Danu Page 3

  The tour also included a quick jaunt inside Westminster Abbey where so many British monarchs were coronated or married. King Edward’s chair was really impressive with the “Stone of Scone” built into it. The stone was stolen for a time in 1950 by a group of Scottish college students, but the Scots called it the “Stone of Destiny.”

  All afternoon, images of the statue of Boudica and her daughters invaded my thoughts and made it difficult to pay close attention. It was a relief when we left the last building on the tour. Grammy and I started heading back to the hotel around four. We stopped at a restaurant in the Mayfair area for an early dinner. The prices on the menu appeared extremely high, even if it was a fancy place.

  “Grammy, these prices are crazy,” I whispered. “Twenty five dollars for a piece of fish can’t be right.”

  “The prices on the menu are in English pounds, honey,” Grammy told me. “The meals here are around ten to twelve dollars.”

  “Oh,” I said, still thinking that price was ridiculous. When we checked into the hotel, I saw a sign that had the daily exchange rates for many different countries. If it changed daily, I figured there was no need for me to keep track.

  “I’ve known we were going on this trip for a long time,” Grammy said. “So, when the exchange rate was good, I converted dollars to pounds. That way, we spend less.”

  Between our bellies being full and the travel, we were ready to hit the hay early. Up to this point, we were riding an adrenaline high, but now the yawns were more frequent. We walked to the hotel and went up to our room. Quietly, we changed into our pajamas. Grammy was in her bed reading, so I got under her covers.

  “That statue we saw today near Big Ben,” I started, and then trailed off without finishing my sentence.

  Grammy waited for a little while before asking, “What about it?”

  “Do you know anything about that woman?” I wondered.

  “Yes,” she replied. “Would you like me to tell you what I know? I just want to warn you up front that there will be some history involved.”

  I shook my head up and down as an answer; snuggling up to Grammy like it was time for a bedtime story. Grammy wrapped her arm around me, as I leaned on her shoulder.

  “The woman in the statue is Queen Boudica of the Iceni tribe,” Grammy explained. “It is said that she was from royal descent.” Grammy continued, “She was married to King Prasutagus, and their kingdom was about two and a half hours northeast of where we are right now. It would take them a full day to travel here on horseback.”

  Grammy took a moment to make sure I hadn’t fallen asleep because it was very uncharacteristic for me to let her speak uninterrupted.

  “The Iceni tribe and Rome had a rich trade relationship before Rome’s invasion of Britain. The Iceni craftsmen were well known abroad,” Grammy educated. “For them, and all the other tribes that welcomed the Romans, they were able to retain their power and wealth. In return for peace, the Iceni people had to pay taxes and give everything to Rome when they died.”

  She shook her head, saying, “It really was brilliant. It was conquering without the loss of any men- it would just take some time. The Romans built up the kingdoms that welcomed them, and let other kingdoms in Britain know that this treatment was available to them as well.”

  “Did a lot of other tribes take Rome up on the offer?” I asked.

  “Only a couple,” Grammy informed me. “They were suspicious of the Romans, and rightfully so. When the King of the Iceni tribe died, he willed half of his kingdom to Nero, who was the Emperor of Rome at the time. The other half, he willed between his two daughters. The king acknowledged his debt to Rome, but also wanted to protect Iceni’s future.”

  “Rome was not satisfied with the will, ordering forces to take possession of Iceni. When the soldiers arrived at the palace, Boudica resisted,” Grammy sighed. “Because of the initial resistance, the people of Iceni were now considered a conquered people. For Rome, this meant all captured citizens were instantly slaves.”

  “You mean the day before the people had rights, and all that changed in 24 hours?” I asked. It was hard to understand such a sudden change in circumstance.

  “I’m sure it felt like the blink of an eye to Boudica,” Grammy responded. “The soldiers took Boudica and her two daughters. They tied the daughters to two wooden tables where they were systematically raped by Roman soldiers. Boudica was tied to a post and whipped. It was a means to show dominance and make an example out of them. It would cause other citizens to fear the Romans.”

  The story was troubling…unfair. Outraged, I interjected, “How old were her daughters?! And who told the people in the tribe what had happened?”

  “Well, they were unmarried, and Boudica claimed their chastity was still intact, so most likely around twelve or thirteen,” she answered, “possibly younger. And all of this was done publicly, in a town square of some sort so the people could witness how far their royalty had fallen.”

  “What does chastity mean?” I wondered.

  “It means they were virgins,” Grammy answered. “Most likely, they would wait until marriage to lay with a man. Rome would have done this to prove that the Iceni owned nothing anymore, not even their own bodies.”

  This information made me rise up to a sitting position. Grammy put her hand on my back, and said, “I know, it’s horrifying. During those times, there wasn’t even a word for rape. If a person was a slave, male or female- they were a commodity for use. Beating slaves or using them for sexual gratification was perfectly acceptable because the slaves were not considered human.”

  “The statue made her look so victorious,” I mused, disappointed with reality.

  “Oh, but she was,” Grammy smiled. “If that were the end of the story, I doubt there would be a statue at all. The Iceni people and neighboring areas rose up in rebellion against the Romans, with Boudica as their leader. They laid waste to three different Roman-occupied towns.”

  “Good!” I exclaimed. “What happened to her?”

  “No one knows,” Grammy said. “They believe her forces were defeated, but there is no concrete evidence as to where. There are three different areas where it is believed they fell to the Roman forces.”

  That night I had visions of Boudica’s history until morning. She deserved so much more than a statue.

  Chapter 3- Tracy

  One of my pet peeves was stopping to stay somewhere overnight when it was already dark. If it wasn’t a familiar area, there was no telling what the sun would reveal the next day. However, getting to our destination was priority one, and we had made such good time that we would only have one more day on the road.

  I opened the curtain from our second-story room to reveal the mystery. In the early morning sun, trees were the only thing visible from the window. We had stayed in the back of the motel to help with the traffic noise from the highway. If there was a town around here, it was probably much further off the main road.

  The room didn’t have a coffee maker in it, so sleeping beauty would have to get up soon. Whatever this day would bring, it wasn’t getting started until there was a healthy dose of caffeine ingested.

  “Hey,” I said, shaking Deidra’s bed, “rise and shine.”

  “Wha…what time is it?” she mumbled, barely able to formulate the question.

  “It’s morning time!” I announced too cheerily, even for my own liking.

  Deidra was trying to focus her eyes on the alarm clock. When she glared in my direction, it was apparent she figured out that it was only a little past 5 a.m. Deidra rolled over and said, “This is still night time.”

  “C’mon,” I encouraged. “If we get on the road in an hour, we can reach our destination by nightfall. What was the name of the town again?”

  “Derby Line- it’s right on the border of Canada,” she shared, while rolling back over to face me. “Apparently, people that live there can go into Canada and vice versa. It sounds pretty cool.”

  “Why don’t you get in
the shower first,” I suggested. “I need to call your father. He’s got to be livid.”

  Deidra slowly got her outfit together for the day, making her way to the bathroom. Once she shut the door, a feeling of dread came over me. There was no way to know how the conversation would go with Rick, but he was not going to be pleased. That much was certain.

  I dialed the familiar number. He was groggy when answering, and I hoped that would work in my favor.

  “Hi, Rick,” I nervously started. “I just wanted to call and let you know that we made it.” My palms were sweating at the thought of what would come next.

  “Is everything O.K.?” a female voice chimed in, on the other end of the receiver.

  “Who’s that, Rick?” I asked, my tone changing from apprehension to anger. In the middle of asking the question, it occurred to me that I didn’t care to wait for a response. I slammed the phone down on the receiver.

  The person in the adjoining room knocked on the wall, but there was no sympathy for them. I stood up and smacked the wall right back. It was a disappointment when there was silence, as there was nowhere to funnel more rage.

  The next few minutes brought confusion. I thought there should be more sorrow…more devastation. Granted, a lot had happened in the last few months, but Rick and I shared the last 15 years of our lives together. We had a daughter together. We were still married!

  Then, a vision came to me without any warning. It was so strong that I fell on the bed. My heightened anger must have bypassed how they normally come about, because I tried to suppress it without any luck.

  It was Rick at home, drinking heavily. This must have been last night after he got home from work. My coffee cup was still in the sink, and Rick was wearing the same shirt and tie he wore to work. Music played loudly in the background while the doorbell rang incessantly. It was hard to tell whether or not he could hear it. Finally, in between songs, the doorbell caught his attention.

  Rick bumped into things on his way to the door. When he opened it, he tried to recognize the person on his welcome mat. He wasn’t in any shape to recall things from memory. This was apparent to the visitor as well, so she introduced herself.

  “Are you O.K., Rick?” she asked. She brought her suitcase inside. “Can I make you some coffee?” Rick’s expression still looked puzzled. “We met a couple of days ago. I’m Lorrah,” she said.

  Lorrah explained how she flew out because there was a time-sensitive business opportunity. The apartment she was going to rent wasn’t ready yet. She told Rick that I had invited her to stay during the transition.

  What followed then was hard to watch. Rick and Lorrah drowned their sorrows together. Since I had spoken Conchobar to Rick, he was no longer sure about our future or his feelings for me. And, Lorrah- she knew that Deidra and I had left. Whatever plans she had for us could not be accomplished if we weren’t there. The two of them fell into bed together, laughing. Their problems were forgotten for a night, but the new day would not deny their deeds. A phone call would give them an extra helping of reality.

  My breaths were deep when coming out of this vision. Deidra’s timing could not have been better when she exited the bathroom. I grabbed my clothes for the day and went in to shower, like nothing ever happened. This wasn’t something to share with my daughter.

  Deidra’s bags were already packed and by the door when I got out of the shower. This was the first time there was no need for me to tell Deidra to pack her things or get ready to go. She was maturing so quickly.

  “We need to pay cash for everything, Mom,” Deidra instructed, as she handed me money. “That should be enough for the bill.”

  I took the money and asked, “Why cash?”

  “The credit card purchases can be traced and the last thing we need is to be located. At least, not until we figure out what is going on,” Deidra answered. “I think I have enough for gas and food to get us to Derby Line.”

  “If we leave now, we can be there by two or three this afternoon,” I surmised. “We will need to be on the road for a little over seven hours. Hopefully, the weather holds. There is a snow storm coming, according to a radio program in the car yesterday.”

  I didn’t want to think about what Deidra had said about us being located. Surely, there was no reason for concern. Checking out of our room was quickly accomplished. We were gassed up and on the road in no time. There was a selection of sandwiches and yogurt at the gas station which, along with my coffee, would do just fine for breakfast.

  “So, who is this person we are meeting?” I asked.

  “I’m not 100% sure,” Deidra answered. “I only have an address. There was a woman’s name, too, but I can’t remember.”

  Then, something dawned on me. “You mean this woman doesn’t know we’re coming?” I asked, in disbelief.

  “Nope,” she responded, with no hint of concern. “This is what Grammy wanted. I imagine we’ll get some sort of information when we get to Derby Line. Maybe she’ll say you don’t have to be Ellowee. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

  “Fantastic!” I replied. “Do you think that’s possible?”

  “No,” Deidra answered flatly, looking out the window. I laughed at her terse response. Whatever soft, patient touch Grammy had with me, it was not inherited by Deidra.

  The drive was absolutely beautiful. Even the stress of our impending, unannounced visit was washed away by the scenery. As we continued north, the sky became more overcast. The radio announcer spoke of a snow storm that would hit the entire area with half a foot of snow. In response to this news, I filled the car up with gas one more time, loaded up on snacks for the two of us and prayed for the snow to hold for a few more hours. When we finally pulled into Derby Line, we had only been driving for a half hour in the snow. Not bad at all.

  “What is this woman’s address?” I asked.

  “She lives off of Meadow, on a little street named Bray,” Deidra answered.

  Deidra had the map and navigated us to Meadow, but after that- we were on our own. There was no mapped street called Bray. Thankfully, Meadow was a short street. We drove up and down the dead end street twice until spotting a small sign. It was partway up a driveway and had it been summer, the tree cover would have made it impossible to find. In the smallest numbers and letters was the address: 563 Bray.

  There was no way to know what to expect, as we turned onto Bray. No house was in sight, but we kept driving down the road. After traveling about a quarter of a mile, we came to a beautiful home nestled in the landscape. A line of smoke was rising from the chimney as the snow lighted on the trees. The mix of evergreens and colored leaves on other trees made the scene idyllic.

  We made our way to the door, crunching the leaves underfoot that had already fallen for the season. Both knocking at the door and ringing the doorbell led to the same result- nothing. She’d come back soon because the fire was still burning, but we had no way to know for sure.

  “Well, kiddo. Maybe we go find a hotel in town and try again tomorrow,” I suggested, with no idea how to handle it differently.

  “I guess,” Deidra relented. The disappointment in her voice was palatable. And as much as the unknown of this visit horrified me, I was let down as well.

  We hopped back in the car, making our way toward Meadow. The beams of headlights were coming around one turn. I slowed and put my high beams on; in hopes it would increase our visibility to the other vehicle.

  We were soon nose to nose with a big pickup truck. Both sets of wipers were going, and we could make out two people in the truck. A man was driving with a woman passenger. The pickup truck was a stereotype of the area, but the man wearing a plaid shirt made me crack a smile.

  “What was her name, Deidra?” I asked, as I waved.

  “I wish I could remember,” she answered.

  If the passenger was the woman that was expecting us, she was acting a little strangely, squinting to make out who we were. The falling snow was impeding a clear view. We had never met each other, so when she
shrieked, smiled and jumped out of the truck coming toward us- we were a little wary.

  I rolled down the window.

  She bent down, still smiling. “I’ve never been happier to see anyone,” she stated. “Welcome. You are cousins of mine if anyone asks. My husband knows that we have been expecting you both, but we had no idea when you were coming. You are staying with us,” she spoke quickly. “Turn the car around and go back to our house. Does anyone know you’re here?”

  “No,” I answered, trying to decipher any clue to who she could be. “What’s your name, cousin?”

  “Tracy,” she whispered. She smacked the top of the car. “Glad no one knows where you’ve gone! You’ve done well,” she exclaimed.

  Tracy went back to the truck. She was tall, carrying just a little extra weight to keep her warm during the cold winters in Vermont. She jumped back up in the truck like she had done it a million times. The extra weight didn’t slow her down a bit.

  Deidra and I looked at each other. It now worried me that no one knew we were here. I backed the car up and turned off the road when there was a clearing. Following them back to the house, this whole trek became a questionable choice. However, Grammy led us here. She cared for me more than anyone, so I would trust her guidance.

  Everyone got out of their vehicles. Tracy lifted up the cover to the pickup bed to grab bags of groceries. “Muriel and Deidra,” Tracy announced, “this is my husband, Tom. Tom, this is Muriel and her daughter Deidra.”

  Tom was a tall drink of water and rail thin. Other than their stereotypical plaid shirts, they couldn’t look more different. Tracy’s thick, jet black hair was quite a contrast to Tom’s thinning, sandy-colored hair.

  “Nice to meet you,” Tom said. “Would you mind helping us with all these groceries? The piastre was weak these past few days, so it was a good time to get supplies. It would have been a perfect day if there was no snow.”