Following Jesus in rejecting empire
In front of the Friary that morning a commotion is underway. An ambulance cart is just pulling away from the grounds with Doctor Forsythe at the back next to the body of Mary Eunice. The brothers and children are all out on the lawn looking on with fascination and horror. “Brother, Doyle. Get these boys…
The night is cloudless and the moon bright. A distinct disadvantage when one is attempting a clandestine journey out of the country. But a nun’s vestments are a cloak of dark, and so Sister Mary Eunice and Magdalene are only shadows as they slip from the convent. Adrienne bears a more natural cloak with her…
Father Fitzpatrick wipes the sweat from Brother O’Brien’s forehead. He’s in a fevered delirium and has steadily worsened since the first signs of illness bound him to his bed. The boys are quiet tonight. No banter now that their mate Eric lies convalescing alongside Brother O’Brien in his room. The troubled shouts of the Brother…
By the end of the day Delaney has learned the names of many of the flowers that adorn the Townley Hall gardens. Despite his impatience, Mr. Byrne has taken note of the diligence with which the child works, and the great interest she has taken in the garden. “And these, in the shade,” she says,…
Delaney heads to breakfast. More than an empty stomach she carries a vacuous cavity in her soul. Although most of the boys have warmed to her since gaining the reputation of one raised by prostitutes, Adrienne was a much-needed companion. Now she is gone, and the ache of her loneliness has become acute once again.…