Teague laughed rather harshly. “So you think that all women are interested only in titles? You are wrong—dead wrong! Some of them are interested in what a man brings to the bed with him.”
Colin was accustomed to Teague’s rough speech, but this still shocked him. “You can’t possibly mean she has any immoral interest in me?”
“You are the brightest boy I have ever seen—and the densest in some ways! You know all the cures that go back two hundred years, but you can’t see when a woman has interest in you.” He shook his head and said with something like disgust. “Listen to this, my boy—money, power, and women. These are the snares that destroy a man.”
“Well, they will not destroy me, sir!”
Teague threw up his hands. “You did not hear a word I said!” he said with disgust. “‘Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.’ Just watch out for that woman. I’ve seen her kind before.”
“Yes, sir,” Colin replied neatly. After Teague left he shook his head. Teague is not often wrong, but he has to be wrong about this. He looked about the room and studied the expensive furniture, the hangings on the walls, but his mind kept going back to when Lady Benton put her hands around his. He had seen something in her eyes that somehow drew him. He shrugged his shoulders in a motion of impatience and muttered, “Teague is wrong, he has to be!”
“I would like to see the record of what the physicians have done for your son, Lord Withington,” Teague said.
“Of course. I insisted that they write them all down.” He moved over across the room, opened the desk drawer, and pulled out a stack of papers. “Here it is, Dr. Teague.”
Teague took the papers and Colin stood close beside him. The two men studied through the documents. Instead of replying to Teague, Lord Withington asked abruptly, “What do you think, Mr. Winslow?”
Colin was surprised, for he had expected that Dr. Teague would deal with the man. He said briefly, “I think you can guess my thoughts, my lord.”
“Just tell me, what do you see, Mr. Winslow?” Lord Withington demanded.
“I am sorry, my lord, but what I see here is not the kind of medicine that Dr. Teague has taught me to practice.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at this, they bled the young man four times and one time only two days apart.”
Lord Withington stared at Colin. “Isn’t that common practice?”
“It is common practice and the old authorities all agree with it, but I see no value in it.”
“Dr. Perry told me it was to bleed out the bad blood.”
Colin could not help smiling. He did not know it, but he looked very young standing before the nobleman. “Bad blood, sir? No one has ever proved that there is such thing as bad blood. And if it did exist, how would anyone know that the blood bled out or taken by leeches was the bad blood and not good blood?”
Lord Withington stared at the two men, then his eyes fixed on Teague. “Do you agree with this?”
“I do, sir.”
“And look at this, my lord,” Colin said. “Purging! I have never seen such purging!”
“But I understood that was common also.”
“It is common because physicians know of nothing else to do. Galen the old master said that bleeding and purging is good for men, so we do it, even if we do not understand why we do it.”
“You amaze me, Mr. Winslow.” Lord Withington laughed shortly and shot a direct glance at Colin. “Dr. Perry said you were a rebel.”
“I think that is exactly what he is,” Teague agreed slyly. “But you go to any physician and ask why purging is good and why bleeding is good for any disease, and they will give you long words and convoluted sentences. Which means in translation ‘I do not know.’”
“And I am looking at the medications the physicians gave your son. Listen to this—horn of unicorn. There is no such animal as a unicorn, at least not known to man. What could they possible give him? Perhaps the horn of a billy goat?” Colin began to grow angry. “Here it says the grease of a heron and the fat of a vulture.” His tone grew louder as anger filled his face. “And listen to this. They gave your son, so they say, a bezoar stone.”
“What in the world is that? I asked but I could not understand the answer,” Lord Withington said.
“It is supposedly the stone taken from the intestines of a Persian wild goat. And look, rooster testicles, crayfish eyes! On and on they tried all these remedies, not knowing what they were.”
“I see you are angry, Mr. Winslow.”
“I am a little, my lord.”
“Well, what would your treatment be, sir?”
“That is for Dr. Teague to say.”
“We would both say the same, my lord,” Teague said flatly. “In the first place, no more bleeding and no more purging. Second, there will be no more of these harsh medicines that were poured down your poor son’s throat. The thing I would prescribe, and I think my young colleague would agree, is a good diet, very mild at first, rest, and some very mild medication. That which has been tried and we know is effective. No more bezoar stones, whatever the blasted things may be!”
“Very well, gentlemen, we shall try. It shall be as you say.”
Leslie Farley prospered almost immediately with the treatment that two men set forth. He slept long hours, and without all the terrible purging and bleeding he gained strength. The diet was very mild at first, but then increased in richness. He grew stronger and the color returned to his cheeks. He was able to get out of bed after three days, and within a week he was well on his way to health. Satisfied, Teague said, “I must get back to my practice, I am afraid.”
Lady Benton said, “I would be afraid for you to leave, Dr. Teague—unless you could leave your colleague here with us. I still fear for my brother.”
Teague’s eyebrows rose, and he said in a spare tone, “If you insist, Lady Benton.”
Lady Benton did insist, and as Teague was leaving the last thing he said as he got into his carriage was “Be careful, boy!” He leaned out the window and grabbed Colin by the shoulder, pulled him close, and said fiercely, “That woman is a man-eater!”
“I think you are mistaken, Dr. Teague. The only time I have ever thought so.”
Teague shook his head and released Colin, and said, “God keep you, boy, even though I don’t believe in God. If there is a God, I pray he will keep you from the clutches of that woman. I repeat, she is a man-eater.”
The driver spoke to the team of horses, and the coach left. Colin thought, He is wrong about this. Dr. Teague is a wise man, but he knows nothing of women. He has never been married or even had a sweetheart as far as I know. He is mistaken about Lady Benton. He must be!
WHEN
the
HEAVENS
FALL
GILBERT MERRIS
Reading Group Guide
About This Guide
The following reading group guide is intended to help you find interesting and rewarding approaches to your reading of When the Heavens Fall. We hope this enhances your enjoyment and appreciation of the book.
Introduction
Set in Tudor-age England, When the Heavens Fall tells the epic tale of Brandon Winslow, a devious and troubled young man struggling to find his way and place in the world.
At the same time that Mary takes the throne as queen of England, the mischievous young Brandon Winslow decides to become a soldier, much to the dismay of his spiritually sound and noble parents, Stuart and Heather Winslow. It does not take long after enlisting for Brandon’s womanizing, gambling, and drinking to get him into serious trouble.
Thought to be dead by his parents and the soldiers who knew him best, Brandon finds himself wandering futilely, struggling to survive among vagrants. He befriends a pair of Spanish gypsies and makes a small fortune moving between towns playing cards with rich gentlemen. Brandon soon hears of Queen Mary’s zealous and bloody behavior in her determination to return England to Catholicism.
When rumor
spreads that Mary is beginning to execute protestants on the basis of their religion, Brandon knows his family is in trouble. He is faced with a serious decision—to return home to protect his uncle, the protestant preacher Quentin Winslow, or simply to vanish into the vagabond life he has become accustomed to.
Discussion Questions
1. The opening scene of the novel gives an example of Brandon Winslow’s troublemaking ways. How do his parents manage the situation with James Elwald and his daughter Becky? Do you think Brandon is immoral or just naïve?
2. Describe the relationship between Stuart and Heather Winslow. Do you feel their relationship deserves the attention it receives toward the end of the book?
3. What does Heather mean when she repeats to Brandon, “I gave you to God the day you were born”?
4. Discuss the power of prayer in relation to each character. Consider the way the act of prayer brings clarity to those who need it in times of great challenge.
5. What role do Lupa and Rez play in the novel? Do you see them as moral or immoral characters? Does your opinion of them change as you learn more about them?
6. What does Brandon feel when he witnesses the burnings at Smithville? What does he learn from the experience? How did you feel as you read the descriptions, particularly of the smiling elderly woman?
7. Compare and contrast Catholicism and the “New Religion” (Protestantism) as portrayed by Morris in the novel.
8. Discuss the differences between Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. With whom do they surround themselves? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How do these characteristics influence the way people perceive them?
9. Why does Quentin refuse to leave the country?
10. What is the dilemma Brandon faces when Lord Fairfax approaches him? Do you think he made the correct decision in his situation? What would you have done?
11. Brandon refers to the Song of Solomon when he is courting Dolores/Eden. What does he feel is the importance of this book? What does Dolores/Eden derive from his description?
12. Is the approach Brandon takes in convincing Eden to return to England a permissible or forgivable strategy?
13. Starting on page 94, Quentin delivers a sermon to his congregation. What does he discuss? How does this relate to the characters in the novel?
14. What advice does Quentin give to Eden Fairfax when she comes to his service? How does she make use of this advice?
15. What changes in Brandon when he accepts Jesus? How does he struggle with this decision, and what ends up influencing him above all?
ENHANCING YOUR BOOK CLUB
1. Make a family tree of the Tudor dynasty in England. Compare and contrast the differences in ruling style and religion among the Tudors.
2. Critically evaluate the Song of Solomon, just as Brandon Winslow does when he is in Spain. If this is your first reading, what stands out for you? If you have read it before, do you find anything new or different?
3. Brandon indulges in many regional meals throughout When the Heavens Fall. Make a traditional British recipe—consult http://www.britainexpress.com/articles/Food/ for recipes and ideas!
When the Heavens Fall Page 28