A Brother's Love - Book 3 - The Frencolian Chronicles (complete)

Chapter Ten

The plague's tentacles of death crept on into the winter and it was not until after the New Year that the numbers of victims became few and far between.

When Boone showed the signs of having succumbed to the symptoms of the plague, everyone was shocked.

No one accepted his imminent death.

Jobyna prayed that his illness would be like hers and he would recover. Only when he fell comatose and his flesh turned the black color that identified this disease, did those in the manor house realize his end was near. Boone had fallen sick less than thirty hours before he died!

Jobyna was heartbroken at Boone's funeral.

The baron gruffly curbed Elissa's dissent, saying, "Let her alone ... let her cry ... she needs that... she didn't see Marcus and Ellie buried. We must realize that she's weeping for them, too."

Jobyna insisted that Ivan pin her Medal of Valor on Boone's tunic before the coffin lid was nailed down, and although Elissa protested, her father agreed that she could do with the brassard as she wished.

"Apart from Luke... and you Father... Boone was the bravest man I've ever known." Jobyna said, between her sobs, "Just think... of the way he gave himself... to care for others!"

Luke overheard this statement and because of it, Jobyna grew ten feet taller that day in his estimation. She was some 'little sister' and she thought he was brave!

Tardy snow melted and life returned to some kind of 'normality' if such a thing were possible.

Usually, celebrations and thanksgivings marked the beginning of a New Year, but Frencolia was in no state to convene such festivities.

The winter had been a time of recovering from exhaustion; repairing frayed nerves and healing bruised emotions. Time that would have normally been spent in craft making and handiwork was spent resting, sleeping, and sometimes reading and quiet discussion, considering things that mattered. Concepts, precepts, ideas and spiritual discussions; instead of the usual gossip or selfish conversations about material possessions and physical attributes.

Louis Junior was particularly interested in discussing deep issues with his father and they looked up verses in the Gospel volumes, comparing verse with verse and principle with principle. The rest of the family and others of the household folk present found these exchanges stimulating and informative.

"Listen to this, Father, and tell me that it does not refer to the plague." LJ was totally involved as he earnestly read, "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken and the other left. Watch, therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. It's from Matthew chapter 24, verses 40-42."

"Ah, but you need to read the words before and after, Louis. And you need to look up the other Gospels and find the same account; you must always interpret Scripture with Scripture, not by circumstances or experiences."

The father took the volume of Matthew from his son, and read, "Therefore, be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh,' verse 44. I wish we had the other volumes of the New Testament, Louis. I'm sure they would help us. But there's enough in the Gospels to confirm that Jesus Christ will return to take his children home to heaven. Here, take this Book, Revelation, and read out the last words said by Jesus himself; about the second-to-last sentence."

Louis gently thumbed his way to the back.

This volume had been given to them by Theon, the Evangelist, and was very old. Before the plague, scribes had been working, making copies of the volumes they owned, but this task had been abandoned.