Summer Lawns Ch. 11 - Travel to 1745

SANDRA TRAVELS THROUGH TIME

When she came round, Sarah found herself in a large room surrounded by staring faces.

"So she actually came through, I never thought it would work." The man stood over her as if he could not believe what he was seeing.

"Are you alright my dear?" A woman walked over to her and held out a hand.

"I think so. Where am I?" Sarah took the woman's hand and tried to get to her feet. Then the room spun around and she felt faint.

"Poor girl, she has gone through a great trauma. Take her to the bedroom and let her sleep. She is our special guest, and we must treat her with extra care. After all, it's not every day that someone travels across history to escape a war." The man watched as Sarah was carried from the room.

"What do you make of it Master Fanshaw?" An elderly man walked over to him, writing notes in a book.

"I think we have either broken through to one of the most stupendous events in human history. Or created a monster." The Reverend Fanshaw thought hard about his words as he walked around the room.

"A monster sir?" The other man found it hard to understand this.

"Yes sir, a monster. For how does the girl feel in all this? She might become resentful to us for ruining her life," said Mr Fanshaw.

"But we helped save the poor girl? From a terrible fate, at the hands of those Roundhead devils?" A woman pushed herself forward to confront the man.

"Yes, but remember, she never wanted any of it. She might sooner we have left her to die with the rest of her family, and pass on to a natural death? We must be on our guard, and remember we are guests in her new life."

When Sarah had recovered consciousness, she looked around the room. Had she really travelled to another time?

Sure enough, the room was different. The drapes and furniture were of a style not known to her, but was that enough? Tentatively she tried to get out of bed and walked around the room.

At least she was still in the old Manor House, that was something. As Sarah looked from the window, she recognised the lawns and hedgerows. Although some of the borders were new, planted with varieties she did not recognise. Maybe the world had changed so much, that foreign plants species were all the rage.

She also noticed that the fabrics she wore were finer, softer to the touch and smoother on her skin. Sarah walked around the room for a while rubbing the exotic fibres against her bottom, until the door came open.

"Oh Mistress, you should not be out of your bed yet!" The woman rushed in and tried to force her back beneath the sheets.

"Forgive me but I feel health and vitality flowing through me," laughed Sarah, as the woman fussed over her.

"Master Fanshaw will be truly cross with us all if we fail you in any way. And good health is my business. To attend to you and to comfort you."

Sarah did not argue with the woman but put up with her attention. She was brought food and piled with more blankets, but what Sarah really wanted was information.

"What is the new world like?" she asked the nursemaid.

"That sort of question is not for me to ask, but you must await the return of the Master, and all your queries will be tended. This is a matter of some importance and it is not for the members of the household staff to spoil the matter. No, it is best left to the Master."

Sarah could get no more out of her. She assumed that the Reverend Fanshaw had gone up to London to discuss her journey through time. After all, this was no small matter, the nurse was right about that.

Over the next few days, Sarah was allowed to rise from her bed and see the house and grounds.

She happened to spot a piece of paper, being used to light her fire, and from that found the date was 1745. A full one hundred years from the day she saw her family. The house had changed little, but for the fact that Wartime damaged had caused a great deal of rebuilding.

The stone-work in many places was brand new, she could see that. However, they had replaced it in exactly the same places. Some of the window mouldings were of a style she did not recognise, and the quality of the glass was much improved.

Sadness filled her heart as she walked around the walled garden and remembered the last days of the village before the final assault, but she was resolved to start her new life.

There were many questions going through her mind, and it was one of these Sarah was wrestling with when Mr Fanshaw found her in the garden.

"You look so well Sarah, I hope my staff have been looking after you, whilst I was away in London?"

"Mr Fanshaw, it is wonderful to see you. How is London?" Sarah was walking through the Yew Maze and turned to meet him.

"It is much changed since your day Miss Sarah."

"Sadly I never visited London in 1645."

"So you know the date?"

"Did you not think I would find out?"

"Yes, but in my heart, I wanted to keep you as my own English rose." The man looked down with some embarrassment.

"Am I a prisoner here then Master Fanshaw?" Sandra wanted to know, turning to him sternly. The heat of the August sun beat down on them in the closed quarters of the Maze.

"No Miss Sarah you are not a prisoner, you are in fact, my guest. However, I must point out to you that you do owe a certain obligation to those who rescued you. I hope I am not speaking out of term, but it has to be said by someone." He waited for her reply, as they both looked down on the parched grass.

"Yes, I suspected that there would be a price to pay. Tell me some more about the magic?" They both walked through the garden on a friendlier note.

"What did you Father tell you of it?" asked Fanshaw.

"He rather dropped the facts upon me like a heavyweight. The news coming at the very last moment, as the Roundheads were banging on our door."

"I see, then it has all come as quite a shock to you? Are you afraid of it?"

"No not afraid. Startled, yes. I am more afraid of the uncertainty which surrounds my position here Sir."

"My dear lady, you face no threat from anyone here. There are no wars in England today. Although we still fight many wars abroad, our home is a lot safer than the last time you left it."

"What of this Magical Order? Father said something of it before parting?"

"Well, it is true to say that we are part of a Magical Order, but we obey only a Magical Order of things. We still worship the Lord Jesus in His Majesty."

"But Sir, what I participated in, was nothing less than Witchcraft!" She faced him with a startled look.

"You have to understand that our Order had to paint the Magical Craft as one of Devil worship for a simple reason. Sarah look out upon the village?"

They had reached a part of the garden, where the rest of the village lay before them. Sloping down in the valley to the river, it lay as the natural property of the Manor. Protected and cared for.

"These are simple folk. What would happen if such powerful gifts fell into their hands? Where would be the order in nature? Surely you know about the wicked temptations man faces, so you would understand that such power would become a weapon in his hands. Rest assured, that once a man had tasted such forbidden fruit, he would no longer see the wisdom in it, but would turn away from God." The man paused to let the facts sink in.

"You are right, Master Fanshaw. Wisdom is not wasted here. So what is my part in the Order?"

"We have an obligation to protect mankind throughout the ages. Now, there is a common link across the divide. Sometimes this is simply handed down, as the elders taught me. However, there are other ways of strengthening the bond, and yours is such a method."

"What possible wisdom can I give to one such as you Sir?" Sarah laughed.

"You bring with you the wisdom of your age. As the ages pass, something is always lost. By bringing someone through such a barrier, we retain some of the magic residing in that person."

"You will have to look hard to find such in me I fear."

"You only have to look upon your face to find the truth. Sarah, you stand out from the other girls here in the Manor. You have a natural power, they do not possess. You command yourself above their simple ways. You are not muddle-headed, as many girls your age, and can see problems clearly. For you only have to look to our conversation to see you have something they do not. No other girl in the village could converse with me this way."

"These are the things I have brought with me? Which were lost after the War?"

"Possible. However, they are gifts which will surely be lost unto other ages."

"Other ages?" Sarah stopped and looked at the man, for here lay her obligation.

"Yes, for Sarah we want you to go forth to other times." He looked into her eyes now, to show he meant it.

"Am I to find no peace, Sir? Are one hundred years not enough to endure?" She was clearly distressed now and walked back to the house.

"Do not think I do this thing lightly. For it grieves me to see one in such torment. In this case, the Order is correct."

"In what assumption?" she wanted to know.

"In that, once you have travelled to one time, you will want to travel to another. For this will become an addiction. One which shall haunt you for all your days."

"Then you curse me Master Fanshaw! Better I died in that Yew Maze with my family!" She pointed angrily at the Maze.

"I agree, but it was not I who besieged your house. Nor I who wished ill of the people of this village. Such a thing has happened, and we have to live with the consequences of it."

"Forgive me, Sir. I have spoken out of term, rudeness does not normally become me. Under the circumstances, I beg you to forgive me." She looked shamefaced at the ground.

"Dear child none is needed, there is not a man or woman alive who would not have reacted in any other way. Let us not be hypocrites." He smiled and held her hand. "Now, I must show you something of our Magic, and prepare you for your new life."

Over the next few months, Sarah's life was transformed. She learnt of the power of Magic, what it could do, and how it could transform lives. Before her was all the evidence of a common thread running throughout history, of how the Order had transformed things and looked after the wellbeing of mankind.

"One thing I do not understand Master Fanshaw?" asked Sarah one day as she sat reading in the study.

"Yes ask away?" Fanshaw was only too pleased to feed her mind with ideas, as she was turning out to be the brightest pupil he had ever known.

"If we have protected mankind from all these ills, how was it, that Cromwell destroyed our way of life?"

"For he had more powerful magic than ours. There are other Orders in the world, not all of them for good. It might surprise you to know that Master Cromwell and his Commonwealth Parliament was once a force for good." Fanshaw came over to the table where the old books lay open.

"Good! How so?"

"For he has studied the Magical Arts and wanted to help mankind. He followed the teachings of Jesus Christ and saw what he was doing as for the common good."

"Then what went wrong? For surely that is the only case to answer?"

"True. Master Cromwell fell into the oldest trap of them all. He no longer saw Magical Power as just Power. He began to think in terms of Good and Evil." Fanshaw turned the book to a certain page.

"Do not tell me that Cromwell fell in with Satan!" Sarah was alarmed.

"There is no Satan. Have I taught you anything? Good and Evil are sides to the same coin. Foolishly Cromwell and his command began to think they were fighting an invisible enemy. One which plotted behind their back, but all the time it was their own fears. Ones which they could not come to terms with, they were their real enemies.

"I still do not understand how a man could want to destroy the country he loved. In my time, Cromwell was seen only as an instigator of evil. He brought terror and hardship to many. This same village suffered rudely under his regime. There is no good in that."

Fanshaw could see there was no point in changing her mind on the matter and went on.

"Sarah you have learnt much in the last few days, and I am very pleased with your progress. However, there remains the problem of what you want to do?"

"I sir? Is my destiny not mapped out already?" She lay her hands on the old book and turned the pages slowly.

"Yes Sarah, take a closer look at the book you hold in your hands. Do you not see anything untoward about it?"

"Not at first," she replied, turning it over in her hands. "For what clues am I to look?"

"Study the date the book was printed in."

As Sarah turned to the front of the book and scanned the printed letter of introduction, one horrible fact struck her. She dropped the book as if it was on fire and caught her breath.

"It cannot be!" She almost backed away from the volume lying before her.

"Truly it is. For that is the true date the book was issued." Fanshaw allowed himself a smile as he watched the girls reaction.

"But it says it was printed more than 200 years into the future! How can this be?" She turned to the man, expecting an answer. "And do not talk in riddles, but give to me a real answer."

"Think about the problem. If you can travel forward in time; from your own time to this present, then is it not equally possible to travel forward in time from here?"

"This is an aspect of Magic I had not considered." Sarah calmed down and took up the book once more. The shock waning.

"We are in the possession of a great power. To travel through time, and more. I was given this book upon one of my visits to London. Not in 1745, but in 1970. It was presented to me by a Mr Cheesman. An odd fellow, not at all trustworthy, but a member of our Order none the less. So it fell to me that I had cause to speak to him."

"Then what possible business has the Order in the affairs of the future" Sarah flicked through the book and could see now why she had not understood it at first. "Why should we concern ourselves with;" she read the title, "Economic Growth?"

"For in future times, this is how power is dealt with. It will be their all-consuming passion."

"Then it is truly a wicked time. What of the Love of our Lord and of family?"

"Sadly they will be truths held nearer to our own hearts. In the future, the people of the world be mostly concerned with the pleasures of the flesh."

"How repulsive!" Sarah was liking the book less and less.

"Miss Sarah there is one truth which I have to share with you. And that is one of the future." Fanshaw learnt over and tapped the book with a heavy hand. "For here lies your destiny."

"With matters of the money lenders? Did our Lord Jesus not throw them out of the temple?"

"Not just the matters of money, but of the future itself. Here lies your future. This is to be your place. You would not be happy here."

"Truly I would Sir!" she protested.

"You are more than welcome in my house, but the Order feels that you have a greater role in the scheme of things. To that end, they want you to travel into the future."

"Still further. Are one hundred years not enough?"

"There is a great danger lurking in the mists of time. One we cannot face here. We know something of it, but are powerless to act. That is why we have chosen you to combat it."

"I Sir? Do your eyes deceive you, for I am but a young girl?"

"You are more than that. You possess wisdom beyond your years. Judging by your progress these pasts months, I am filled with confidence that you can more than match any challenge you meet along the road."

"What of my feelings? Do I not get to voice my opinion on all of this? Truly I am a woman and here to serve, but it is with a heavy heart that I judge these matters."

"Fear not, our Magical Order is not blind to your emotions. If you truly feel it in your heart to stay, we will abide by that. We would not subject you to dark adventures, which your faith repelled you against. No, we are not cruel by any means."

"Thank you, Sir, for those kind words."

"There bears no pressure to give your answer as yet. We will wait out the rest of the summer and reflect upon these matters presently."

With that, the issue was dropped. Sarah spent the rest of the summer in the Manor House at Ampstwell, and enjoyed her youth.

Her hunger for learning did not diminish. She almost pestered Fanshaw for information on magic and the Order, until the point where he decided to show her some of their secrets.

She was initiated into the Order through a formal ceremony. In the next county, the Order owned a medieval Abbey, which served as the local base of their activities. Secrecy surrounded the place, but nobody bothered them, and their ceremonies went ahead unhindered.

True to say that most people would have looked upon such activities as Black Magic, but secrecy was their watchword, and nobody ever found them out.

Sarah was led into the great hall and saw the circle laid out before her. It filled her with some sadness, for the last time she had witnessed such a formal circle, was the last occasion she has seen her parents. This took her mind off the fact that they were all soon naked.

The ritual did instil in her a great sense of importance. She finally realised how much hope these people had placed upon her and that her role in all this was not simply to be a witness. She would be called on to achieve great things, so how could she hideaway in an obscure Leicestershire village? All this had led up to something, and she would never forgive herself if she wasted this trust. Looking at Fanshaw, robed and standing at the edge of the circle, she realised he knew what she was thinking.

After the ceremony, Sarah met the Heads of the Order. The lamps still flickered on the walls and they gathered in the centre of the room to discuss what had gone on.

"Miss Sarah we graciously accept you into our Order." One of the men smiled at her as the wine was passed around.

"Thank you kindly, sir, I can see that this order has achieved great things."

"Master Fanshaw has told us of your thoughts upon your situation." They possessed the sort of inner strength which told you they were in control.

"I do have fears concerning the future. For I have recently put behind me my fears of the past world, I left behind." Sarah watched them all closely but saw no need to be afraid. "Can I have your word that you will not send me back?"

"My dear child, we would not dream of sending you back to such a hell! No, if it is your wish, you may remain in this time, and live a normal life. We have banished our enemies, and this island faces no immediate threat."

"No immediate threat Sir? Surely one might arise in the future?" Sarah wondered if they would grace her question with an answer.

"There is always some threat rearing its head. We must face facts. But you must be sure of your place in the scheme of things before you take such a great step."

The words rang in Sarah's ears over the next few days. Always in the back of her mind was the worry that things were not quite right. Something in the cosmos was unbalanced and this disturbed her.

Then one day she was walking around the Yew Maze in the Manor garden when she asked Fanshaw a question.

"What happened to the magical tools my Mother and Father used?"

"Why they buried them here in the Maze." Fanshaw looked at the girl and saw that a great worry hung over her.

"For what purpose did they do that?"

"It was the matter of not allowing such powerful tools to fall into enemy hands."

"Then why do you not retrieve them from the earth. For what reason do they lay in the soil Master Fanshaw?"

"They are possessed of a very powerful Magic. More forceful than anything we can conjure today, or in the future." He was worried by the questions but knew they would come someday.