Narrator's Foreword

 

As has been noted before in this chronicle, the storm that ravaged Mathomdale that fateful summer has long been accorded a symbolic, almost mythical, status in the story of the Line of the Goddess. It has been endlessly used as a metaphor for the greater events which accompanied it and few popular histories of those events manage to resist the temptation to describe it in well-worn clichés. It was, so the narrative will have it, a watershed event; a dividing line between an old age and a new as if it were some punctuation mark before the beginning of a new chapter. It is frequently recounted as the defining moment when everything changed in Mathomdale, almost as if it were the storm itself, that was responsible for the very renaissance of the House of Mathom that followed. Some more fanciful narrators have even gone so far as to assert that the storm itself was a necessary evil; some elemental force that picked up all the pieces in the game, mixed them in the maelstrom and then cast them back to earth to fall into new and unpredicted patterns.

It is, of course, an overly simplistic view largely attributable to a culture's love of its symbolism and legends. The storm was not the cause of the strange new world that began to emerge in its aftermath. For those who care to examine the facts in detail, it is plain that winds of change had been blowing in Mathomdale and beyond long before the infamous hurricane added its force to the breeze. Indeed, by the time of the storm's occurrence, change was already in plain evidence. The storm merely acted to crystallise that change; to underline an ongoing reality and imbibe it with more urgent imperative. It is, one is forced to concede, an inescapable conclusion that change would have occurred even without the intervention of nature in the process. It was just one of many storms, after all, and not even the most important. Change was inevitable or at least inevitable if the House of Mathom were to survive in a world that was itself in a state of change.

It is natural, of course, that historians seek cusp moments, clear defining lines and critical junctures to hang their analyses of events upon but the truth is that there was not one single event that could be truly identified as that definitive factor that summer. Instead there were a series of colliding occurrences whose sum total precipitated the revolution in the House of Mathom. The more sentimental have pin-pointed the arrival of the junior Lady Jennifer in Mathomdale as the critical moment and, given her enormous importance in the coming future of the Line of the Goddess, it is tempting to do so. Certainly it was around the Lady Jennifer that the kernel of the new generation of the House of Mathom began to form and her rejuvenating impact upon the moribund dynasty is well documented. It is unlikely, however, that her influence would have been so profound had she not arrived at a time when the Line faced the twin crises of global war and the discovery of Prophecy One. It was rather the correlation in time of these disparate factors that swept in the new order and the great storm was merely an accompaniment to an already climactic chain of events.

Even accepting all this, there was, nevertheless, one moment that seems in retrospect to have been of significant importance and that was largely the action taken by Lady Mathom in the wake of the storm. Some historians have tended to overlook or at least understate the Lady's influence in the forging of the new age. She is often portrayed almost as a passenger or passive witness to events beyond her control and that she merely ceded the field to the new age rather than purposely acted to bring it about. This, as this narrative will hopefully demonstrate, is a deeply flawed analysis. She was still the undisputed Empress of the Line and nothing would have occurred without her will. It was that will that was in evidence as Mathomdale struggled to recover from the ravages of the storm and that will that ultimately brought together the pieces of the new age and birthed them in such glory.

Perhaps the reason why the Lady's decisive action has been underestimated is that it seemed, even at the time, to have been so spontaneous and unplanned. Certainly it caught nearly everybody by surprise and was so radical that some may have even questioned whether she was in a fit state of mind to make such a decision. There were, without question, some who thought her actions impulsive and more driven by emotion than sober calculation. Again such a view misses the point.

In the final analysis, the Lady had ever been ruled by the imperatives of her heart. For all her political genius and mastery of leadership, she had always led her empire with love and she was not about to change the habits of her incalculably long life now. In her junior counterpart, she had early recognised a worthy successor to that brand of leadership, a figurehead that could command the same devotion, and, once she had done so, she worked tirelessly to promote it. Her startling decision in the days just after the storm has to been seen in this context. It was not an impetuous or hasty decision but rather simply the public enunciation of the plans she had been carefully nurturing all summer long. That the decision caught so many by surprise was simply due to the fact that few could match her in wisdom or were as quick to see such a glittering future. We can only, in retrospect, be astonished by her insight and marvel in awe at the brilliance of the vision she revealed.

It would, of course, take more years for her great plan to come to full fruition but we can perceive, in that week, when a shocked Mathomdale could see no further than the dreary wreckage of the storm, the moment at which the Empress unveiled her vision of the future before the astonished eyes of her subjects. It was the moment at which the new dynasty may be safely be said to have been born and the moment at which the greatest woman of our House held out the torch of her own leadership to a new generation.

 

Chapter One

 

A fanciful person may have said that Mathom Hall was a sort of Arc of refuge on the night of the great storm and, whereas the wild animals of the valley were not exactly making their way two by two to its sanctuary in the floods, then at least there seemed to be a discernible migration of people toward it who would be significant in the new world to be forged beyond the ravages of the flood. One person, to begin with, was on his way home to the Hall. Farmer Carlton dropped Daniel and Nadif off on the main square in Mathom a little before lunchtime. Daniel regarded the dreary desolation of the beautiful village in distaste. "By there's a bloody job o' cleanin' up ter be done 'ere." was his comment.

Nadif grinned sheepishly. "It not so bad sah. Hey dey some village go look worse than this all de time in dis my country."

Daniel laughed feeling uplifted by the young African boy's unquenchable optimism. "Well come on then. We'd better find out where you belong lad."

"I not know no more sah. Dey done have me in this hostel small, small way from where you find me sah but I thinking this hostel he gonna be under water too much now sah. I not know where to go."

"Oh 'ell. Well yer'd better come back wi' me ter t' 'All until we can sort you out lad."

"This Hall sah? This de place where you go live?"

"That's right."

"'E go have place for me sah if de hostel go be under water?"

"I think we might just find a corner fer yer ter kip in lad. It's only a miserable little 'ovel though so I 'ope yer won't mind bein' too cramped."

"No sah. I done share a bed with two brothers in dis my home in Africa. I not mind."

"Aye well I'm glad yer used ter poverty and destitution lad. Mathom 'All's a bit derelict an' minging yer know; nowt much more than an old shack really."

"'E go be far dis shack sah?"

"It's a fair walk but wi a bit o' luck we might be able ter 'itch a ride. Come on then." Daniel's optimism was not unfounded for they had barely got to the outskirts of the village before a heavy military truck lumbered up the road behind them. Daniel jumped into the road and flagged the vehicle down. "Ere lads!" he shouted, Daniel Foreman-Mathom 'ere, attached ter t' First Battalion o' t' Amethyst Guard. Any chance ov a lift up ter t' 'All?"

The driver recognised Daniel. "Aye sir. Hop in. We're off that way oursens."

"Cheers." Daniel and Nadif clambered into the front seats of the truck beside the driver. A few minutes later they were pulling onto a temporary parking space between the colossal front facade of the Hall and the Great Lake. Nadif dismounted from the vehicle in disbelief his eyes rolling comically as he regarded the overwhelming majesty of the great Hall towering above the lawns sweeping down toward them. Daniel put an arm around his shoulders. "Well lad. This is Mathom 'All where I live. What d'yer think?"

Nadif was having trouble articulating. "It no go be true. I go be dreaming."

Daniel laughed. "Well I know it's not much ter look at but I 'ope yer don't mind slumming it fer a while."

"Wah! I no can go in there sah."

"'Course yer can lad." Daniel clapped the young man on the shoulder blades. "Away now. Wait till yer meet t' lady wot owns t' place."

 

Chapter Two

 

Up at Waterstone House there were more decisions being taken for an exodus to Mathom Hall although in this case the journey promised to be one less inviting of pleasant reunification. Eleanor's two adored English Pointers were currently residing in the kennels in the barn much to the disgust of a pair of dogs that considered they had a canine right to the usage of the family furniture indoors. Had there been an area of the interior of the house that had been designated as the doghouse however, it was undoubtedly that space now being occupied by the three shamefaced, penitent young ladies of Eugene's nascent household. The clouds of recriminations and accusations were forming a palpable shadow over Mali, Ana and Vesna as they huddled together on a sofa in the big lounge in collective shame under the ceaseless vigilance of Eleanor's two senior slaves. Andrea was pacing up and down restlessly in front of the fire place in some agitation whilst Sandra, leaning up against the windows with her arms folded, regarded the three girls severely. "I just can't believe you three." Andrea was saying for about the fiftieth time that morning. "Bloody Ellie's going to go mental when she hears about this. Why nobody was killed I'll never know."

"We solly." said Mali in a small voice. The girls had been repeating that apology monotonously all morning.

"Sorry? You're sorry! That's nothing to how sorry me and Sandy are going to be once Ellie gets her hands on us. We were supposed to be looking after you and the minute we take our eyes off you decide to re-enact the siege of bloody Stalingrad. I nearly crapped myself! I thought world war three had broken out or something. Bloody Mali redecorating the top landing whilst Vesna riddled the whole house with sodding holes." Andrea jerked a thumb at Ana. "I hope there was nothing you wanted to watch on satellite telly for a while Sandy because little Miss Lyudmila Pavlichenko here decided to realign the sodding satellite dish with a barrel full of twelve bore shot." Ana lowered her eyes in a less than convincing display of penitence.

Sandra glanced out of the window. "Mr Barnes and the boys are coming back Andy."

"Good maybe we'll get some news."

Mr Barnes leaned his shotgun against the wall in the hallway and strode through into the front lounge. "Well," he began, "there's no sign of them whoever they were. There's a trail ov 'orse muck leading out ovver t' garden walls ter t' yon side o' t' 'ouse and then they seem to 'ave vanished. There's no sign o' that van what nearly run our Dick over either. They can't be anywhere round 'ere now. We've thirty or forty men scouring t' countryside 'tween 'ere an' Marveaux." The girl's fusillade had woken up the entire neighbourhood and since dawn every neighbouring farm or other residence was fully armed and mobilised. "They must 'ave scarpered." Mr Barnes continued. "Not much we can do about it while t' phones are down. Two lads 'are trying ter drive down to Mathom to alert t' police but by what we're 'earing on t' radio t' police in Mathom 'll 'ave their 'ands full fer t' moment."

Andrea snorted in disgust. "Well this is just great. Now what are we supposed to do? We can't just sit around here while some unknown assailants are trying to storm the bloody house."

"Are yer sure it were owt ter do with this fellah Ellie was on about?" asked Mr Barnes. "Seems a bit of an amateurish job ter me. Might just o' bin a couple o' burglars." Mr Barnes nodded at the sombre trio on the sofa. "Took off right sharpish when Wyatt Earp, Doc 'Olliday an' t' Sundance Kid 'ere opened up on 'em."

"Do you think the girls winged any of them Mr Barnes?" asked Sandra.

"Don't look like it. No blood anywhere that I can see. I'd say they probably escaped unhurt." Mr Barnes chuckled softly. "Less of course yer count five tons ov 'orse shit as a serious injury."

"Well I don't like it." declared Andrea firmly. "We can't just sit around here. They could still come back and we can hardly expect all the neighbours to spend the day forming a cordon around the house. Ellie and Eugene might not get back until tonight. Goddess! Wait till Eugene hears about this night's bloody escapades. I imagine you three girls will have some bloody fast explaining to do."

"Yer welcome ter come over an' stay at our place if it makes you feel any safer." Mr Barnes offered.

Andrea shook her head. "We can't do that Mr Barnes. We'd be just putting your household in danger and anyway you've got a farm to run."

"The only other alternative is that we take the car and drive to the Hall sis." suggested Andrea.

"What about the roads? They're saying on the radio that there's flooding all over the lower valley round Mathom."

"We don't have to go near Mathom. We'll take the top road over Dunningstone Pass and come round to the Hall over the fells from the north."

"I dunno sis. It's a bit lonely, the road over Dunningstone Pass. We could be a bit exposed up there."

"I think that's probably t' best idea." declared Mr Barnes. "I'll get a couple o' gangs o' lads an' a pair o' pick-ups ter escort yer. Yer'll come to no 'arm that way."

"Hang about." protested Andrea, "There's a major security alert around the Hall at the moment. We'll never get into the Hall accompanied by two truck-loads of men armed to the teeth."

"They only have to get us as far as the main gates sis." Sandra pointed out, "We'll be alright beyond there on our own. Nothing's going to happen to us in the grounds of the Hall."

Andrea bit her lip in hesitation. "Do you think this is the best idea sis? What will the Lady think?"

"Andy honey the Lady bloody commanded Debbie to the Hall at the merest hint of danger. This is far more serious. We've actually suffered an attack. She'd expect us to seek refuge at the Hall straight away and so would Ellie. Then we've got these three to worry about. Eugene will want them safe. I know they're murderous little psychopathic villains that no assassin in his right mind would go anywhere near but we've still the responsibility of ensuring their safety. I say we take them to the Hall so Eugene can chain them up nice and safely in some dingy dungeon somewhere where they can't get their hands on any bloody weapons."

Andrea thought for a moment. "Ok we'll do it. We'll go and throw ourselves on the mercy of Mathom Hall."

"Hey we go see the Tsarina's palace?" asked Ana, her eyes brightening.

"I wouldn't get too enthusiastic about the idea if I were you Ana." Andrea told her sourly. "After Ellie and Eugene have finished beating the bloody Goddess out of us the Lady might decide not to spoil the ship for want of a ha'porth of tar and finish the job by giving us all a stout thrashing on her own behalf." But Ana and her sisters refused to look downhearted and their eyes were alive with glee at the thought of seeing the Lady once more only this time in her own home. "Come on then girls." said Andrea with a snort. "Let's go and pack a few things. Sandy do you want to go and get the car out?"

"I'll go and organise yer escort." volunteered Mr Barnes.

Andrea shook her head. "What a bloody day this is turning out to be!"