Scrooge McDuck again.
Hoping not to receive more letters
Glittering Goldie
Letter from Duckburg
Dear Miss O' Gilt,
I cannae believe this! I was so sure, and I still am, my brother cared dearly for ye. I have never seen him having care of anything that wasn't gold. Indeed ye cannae ken about this, but as I said, he keeps writing letters to ye. He just never found the courage to send them, understandably. But I could swear, not for a lack of love but a lack of courage. That doesn't justify him, of course. Ah am ashamed for how he treated ye. He is not a bad man, he just loses the sight of what is really important. Here in Duckburg we are raising a family. My sister Hortense will soon have two small ducklings and it pains me that Scrooge is not here to be part of the family. Even now while I'm writing this letter to ye, he is far away, God kens where. He is following a dream, I guess.
Why don't you come here to Duckburg to meet us? Ye would be our guest, Hortense and I would be so happy to meet ye! I'd love to listen to more of what ye ken about me brother.
Hoping this letter doesn't offend you,
Matilda McDuck
Letter from Dawson
Dear Miss McDuck,
So you really wrote me back. I have to decline your invite, because Scrooge McDuck is not the only busy man in this world. I have work to do as well! I have always known I wasn't the dream he would follow, but the only thing I hoped for was for a man who was brave enough to tell it to my face, instead of someone who runs away in the night and leaves me alone.
Though, I have to tell ya. I have never thought your brother wasn't less than a good man. Maybe a rough one, but a true gentleman. There was some brute kindness in his ways that always left me confused but charmed. You're right, I had the possibility to know him quite well. I worked for him for a month. Well, he kept me as prisoner, for thirty days, on his land, because, well, nevermind. I deserved it anyway. And he loved me, somehow. This I know. But, what a disappointment. He was the bravest and stronghest man I have ever met in my life, but an absolute coward at the same time. Sometimes, I wish I had at least the possibility to talk to him, to understand why I wasn't enough the dream he could follow, but, what for? To hear that he loved gold more than me?
Ah, I won't come to Duckburg, or anywhere, for Scrooge McDuck. He already broke my heart once.
Goodbye, miss Matilda McDuck. I hope he will be less a coward brother to ya.
Goldie O'Gilt
Letter from Duckburg
Dear Goldie,
The more we speak, the more I feel like we are friends now, in way. Ah am so sorry to hear yer story and how me brother acted to ye. It's unforgivable. But I ken aboot that too. He sent us away too. I feel much closer to you, dear Goldie, now that Scrooge doesn't talk to us anymore. He accused us to take advantage of our rich brother. But we never cared about having a rich brother, more than having a brother. And we miss him so much, but, ah, this man is not me brother. Not the man I remember. Not the man my poor parents raised. This man is cynical, offensive, obssessed aboot gold. Ah just wanted to have a happy family, after my parents' death. I dinnae want to see me brother ever again, and I don't blame ye if ye want to do as much. But I will insist on my invitation. Please, do consider to come here in Duckburg. Maybe if ye met him, he would understand how much he is wasting his life. Ah am sure he still misses ye, so much. Maybe as much as ye miss him. And maybe nothing would change, but ye could be happier.
If nothing, at least we will see how our brother Scrooge McDuck will react when he sees you.
With renewed affection,
Matilda McDuck
Letter from Dawson
Dear Miss McDuck,
I think your idea is the absolutely worst, and now I understand that stubborness must be a family thing in clan McDuck. I see no point in meeting Scrooge McDuck again, after he treated me. So many years passed, does he believe I waited for him all this time? Well it's wrong! I do not wait for anyone, especially not for that BIG DOPE OF A MCDUCK! Though, you insist so much and I seem to understand that you all are wrecked by this decision of his to send you all away. It's absolutely rude of him and someone must kick that milionaire's ass. That I will do, of course. I am quite familiar with kicking his ass after all. But I'm not sure. Not sure if I will come, and if I will, I'm not sure I will want to meet him. A woman has her reasons. I hope ya understand.
Waiting for your next letter,
Goldie O'Gilt
Letter from Duckburg
Dear Goldie,
I'm so glad you changed your mind! I have read many and many times your letter, and still I cannae believe it! Hortense and I would be so happy to meet ye. Ye would be our guest here in Duckburg and we would take good care of you. I cannae wait to hear more stories about our young brother at the times when he was a miner and maybe a better man. I cannae tell you if it will be even possible for you to meet Scrooge, given how often is away on travel, but you're not coming for him, don't you? But even so, who knows, maybe if he met you, you might as well remind him of a time when maybe he had other dreams. Please, come really soon. We will wait for ye. And even if you decide not to come to Duckburg, don't forget ye have a family here. We care about you, Miss Goldie.
I greet ye as a sister, because if my brother were a braver man, in this moment ye would be my new sister. And I winna be prouder of that.
Yer sister, Matilda McDuck
Goldie never answered that last letter from Matilda McDuck. This McDuck woman seemed a family woman, someone who couldn't possible be more different from her. And from Scrooge McDuck. He really didn't know what she could possibly write her back. That she saw Matilda as a sister as well? Fuck no! He didn't even know her. Also, she was sister to Scrooge McDuck! Fuck all their family drama! She was out of it! This was none of her business, she thought while quickly collecting her stuff in a suitcase. She changed many trains from Dawson to Duckburg, and the travel was long and uncomfortable, and on her way Goldie felt more and more nervous and unhappy about her decision.
When she arrived in Duckburg, Goldie found herself in a big and chaotic city, a lonely woman who wasn't that young anymore. He asked around for the address and then found Matilda's house. She put down the suitcase and knocked at the door. A small duckling came to open.
“Hey small one, whatcha doin'?” She forced a smile, trying to be kind. She has never been good with kids.
The duckling stared up at her in silence, not recognizing her.
“Isn't ya mama home?”
“Donald!” a voice from inside called “Who's at the door?”
Goldie slightly trembled. Oh God, this was a big mistake. She looked at the woman at the door. “Matilda...?”
She shook her head. “Ah am Hortense McDuck.”
“Ah, Hortense, I'm- I'm Goldie O'Gilt.”
There was a pause of silence, then Hortense made a big smile. “Matilda! Matilda! Come here! Oh, ye're Miss Goldie! Come here, what a fine lass! Come inside, Miss Goldie, ye must be so tired after the travel!” She took her arm and walked inside, dragging her to the living room. Another woman, Matilda, appeared in the room. She ran to her and took her hands. “Miss Goldie! Ye came! Ah was so worried when Ah dinnae receive your letter anymore! Please, come here and sit!”
Quickly Hortense freed Goldie from her suitcase and her coat. “I'll make some coffee, do ye like it?”
“Oh, yes, please, thank ya.”
Matilda offered her a chair and then sat in front of her. “I'm so happy to finally met ye” she took her hand “My sister Goldie.”
Goldie moved her hand away. “Don't go too fast, Miss McDuck. I really don't know what I expected when I decided to come here.”
“Well, I'm glad ye did it anyway.” She smiled. “I hope yer travel was fine. It must be a long way from Dawson.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Aye, aye.” She paused “Ye have always lived, there, in Dawson, since Scrooge left ye?”
“Yeah but let's make it clear, I'm not an abandoned damsel, I'm just an offended woman. Who fucking cares about Scrooge McDuck, that idiot! I'm a grown up woman, I can take care of myself. I would have forgotten that big dope, if you didn't write me. I'm sure of that.”
Matilda made a small smile, not believe a single word she said. “Aye, I believe ye. You do look like a woman who grew up in adversity. You remind me so much of me brother, but I believe there's good in ye, or you wouldn't have done such a travel to be here. Ye don't have to tell this to me or anyone, but I believe there's still some affection in your heart for him”
“I-”
“Not that he deserves it, of course. You don't have to explain this to me. I know my brother and the man he became.” She said. Hortense arrived with three cups of coffee and sat down with them. “Mind if I sit with ye?”
Goldie slowly shook his head and took the cup of coffee in her hands. She remembered of a time when she was younger, and beautiful, and strong, and ready to face the world. She was a strong woman, but Scrooge McDuck really found a way to melt her cold iced heart, just to break it into pieces. She remembered when, after many weeks without seeing him in town anymore, she walked all the way to his claim, and arrived to the cabin they shared for a month. She saw that fucking piece of paper with written on it 'bad news for ye! I took all the gold in this land, I'm going back home!'
She took it and tore it to pieces, screaming. “Curse you, stupid McDuck! Fuck you and your gold! Fuck you and your Scotland! I hope I will never see your stupid face here in Dawson again! Good thing that you left! My life will be much easier without you!”
“Miss Goldie?”
Goldie was shaken from her thoughts by Matilda's voice. “Are ye with us, my dear?”
“Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm just a bit tired.”
“Aye, do you want to rest a bit? I will prepare ye a room”
“No, it's fine” She drank some coffee. “I'm fine.”
Matilda smiled. “Please tell us about our brother.”
“He... was a honest man. And I wasn't a honest woman, let's say so. But we found out we were much more similiar than we ever expected. Not that I was happy about it, of course” He laughed a bit. “He was stubborn, rough, but strangely protective. He had no manners to a lady, but he saved my life more than once. He was the strongest man I have ever seen in Dawson. Tough after a life of disappointments, failures and work. And I wasn't the easiest woman around, I know. I didn't make it easier for him.” She paused, and put down the cup. “I'm sorry, maybe you expect someone else to meet. Someone who had a soft heart and would turn your brother soft again. But I'm no soft, I'm a tough woman, cynical and disappointed by life almost as much as your brother. I might as well make him and myself angrier about each other.”
Hortense looked at her with a soft expression. “It's fine, we don't expect anything from ye. Scrooge is not an easy man either. But we have reasons to believe he has never stopped loving you.”
Goldie held her breath at that.
“Indeed. Years ago, when we were still closer to Scrooge, I was tidying up his table and found some letters for this mysterious Miss Goldie O'Gilt. That is how I got your address in the first place.”
Goldie nodded. “I recall”
“He never send any of them, didn't he?”
Goldie nodded again.
“Aye, that's so much Scrooge McDuck.”
Goldie looked down on her lap. He never even answered her letter. She thought about that with a sigh. Maybe he really didn't love her after all.
“You're right when you say he is a coward.” Hortense said. “He really is. Treating you like that, holding you prisoner! And leaving like that! There's no excuse to that. But, why would he keep thinking about you? And why would he keep that lock of hair of yours, if he didn't care after all?”
“I- I don't think he didn't care at all” Goldie said. “I just think that he didn't care enough. And forgive me if I say that if I wasn't enough then fuck him. Fuck him indeed, I am a fine woman and if he doesn't believe I'm enough I-” she stopped, feeling she was about to tear up. “I'm sorry, your brother wasn't a better man when in the Yukon. He already was the man you hate today. I can't change him. I won't make him better.” She slowly got up. “I need some time alone, if you excuse me. I will find a hotel in town.”
Hortense and Matilda shared a gaze. “Are ye sure, Miss Goldie? It's no issue if ye stay here. We will be happy to have company.”
“No, it's better this way.” She wasn't a family woman. Oh, she was perfect for Scrooge.
“Fine” Matilda said “I'm getting your suitcase and your coat.”
“Thank ya”
Goldie walked to the door, still amazed that conversation really happened. “So... Scrooge doesn't live here, huh?”
“Ah, no, no. He had never lived here. He now lives in a mansion, in town, away from here. I dinnae ken if he is there now, or if he in Africa or anywhere else. I surely won't go to see him. I am considering to go back to Scotland, but our little Donald and Della.... our whole family is here. Though it makes me mad he dragged us here. We could be at Castle McDuck in this moment. We left papa alone to follow him.”
“I know, Matilda, I know.” Hortense said.
“If ye ever change your mind, this will be yer family too.”
Goldie closed her eyes. “There's nothing for me in Duckburg, nor in Dawson, nor anywhere. I stand for myself.”
Goldie never minded being alone. But she was full of rage, now like that the first time, because Scrooge McDuck made her believe she shouldn't always be alone. That she could find love, or something similiar, company, and someone who maybe wasn't perfect, but cared and protected her. And instead, she had never been more lonely now than before. In a town she didn't know, surrounded by faces she didn't know, Goldie left her suitcase in a hotel room, and walked around the city, asking for information about where she could find the McDuck Mansion. She wasn't even surprised when everybody told her to stay away from that place because he man who lived in there was absolutely nevrotic.
Oh, she knew enough.
When she found the Mansion she was welcomed by a house-keeper and introduced herself as an old friend of Scrooge McDuck. “Not looking for money” She clarified “He doesn't have to worry about that.”
She was accompanied to his room.
“Who wants to disturb me today? I'm a busy man”
“As I am a busy woman” She said. Scrooge lifted his eyes from his papers and finally recognized her.
“Oh, I like glasses” She smirked. “Nice place, really. You have some good taste in decorating your own prison”
“Goldie-” There's some hesitation in his voice “What are ye here for?”
“Seeing an old friend”
“Ye found out Ah got rich and now want to try to steal it from me?”
“Pff, you wish I was still interested in ya. Don't care, about you or your money. Don't want any of it.”
“Ye are a damn liar.”
“Just as much as you are.”
“What do ye want here?!”
“I came in town for business and I thought to come to say goodbye to an old friend.” She paused “Given you forgot last time.”
He seemed to become pale. “I- didn't forget. Things happened.”
“Of course”
“My sled got stuck in the snow! And it was too late to come back, I really wanted to see you again-”
“Please, don't. I don't need it now.”
“And what should be this business ye say ye have in Duckburg? I don't believe ye.”
“Normally, you would be wise not to trust me, but this time you're wrong. I came here because of another McDuck.”
“Another-?”
“I received some letters from your sister, Matilda. I believe you still remember her name.”
“Ye're the last person who can came here and lecture me aboot family! Get out of my office!”
“Get out of your office?! I should leave? But you are far better than me at that!”
“You stabbed me in the back!”
“And you broke my heart!”
There was a pause of silence, both of them breathing hard, lungs filled of rage.
“What do you want, Goldie?” He weakly asked.
“I don't know anymore. I almost hoped to find you different. Your sisters said you changed, and I believed so, somehow. But you are still the same stubborn, coward man. Stay behind your desk, I'll find the way back by myself. Goodbye Scrooge McDuck. If you ask me, travelling all the way to Duckburg just to tell how much I hate you was absolutely worth it.”
It wasn't worth it.
She left the office, while Scrooge kept screaming at her, and someone, a waiter, accompanied her to the main door. She cried, and covered her face, and breathed hard, filled with rage, hate, affection, disappoinment. She wasted time, she wasted affection over someone like that.
Goodbye Scrooge McDuck, who needs you. I hope all your gold can love ya back.