Proud to be a part of this movement, the physician followed the narrow earthen trail to the edge of the vegetable garden.
“Good morning to you, Marie Barrett. And what a lovely morning it truly is.”
The redhead looked up from the plant she was tending and returned the physician’s greeting.
“And a pleasant good morning to you. Doctor. Have you been out long?”
Tyronne leaned his wooden walking stick up against the white stone wall that surrounded the vegetable patch.
“Since sunrise, my dear. Even though I’ve been here almost three days, I don’t feel really at one with the place until I’ve properly walked the grounds. How are those tomatoes of yours coming along?”
Marie delicately picked off a stunted limb.
“I’ll be getting ready to tie them up to their sticks shortly.
They’re really growing, and this year we should have an excellent crop.”
“It’s that new variety that we imported from the States that’s done it my dear. That and your tender loving care of course.”
Marie smiled, then stood up straight and looked toward the house.
“I guess I should be checking on Sean. He was sound asleep when I poked my head in there earlier.”
“Good,” returned the physician.
“The lad needs his rest. Yet if we’re going to get any strength into him, we’re going to have to get him out of that bed eventually.
So come on, nurse, let’s see what we can do about it.”
Hand in hand the two innocently walked into the manor house. In the anteroom Tyronne removed his mud-stained boots and hung up his raincoat. Then he followed the redhead through the large kitchen and into the living room. This part of the house was decorated just like his mother had left it. The furniture here was a bit shabby with age, but still comfortable and functional. A twisting stairway took them to the second floor. Sean’s bedroom had been Tyronne’s as a child, and was set into the front portion of the house facing the meadow. They entered and found their patient propped up in bed with his vacant stare focused out the open window.
“Good morning. Scan. It’s a glorious morning out there,” greeted the physician.
Sean’s voice was hoarse and heavy.
“I was just thinking about Patrick again. He knew all the time that he didn’t have a chance of getting out of there. Yet he stood his ground all the same, and sprayed those damn Brits with bullets so that I could make good my own escape. If our situations had been reversed, I wonder if I could have met death so boldly.”
“Of course you would have, lad,” offered the physician.
“But as it turned out, fate had other plans for you. Patrick Callaghan was a good boy, and it’s a damn shame that he had to be taken from us. But he’s not the first and he won’t be the last to give up his life for the Brotherhood. So quit your selfish brooding, and start thinking about how you’re going to use this second chance at life to best advantage.”
This compassionate speech hit home, and Sean turned his glance away from the window.
“You’re right, Doc. I guess I should be grateful just to be here.”
“Damn right,” retorted the physician firmly.
“And one other thing, lad — if I were you, I’d be saying a little prayer of thanks for those wonderful parents of yours. Why, you’ve got your own mother’s blood pumping through your body, and if it wasn’t for your father, I would have never been there in time to save you.”
The mere mention of his father caused an introspective grin to crease Sean’s face.
“So the old fool finally came through.”
Tyronne Blackwater shook his head in disagreement.
“Liam Lafferty may be simple in his ways, but he’s a fine man in his own right. You should be very proud of him, lad, especially when you see with your own eyes the great gift he fished from the seas for us.”
Puzzled by this statement, Scan looked to Marie for clarification.
“What do you mean by that?”
The redhead teasingly smiled.
“Why don’t you come out to the barn and see for yourself. Do you think he can make it. Doc?”
“I don’t see why not,” answered the physician.
“It wasn’t one of his legs that was almost shot off.”
Determined to find out what they were talking about, Sean struggled to sit up straight. His heavily bandaged shoulder made this simple movement an effort, and Marie was quickly at his side to lend him a hand.
“Come on, Sean. It will do you good to stretch your legs and get some fresh air,” prompted the redhead.
Sean removed his legs from beneath the covers, then remembered he was wearing only a t-shirt. Marie caught a quick glimpse of his naked torso and turned to get his pants for him.
“Come on, soldier. Since when are you the shy type?
After all, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”
Sean managed to get into his sweatpants on his own, and after slipping into some thongs, attempted to stand. It was at this point that he was overcome by a wave of dizziness. Alertly his escorts scrambled to his side to steady him.
“Breathe deeply, lad. This spell is only natural. It’s nothing to worry about,” offered the physician.
Sean filled his lungs with air, and just as quickly as it arrived, the spell passed. He nodded that he was fine, and even took a few tentative steps on his own to prove it.
“There’ll be no keeping you down now, Sean Lafferty,” observed Marie playfully.
By the time they descended the stairway and crossed through the living room, Sean’s stride had a new sense of confidence to it. It was as they began their way through the kitchen that his old personality began to show.
“You don’t suppose that there’d be a nice ice cold bottle of Guinness in the fridge, would you now?”
Tyronne Blackwater gave the redhead a sly wink as he answered.
“It’s a wee early for that, lad. Perhaps we’ll talk about that a bit later. But once we return from the barn, Marie will be happy to make you a hearty breakfast. Won’t you, my dear?”
The redhead nodded.
“Just name it and it’s yours, Sean.”
Sean seductively eyed the redhead’s curvaceous body.
“Well, since you’re offering, it has been a pretty long time.”
Not certain if he was joking or not, the physician interceded.
“I don’t know what’s worse for you, Sean Lafferty, a Guinness, or what naughtiness you have on your mind.”
“Well, Doc, you have been saying all along that I have to start thinking about getting back to my normal self once more,” offered Sean, who followed Marie out into the courtyard.
“Oh, to be young once again,” mumbled the physician as he continued outdoors himself.
A brick pathway took them past a large fish pond that was covered with lily pads. As they approached the entrance to the barn, Dr. Blackwater sped up to lead the way inside. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a key, and inserted it into the padlock recessed in the barn’s front door. It triggered with a click, and the old-timer proceeded to pull the door open.
Sean Lafferty really didn’t know what to expect as he followed his two escorts inside. As the lights were switched on, he spotted a large stack of peat. Stored behind these squared segments that would be used as fuel were dozens of wooden crates. Upon closer examination, Sean could see that each container had the official RUC seal on it. The Royal Ulster Constabulary were the local police force of Northern Ireland, and as Sean spotted the inventory list stenciled on the sides of each crate, he couldn’t help but shake his head in wonder.
Crates of M-16 rifles lay on top of a container holding Browning M-60 machine guns and endless rounds of ammunition. An even larger storage container held a 90-mm recoilless rifle.