“He dropped down out here in the drive. I’m sure he’s dead, or close to it.” Wyldhurst turned from the window. He cursed, “Son of a bitch, the bastard’s gone. That man was near dead, I swear it! He fell on his face. Where did the blackguard go so quickly?” He left the window to run to the spot where he saw Davitt fall.
Harry ran through the Manor, met him there.
“He couldn’t have gone too far. He’s apparently bleeding to death. And leaving a trail.” Harry pointed to the obvious trail of wet blood on the gravel drive and through the grass beyond.
Trevan and his relatives spilled out the front door then. Some of the others ran from their posts outside. They offered to check the entire Manor and grounds for Davitt. Some followed the blood trail. The constable was sent for. The ladies and Sir John rushed down the stairs. Everyone’s excitement was so great, none realized until about thirty minutes later that Lady Caroline was left alone with Tristan Chynoweth upstairs in her bedchamber. All realized the error when a widely grinning Tristan carried the young lady down the stairs. Caroline gazed dreamily up at Tristan. She appeared to be a bit flushed in the cheeks. Some thought her lips might have been a bit swollen.
Rowena smiled.
Harry glowered.
They found out that Lady Sarah left the chamber they awaited in, through a connecting door, to the neighboring chamber to take care of a private necessity, which is something no one took into account when the ladies were cloistered above stairs with male company for an undetermined amount of time. That was where Percy Davitt found Lady Sarah. He then forced the girl back downstairs so he might better convince Harry, Lyon and Micah to give him a scroll which he referred to as, the Jesus the Younger scroll.
The substituted cruets and sapphire were gone. A small price to pay really. The genuine treasures were safely stored in Rowena’s wardrobe press behind her unmentionables.
The only concern was that the door was found open to the small upstairs parlour where the Tor tunnel treasures were stored. Thankfully, the scrolls were locked safely away elsewhere. They would never know if Davitt had helped himself to some of the jewels or other abbey treasures.
It was just a small nick Percy Davitt made to Lady Sarah’s neck. Rowena recovered fully within a quarter of an hour from the wind being knocked out of her as well as the case of nerves which ensued. Obviously a result of all that transpired that night. Of course the full glass of brandy Micah forced into her hands helped tremendously. Mrs. Brimble cleaned Micah’s wound and applied a salve to his re-opened wound for Rowena was a bit tipsy by that point, and Harry would not permit her to touch Micah in her inebriated condition.
No one else in their party received any injuries that night.
Harry, Charlie and Trevan supervised a group of men who rode with the Constable to search with torches outside Stonedown’s grounds for Davitt. The trail of blood ended at the river Brue, and could not be picked up again. Of course it was very dark, as well as late. Or rather, early morning.
Percy Davitt disappeared without a trace. They returned to the Manor with the intention of picking up the trail the next morning in the daylight.
Wyldhurst turned over two of the Brown coats captured by the Cornishmen to the Constable. He arranged for George Whitely to go free upon telling the constable everything he knew about Percy and his plans. The Constable also took the body of Dalworth with him.
Joshua Davitt arrived, having heard at the George of the commotion. He expressed his deep sorrow at Percy’s part in the trouble at Stonedown, and assured Harry if he saw his brother he would alert them right away. As it was, Percy’s belongings remained currently undisturbed and unclaimed at the George and Pilgrim.
It was four o’clock in the morning when the Manor quieted and everyone went to their rooms.
Rowena lay wrapped in Harry’s arms. Both were breathless from the powerful release which culminated their somewhat fast and desperate bout of love making which started the moment Harry closed and locked the bedchamber door behind them. Their clothing lay in piles on the floor from the door to the bed. The scare that each might have lost the other that night frightened them both. They clung to one another desperately, while hungrily proving their love to the other.
Harry’s hand roamed over her ribs. “Are you certain you are not sore, my love?”
“I’ll let you know tomorrow, Harry. Right now, I feel absolutely wonderful.” She snuggled against his muscled chest.
Harry brought the covers over them and pulled her close. Kissed her hair. They fell asleep in one another’s arms.
Rowena woke suddenly. Heard a floorboard squeak. She realized Harry’s arm was draped over her which meant he was still in bed. She heard the rustle of fabric. Someone was in the room. Oh my God? Could it be Percy? Was he still in the house? “Harry! Someone’s in the room!” She was terrified, but sat up quickly, holding the covers to her bosom. She couldn’t allow them to be murdered in their bed without a fight.
But, it wasn’t Percy in the room. It was William Dulac!
She felt Harry sit up beside her. She wondered if he saw the ghost as well.
“William Dulac?” Harry asked.
“Aye, my Lord. My Lady. I wish you many years of happiness in your marriage.” The ghost was dressed in a fine blue doublet, and darker blue hose, similar to those he wore in his portrait. His graying hair was shoulder length. He sported a dark blue hat with a jaunty feather upon his head. “You are safe from danger, for a time. There are others who want the secrets. You are not yet finished. You must read the Scrolls, and must find the Secretum Domini. You must protect the secrets. Look there for the chamber.” He pointed to the old wardrobe press to which he pointed the first night Rowena saw him. “Look beyond. Look deeper.” The ghost bowed to them in a flourish, his light grew dimmer.
Harry and Rowena watched as he disappeared completely. They looked at one another, wide-eyed.
Rowena started to crawl from the bed.
“No, Rowena!” Harry grasped her arm.
“But Harry, we must look!” Rowena swept her hair from her eyes and tossed her wild curls over her shoulder.
“We will, my love. But not tonight. The clock just chimed quarter to six, love. You took some hard knocks tonight and need your rest. We are both exhausted. Let’s rest. Looking for the chamber can wait until we rise, hopefully sometime late morning. Come back to bed.”
Rowena sighed, “Very well.”
She snuggled against him once again, and despite her excitement at seeing William Dulac’s ghost, she fell asleep in the warm cocoon of her husband’s arms very quickly.
Breakfast was served in the hour before noon. Most of the Manor’s occupants slept late. Which was anticipated.
Once seated at the long table, Harry informed the others gathered of the visit he and Rowena received from William Dulac. After their breakfast and the conclusion of the search for Percy Davitt, they would move the wardrobe away from the wall in Rowena’s room.
As the Faire on the abbey grounds and the Ball at Stonedown were days away, there was much more work to be done. The tunnel at the Abbey was ready to be searched for a secret chamber. But that task might have to wait until after the Faire.
Micah and Trevan were to decipher the scrolls found in the Tor chamber, and Rowena and Charlie would continue to catalog their finds still safely ensconced in the upstairs parlor. All of the men were given their duties to ready Stonedown Manor for the Ball, and Abbey Grange and the abbey grounds for the Faire. The ladies had their own duties to see to for their part in the preparations.
Percy Davitt’s trail did disappear at the river Brue. Twelve of the gentlemen led by Harry rode with the Constable in the hour before breakfast. There was no sign of Davitt anywhere. He had not returned to his family’s home or the inn. He had not been seen by anyone in Glastonbury. No one had summoned the doctor for him. He was gone. Vanished. They assumed his body would wash up downriver at some point.
By that time the rumors had reached the
m that George Whitely’s wife, Amelia, had disappeared the night before also.
It still frightened Rowena that Davitt’s body was not found, but Harry assured her, the man could not survive his injuries or the amount of blood loss he obviously suffered.
A small party headed upstairs to move the old wardrobe from the wall in Rowena’s bedchamber.
Lyon, Micah and Rowena stood back and watched as Harry and the four other men moved the massive piece of furniture away from the wall.
“Carved oak panels set into the panelling! It looks very promising indeed.” Wyldhurst, being the nearest to the opening created between the wall and the wardrobe, was the first to get a glimpse of the wall behind the wardrobe. “And very old. Tudor is my guess. The carved panels are of a harvest scene.”
The others peered around the wardrobe as Harry set to work examining the panels. It took less than two minutes, and he found a trigger. The middle panel opened, revealing another trigger, which opened a door set into the paneling. The portal opened to a small rectangular stone chamber.
“It’s empty!” Wyldhurst frowned in disappointment.
“Give me a lamp.” Harry instructed. “There has to be something in here!” Surely, the ghost of William Dulac would be aware if the letters he placed there in life were now gone. William was an intelligent spectre, after all the ghost knew he and Rowena were married. Even offered them congratulations. He would not point out the location of the chamber if nothing remained to be found. Harry knew this.
Harry held up the lamp to illuminate the small stone chamber. “There has to be a loose stone somewhere. I see no evidence of an opening to another secret chamber leading off this little priest hole.”
“I’ll hold the lamp,” Wyldhurst stated. “You and Trevan look for loose stones.”
Many quiet minutes passed.
“I’ve got a loose one,” Trevan announced. He lifted the stone away, revealing a small rectangular opening.
Wyldhurst moved closer with the lamp, while Harry removed a faded brocade bag. When he pulled it out a letter wafted to the stone floor. Trevan picked up the letter.
Rowena peeked in from the chamber opening. “I thought the Abbot’s letters were sewn into the bag.”
“It feels as if there is something still in the lining.” Harry opened the bag and produced a gold, pearl and garnet brooch from within. He offered it to Rowena. He felt the bag again. “There is definitely something sewn into the lining of this bag.”
“Let’s get to the library, gentlemen, and see what we have,” Rowena said with a pleased smile.
The loose letter was sealed with the Glastonbury Abbey coat of arms. “This has to be a letter written by William,” she deduced as she broke the seal and opened the velum. She looked hurriedly to find the signature. “It is!”
Micah was carefully ripping the stitches of the brocade bag with the knife from his boot. He produced two pieces of parchment folded over from inside. Trevan and Harry peered over his shoulder as he opened the folded pages. “This is from the Holy Abbot of Glastonbury, the Honorable, Richard Whiting.” Micah smiled triumphantly.
Wyldhurst was studying the garnet and pearl brooch with the magnifying glass. “Aha! I found an inscription, M. Dulac!”
“According to The History of the Dulacs of Glastonbury, William’s grandmother’s given name was Mary,” Rowena informed him, then asked curiously, “How old do you suppose the brooch is, Luc?”
Harry earlier explained to her that one of Wyldhurst’s specialities was antique and ancient jewelry.
“Late fifteenth, early sixteenth century, I’d say. I will have to research to pinpoint the decade directly.”
“A wonderful family heirloom for you, Lady Rowena!” Trevan remarked.
“Oh, indeed it is!”
“Rowena, how long will it take you to decipher William’s letter?” Harry inquired.
“It’s one and a half pages, so maybe a couple hours.”
“Micah, how long on the Abbot’s list?”
“About the same,” Micah answered. “The Abbot’s hand was very shaky.”
“I offer my services to help them both,” Trevan spoke up.
“I’ll help too.” Lyon nodded. He was barely able to walk, even with his cane, so it made perfect sense for him to remain in the library.
“Good. The rest of us will get busy with our duties for the upcoming festivities. We’ll all gather in the library after dinner tonight for the reading of them both.” Harry bent to kiss Rowena’s cheek before he and the other gentlemen left them to decipher the old letters.
It was a formal dinner served in the gallery with all of Stonedown’s long tables in use. There were thirty five in attendance. Lady Sperring insisted upon a celebration marking the end of their troubles with Viscount Dalworth and Percy Davitt. As the Faire and Ball were merely days away, the remainder of the meals before that day would all be informal cold meals served on sideboards for the members of the household would be far too busy to take time for a formal meal.
The evening was full of gaiety and laughter now that the threat of danger no longer hung over their heads. The ladies retired to the drawing room, while the men enjoyed cigars and port in the library. Those of Trevan’s relatives staying at the Grange left. Some men remained on guard, for Stonedown was still full of priceless relics. And there was the matter of the missing Percy Davitt and Amelia Whitely.
They were down to a party of seventeen when they went in to the library to hear the letter of William Dulac, and the list of Abbey treasures written by Abbot Whiting.
Micah went first. “As you are all aware, we found most of the treasure listed in this letter. This letter will help us identify much of what we found in the Tor tunnel. We already concluded that the chamber in the tunnel near the George and Pilgrim was discovered before 1607. Any mentioned treasures hidden in the Abbey walls are long since found or destroyed.”
He continued, “There is a possibility of one or two items still being within the walls of the basements of what is left of the Abbey. But, they are merely chalices or plate, even if they are gold.”
“The tunnel on the abbey grounds is safe enough to be searched tomorrow. What might we expect to find there?” Trevan asked.
Micah answered, “According to the Abbot, that chamber is identified from within the tunnel by a Celtic Cross symbol. The chamber contains mostly bones of the famous occupants buried at the Abbey, the most notable being, King Arthur and Guinevere, St. Joseph, St. Patrick, St. Dunstan and Jesus the Younger, the son of Christ. There are also at least fifty relics of saints named, the finger bone of one, bone fragments, pieces of hair and garments of others, as well as St. Bridget’s bell, spindle and wallet. The piece of wattle from the original Vetusta Ecclesia built by St. Joseph of Arimathea and Jesus Christ. That is what we shall find there.”
Micah took a deep breath and went on, “One of the scrolls we found in the Tor tunnel is referred to by the Abbot as the Secretum Domini. I am assuming that is the one Davitt was looking for. And some of the other scrolls are very important, as well. One is supposed to be proof that Jesus Christ was here in Glastonbury to study in the Druidic colleges during the lost years. In addition, the letter mentions that in one scroll, it reveals the location of some relics of Jesus, hidden somewhere in the Lady Chapel. Whether they still remain, I cannot say until the scrolls are deciphered. The list does not say exactly where the Jesus relics are located, and I shall remind everyone, the Abbot wrote this list before the Abbey was destroyed.”
There were many pleased and surprised comments.
“William Dulac’s letter is equally as exciting,” Rowena flashed a delighted smile. “I shall read it to you.”
Dulac Manor, September 28, 1601
I fear the end of my life is near. So, with the help of my old friend Esau Davitt’s son, John, I entered the secret chamber in my room for the first time in many decades to leave this last letter to, I am hoping, my descendants.
I did not comprehend t
he significance nor the importance of the Abbey of Glaston in the year of our Lord, fifteen hundred and thirty-nine. But I remained a scholar for all of my life, and now at my death I think I fully understand the secrets of this sacred and holy place. I spent the past ten years recording my findings and understanding of the Secretum Domini. These I compiled into a book.
I am also proud that I continued a line descended from the Desposyni. Though I am not one of that line but merely bear the honored name, I did my part to continue the bloodline. My lovely wife, mother of my children, was indeed a Dulac. It was an honor to propogate that line so there are still descendants of Christ and St. Joseph in this land. And I pray the Dulacs continue to flourish throughout time.
Just as the Lady Chapel rested atop the original church, the Vetusta Ecclesia, this very manor rests atop its own secret. For the physical house of Avallach, the home of other descendants of my family, the Del Acqs, was here on this very spot. It is just as sacred and holy as the abbey grounds. For it was here, on Torr Hill, and at Beckery that a young Jesus came to learn Math, Science, Philosophy, and Astronomy among many other important things. I found evidence that he stayed in a house standing long ago on this very spot.
Lord of the Abbey Page 36