Chapter Twelve
Charlie Stephens pulled his blue Nissan wagon into the familiar driveway on Elliot Avenue, and he and Lonnie Chavez stepped out into the early evening. They ascended the steps, and Charlie knocked on the heavy oak door.
“Oh, my! What brings you both here today?” Carol said with delight. The two women hugged, and then Carol gave Charlie a kiss on the cheek. “Well, come on in… Oh, Earl, come out and see who’s come to visit!”
From his study the earl emerged and came toward the entryway. His face displayed a mixture of delight and something else as well, something akin to resignation.
“Alonza Chavez – my, it has been quite some time. But, come, m’lady, you are most welcome. And Charles, I would surmise that you are not come purely in friendship, but rather the look upon your countenance suggests that you have serious things you wish to discuss. Am I right?”
“You’re right, Earl.” Charlie knew he could hide nothing from his mysterious friend. “I’m afraid that I need your help.”
The earl smiled, but his look was such that Lonnie picked up right away that this was going to be an evening unlike anything like she had ever experienced.
“Well, then, my friends, come back to my parlor, and we shall see what I might do for you.”
“Tell me, Charles, you did not find any more of that rapturous brew of Barncuddy’s did you?” said the earl as they entered. A subtle smile appeared briefly on his face, and then faded again.
“No Earl, I’m afraid that the poor bartender said that was his last, and he didn’t know if he could get any more…”
“Oh, Charlie, don’t say that! Earl, here he gave me a taste of heaven, and now he tells me that he can’t get any more.
“Aye, m’lady. It would seem to be the truth. Now, why don’t you and Charles sit down in these chairs, and Carol and I shall sit down as well, and then we shall see what Master Charles has in store for us this evening.”
This room, unlike his office, was bright, with tall windows, which let in what was left of the sunlight. There were stuffed chairs, set about for conversation, and the bookshelves were lined with a vast array of reading material. Before sitting down, Charlie reached into his jacket and pulled out his notebook, which he opened to the drawing, and he handed it to the earl.
“Before we begin, I would like your opinion on this drawing, which I just got today from Janie Crabtree.”
As he looked down at the drawing, the earl’s eyes widened, then closed tightly. He said nothing for a while, then he uttered in a voice raw with emotion, “As you must know, Master Charles, before I came to your place and time that I was not a believer in magic. And the world of ethereal things had little place in my thinking. But now, what may I say? You have brought me a taste of my old time and place, and now this… this rendition of my old castle… And you say that you got this from someone who has neither seen nor ever set foot in Shepperton?”
“That’s right, Earl. At the very least, not with earthly eyes or feet.”
“Well, then, my good friend, why do you not tell me about your latest quest and concerns? And tell us everything, no matter how trivial.”
“Well, Okay, Earl…” And Charlie told them of his day, beginning with his session at home, and the mysterious voice, which seemed to come from the forest. At his telling of this, he thought he saw a look of recognition on the earl. And he told them of Janie and Earl Crabtree, and how it appeared that Janie was weakening, but she had experienced some rather peculiar and vivid dreams. And how she drew him the picture. And he went on to explain what happened in her dreams, and the names she mentioned, including Judy, Dr. Gilsen, Antoine LeGace, Alex, Melchior, Lisa, Diego, Diane, Maggie, Drachma, and Tom; and the nameless band of soldiers, who had taken Bob and the others captive. And next he went on to describe what Janie had told him of Drachma and Felicia, and how they had been the parents of Maggie, and how Maggie had been the mother of Tom. And then he told of Josh’s mysterious relationship to Tom, across the centuries.
At this point the earl interrupted, and said, “Now, I know of some of the people of which the lady Janie talked. However, her telling of the relations of Drachma, Felicia, Maggie and Tom – that I thought only I knew. There is no way, other than by the truth, that she would have known any of that.”
“And what does amaze me,” Lonnie put in, “is the connection between Janie’s son, Josh, and this fellow, Tom, from your world.”
“Indeed,” said the earl, “but tell me, what did she ask or expect of you, Charles?”
“So… you discerned that as well, did you?”
“Aye, my friend. But before you answer, let me tell a little of my own knowledge in this matter. Do you remember the suit of clothes from my own time, which I hung in my study?”
Charlie nodded.
“Well, for reasons even I cannot explain, I took a notion to try on the clothes, and as I did so, there came a feeling over me which I am unable to explain. One of longing, of great and powerful longing, as well as a sense of extreme repose. Then I heard the voice, as you put it, of the forest itself, which said that one who is to come to my house was to go back to Shepperton, armed with just his knowledge and his skill, which shall be sufficient. And that it shall be soon. And I should prepare him with knowledge of things that he would need.”
“Whoa, Earl,” said Lonnie, “so you’re also saying, that this newly found friend of mine, will be sent on this most mysterious journey…”
“Oh, aye, m’lady. And it would seem fortuitous that you chose to accompany him here this evening. For you, then, shall be part of something great as well.”
“Well, I’ve never been anything more than a nurse.” She looked at Carol, who smiled secretly. “Just what do you mean when you say that I’m going to be part of something great? Now, Charlie, is this what you’ve been priming me for – with all your talk of mysteries of the past and disappearances from our time? And with Janie now dying of cancer, and that amazing brew, and all this with Amanda?”
“Amanda?” Carol interceded. “Do you mean the orphan girl with leukemia?
“Oh, yes,” said Lonnie, “she, too plays into this whole scheme.”
“Well then,” Carol continued. “It sounds like you owe us an explanation.”
“Why, Charlie,” said Lonnie, “you begin… Okay? And I’ll fill ‘em in.”
“All right, then. After I left Janie and Earl’s, I headed over to the hospital. And while I was waiting to see Lonnie, I saw this young girl, who introduced herself as Amanda, in the fifth grade, and who, as she calmly told me, has cancer of the bone marrow - which has now come back. And she knew me, though she didn’t say how. But she also knows Janie, and she even recognized the drawing I showed you as being something which Janie had made, and… get this… she identified it as Shepperton Castle. And then she said that I’d be going there, and this was meant for me to find my way. Next she told me to tell Alex that they would meet again.”
“Again, I must say,” commented the earl, “that my prior life which was filled with regal and mostly political happenings… that is, before being thrust upon your world, would not have prepared me for anything such as this.”
“You’re telling me!” Charlie looked down at the floor, and he shook his head. “This whole business has really shaken my world. How, just four years ago, I was a hard-bitten TV investigative reporter, chasing down what I assumed to be some tale of greed and lust. And now, here I am, embroiled in the middle of some even greater tale, which crosses the oceans of both time and space, and involves political intrigue and magic the likes of which would make for some terrific fodder for TV. A game whose rules are unknown to me, and, I suspect to you as well.”
“Aye, to me, too. But before I proceed to tell you what you must know for your inevitable journey, what can you tell me of this young lass, Amanda?”
“Oh, she’s a girl unlike any I’ve ever met.” Lonnie said. “She is an orphan who I’ve had the pleasure of caring for… for the past three years at least. She’s extremely bright, and very literate, but more than that, she can read people, and their motivations. Yet, as I was telling Charlie, here, she was extremely shy around men. Then here she was, wrapping poor Charlie around her little finger…”
“Might I ask, what does she look like?”
“Oh, Earl, you know, we’ve seen her at church,” spoke up Carol. “She’s the one who sits in the front, with the Sisters. And she made it a point to talk to us after mass. And she’s the one who noticed that you weren’t from around here. And told you not to worry… I’m quite sure you remember. When you asked what she meant, she looked at you, and said, “the time is not yet.””
“Most certainly I remember. That is why I asked about her appearance.”
“What she looks like, Earl,” continued Lonnie, “is beautiful, but not a beauty that I can easily describe. She looks young, but her eyes, a pale blue, belong on a woman of ageless essence. Her beauty is one that you feel as you get close to her, rather than see from a distance.”
“Indeed, that description would be most fitting, for it is both beauty and wisdom itself which flow outward from her. Do you not agree, Charles?”
“Well, yes, I did notice her beauty, but what got to me more than anything else, was she was so absolutely certain of things – things that she would have had no way of verifying. And yet, it would seem that what she told us really was the truth. And if that’s how you would define wisdom, then I would agree.”
“Aye, that would be how I would define wisdom, as possessing knowledge which does come from some inner acquaintance with truth. Very rare indeed, but in one so young, ‘twould be but one other in my experience who possessed such. That would be Tom, of which the lady Janie spoke, and with whom I had but a passing acquaintance myself. He is one whose wisdom shone forth, even though he was but a page in my castle, back when I knew him. Since then, of course, his importance has become apparent to the good persons of Shepperton. And, it would seem that my old friend, Craycroft has seen to it that young Tom and his grandfather now have their means of connecting across the centuries when the occasion warrants.
“And that brings me to you, and your present circumstances…”
There was an uneasy hush in that room. Charlie looked about him, as if someone had moved at the edge of his vision.
“Nay, my friend, ye cannot see him as such, but know that he is here, and he shall become apparent to you when he needs you.”
“You mean Falma?” Charlie asked, not certain how his name came up.
“Aye, that is precisely whom I do mean. And that is just the person who shall accompany you on your journey, much as he accompanied your friend Marilyn on her own journey.”
“You… you spoke with Falma?”
“Nay, not exactly – he did speak with me, in my own dreams, if I may call them that. But I never did speak to him. And he told me of their need for you.”
“Their… need for… me?”
“Verily.”
“And did he say anything at all about why they need me? And whether I’ll see Marilyn again?”
At his mention of her name, Lonnie became pale, and then she looked down at the floor. Carol noticed, but it was lost on Charlie. Carol reached over and touched Lonnie on the arm. Lonnie gripped Carol’s hand, as Carol mouthed the words, “I know.”
Meanwhile, the earl continued, “He did not say in what capacity they did need you, only that you shall carry with you everything that you should need. And nay, he did not mention Marilyn. But he did mention the lady Judy, and that her need was indeed great.”
At the mention of Judy’s name, Charlie reached into his jacket pocket, and felt the syringe and the medicinal vials Lonnie had given him. They felt somehow foreign in his pocket, and yet he could feel a strange power emanating from the inanimate objects. He tried to remember what Lonnie had told him as she handed him the objects, bound together within their plastic wrap.
“Now, Earl,” continued Charlie, “you mentioned that there were things I needed to know before embarking on this trip to the unknown. I assume that there are things in Shepperton that I might just need to have some knowledge about – you know, where the hidden powers might reside and such.” He took his notebook and began to make notes.
“And that would precisely be where you shall be sent, this much I know to be true.” The earl then spoke cautiously, as if to not disturb the same hidden powers. “What you must understand is something of the precarious nature of the balance of power which does exist in Shepperton.” He then went on to explain how the pots of Shepperton became their most important source of income for the island, and how that led to the relatively calm (though somewhat tenuous) agreement with the English king. “But now, with King Henry upon the throne, those agreements made with my grandfather and father could be thrown out, and it would seem that King Henry is making his presence felt in Shepperton. And if you talk with any of the residents of Shepperton, I would not mention the king of England, as if his name alone might bring about yet another inquest. And I found that, searching your books of English history, I can find nothing of Shepperton, nor its pots, and that would suggest to me that my beloved island, as well as its important history have been suppressed.”
“And even in my own background,” Carol said, “as I grew up not far away from your beloved island, there was never mention of Shepperton, nor its pots, nor any action whatever by the king of England. Also, when I look at maps of the area between Scotland and Ireland, there, where Shepperton should be, there is nothing at all but water. And yet, you’re here – you and your amazing history. This is truly a mystery, and one in which it would appear that you, Mr. Charlie Stephens, are going to be thrust into.”
“Well, so it would seem. But surely there is more that the earl of Shepperton needs to tell me, no?”
“Aye, but of course. There is the person of Antoine LeGace. How he first came to be on our island is not well known or described, but he was involved in some criminal activities, and he then left our island for a number of years. And yet we heard rumors of his activities in Ireland. It was said that he had become quite high up in the ranks of an organization called the Court of Byzantium, which, though powerful, was a secret organization. It has been that he became their major procurer of lands, and that he was ruthless in his ambitions, and cared not a whit for the niceties of legal proceedings. And yet, it seems, Shepperton was something that he always sought to obtain. Either to obtain, or to destroy. I do not know the truth of this, but it is said that his motivation might be as much for revenge as anything else in his pursuit of Shepperton.”
“Revenge?” asked Charlie. “That sounds a bit petty, if you ask me. For someone with such lofty ambitions, what would revenge have to do with his motivation?”
“I might just say, Master Charles, that, when you get to Shepperton, that you seek out a man named Kerlin…”
“Now there’s a new name… Now, let me get the spelling right, now that’s C-U-R-L…”
“Nay, Charles. The spelling is K-E-R-L-I-N. And he is the present leader of the defense of the isle, and he works for Craycroft, my great friend and former physician.”
“Now there’s another name that sounds like you’re going to have to give me some more of an explanation for.”
“And that is precisely what I intend to do.” And for the next hour, the earl filled Charlie in on who Craycroft was, how he came to power, and who his allies were, and that these included Councilor Rust, Jeanne, Councilor Genet, and Melchior. And he told him of what Falma, Carlo Vincente, Drachma and most especially Kerlin had done, and what it all meant to Shepperton, his beloved island. Charlie took copious notes in his little notebook.
Before he left with Lonnie, though, the earl requested that he come over and show him the picture which Janie had made, and he pointed out the landmarks of the castle, as well as the distant hills, including Croftus Knob, so faithfully rendered.
“So now, Master Charles, do you feel better acquainted with the doings and beings of Shepperton?”
“I do, but you know, I don’t feel that I’m ever well enough equipped for anything I’ve ever done – and this is no exception.”
“As I told Craycroft, when he expressed similar reservations about ruling – that was why I trusted him to rule. And I shall tell you that if you felt confident in your task, then I would not trust your judgment.”
“Well, then thanks, I guess.”
The evening had turned to night, as Lonnie and Charlie left. As they were stepping out into the night, Carol whispered in Charlie’s ear, “Charlie, dear – now you’ve got three women and one girl who love you. Please take care.”
Inside the car, there was a heavy stillness, which spoke of tension between the occupants. Eventually, Charlie could not take it any longer, and he blurted out, “All right, Lonnie, I can’t stand this silence. What have I done or said?”
“Oh, Charlie!” exclaimed Lonnie. “If I just had Amanda’s sense of the truth. But no, I’ve got to depend on others to fill me in. If you think back on what you were saying when you and Earl were talking, you just kind of asked if you might see Marilyn again… Well that just really took me by surprise. Now, I know that you and she have shared considerable history, and I’ve just recently blundered into that history. But Charlie, you have become a very dear friend to me, in a very short amount of time – and well, I’m sorry, but when you mentioned Marilyn, it was like ripping at my insides.
“Perhaps I’ve misunderstood your intentions all this time, but here you’ve taken me to dinner, and not just any dinner, but one filled with beautiful magic – the magic of the music, and that absolutely glorious ale. And besides that, you’ve let me into this life of yours, which has also enchanted me. But now, with you going away on your journey - it’s like this whole thing is just some dreaming, and I’ve just awakened, and… and… am I making any sense at all?”
“Look, Lonnie, you must realize that, even though I may be somewhat adept as a TV reporter, in the rest of life I’m exceedingly clumsy, and I really have no idea what opinion people have of me. For years it just didn’t matter. But let me tell you that whatever is going to happen to me, I need someone here who knows the score. Someone I can count on, and I do believe I’ve found that someone in you. And I’ll tell you that what may have started as a fact-finding mission, has become so much more.”
“Forgive me, Charlie. This idea of whirlwind romance has been playing around in my mind, and it’s been kind of harassing me. And now I find that the object of my affection is being sent off on some quixotic adventure, and he’s going to meet up with interesting people in some far-away land. And there he’s likely as well to run into his own object of affection, who, it turns out is the former wife of our beloved Dr. Gilsen, who in turn has married my former best friend, who is now pregnant, and in danger! And what am I supposed to do all this time, and with this information, here in the twentieth century?”
Charlie noticed that Lonnie was crying. The tears were running down her face. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. With an aching familiarity, he turned the handkerchief over to Lonnie.
“Lonnie, I don’t know what to say, because I don’t even know the rules of this new game I’m to be playing. I don’t know who I can trust, I don’t know where actually I’ll be going, or even whether I’ll be in the right place at the right time. And all these political doings – I’m no politician, I’m no fighter, and I’m going to be arriving in something of a real mess. I mean, I do not even have any skills – at least you’ve got nursing skills! Why didn’t ‘they’ pick you for heaven’s sake?”
“Ah, my friends,” the voice came from the back seat. Lonnie whirled to look, as Charlie slowed to a stop. His remembrance of Carlo Vincente in the same seat came back to him now, with fresh vigor. “Fear not. For you have both been chosen.”
Here now was Falma, in the flesh, sitting in the back seat of his blue Nissan wagon. The old man smelled of the forest, and his voice sounded like the ancient woods.
“M’lady, Alonza, be not troubled, for your tasks shall become apparent in time. And Master Charles, you shall accompany me yet this evening. But first we must go to the house of Janie and Earl, for she has something for thee.”
“Just wait a minute,” said Lonnie, “You were not in here when we got into the car. Of that I am quite certain, for being a nurse in a downtown hospital for all these many years, I always check the back seat of a car when I get into one in the evening. And now, here you are – can you possibly explain that?”
“For you, I shall try. I was, in fact, within this vehicle when you got in, though you could not see me, nor hear me. But tell me, my dear lady, was there nothing that told you of another presence within?”
“If you mean the smell, well, yes. There was a faint essence of something, like walking in some tall, old woods. I noticed it, but now it’s much more pronounced.”
“And I assume that it is not a smell usually associated with the inside of vehicles.”
“Ah, no… But I’m not used to people just popping up in the back seat of the car I’m riding in either.”
“And I’m quite certain that neither are you comfortable with persons like me. What I can tell you is that before I go, I shall take care that you are informed of what you need to know, and what you need to do. But for the moment, you both need to get to the house of Janie and Earl.”
As he was saying this, Lonnie couldn’t help but think, who is this guy really? And what is he, some sort of ghost? Now what is he expecting of me? But she said nothing.
Charlie turned and asked, “You’re telling us we need to go to Janie and Earl’s. Does that mean that Janie’s… dying?” He could barely get the words out.
“Aye, Charles. I am sorry, but it does, and she has something to give you, as she said.”
“Well, then let’s get on our way.” Charlie drove a bit faster than necessary, and wound his way through the evening traffic, and came to Winterstone Drive. What struck Charlie as he and Lonnie got out of the car was the absolute stillness of the evening. There was not even a breeze. He listened, and the only thing he could hear was his own footsteps. Lonnie had asked if Falma was coming in, but he declined.
“No, I shall not come in now. For I believe that she needs to see you both, and not me at this time.”
As they walked up to the steps, Lonnie said in a whisper, “Even for a ghost, I think he’s a bit weird.”
“Oh, just you wait – it’s going to get really strange, for me and for you, too. Now, how long has it been since you’ve seen Janie?”
“It’s been about a week – that’s when she decided to go on hospice.”
“Well, prepare yourself…”
Charlie rang the doorbell, and Earl came to the door. The look on his face expressed a combination of weariness, and relief.
“Oh, it’s so good of you to come, Charlie and Lonnie. I had no way of getting hold of you, but Janie assured me that you would be notified. And here you are… Well, come on back to the bedroom. She’s expecting you.”
Inside the bedroom was Janie, lying in the middle of the bed, and looking gaunt, but peaceful. Seeing her in bed, with her obvious marked deterioration, caught Lonnie off guard. She had seen many people die, but this cut too close to home.
Seeing the two of them walk in brought a smile from Janie. “My friend, it’s so good of you to come,” she said, weakly. “Come here and let me hug you.”
Lonnie couldn’t hold it back, and openly wept, as she went over to the bed and hugged her friend. “Oh, Janie!” was all she could say.
“It’s all right, Lonnie. This may seem like a cruel joke, but really… Not many folks at the end of their journey… Can answer the question of what their life… What their life has been all about. And I can answer that question… with confidence. Can you tell she’s here?”
“Who?” Asked Lonnie.
“The girl, at the foot of my bed. Her name is Maggie.”
“No, I see no one.”
But Charlie looked. Though he could see no one, he could sense her presence.
“Dear Charlie, come here. As I told you… I’ve got something for you… for your journey.”
Charlie came to her side and knelt at the edge of her bed. He too was weeping.
“Oh, my dear Charlie, come closer.” She wiped the tears from his cheek. She then reached over to the bedside table, and picked up a tiny chain, with a pendant, which she handed to Charlie. On the pendant was a small scrimshaw carving of a ship, exquisitely detailed. On the back of the pendant was carved the word ‘Derrymoor’.
Janie explained, “When Josh was first brought to my nursery… as a sick and seemingly orphaned baby… One evening, as I picked him up to feed him… There it was in his bassinet. I never found out who left it there, nor why… until just recently. And I’ll leave it to you to discover what it means. For I know… it has something to do with Shepperton, as you too will discover. And all these years, I just kept the necklace. I guess I hoped that someday I’d figure it out.”
“Can you not tell me more?” asked Charlie.
“No, I can’t.” Then she took his face in her hands, and she kissed his cheek. And as she settled back down, she was pale, lifeless, and gone. Charlie looked to the foot of her bed, and noticed the slightest rustling, and noticed the aroma of the deep forest, wafting from open window.
Earl walked in, along with the hospice nurse. When Earl saw his wife, he rushed over to her bedside. He held her lifeless body, as he too wept openly. Trembling, he eventually turned toward Charlie, and noticed the little broach, which Charlie clutched in his sweaty palm. He then noticed the faint odor emanating from the open window. He closed his eyes, and he said through his tears, “It’s good… Charlie… that she was able to give you the… broach. I know that you’ll find… what it’s for. At long last she can be at peace… with her Josh.”
The hospice nurse, named Brenda, was someone well known to Lonnie, and it was she who had been with Josh as he lay dying in the ICU. That experience had turned her from an iron-willed ICU nurse toward the seemingly gentler approach of hospice care. But now she was here with Josh’s mother, who had just died, and the irony clutched her own heart. Through her own tears, though, she could just make out the fleeting forms of Janie and Maggie, as they were quickly fading with the breeze.
“So, she told you, too, of Maggie, did she?” Lonnie asked her friend.
Brenda nodded, but said nothing.
Half an hour later, as Charlie and Lonnie left the home of Janie and Earl, they left Brenda to clean up the details, and to call the funeral home. Lonnie had her arm around Charlie, who was unable to speak. He looked down at the little pendant, which glistened in the light from a street lamp. He had been trying to figure out what was happening to him but was not successful. He managed to reach into his jacket, and pulled out his car key, which he handed to Lonnie. She bent her head, and kissed him on the cheek, and then she just watched as Falma took Charlie by the arm, as the two of them walked into the woods behind the house. There seemed to be no path, but there was the smell of the ancient forest, and newly turned earth.
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