William sent another message over the pipes announcing Supper. He was becoming quite concerned; that Jacob in particular, had not arrived to the Dining Hall yet, as everyone was waiting for him to preside.
Jacob waved his hand toward the pipes, and asked Vincent, “Send a message telling them to begin without us…won’t you? There is something about this chamber, I must tell you.”
Vincent obediently sent a message back to William, as his Father requested, and then quizzically, he tipped his head to the side, as he wondered what it was his Father could possibly have to tell him, about this chamber! This chamber Vincent had personally chosen to prepare for his Catherine.
As Jacob stood, he began to pace a bit before he explained, "This chamber Vincent...I must inform you...that you have been here before. The other day when you walked in after the tunnel had been cleared, well...it was not the first time you had been inside these chamber walls.”
Vincent shook his head, feeling confused at what Jacob was trying to tell him. Defiantly Vincent said, "Father you said yourself, when we were children, you purposefully kept the knowledge of the these chambers existence, hidden from us! Until the other day...I have never been here before!"
Jacob looked up at Vincent, and nodded a sorrowful "Yes" and said, "Yes...you were Vincent. You slept here...as a new born babe."
Vincent searched his memory, of all Jacob had told him about his first days in the tunnels. He knew Jacob ended up raising him, after Anna died…after Anna had…died!
Growing more and more curious, Vincent pleaded, "Father what are you telling me about this chamber? Out with it Please!"
Jacob slowly began, "This was Anna Pater's chamber. After she found you, she cared for you here. This was your first home here in the tunnels. I can’t be certain of course, but I am almost certain, that, why yes I do believe I saw a spark in you eye, the moment you walked in here the other day...as if somehow…you had remembered this place."
Vincent stepped back in astonishment, at what his Father had just told him. This would maybe explain the connection Vincent felt to this particular chamber. Perhaps subconsciously…he somehow…had remembered it.
Vincent hesitated a moment, before he asked, "Did Anna die here?"
Jacob shook his head, and said, "No Vincent…not here. Anna grew very ill here however, and we all visited her within this chamber.”
Jacob then angrily added, “When her husband John Pater would allow us that is!” Jacob thought back on that time and relayed, “I am not sure Anna had ever physically recovered from the heartbreaking event of her miscarriage.”
Jacob sadly smiled at Vincent, as he relayed, “Then she found you, and seemed to rally a bit. Ah Vincent…you were the light of her life!”
He looked upward, as he sadly explained, “Anna took a turn, and steadily declined, and continued to grow weak. Needless to say…well my concern was not only for Anna, but for you as well.”
Vincent clarified, “You were concerned for me because of Anna’s illness?”
Jacob nodded, and answered, “Oh yes. She was quite ill, and I knew it was difficult for her to take care of you. Though she wanted to…and she tried. She tried very hard.”
Dreamily, he recalled, “John had grown quite secretive by then. He had somehow twisted things in his mind. He viewed you as the son Anna had miscarried.”
Jacob stepped closer to Vincent as he explained, “Anna confidentially asked me to care for you. To tell John for her, that it would be I, who would look after you during her illness.”
Jacob thought back to that day, and he told Vincent, “When I approached John with this plan, and suggested that I, along with others, would take care of you until Anna was better…well John grew quite angry at me.”
Jacob raised his voice and continued, “When I assured John that…Yes indeed we were taking you to my chamber, and I refused to take “no” for an answer…he…well he turned cold and very bitter toward me. But I had to honor Anna, and fulfill her wishes! I could see Anna was growing more fragile, and John, well suffice it to say, John seemed to lack any kind of paternal instincts. And so we came here united…to this chamber, and we took you!”
Vincent sighed, “That must have been hard on Anna, to plan against her husband for my welfare.”
Jacob nodded, “It was Vincent, it was. In spite of everything, she loved John. But she loved you too, and wanted what was best for you regardless, of the turmoil this stance against John would cause.”
Vincent bent his head, and sadly said, “Anna must have been a very giving woman.”
Jacob nodded and soundly said, “Yes…she was. She was selfless and so loving, and in a meek manner, she was very strong as well. Though she was too weak to orchestrate the plan herself, she found a way through me, to insure your care.”
Vincent tipped his head to the side as he asked, “What was her actual illness Father?”
Jacob turned his back to Vincent, so his son could not see the guilt within his eyes, as he answered, “No one quite knew…”
Vincent stood behind Jacob, as he asked him, “What do you mean no one knew, Father? You were a doctor! Surely you had an idea…”
Jacob butted in as he bellowed mournfully, “No one knew Vincent, not I, nor Peter…we didn’t know, complications from the miscarriage perhaps. We…we had our suspicions, and I treated her until John distanced me from her. Officially…I could never find out the cause for her weakened condition. I never diagnosed her with any treatable illness.”
Jacob then resignedly said, “John had clearly gone mad by this time, and one night he secretly took Anna away. He took her deep within our tunnel structure to the catacombs. That is where she died Vincent. She died before any of us could help her."
Astoundingly, Vincent asked, “The Catacombs? How did you ever find her there Father?”
Jacob answered, “Narcissa. She tapped out a message of their whereabouts via our pipe system, the system which John had developed. So unfortunately…he knew we were coming. He left before we got there. And Anna, well Anna was gone. We were too late to help her.”
Vincent put his hand on his Father’s shoulder, and softly said, “But you tried.”
Jacob nodded, “Oh yes we tried, but all of us thought we should have been able to do something more to help that poor woman. She had died there alone, so we buried her there, and the catacombs became her final resting place.”
Vincent looked at his Father, and thought how sad and tired he seemed after telling him this story of how Anna tragically died, explained Vincent's rescue as a helpless baby, and of his regret, as a perplexed Physician.
Vincent had so much gratitude and love in his heart for this man, who had saved him so long ago, from the legendary madman of the tunnels…Paracelsus, and wanted to say something to ease Jacob's guilt ridden pain. And so he lovingly said, “You gave up much for me, Father. How can I ever express my love for what you did?”
Jacob looked at Vincent, and his thin lips formed a shaky trembling smile, as he said, “You do thank me Vincent…everyday. You have been a wonderful son. You have never disappointed me, and I have never regretted doing, what needed to be done.”
Vincent shook his head, because he was truly without words, and so with an embrace, he expressed the gratitude within his heart.
As the two parted, they looked at one another with tears brimming in their eyes. Jacob with great sentiment, smiled as he reminisced, “When Anna first found you, and brought you to me…you were so cold, and near death. She put you in my arms, and I truthfully feared the worse! But then you looked up at me with those magnificent blue eyes of yours…Vincent you touched my heart. And Anna and I looked at each other, knowing we were both victims, because you had captured both of our hearts that day.”
Vincent touched his own chest, that housed his over-flowing heart! Vincent held back his emotions the best he could from his husky voice, as he asked softly, “Father, so Anna did love me?”
Jacob stood before his son, and said defiantly “Oh yes Vincent. Make no mistake about it. Anna loved you as much as any woman could love a child born from her own flesh! Anna loved you very much Vincent…very much indeed.”
Vincent felt a tear fall from his eye, as he told Jacob, “I always mourned Anna, as my Mother. She made it possible for me to accept I would never know who my biological mother was.”
Jacob wept too, as he assured him, “It is right you mourn Anna as your deceased Mother. For no woman loved a child more than she loved you.”
Vincent looked at his Father, and a smile came to his eyes, as he looked around the chamber and said, “I love knowing Catherine will be living here in Anna’s old Chamber. I believe Anna would like that as well.”
Jacob nodded and said, “I doubt it not Vincent…I am sure she would.”
The two men stood together, the Father put a loving arm around his Son, and the Son put a helping arm around his Father, and without a word, they left for the Dining Hall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, “Taxi…Taxi…Oh my, it is harder to get a cab here in Toledo, than it is in New York!”
An exasperated Catherine huffed a bit as she decided to call Mr. Benson’s Attorney, Agnes Hayes once more. Agnes was supposed to pick up Catherine ½ hour ago! “Darn! Still no answer!”
Catherine decided to rent a car so at least, she wouldn’t be stranded here in this small but very quaint Toledo Express Airport! As Catherine looked about she thought, “Well at least they do have a snack bar, and oh my yes…they even have a magazine stand!”
Just then, she was approached by a very perky, yet slightly inebriated woman! “Hi, are you that Hot
Shot Lawyer from New York?”
Catherine nodded and corrected, “Well I am the Assistant D.A. from New York.”
As Catherine set down her luggage, she shook the woman’s hand, and said, “I am Catherine Chandler.”
The woman apologized, saying, “I am so sorry to be late. I lost track of time. I met some friends at Loma Linda’s for a few margarit…uh…uh Nacho’s, and now look…I am late!”
As the woman saw the Hertz rental literature in Catherine’s hands, she said, “Oh great, I see you rented a car. My friends just dropped me off here. They didn’t think I should drive! Can you imagine?”
Catherine smiled and said, “Well just point the way Agnes, and I will get us there.”
The woman shockingly said, “Oh I am not Agnes, I am her daughter Bernadette! Mom sent me here to meet you. When she hears I botched this up, she will kill me!”
Catherine smiled as she lowered her head, and offered, “Well, I won’t tell her if you don’t!”
Bernadette looked at her, and thankfully said, “That’s a deal! Well shall we go?”
To be continued
Chapter Four
Visit my page, America United! A small tribute to our great country and to all of its inspiring heroes.
Jacob waved his hand toward the pipes, and asked Vincent, “Send a message telling them to begin without us…won’t you? There is something about this chamber, I must tell you.”
Vincent obediently sent a message back to William, as his Father requested, and then quizzically, he tipped his head to the side, as he wondered what it was his Father could possibly have to tell him, about this chamber! This chamber Vincent had personally chosen to prepare for his Catherine.
As Jacob stood, he began to pace a bit before he explained, "This chamber Vincent...I must inform you...that you have been here before. The other day when you walked in after the tunnel had been cleared, well...it was not the first time you had been inside these chamber walls.”
Vincent shook his head, feeling confused at what Jacob was trying to tell him. Defiantly Vincent said, "Father you said yourself, when we were children, you purposefully kept the knowledge of the these chambers existence, hidden from us! Until the other day...I have never been here before!"
Jacob looked up at Vincent, and nodded a sorrowful "Yes" and said, "Yes...you were Vincent. You slept here...as a new born babe."
Vincent searched his memory, of all Jacob had told him about his first days in the tunnels. He knew Jacob ended up raising him, after Anna died…after Anna had…died!
Growing more and more curious, Vincent pleaded, "Father what are you telling me about this chamber? Out with it Please!"
Jacob slowly began, "This was Anna Pater's chamber. After she found you, she cared for you here. This was your first home here in the tunnels. I can’t be certain of course, but I am almost certain, that, why yes I do believe I saw a spark in you eye, the moment you walked in here the other day...as if somehow…you had remembered this place."
Vincent stepped back in astonishment, at what his Father had just told him. This would maybe explain the connection Vincent felt to this particular chamber. Perhaps subconsciously…he somehow…had remembered it.
Vincent hesitated a moment, before he asked, "Did Anna die here?"
Jacob shook his head, and said, "No Vincent…not here. Anna grew very ill here however, and we all visited her within this chamber.”
Jacob then angrily added, “When her husband John Pater would allow us that is!” Jacob thought back on that time and relayed, “I am not sure Anna had ever physically recovered from the heartbreaking event of her miscarriage.”
Jacob sadly smiled at Vincent, as he relayed, “Then she found you, and seemed to rally a bit. Ah Vincent…you were the light of her life!”
He looked upward, as he sadly explained, “Anna took a turn, and steadily declined, and continued to grow weak. Needless to say…well my concern was not only for Anna, but for you as well.”
Vincent clarified, “You were concerned for me because of Anna’s illness?”
Jacob nodded, and answered, “Oh yes. She was quite ill, and I knew it was difficult for her to take care of you. Though she wanted to…and she tried. She tried very hard.”
Dreamily, he recalled, “John had grown quite secretive by then. He had somehow twisted things in his mind. He viewed you as the son Anna had miscarried.”
Jacob stepped closer to Vincent as he explained, “Anna confidentially asked me to care for you. To tell John for her, that it would be I, who would look after you during her illness.”
Jacob thought back to that day, and he told Vincent, “When I approached John with this plan, and suggested that I, along with others, would take care of you until Anna was better…well John grew quite angry at me.”
Jacob raised his voice and continued, “When I assured John that…Yes indeed we were taking you to my chamber, and I refused to take “no” for an answer…he…well he turned cold and very bitter toward me. But I had to honor Anna, and fulfill her wishes! I could see Anna was growing more fragile, and John, well suffice it to say, John seemed to lack any kind of paternal instincts. And so we came here united…to this chamber, and we took you!”
Vincent sighed, “That must have been hard on Anna, to plan against her husband for my welfare.”
Jacob nodded, “It was Vincent, it was. In spite of everything, she loved John. But she loved you too, and wanted what was best for you regardless, of the turmoil this stance against John would cause.”
Vincent bent his head, and sadly said, “Anna must have been a very giving woman.”
Jacob nodded and soundly said, “Yes…she was. She was selfless and so loving, and in a meek manner, she was very strong as well. Though she was too weak to orchestrate the plan herself, she found a way through me, to insure your care.”
Vincent tipped his head to the side as he asked, “What was her actual illness Father?”
Jacob turned his back to Vincent, so his son could not see the guilt within his eyes, as he answered, “No one quite knew…”
Vincent stood behind Jacob, as he asked him, “What do you mean no one knew, Father? You were a doctor! Surely you had an idea…”
Jacob butted in as he bellowed mournfully, “No one knew Vincent, not I, nor Peter…we didn’t know, complications from the miscarriage perhaps. We…we had our suspicions, and I treated her until John distanced me from her. Officially…I could never find out the cause for her weakened condition. I never diagnosed her with any treatable illness.”
Jacob then resignedly said, “John had clearly gone mad by this time, and one night he secretly took Anna away. He took her deep within our tunnel structure to the catacombs. That is where she died Vincent. She died before any of us could help her."
Astoundingly, Vincent asked, “The Catacombs? How did you ever find her there Father?”
Jacob answered, “Narcissa. She tapped out a message of their whereabouts via our pipe system, the system which John had developed. So unfortunately…he knew we were coming. He left before we got there. And Anna, well Anna was gone. We were too late to help her.”
Vincent put his hand on his Father’s shoulder, and softly said, “But you tried.”
Jacob nodded, “Oh yes we tried, but all of us thought we should have been able to do something more to help that poor woman. She had died there alone, so we buried her there, and the catacombs became her final resting place.”
Vincent looked at his Father, and thought how sad and tired he seemed after telling him this story of how Anna tragically died, explained Vincent's rescue as a helpless baby, and of his regret, as a perplexed Physician.
Vincent had so much gratitude and love in his heart for this man, who had saved him so long ago, from the legendary madman of the tunnels…Paracelsus, and wanted to say something to ease Jacob's guilt ridden pain. And so he lovingly said, “You gave up much for me, Father. How can I ever express my love for what you did?”
Jacob looked at Vincent, and his thin lips formed a shaky trembling smile, as he said, “You do thank me Vincent…everyday. You have been a wonderful son. You have never disappointed me, and I have never regretted doing, what needed to be done.”
Vincent shook his head, because he was truly without words, and so with an embrace, he expressed the gratitude within his heart.
As the two parted, they looked at one another with tears brimming in their eyes. Jacob with great sentiment, smiled as he reminisced, “When Anna first found you, and brought you to me…you were so cold, and near death. She put you in my arms, and I truthfully feared the worse! But then you looked up at me with those magnificent blue eyes of yours…Vincent you touched my heart. And Anna and I looked at each other, knowing we were both victims, because you had captured both of our hearts that day.”
Vincent touched his own chest, that housed his over-flowing heart! Vincent held back his emotions the best he could from his husky voice, as he asked softly, “Father, so Anna did love me?”
Jacob stood before his son, and said defiantly “Oh yes Vincent. Make no mistake about it. Anna loved you as much as any woman could love a child born from her own flesh! Anna loved you very much Vincent…very much indeed.”
Vincent felt a tear fall from his eye, as he told Jacob, “I always mourned Anna, as my Mother. She made it possible for me to accept I would never know who my biological mother was.”
Jacob wept too, as he assured him, “It is right you mourn Anna as your deceased Mother. For no woman loved a child more than she loved you.”
Vincent looked at his Father, and a smile came to his eyes, as he looked around the chamber and said, “I love knowing Catherine will be living here in Anna’s old Chamber. I believe Anna would like that as well.”
Jacob nodded and said, “I doubt it not Vincent…I am sure she would.”
The two men stood together, the Father put a loving arm around his Son, and the Son put a helping arm around his Father, and without a word, they left for the Dining Hall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, “Taxi…Taxi…Oh my, it is harder to get a cab here in Toledo, than it is in New York!”
An exasperated Catherine huffed a bit as she decided to call Mr. Benson’s Attorney, Agnes Hayes once more. Agnes was supposed to pick up Catherine ½ hour ago! “Darn! Still no answer!”
Catherine decided to rent a car so at least, she wouldn’t be stranded here in this small but very quaint Toledo Express Airport! As Catherine looked about she thought, “Well at least they do have a snack bar, and oh my yes…they even have a magazine stand!”
Just then, she was approached by a very perky, yet slightly inebriated woman! “Hi, are you that Hot
Shot Lawyer from New York?”
Catherine nodded and corrected, “Well I am the Assistant D.A. from New York.”
As Catherine set down her luggage, she shook the woman’s hand, and said, “I am Catherine Chandler.”
The woman apologized, saying, “I am so sorry to be late. I lost track of time. I met some friends at Loma Linda’s for a few margarit…uh…uh Nacho’s, and now look…I am late!”
As the woman saw the Hertz rental literature in Catherine’s hands, she said, “Oh great, I see you rented a car. My friends just dropped me off here. They didn’t think I should drive! Can you imagine?”
Catherine smiled and said, “Well just point the way Agnes, and I will get us there.”
The woman shockingly said, “Oh I am not Agnes, I am her daughter Bernadette! Mom sent me here to meet you. When she hears I botched this up, she will kill me!”
Catherine smiled as she lowered her head, and offered, “Well, I won’t tell her if you don’t!”
Bernadette looked at her, and thankfully said, “That’s a deal! Well shall we go?”
To be continued
Chapter Four
Visit my page, America United! A small tribute to our great country and to all of its inspiring heroes.
| Dreams of Gold! By Sharon Holtz Chapter Three |
