Emalyn's Treasure

  Beggar’s Miracle

  Countenance

  Mother, Can You Hear Me?

  The Transformation of Bitty Brown

  Emalyn’s Treasure

  Copyright © 2013, 2017 Joy Ross Davis

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Windswept

  an imprint of BHC Press

  Library of Congress Control Number:

  2017933760

  Print edition ISBN numbers:

  ISBN-13: 978-1-946006-63-9

  ISBN-10: 1-946006-63-7

  Also available in Trade Softcover

  Visit the author at:

  www.joyrossdavis.com &

  www.bhcpress.com

  Book design by Blue Harvest Creative

  www.blueharvestcreative.com

  With grateful acknowledgment

  to Murray Pura,

  an institution all his own.

  For Kristiaan

  Rest in the arms of angels

  The Lady Emalyn kept her treasure in a cobalt blue box sewn into the cushion of her green velvet chair. She had hidden it there when she was six, and in the fifteen years since, her treasure had remained untouched and unseen by another living soul.

  On the rare occasion when she was alone at night, when her husband Owen traveled to the next town on business, she often whispered, “No, it wouldn’t do. I can’t tell him. I can’t tell anyone.”

  Each morning she ran her hand over the velvet chair. Her treasure, safe inside, caused a slight stiffness in one corner of the cushion. When her family had moved from Dungarran to London in 1926, Emalyn cried until her father agreed to bring along the odd velvet chair, its scalloped back and generous width quite cumbersome. At only eight, the girl—the only child—could bend her father’s will to her own with a tear or two.

  In 1931, her family moved again, the call of their beloved Ireland simply too strong to resist. When they returned, the green chair had journeyed with them and taken its place in Emalyn’s bedroom in her father’s house—Dunaghy Manor—a grand three-story befitting the Earl of Dungarran and his family, a home for which they all felt a special reverence.

  That they were a family blessed by God no one would argue. A personable, wealthy landowner father; a beautiful, gentle and gracious mother; and their only child, the stunning little red-haired beauty named Emalyn, Lady Emalyn to the residents of Dungarran. They had known little sorrow or trouble, and except for the incident involving Emalyn when she was six, their lives had not been touched by tragedy. Their home was a peaceable kingdom abounding in a love that encouraged the very best in all of them, from the father’s almost golden business acumen to the mother’s magic touch in the home and surrounding gardens, and even to Emalyn whose talents flourished as she grew. An extraordinary chocolatier, the stunning beauty bore no detectable effects of the early tragedy, though everyone in town thought she certainly should.

  It was, after all, an encounter that almost took her life.

  In 1934, long after Emalyn’s encounter, the family suffered its first—and most horrific—tragedy. Both father and mother attended a social event, a celebration of the completed construction of Dungarran’s own High Cross. The original had been built in the 1600s and had fallen into ruin. But on this day in 1934, the Earl of Dungarran, along with his lifelong friend Thomas Meade, the cheese maker, both members of the county’s Electric and Water Supply Board, awaited the unveiling of the cross. It would serve as a testament to the growth of Dungarran from a dying village to a thriving township, the seat of the county’s council. The two men, both wealthy in their own right…in part because of their use of electricity and water…commissioned the Celtic, ornately-carved stone cross to be built and placed at the entrance to the town.

  It was, perhaps, one of their proudest days.

  The Lady Emalyn, boxed chocolates in hand and running a little late, hurried along the road toward the celebration, stumbling occasionally on clods of dirt or errant stones caught in the heels of her pumps. Owen Meade, her fiancé, walked happily beside her, often bending to whisper in her ear and see her smile, or lending a hand when she tripped. The quarter-mile walk, which they’d done together many times to deliver cheese and chocolates as gifts to ailing friends, took longer than usual, and by the time they were almost there, a bright light flashed ahead, one neither had never seen before.

  Emalyn and Owen stopped.

  The light pulsed for a moment then went out, followed almost instantly by an explosion that knocked them both to the ground, and when they got to their feet, they felt both shock and an almost overwhelming grief. Not only had the Dunaghy-Meade High Cross been destroyed, but the two of them, at nineteen, were now orphans.

  A year later, they were husband and wife and clung to their love for each other as if it might disappear at any moment. The two of them lived in Dunaghy Manor as the Meade house had been partially destroyed by a second, but less powerful, bomb. That Dunaghy Manor still stood unharmed seemed a miracle to them both.

  Living with them in the Dunaghy house were Fiona and her son, Percy. Fiona had been with the family since shortly after Father and Mother had married. Her own husband had died and left her penniless and starving, so she appealed for help to her dear friend who was now married to the Earl of Dungarran. Immediately, Fiona was employed as housekeeper and never spent another day wracked by cold or hunger.

  When Emalyn was born, Fiona found new purpose in her life. As yet childless, Fiona looked upon sweet Emalyn as the daughter she didn’t have and devoted most of her skills and time to making sure the child felt loved, even adored, a feeling that Fiona herself had never known.

  Emalyn thrived under Fiona’s care, and then Percy entered their lives.

  He changed everything.

  The Lady Emalyn contained her excitement by puttering in the garden and gathering mint for a new recipe in her chocolate making. A rain storm earlier in the day gave the short sprigs a wonderful aroma that she thought might be well received by the many friends who loved her little chocolate candies.

  She gathered a handful of mint, sniffed it, and smiled.

  “Ah, yes,” she whispered, “I shall make some for tonight’s celebration.”

  “And who might you be talking to?” Fiona asked.

  “Myself, I guess,” Emalyn said and laughed. “It’s such a grand day, isn’t it?”

  “Aye, ‘tis that, my girl,” Fiona said and brushed a stray lock of hair from the girl’s face. “And you’ll be lovely, the loveliest one at the party. Imagine that you’ve been married three years already.”

  “The time has flown so quickly that I can hardly believe it. Oh, here,” she said and held the sprigs toward Fiona’s face, “smell this.”

  “Mint, yes, it’s heavenly, but we really don’t need it for tonight’s feast. I have plenty already.”

  “I’m trying a new recipe for my chocolates,” she said. “Fiona?”

  “Yes, dear?”

  “I’ve been thinking about something.” Emalyn fiddled with the handful of mint. “Maybe one day, I could…I might have a little chocolate shop. Is that ridiculous?”

  Fiona smiled.

  “I think it’s brilliant,” Fiona said. “Just brilliant.”

  Just then, Emalyn heard footsteps along the garden pathway. A loud, m
elodious male voice called, “Is it my swan I hear?”

  A smile came across Emalyn’s face, and she called back, “’Tis your swan, my love.”

  Owen stepped from behind the corner of the house. Tall, broad-shouldered, and fair-haired, he wore a white collared shirt, baggy tan trousers, a dark sweater vest, and two-tone Oxfords. The boxing champion for years at their school, he had powerfully muscular arms that never failed to strain the sleeves of his shirts.

  “Just look at my handsome husband. You look as if you’ve just stepped out of the pages of a magazine.”

  “Ah, my swan,” he said and hugged his petite wife tightly to him.

  Fiona waved at him and went back into the kitchen.

  “I’m afraid I look more like an ugly duckling than a swan today,” Emalyn said and smiled up at him. “I’ve been working in the garden. Just look at my Wellies covered in mud.”

  “No, but no. It would take more than a little mud to lessen your stunning beauty.”

  He picked her up in his arms and spun around, the sound of their laughter ringing throughout the many gardens.

  “I am the luckiest man on earth,” he whispered to her, kissing her softly. “And have I told you that swans mate for life? If their partner dies, they could pass away from a broken heart.”

  “Yes, my darling, you’ve told me many times. But nothing will happen to us. We will be together forever,” Emalyn said and kissed him hard on the lips. “Happy Anniversary, my dearest.”

  Owen set her gently on the ground and looked at her quizzically.

  “Anniversary?” he said. “Is that today?”

  Owen clasped his hands behind his back and turned away from her. Then he turned back quickly.

  “You’re sure it’s today? I thought it was next Tuesday. Hmmm,” he said and walked away again. He disappeared behind the side of the house.

  Emalyn narrowed her eyes.

  Now, what is he up to this time?

  “Emalyn, dear, can you come ‘round here for a moment?” Fiona called to her from the side of the house.

  “Fiona, I thought you were in the kitchen. Is something wrong with Owen? I can’t believe it,” she said, shaking her heard. “That man’s forgotten our anniversary again!”

  Emalyn stopped as soon as she saw Owen and Fiona standing together.

  “Happy Anniversary, my little swan,” Owen said and beamed.

  He and Fiona held a beautiful white satin formal gown, with a coral and green floral chiffon overlay on the skirt. Yellow, white, and coral roses lined the neck of the gown with matching ones forming a bouquet at the waist in the back. The gorgeous chiffon draped out into a long train.

  Emalyn gasped and put her hands over her mouth.

  Owen’s smile faded.

  “What’s wrong? Don’t you like it? I…I thought you’d…I thought…”

  His wife moved her hands away from her mouth.

  “I adore it,” she said as tears slid down her face. “Oh, Owen, it’s one of the loveliest gowns I’ve ever seen.”

  Owen handed the dress to Fiona and hugged Emalyn so tightly she could barely breathe.

  “I’m so relieved. For a moment, I thought you hated it.”

  Emalyn stood back, cocked her head to the side, and grinned up at him.

  “Well, you did say you’d forgotten,” she said and batted her eyelashes.

  Owen laughed out loud.

  “I’m taking the dress in now before it gets filthy,” Fiona said. “Mind you, come along so we can get you ready for your big night.”

  “Mammy!” someone called. “Mammy!”

  The three of them turned to see a boy of about twelve walking toward them. Short and stocky, he walked with a pronounced limp. He wore a cap, the bill pulled down low and a nice woolen coat. Blood oozed from his nose, and his right eye was bruised and swollen.

  “Mercy,” Fiona scolded. “What have you been into now? Are you all right, boy?”

  “I’ll take the dress,” Emalyn said and reached out to Fiona. “You tend to Percy.”

  “Got a bitta mud on yer boots, eh?” Percy said. “Imagine the Lady Emalyn with mud on her boots. Wonder what she’d look like with blood on her pretty little skirt?”

  “Hush your mouth, Percy, and get in this house so I can tend to ya,” Fiona said.

  Percy lunged as if he were coming near Emalyn, but Owen stepped in front of her.

  “Go on in the house now,” Owen said, “and let your mammy look after you.”

  Percy balled his fists and swiped at the air close to Owen’s face.

  In one smooth move, Owen swept Emalyn behind his back and moved them both to the side and out of harm’s way. At more than a foot taller than the short but stocky boy, Owen had little trouble.

  Fiona was behind the boy in a split second, her fingers pinching one of his ears.

  “Go on with ya, now. Hear me? You act like an animal when these folks have treated you like family all these years.”

  “Ow,” Percy yelled.

  But Fiona held onto that ear as she dragged the yowling boy into the house.

  “It’s the strap for you, hear me?” she said as they disappeared inside.

  Emalyn, the beautiful dress in her arms, sat in the white wicker rocking chair and folded the dress carefully so that it would not touch the ground. Owen slipped in beside her and put his arm around her narrow shoulders.

  “You’re trembling,” he said. “Don’t be worried, love. The boy’s a rounder, for sure, but I think he’s harmless.”

  “He struck at you, Owen! Percy’s not harmless. He’s always been this way, always looking for trouble, always into scrapes, always sneaking around in the house getting into things. Why, once, years ago, I even found him in my room!”

  “And what was he doing in there? Did he pull all your clothes from the wardrobe? Scatter everything about?”

  Emalyn frowned.

  “Worse,” she said. “Much worse.”

  “Tell me, then. What was he doing?”

  “He was in my chair, Owen, my velvet chair, sitting there running his hands over the cushion.”

  “And what age would he have been, then?”

  “Seven, I think. I can’t remember exactly.”

  Owen got up and pulled Emalyn to her feet.

  “Worry yourself not, my swan. Percy came to you suffering, and though his body has partially healed, his mind and soul are struggling. Something about that boy touches my heart.”

  Emalyn shook her head.

  “I just don’t trust him. He’s just a boy, but he….he frightens me. I can’t explain why.”

  Owen opened the kitchen door for her then kissed her hard on her full lips.

  “All the more reason to be tolerant,” he said and kissed her again. “My beautiful swan. Go now, and put on that lovely dress. Our grand celebration is only a few hours away.”

  Owen bent and picked up a bundle off the ground.

  “Your mint,” he said and handed it to her. “For the special chocolates.”

  “Thank you, my dear. I must have dropped it.”

  Owen tucked a strand of hair behind Emalyn’s ear. “Some special confection for our anniversary?

  “You’ll see,” Emalyn said and winked at him.

  Owen cupped her face in his hands and lifted it gently. “You are the light of my life, the joy of my being.”

  “Tell me,” she said. “Tell me again.”

  Owen chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

  “I am the sun,” he whispered close to her ear. “And you, the moon. Our love is like them both, for the sun loved the moon so much that he died every night just to let her breathe.”

  Emalyn crushed the mint for her candies with a mortar and pestle made of expensive Connemara marble, a gift from her mother and father when she was only eight years old.

  As the rich dark chocolate simmered on the stove, she sprinkled the fine particles into the mixture and added a touch of brandy. She watched carefully to gauge the consiste
ncy and thickness. The sweet aroma filled the downstairs. She removed the mixture from the heat and stirred until it began to temper. Then, with a steady and skilled hand, she poured it into her special molds. She’d chosen her favorites, the ones she had ordered from France, those with small images of a high cross stamped onto the bottom. When she’d filled all three molds, she topped each candy with a tiny white chocolate swan.

  “They’ll be wonderful,” she said and wiped her hands on her apron. She glanced at the fine particles of mint swirled into the bittersweet chocolate and the swan atop each one. “Perfect. My Owen will love them.”

  Tenderly, she moved the molds to the bottom slot of the new Shelvadore refrigerator that Owen had purchased for them only a year ago. Emalyn was especially fond of this new treasure in her kitchen since the door had cooling shelves and there was ample room on the interior shelves, as well. It made her work and Fiona’s so much easier and more efficient.

  “The candies smell wonderful,” Fiona said as she walked into the kitchen. “Wonderful!”

  Emalyn smiled. “The mint and brandy will work well together, I think.”

  “Did you use the high cross molds? And the little swan on top?”

  Emalyn giggled. “You know me too well, Fiona. I hope Owen will be pleased.”

  “He’d be pleased with anything your lovely hands made, my girl.”

  Emalyn wiped her hands again on her apron and tossed a dirty hand towel into the clothes basket in the nook beside the kitchen. Then she untied her apron and dropped it in the basket, too. Without looking at Fiona, she asked about Percy.

  “Oh, that boy,” Fiona said and dropped into a chair. “Sometimes, I think...” her voice trailed off.

  “He’ll be all right,” Emalyn said, still without letting her eyes meet Fiona’s. “You’ve treated him with such loving care. How could he not be all right?”

  “But he cut my time short with you, my girl. He ruined so many things. I know that, and I hope you’ll forgive me if I ever neglected you on account of him, but he….he was just so needy then, as he still is now. Every day, it seems, there’s some new trouble about him. I’ve tried,” she said as tears rolled down her face, “but I feel a sense of failure.”