Awaken_A Rose Caldwell Tale

by JM Bannon

  The Mother Superior paused in thought for a moment before replying.

  “Clearly someone did Sister Rose that is one of the questions to which I am sure the investigator will find an answer. It will be a simple one I am sure once it is looked at with trained eyes.

  As for you, Sister, I will let Mrs. Culpepper know that you will attend her as requested. For now, you can go to your cell and contemplate on how you can be the best representative of your church to the community. You will remain there until evening prayers.”

  “Yes Mother” Rose stood and made a curtsey to her superior before departing the room head down and disconsolate.

  The Mother Superior sat at her desk hands steepled as she thought on Rose’s question.

  How had the theft occurred? Who could penetrate to the heart of the convent and leave no trace? The obvious conclusion was no one could, which left just those already within.

  She could not bring herself to think that one of her order could resort to theft and murder. Oh she knew it was murder, Sister Antoinette had confirmed that Madeline’s neck had been broken when her body was taken to the infirmary. Antoinette was the convent’s infirmerer and herbalist and had many years of dealing with injuries including broken bones. She had also pointed out the cuts on the neck for which there was no explanation.

  The Mother Superior’s eyes were troubled as she went to make arrangements for the forthcoming visit of the Bishop.

  Chapter Twelve: Tuesday the 28th of September 1852

  10:30 AM, Sister Rose Caldwell’s Cell

  Rose had spent the previous afternoon, evening and night alone in her cell. She had spent the first hour after leaving the Mother Superior, sitting on her bed staring blankly at the floor of her cell.

  She had failed to make the Mother Superior believe her or to understand.

  The words of the Mother Superior had hit home hard. Was she so caught up in her own goals that she had forgotten she was dedicated to Christ, that she was a nun?

  Her guilt at the death of Sister Madeline and the theft of the relic was overpowering, blanking thoughts of anything else from her mind.

  She had spent the night lying fully clothed on her bed staring into the darkness, unable to sleep. The words of the Mother Superior, Mrs. Culpepper and Mr. Cooper churned in her mind along with the visions of the angel Ariel, and Garwen.

  The bell for breakfast roused her from here reverie, but she felt no urge to join her sisters in the refectory for the morning meal. The thought of eating made her feel ill.

  She had come to the conclusion that her investigations must come to a stop. She would return all of the books to Mr. Cooper once she had access to the Reliquary and the town again. She would visit the sick children and pray for their souls and that they would recover. She would forget about searching for a reason for their illness that was not of the mortal realm.

  She picked up the bible sitting on the stool by her bed and tried to lose herself in its pages. She opened it at random. Her eyes fell on the words at the top of the page.

  Revelation 16:14 “For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.”

  She shut the book and closed her eyes before opening it again.

  Psalm 106:37-38 “They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.”

  As she read her heart filled with dread, something was trying to get a message to her, she was sure of it.

  She tried again, closing her eyes and the bible and then let it fall open at random.

  When she opened her eyes this time she gave a small cry.

  Revelation 20:1-3

  1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.

  2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

  3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

  The Revelation of St John again! Something surely was trying to talk to her, but was it God or the Devil?

  She repeated her actions and this time when she opened her eyes she read with growing certainty.

  Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.”

  Again she opened the bible at random.

  Jeremiah 29:11

  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

  Rose held the bible to her chest and gave a prayer of thanks. The messages were not from the devil or the demon, they were from God!

  It was not her who had brought the troubles on the town, she was not responsible for Sister Madeline’s death because she had used occult methods to see the imps and the demon.

  What then of her visions? She thought of her vision in the reliquary, and the monk who had translated for her when the angel had spoken. She knew that she had seen him before.

  She thought on the vision of the night before and it came to her. The monk who had translated the words of the angel was not Ostric, it had been Aethelred, King Aethelred. Of course, how could she not have seen it before?

  If it had been Aethelred who was there when she met Ariel, then …. then that meant her vision of the imprisonment of Marbas was a true vision, she had been there when Ostric was revealed as the demon’s puppet. It was not Garwen who was evil it had been Ostric. But then why was he now revered as a saint?

  She pondered the matter, Aethelred had said he was taking the skull to Rome. Somewhere along the way from then to now, the truth of things had been altered. The truth had become changed and now Ostric was a saint and Aethelred and Garwen were forgotten.

  Her spirits sank again as she realized that there was no one who would believe her. The skull of Ostric had been revered as a holy relic belonging to a saintly man for almost a thousand years. How could she, a simple nun, prove that he was in fact no saint but the opposite, the pawn of a demonical force. Aethelred’s propaganda had worked too well to hide the truth.

  She sighed and put the bible back on the stool. She felt she could now meet with Mrs. Culpepper without fear that she and the other ladies she had met were behind the recent events. She still had the problem of making anyone understand and believe her but at least she could obey the Mother Superior with a clear conscience.

  She stood up, perhaps she might still be able to get a little breakfast, she was feeling hungry after all.

  1:30 PM, Sister Rose’s cell.

  Rose had returned to her cell after supper and had sat on her bed thinking through all she had learnt trying to understand why the relic had been stolen and Sister Madeline killed. None of it made sense. She had not responded to the inquiries of Judith and Katherine at breakfast and found that the idea of going through all the questions at lunch had no appeal. As a result, the summons to the Mother Superiors office found her sat on her bed in apparent contemplation.

  When the preemptory knock on her cell door came she was almost asleep sitting up.

  She got up and went to the door in a daze, trying to clear her thoughts and come awake from her trance.

  When she opened the door, sister Beatrix was waiting, her mouth pursed as if she had been sucking on a lemon.

  “You are required in the Mother Superiors office at once!”

  “Yes Sister, do I have time to…”

  “At once Sister Rose.”

  Sister Beatrix stalked off, clearly expecting immediate acceptance of her command.

  Rose followed, her head bowed. “What did the Mother Superior want with her now?”

  1:35 PM, Sister
Maria, Mother Superior’s office.

  Sister Beatrix ushered her into the office of the Mother Superior without speaking, her contempt was clear. Rose took little heed of her she was too concerned about why she had been summoned.

  The Mother Superior was not alone in fact she stood at the right of her desk. Seated behind it in her chair was Bishop Albright, his face calm but eyes hard.

  To the left of the desk was a tall thin man in the black vestments of the Jesuit order, the investigator!

  Rose made her obeisance to the Bishop and the Mother Superior, then stood as calmly as she could in front of them, hands clasped to stop them shaking.

  “Sister Rose, The Mother Superior has informed us that you found poor Sister Madeline yesterday and also reported the disappearance of the Relic.” The Bishop’s voice was cool but not accusatory. “It is our wish that you talk us through what happened and for you to then accompany Father Barnard to the Reliquary and show him exactly where the body lay and assist him if he so requires.”

  “Yes, your reverence” Rose stole a glance at Father Barnard.

  His face was impassive and cold grey eyes stared at her. She couldn’t help but give a little shiver. It wasn’t so very long ago that his order were burning heretics at the stake. If he realized what her investigations had involved she might be in serious trouble. She determined to tell him anything he asked about finding Madeline but not to offer any information about what she thought had occurred.

  1:55 PM, The Reliquary, Convent of the Carmelite Order Chester, England

  “So, tell me Sister Rose, you spent much time with Sister Madeline in this room. Were you aware of any reasons for someone in the convent to have wanted her dead? “

  “No Father, all of the Sisters who came from France had been together for some time. There are only myself, Sister Judith and Sister Katherine and five novitiates who have joined the order since they got here.”

  “You know these others well?”

  “Sister Judith and Sister Katherine and I joined the order together, I do not know the novitiates that well, but they are all local girls.”

  “Please show me where you found Sister Madeline, walk me through what you did.”

  Rose went through where she had found the body, what she did and how she found that the relic had gone missing. She volunteered no information other than what she was asked directly. As she got to the point in her explanation of leaving the room, the investigator stopped her.

  “Thank you, Sister Rose, most complete. Tell me, what do you, think happened?”

  Rose hesitated before answering she needed to be careful here. If she told him what she thought had happened…. She didn’t know what would happen to her.

  If the investigator noticed her hesitation he said nothing.

  “I don’t know Father; how someone could get into the convent and out again without leaving a trace?” she turned her response into a question of her own. She couldn’t help a small glance to the corner where the trapdoor lay.

  The investigator looked in the same direction then walked over to stand looking down at it.

  “What lies below Sister?”

  “There is a cellar Father, we have more books stored down there as the room is a little cramped.” She gestured to the shelving around them.

  “Do you have the key?”

  “No Father, the Mother Superior has them at the moment I believe, but….” she stopped realizing her mistake.

  “But?”

  Rose sighed deeply, then confessed a little of the knowledge she had held back.

  “On the morning of the theft and Sister Madeline,” she gestured to where the chair still lay overturned. “I found the lock had been broken,” she finished in a rush.

  “Why have you not mentioned this before?”

  “I would have Father, but after speaking to the Mother Superior I was confined to my cell for the rest of the day.”

  “Why was that Sister?”

  Rose stared at him, her thoughts racing, what could she say, had the Mother Superior already reported their conversation?

  “Come Sister, there must have been some reason for the Mother Superior to order that. I can just as easily ask her.”

  “I … I believe that Sister Madeline’s death and the theft were not from natural means!”

  The words came tumbling out, She knew she was opening a door which might close behind her with a large clang. The rest of her days might be spent in a padded cell after all.

  The investigator studied her for a moment, his grey eyes calm but questioning.

  “Thank you for being honest with me Sister, The Mother Superior has already told us of your fears. Why do you feel that there is some exterior evil force behind this?

  How could she explain without sounding mad or heretical?

  Father Barnard gestured to a chair as he went to the door and closed it. “Sit down Rose, tell me about your fears, and I assure you this will remain between us.” His voice was kindly, but clearly commanding.

  Rose sat down, smoothing her habit over her knees nervously. Father Barnard pulled out another chair and sat opposite her. Rose wondered if her confessor would honor the sanctity of her confession or use her own words against her.

  She told her tale, the dreams she had had from childhood, her reasons for joining the order, how a vision had come to her when she cut her finger on the skull and then her vision of the imprisonment of the demon. She told of how she had learnt to read the books in this room and also of her dalliance with the works of Dee and Kelly amongst others. She told him of her suspicions and how she had made her scrying mirror and what she believed she had seen in it. Rose ended her confession with the discoveries of the previous night and that while she thought Mrs. Culpepper meant no harm she was still unsure enough to be concerned about seeing her tomorrow.

  Father Barnard listened in silence and when she had finished sat there looking at her without speaking. She felt nervous under his gaze and squirmed in her seat.

  Sensing her discomfort, the priest seemed to come back to himself.

  “An interesting tale Rose, your achievements in reading are considerable. I have read the books of which you spoke, I am intrigued that you not only read them but what you were able to do with that knowledge.”

  Rose was surprised that the priest had read the same books.

  “You realize of course that you are close to the edge of activity that would have you not only removed from the order but excommunicated as well?”

  Rose nodded miserably.

  “I promised you that all you had to tell me would remain between us and I have no intention of breaking that promise!” He suddenly smiled at Rose. “You would have made a fine Jesuit Rose if you had been born a man!”

  “Now tell me, have you looked in the cellar since yesterday morning?”

  “No Father, the Mother Superior locked the door after I went to her with the news.”

  “Then I suggest we check your hypothesis and look in the cellar for further clues. Bring a candle ad let us see what is to be seen!”

  They lifted the trap door and with a candle each descended into the cool cellar. It did not take long to find how the creatures had come and gone. A thin trail of dirt led them to the far end of the cellar and a hole close to the floor where a stone about two feet square had been pushed into the cellar. A small pile of dirt led up to the hole that had been left by the tunneling into the cellar. They crouched and saw that the tunnel extended far enough that their candles no longer lit it.

  Father Barnard stood and spoke firmly. “Well Rose, certainly something has recently burrowed its way in here. Was it capable of murdering Sister Madeline and making off with the relic? I cannot say, I have not seen these creatures as you have claimed to. For the moment we will keep this discovery to ourselves, while I make further inquiries. May I suggest strongly that you keep the appointment with Mrs. Culpepper and learn all that you can.”

  Chapter Thirteen: Wednesday the 29th of Septembe
r 1852

  6:00 PM, The Culpepper Estate, England

  Riding in the back of the carriage she listened to the hoof clops of the horses as they came up the drive of the manor house. Rose had been picked up and brought to the Culpepper estate. Glynnis Culpepper was one of the last members of a previously large landowning family. She was in her late forties and had been widowed for 20 years. Her late husband Aubrey had increased the family fortunes by his ventures in shipping before his untimely death. Not one to carry out his enterprise at arm's length, he had perished in a shipwreck off of the island of Jamaica. She had never taken her husband’s name an unusual occurrence that ensured the family name continued. Rather than remarry, despite many suitors attracted by her wealth and holdings, she had taken control of the estate and had learned to run it successfully for many years. She had acquired loyalty from her tenants and managers by going to them to learn how to manage their part of the estate’s undertakings and consulted them when necessary, all contributing to the ongoing success of the estate. Rose was acquainted with her from when she would visit her father at the mill to negotiate storage and milling. The Culpepper land was diversified; she grew grain amongst other crops and had a large flock of sheep as well as fine herds of dairy and beef cows.

  The carriage pulled up to the front of the house, where a footman waited to attend her descent from the vehicle. The sandstone manor house was bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun and looked like honey in the warm light. The grey haired, stiffly upright butler led Rose across the marble floored foyer where a magnificent staircase led to the upper levels to the study where Glynnis stood expectantly, dressed in a pale lemon silk blouse, black velvet smoking jacket, jodhpurs and burnished black riding boots. Rose was slightly shocked on one hand, but also intrigued by the woman’s panache. She was known for challenges to the traditional garments worn by a woman of her stature or for that matter any woman of the current age.