Cover of Darkness

By Dorothy O'Malia

Having travel through Europe and Ruric for the past five years, and
finding no trace of my lost family, I returned to this frozen land,
from where I started five years back for reason, I know not. My
depressed mind centered on the failure of my mission. I thought to
stay until spring, and decide then whether to look further, or abort
my search.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499077452

Dorothy O'Malia

Dorothy O’Malia is a native of Montana and attended school in Denver, Colorado. She started her career in the advertising department of the Denver Post and also worked in hotels and went back to school taking business administration and alter held hotel management positions in Montana and California. Then went into the Merchant Marine. After severe injury, Dorothy retired to Sacramento, California where she has made her home since. She became interested in the Ancient Chinese Astrology and has practiced the art since, taking time out to write novels based in historical events and experience.

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Copyright © 2014 by Dorothy O’Malia.

ISBN:          Softcover          978-1-4691-7811-0

                   eBook               978-1-4990-7745-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 10/21/2014

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CONTENTS

Prologue

January 1625

Day Book Of Samuel Loeffler

From The Day Book Of Jard Second Son Of Cedric, The Scribe 1060-1087

The Day Book Of Cedric Loeffler Scribbler At Hastings

Dedicated with love

To my grandson Jonathan Daily

and

my dear friend, Dr. Richard Polaski.

To my dear, encouraging friends,

Patti McCarthy, Jeremiah Montaie, Jim Cook

And to my publisher, Xlibris, and my wonderful editors,

Andy Maxwell and Amy Scott,

for their professionalism, support, and expertise.

PROLOGUE

April 1500 Cedric

Hastings, Sussex

England

My spouse, Sarah, with a penchant for cleanliness, suggested accompanying me to the BOOTH, this wonderful spring morning. I wondered at this, as Sarah has never shown an interest in the BOOTH, but I go along with her request.

The BOOTH is on the waterfront, at Hastings, and has been the seat of our family business, since the days before the Conqueror. We are a family of SCRIBBLERS. The BOOTH stands and looks pretty much the same as it did in those far off days. According to legend, one of our ancestors was called upon to serve that King… of course, there’s no proof, only legend.

It is apparent Sarah needs something to do to keep busy. With the recent passing of her father after a long illness, and our youngest, Godric, having just joined the King’s Army, Sarah finds herself idle for the first time in years. Our other two children are home, but for the most part independent. Marcus, our eldest, who has yet to find his niche, is helping out at the BOOTH until Jared, our middle child, can finish school and take over the family business.

Marcus and I entered the BOOTH on this first day of the Ram, reluctant to leave the day outside, but there was much work to be done, for it is the last day to close the books, and Sarah, is insisting, that this is THE day for the shelves to be cleaned of hundreds of books and records that have been sitting collecting dust since the time of the Conquer. The intention to clean out the shelves has always been good, but year after year, from father to son, the work has been put off until another next year, until even the ancient trunk overflowing with next year’s records was shoved under wherever there was space.

Start there, Sarah pointed to the up most shelves covered with the most dust in the back. Reluctantly, I walked up to an old, ancient trunk that had been pushed up near the shelf, that had from the looks of it, been sitting there since the Biblical Flood. With a sigh, I stepped on top of the trunk. In seconds, half the trunk caved in, spilling books and letters from its side.

One letter in particular, attracted me, the scrawl heavy, addressed to whomever. I’ll put it in my pocket to read later, for I see Sarah coming from the house, I could just hear her saying

‘Is this how far you’ve gotten?’ Sure enough, I heard her.

Cedric, I sent you to clear the trash that had gathered here since the Conqueror… my spouse’s favorite saying.

I looked at the envelope; it had not aged as the others, no address… just J.R. Leeffler.

Sarah, there is something very strange here, come and look at it, I handed her the unknown letter, do we know anyone by this name?

Yes and no. Wasn’t that the name of the man who visited us last fall, I think it was… or was it the fall before that?

I can’t really recall…

Surely you must, he spoke of being related to you, some gibberish about knighthood, by the Conqueror, no less.

Oh yes… something about the family journals, that they were left in our hands, Sarah could this…

Perhaps, this is your proof, but it isn’t getting this place cleaner, she said as she handed me the letter I had just given her. It did not matter to Sarah, that a King of England might have knighted our ancestor, just so long as the BOOTH was clean.

I can understand why Sarah’s mind won’t be deterred, but I say nothing. I am interested in what she has in mind. She looks around the some-what shabby BOOTH, sniffs the air and turns up her nose at the dust of ages and the darkness by which time has stained the walls.

Cedric, this place has a great need for a good scrubbing, which I am sure has not been done since the time of the Conqueror. How can you see to work?

I agree it can stand a little brightening up, but think of the taxes we would have to pay for windows.

I am going to scrub these walls down and see what is under this grime. First I shall gather berries and boil them for a brighter stain for the walls and I am sure light and fresh air would not be considered windows if we were to open half the roof, for I know we cannot afford the taxes on windows.

Sarah, I cannot have you disturbing my work if someone comes in with a document they want written… Your penchant for cleaning…

"You just get busy clearing those shelves… God knows they also need a good scrubbing: after I have picked the berries and put them to boil…

Sarah, you see, is not a subservient wife and one does not argue with women with that cleaning look in their eyes. Thinking to start on the top shelf, I pulled the ancient trunk out, to see if it could take my weight with one side broken. I soon found it couldn’t. Suddenly the trunk broke and dozens of dusty ledgers, copies of records, most bound with rotting string, were all over the floor.

I glanced through a few, and noticed the dates were older than my years. These documents may be of important historical value,