Following Jesus in rejecting empire
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.…
“I’ll fetch Father Fitzpatrick,” Doyle tells Brother O’Brien as he pulls Magdalene and Adrienne clandestinely through the back door and into the kitchen. Brother O’Brien is setting some bread and cheese on a plate when Father Fitzpatrick walks in. “Brother, O’Brien. We weren’t expecting you back for another month.” “I’m afraid that plague has visited…
Except for the slow, quiet clacking of Adrienne’s crutches upon the cobbled walk, the approach of the three women in the wee hours of Thursday morning is undetectable. Jackson’s body jolts when Shelly whispers, “Hey!” His nerves have been set upon a hair trigger. The Rourk brothers are tucked behind a stack of pallets at…