Let’s Be Happy

Jeannie learns she has inherited a few thousand dollars from her Scottish-born grandfather and decides to travel to Scotland to trace her roots. The inheritance provides both the means and motive for the journey, anchoring the story's travel-driven premise. With rural Vermont as her starting point, she leaves behind the familiar to seek her ancestral homeland.

On the way to Scotland, Jeannie keeps running into Stanley Smith, a brash washing-machine salesman from Idaho who becomes her travel companion. Stanley's upbeat, extroverted manner helps her survive travel jitters, turbulence, and the process of going through customs. Though she is wary of letting someone in, she finds his aid useful and occasionally accepts it.

Upon arrival in Edinburgh, Jeannie discovers her boarding-house room is not ready. She goes to Stanley’s hotel to seek help, hoping he can stabilize her lodging situation. The Festival atmosphere adds vivid color to the city as she settles into a temporary arrangement.

While Stanley sorts out her room, Lord James MacNairn overhears their conversation and assumes Jeannie is wealthy. He introduces himself, presenting himself as a potential suitor and revealing his interest in her money. This encounter sets up a competing romantic option for Jeannie.

Jeannie catches Stanley in a lie when he brings a red-headed model to dinner instead of her as agreed. She ends their friendship, choosing to accept James’ attentions instead. The revelation shifts the story from a flirtation to a formal possibility of marriage.

Jeannie and James spend time sightseeing in Edinburgh, and she later visits a beauty salon to spruce up. She splurges on a designer gown, indulging in a romance that seems to promise social advancement. The makeover underscores the allure and danger of James’s aristocratic world.

Stanley refuses to disappear, following them around with the stylish redhead in tow. He seats himself right behind James and Jeannie at the ballet and even invites them to join him for a restaurant meal. Jeannie, still hurt, declines his invitation and remains wary.

James takes Jeannie to Loch Lomond, and to a family wedding of a distant relative, before finally bringing her to his vast castle home. He is allowed only a small wing of the castle and is kept company by his housekeeper, Miss Cathie, while most of the estate is open to the public. The contrasts between wealth and openness intensify Jeannie’s consideration of marriage.

James asks Jeannie to marry him, prompting a tense moment as Stanley approaches. Jeannie tells him she is engaged, causing Stanley to leave in upset disappointment. The scene crystallizes the competing loyalties and the emotional stakes.

James concedes that he initially wanted her for her money, but insists he now truly loves her. Yet his admission also reveals that he still needs a wealthy partner, complicating Jeannie’s trust. Ultimately she turns him down, deciding her own independence and her heart's direction.

Jeannie returns home to Vermont after the aborted engagement and the emotional upheaval in Scotland. The journey back marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of a period of reflection. She leaves behind the Scottish glamour and prepares for a new phase in her life.

Back in Vermont, Stanley reappears, having gained a major sales coup. He tracks Jeannie down to declare his love and finally proposes. She accepts, closing the travel romance arc with a hopeful, decisive kiss-off to the past.