Mckella’s room was filled with beautiful paintings, some done by herself and many others by both well-known and obscure artists. Art was her all-consuming passion, and she hoped to be a museum curator some day.
Natalie dropped on the bed and sighed. “What a wretched day!” she lamented.
Mckella looked at her curiously. “This seems so unreal,” she remarked solemnly. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”
“I’d like to tell you everything, but I’m worried about the consequences.” Suddenly she jumped up and cried, “Oh no!”
“What is it?” Mckella asked, alarmed.
“Mrs. Murphy! She must be warned!” She retrieved her cell phone once more and entered the number to her childhood home.
After several rings, Mrs. Murphy finally answered. “Yes?” she answered with some hesitation in her voice.
Natalie let out a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad to hear your voice! I don’t mean to alarm you, but it’s very important that you leave the house at once. I can’t tell you why, but you must stay away from the house until you hear from us.” She knew Mrs. Murphy would probably go to her sister’s house in Scotland.
“Don’t worry about me, dearie,” Mrs. Murphy reassured. “Your uncle has already phoned and told me there has been some unpleasantness at the library, and I was just leaving. I’m told not to say where over the phone though, and I’ll be calling him back when I’m safely away.”
Natalie let out a sigh of relief. She should have known Uncle Julien would have already taken the matter in hand, especially considering his tender feelings for Mrs. Murphy. “I won’t detain you then, you must clear out quickly. We’ll be in touch. Take good care of yourself, and with luck we’ll be seeing you again very soon!”
“Dearie,” Mrs. Murphy declared before ringing off, “if anybody tries to pull something over on me, they’ll soon live to regret it!”
“I don’t doubt it,” Natalie said, smiling at her bravado. “Now do hurry!”
After her conversation, Natalie felt somewhat relieved. What a blessing Uncle Julien had turned out to be! He was always thinking one step ahead, Natalie reflected. He had informed them in the car that he had brought the manuscript with him. Thank God it wasn’t still hidden in her uncle’s library.
“But wasn’t it rather risky to bring it?” Calvin asked him. “I’m glad you did, but why did you? We didn’t know what danger we were in this morning.”
“It’s hard to explain,” Julien said with a shrug. “I guess it was those instincts that we’d been discussing. When I was getting ready to join you downstairs this morning, I felt as if I must retrieve it. I can only say that I had a vague uneasiness about its safety.”
And now here was her family, holed up at Mckella’s house like three trapped mice, with no idea when they could return home. Natalie shook her head and said as much to her friend.
“Surely the authorities must be alerted,” Mckella said. “You can’t run from these people forever.”
“I have no intention of running for long; but until our immediate danger has passed, I don’t think involving the police just yet is a good idea,” she replied.
“I won’t press you for details,” Mckella told her friend, “but I hope you’re making the right decision. You could use some help.”
“We have gotten some,” Natalie smiled. “We have you.”
“Well, naturally I’m always here for you and your family, and you can stay as long as you like, but if you’re not going to call the police, shouldn’t you have some sort of protection, like …” she hesitated, a little embarrassed, “… bodyguards or something?”
Natalie scoffed at the idea. “I don’t even know who those men were! For all we know they could have been insurance adjusters.” She frowned, dissatisfied at her lack of information on the subject. “The more I think about it, the more I wonder if we overreacted.”
“The fact is,” Mckella argued, “your uncle got a death threat, and a few days later he was dead. Now there are men following you. I don’t think you’re letting your imagination get the better of you. Not in the least! I think you should rest for a while, and you’ll be able to handle the situation with a clearer head.” With that, she shut the door, leaving Natalie to ponder a vibrant painting of an exotic tropical forest.
~
Night was falling by the time everyone gathered in the drawing room. The temperature had dropped, and a fire was laid in the hearth.
Mckella entered the room behind her father. “Good evening, Mr. Edwards,” Natalie greeted their host with a hug. “Thank you so much for having us here on such short notice.” Uncle Julien and Calvin added their thanks as well.
“It’s my pleasure, and please, call me Randy. I’m only sorry that you’ve had such a hideous day. Mckella has filled me in on some of your troubles.”
“It has indeed been full of nasty surprises,” asserted Julien. “I’ve been thinking about our next steps. Naturally it seems inadvisable to return to my brother’s house. We did not tell your daughter precisely what my brother was protecting, but I can tell you it is of inestimable value. The fact that he died to keep it in his possession convinces me that we must guard it as well as we can. We Romarins are a wealthy family, but we are not covetous of material things. I speak for all of us when I say that we value humanity above all else. That being said, I must believe that Richard was guarding something that meant more to him than his own life.” He looked at his niece and nephew meaningfully, and they nodded their silent approbation.
“I think it is fitting that we explain exactly what we are protecting.”
“Yes, most assuredly!” Natalie agreed emphatically. The burden of their findings was such that she felt a great relief in relating their secret to others, thereby sharing some of the weight of it all. Natalie explained everything, beginning with when they first found the manuscript, and by the time she had finished, Mckella and her father were struck with the gravity of it all.
“When you told me it was an artifact, I was imagining some kind of gold statue from an Egyptian tomb or something,” Mckella declared with conviction.
“I just hope us we aren’t endangering you both by telling you,” Natalie worried. “It’s already cost one life. I don’t want anyone else I care about to suffer because of it.”
Randy looked thoughtful and waved his hands dismissively. “What are these papers you found in Richard’s office?Perhaps they might help your situation somehow.”
Natalie had given Julien the Nathaniel Hawthorne book earlier, and he had it with him now. “I’ve been examining these documents and giving the matter some thought,” he said, removing the the bundle of papers inside.
“First, we have a letter.” Gently he unfolded a small, frail piece of paper. “It’s from John Milton,” he said reverently, “to John Rouse, dated 1651.”
“He was the Bodleian’s second Librarian,” Calvin interjected. “and he certainly protected John Milton’s work. I know he saved Milton’s writings from burning by the monarchy at least twice. Uncle Richard used to say that Rouse was his inspiration.”
“Why would anyone want to burn Milton’s poems?” asked Mckella.
“Because of the English Civil War,” answered Uncle Julien. “Milton was a political activist. He was a pamphleteer who wrote tracts reflecting his belief that the English Crown wasn’t quite as sacrosanct as King Charles believed.”
Julien