by Gill Jepson
Abbot’s Wood,
Barrow-in-Furness
Lancashire
5th August 1896
Dear Rob,
It is some years since we met and we have unfinished business to complete. When last I spoke with you the chalice which Brother John entrusted us to seek was in peril of discovery by those who would do ill. It was hidden by me and I have waited long to reveal its location to you, but you did not come.
I despair of you ever finding it because you have so long been gone and I now am an old man and not in great health. I would have liked to pass this task to my only son Frederic, but am not yet sure he has the mettle to do it. I tried many times to find you at the places we met before and the brother too has not been visible to me for some years now.
It is with heavy heart that I leave this letter for you with the one hope that it will avail you of the help you need to find where it is hidden.
In the interest of safety I have left you one clue here and you must follow the others to reach what you seek.
God speed and I pray we will meet once more, but I am weakening now and I believe my time cannot be long.
Your obedient servant
James Ramsden
Look…
Where first I surveyed Barrow Town,
Upon Rabbit Hill
My image and my name preserved in stone
A sign to see
Of clean white purity
Shining bright in summer light
Follow its image to a hallowed chamber beneath
Cuthbert’s emblem will guide thee
CHAPTER 9
A SURPRISE
They fell silent after reading the letter. Both boys felt sad because they believed that they would probably not meet again in this life. It seemed strange to be mourning a man who was actually dead before either of them had been born. They lay back in the grass contemplating the strange afternoon they had spent. They chatted about all kinds of things, including family. The more the boy said the more Rob became convinced that he was indeed Granddad’s younger self. This was confirmed when he invited him to use his given name… George. Rob accepted this information but his inner disbelief still confused him.
*
When George sat up he caught his breath. The house and gardens shimmered like a mirage in hot weather.
*
They were no longer in an unkempt overgrown garden. It was splendidly laid out, filled with beautiful flowers and exotic plants, carefully laid paths ran back and forth and the house rose splendidly behind it. A long drive wound its way through the tree-lined wood to the grand house.
George pummelled Rob in the shoulder to attract his attention. Rob looked round in amazement. The boys stood up and ventured nearer to the house, which was resplendent.
*
Suddenly, from behind the hedge an elderly man walked into the rose garden. He stopped dead in his tracks. The boys stopped too. The recognition was instantaneous.
It was James. A much older James than the one they had seen before. He was bald and his face was fringed with greying sideburns. He was distinguished, dressed in a smart suit and walked with a silver topped walking cane. He beamed at them and something of his youthful self was revealed.
“I have long awaited this meeting. It has been too long, though I see you have not aged a day!”
He marched purposefully towards them.
“We have just…” began Rob.
“… been wondering when we would see you again!” interrupted Titch.
He scowled and shook his head to prevent Rob from saying more about what they had discovered.
“How goes the quest? I have seen nought of the monk and am at a loss to know where to look, though I do have some ideas.”
“Well, James we have been lost too… we need some help, there are no clues,” Titch looked hopefully at him.
“Then come with me for I may have found something which might help somewhat.”
James strode off towards the remarkable house.
The two boys followed him, wondering what it could be that he had found. They found themselves in the same drawing room they had been in earlier, but this time it was furnished, packed from floor to ceiling with items, which they would regard as museum pieces in their days. James beckoned them to sit down in the armchairs and he then left the room momentarily.
“What did you say we didn’t know anything for?” hissed Rob, “We’ve got his letter!”
“We can’t tell him we’ve got it because he might not write it and leave us the clue… he hasn’t found the chalice yet or he would have said.”
Rob saw the sense of this and was glad he hadn’t blurted out the news. James returned and sat opposite them clutching a heap of papers and maps.
He sighed and smiled at them. His eyes twinkled youthfully.
“Welcome to my home,” he said proudly. “I have come far since I last saw you.”
Rob grinned, “You have indeed. What are you now… mayor?” he laughed.
James smiled.
“It is strange you should say it but this honour has been bestowed upon me only recently. In fact I have even been made a knight of the realm this very year. ”
Rob grinned.
“They’ll be putting a statue up for you next!” he chuckled, knowing that this is exactly what would happen.
*
James sat down and unrolled the maps, anchoring them with heavy paperweights. He traced his finger along the parchment as though he was following some invisible route.
“Look!” he beckoned to them to come closer.
They bent over the table and forgot that James was now old enough to be their father. The boyish excitement chased away the years and soon the three of them were absorbed in examining the old map.
“You see… this is an old tithe map, showing many places which we no longer see. I have looked at these papers for clues many times. We used them to discover where old water courses were and mine workings from the old days, when we were planning the new route of the railway.”
“What did you find? Anything useful?” asked Rob.
“I believe I did,” he replied.
He grinned and leaned closer into the map, taking out a pair of spectacles and peering through them. He stabbed at the map with his forefinger.
“Here!” he said, “What do you see?”
The two boys peered closely at the place he was indicating. Both took a breath and stepped back.
“You see! You think it is a clue too, don’t you?”
Rob grinned and nodded.
Just as they were about to discuss the find the door opened and an impressive lady swept in, her long skirts rustling as she walked.
“James,” she sighed, shaking her head, “I thought you were taking a break from your work? You need to rest as the doctor instructed.”
She looked at the two boys as though it was the first time she had seen such creatures.
“And who, pray, are these young men?”
“Er… they are two young engineers who wished to see some of the old plans… I will rest when they leave, my dear, I promise.” James looked sheepish.
“Well, see that you do. I will ask the maid to bring some tea and scones for you all.”
With that she left the room.
“That was close,” said Titch.
“It was. I would not wish Hannah to know of my quest. She fusses so.”
“What’s up with you then?” asked Rob bluntly.
James sighed and shook his head.
“I have a malady which tires me sorely and has no cure. My doctor insists I reduce rich foods and sweet pastries… though I doubt this helps,” he added grudgingly.
Rob raised his eyebrows. He wondered what illness it was and decided he would Google it later.
“No matter,” James brushed away the thought.
They returned to the old map.
“You see,” he said, stabbing at the map with his index finger, “This must mean somet
hing.”
He indicated a blot on the map of the valley. The boys both peered closer to see what he was excited about.
The map showed the winding river which meandered through the abbey and out to sea through the low-lying salt flats. It passed through a small group of buildings, which were marked as Park House Farm.
“Can you see… here?” he stabbed at the paper again. “It was an abbey grange…”
“What’s a grange?” asked Rob.
“It was farm belonging to the monks… they had tenants or lay brothers working them… and some of this is as old as the abbey and some of it was rebuilt after the dissolution with stones from the ruined abbey.”
“Ok… but why do you think it’s there? How do you know?” interrupted Rob.
“It would be lost at the time of the abbey’s destruction. The monks concealed the most important treasures when the King’s officers came to ransack the abbey. What better place than somewhere close by, but a place the monks had easy access too? But more than that – can you see the symbol drawn beside it?”
The boys leaned in again and tried to decipher the crude drawing. A distinctive image of a goblet adorned with leaves and berries jumped from the page.
“It looks like the chalice… and …”
“Deadly nightshade, just as in the story,” added James.
He rustled the other maps and pulled out two more which looked older than the first. One was on parchment and was a very primitive plan of fields and buildings.
“Look at this one, from the time before the abbey was destroyed. The grange is still there, with fewer buildings but there is no similar mark. But then later, this one, which is dated 1547… when the land had been parcelled up and sold. It has a mark which I believe to be the cup.”
There, inscribed in the body of the farm building was a simple picture of a U with a short line dissecting it through the middle. It was not as obvious as the first and had no leaves or berries, but it did appear to be a cup.
“Wow! Have you been to look then?” demanded Rob.
“As I said I have been unwell. However, I am much better now!”
James grinned, the years melting away as he regained his youthful spirit of adventure.
*
The three of them looked knowingly at each other and set off towards the door, only to meet with the maid, bringing the refreshments, which Lady Ramsden had arranged. After she had gone they made a perfunctory attempt to eat and drink. None of them felt hungry and hurried to start their next task. They crept out as quickly as they could, avoiding being spotted by Lady Ramsden. James seized the maps as he left. They walked quickly through the gardens, down the drive and past the gatehouse, which was much smaller than in Rob’s time. A lady was just entering the house and she was taken aback to see James. She smiled and bobbed a curtsey in deference to Sir James, as she knew him.
He in turn doffed his hat and walked speedily on.
“Keep walking it’s my butler’s wife!” he hissed, “She will be curious to see me walking this path by foot… I usually take the trap.”
They walked along the small lane and slowed their pace. James was sweating and his florid face told them that he rarely took exercise. They walked into Park House farm over a simple footbridge, across the railway line. The farm looked rustic and primitive, with none of the farmyard machinery of their centuries. Farm hands were working in the barns and paid no heed to their illustrious visitor and his companions. They walked around peering at the buildings, looking for some indication of where the chalice might be hidden.
They arrived at the courtyard where the main farmhouse stood and rested against a wall. James ran his handkerchief beneath the water pump and wiped his face with the cool water. His hand stopped abruptly, giving him the look of a statue frozen in time. He was staring at the lintel above the dairy at the side of the house. Carved into the sandstone was a delicate sprig of leaves and berries, set in a circle.
“It’s the nightshade!” cried George.
“It most certainly is!” agreed James. “And I’ll wager the circle binding it represents the cup.”
*
They collectively rushed towards the doorway almost knocking a young woman over. She wore the dress of a dairymaid and her fair hair escaped in wisps from beneath the cotton cap she wore. She steadied herself and looked directly at them. Her eyes widened when she realised who the older gentleman was. She had seen him before, driving past the farm in his carriage with his lady wife. She dropped a quick curtsey, but Rob wasn’t quite so sure she really meant it. There was something slightly rebellious behind those brown eyes. He smirked to himself; maybe she would end up becoming a suffragette?
*
She placed her hands on her waist and stood her ground blocking their way.
“Can I help you Sir?” she asked.
James was taken aback and raised himself to his fullest height, affronted by the apparent challenge.
She stared back defiantly.
“I am Sir James Ramsden, Mayor and Director of the Furness Railway Company and who might you be?” he answered indignantly.
“My name is Leonora, Sir, Leonora Sheriff. My friends call me Lee and I work here in the dairy.”
“Well, Miss Sheriff, I would be grateful if you would stand aside and permit us entry!”
The young woman narrowed her eyes as she observed James closely. For a moment he wavered, thinking she was not going to allow them to pass. However, he had piqued her interest and she stepped aside, smoothing down her apron.
*
James strode past her opening the heavy wooden door. The boys followed but Lee marched in straight behind them. She grinned at them, her nut-brown eyes crinkling with amusement. Whatever mystery they were hiding she was not going to be left out. She closed the door firmly behind them. James raised his eyebrows and his mouth set in a disgruntled scowl. Rob and George looked at each other; they had not seen this side of his character before.
James looked imperiously at her and he had obviously decided that he couldn’t get rid of her for the moment. He used his politician’s skills to turn the situation to his advantage.
“Have you seen anything… strange in here?”
“Er… think you might have to be a bit more specific James!” suggested Rob.
He shrugged and relaxed a little, some of the pomposity escaping like air from a balloon.
“My dear, have you seen any images like this one?” He indicated the picture on the plan he had brought from the house. She gazed at the plan closely scrutinizing it.
“I have not seen the goblet, but there are sprigs of nightshade all around this building,” she pointed at the drawing of the plant.
James and the two boys could not contain their excitement.
“Show us please!” demanded James more politely than before.
Lee nodded and led them to a small passage to another part of the dairy. There on the flagstone was the perfectly executed carving of a nightshade plant.
“Here” she said unnecessarily and continued walking.
They followed her to the scullery through an arched doorway. Again on another flagstone was the remnant of a carving, worn with the constant traffic of feet over the years, but still recognisable.
“And here…” she moved to another smaller room, indicating the carving on the lintel as she passed through.
“And here!” she rested at a walled well, covered with a wooden lid. There around the rim were four more.
“Is that it… there are no more?” asked James.
“No Sir, this is where they end. What does it mean, if I can be so bold?”
The three conspirators shot a fleeting glance to each other. They gave silent approval to James and he revealed their quest simply to her.
“So there is treasure here? But where? There is only this old well, you can see the bottom and there’s nought there!” she looked doubtful.
*
With that the boys lifted the lid and removed it f
rom the head of the well. The four of them leaned over the low wall simultaneously to see if the treasure would reveal itself. George felt around the inside edge to see if there were any marks or clues. None were apparent. He leaned so far over that he almost fell in. The obvious solution was to use the rope and bucket to travel down the shaft. It wasn’t too deep and seemed easily accessible. George prepared to clamber on top of the bucket to be lowered down. It was a good job he was so thin and light as the bucket was not large. James and Rob helped him to grip onto the rope and began to wind the rope down slowly. George felt around the walls as he went further down, checking for protrusions and bumps. He was just above the shallow water and had almost given up when he jerked the rope for them to stop.
“There’s something just above the water line. It looks like sacking or something,” he cried.
In their excitement they released the gear and the rope drop down suddenly. The sudden movement jolted George and he slipped from his perch into the cold water.
“Argh! It’s freezing!”
He was up to his chest in water. At least now he could examine the find more easily. He waded to the side where he had caught sight of it. He tussled with the sack pulling it until it came loose. With it came a brick, falling heavily with a splash into the water. The hole that was exposed was dark and dank and had evidently not been open to the air for many a year. George reluctantly put his hand into the grimy aperture. It felt empty apart from soil and mould. He pulled it out and shook his hand to remove some of the dirt.
“What ya doin’?” called Rob.
“Huh! I’m having a tea party! What do ya think I’m doing?”
He rolled up his sleeve and shoved his hand back in the hole, cringing as he did so.
He pushed his hand right to the back this time and felt around in the dark. He caught his hand on something hard and metal. He yelled out to the others.
“I’ve got summat!”
*
The three at the top leaned further over the well looking down, where they could see a small silhouette moving in the water below.
