Saturnalian

By John Gaulton

Eternal life – a gift, or a curse? This intriguing and fascinating novel follows the life of an unusual boy who is observed, unseen, by forces seeking to discover the truth – to exploit it or to bury it?



An apparently chance meeting leads to life-changing events for young couple Philippa and Justin. But is the meeting as random as it appears? And is their life-changing event even more far-reaching; perhaps even posing challenges for the future of humanity? Ultimately, are there justifiable or ethical reasons why the truth should not be told?

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Conrad Press
• Release date: Apr 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781839784583

Book preview

Chapter 1

Her subtle perfume filled the vehicle, contrasting with the smell of the old MGB GT sports car in which she was sitting. Focusing on the driving was proving difficult for Justin given the distractions of both her looks and her clothing. Her short skirt revealed much of her appealing legs, and her white cheesecloth blouse showed her figure well, highlighted by the casually-draped bright floral scarf.

Philippa spoke first. ‘There’s no question that one’s senses can unlock memories. No sooner do I sit in this car than my thoughts race back to our teenage years, dating and so on.’

‘For so on read pleasure in dark lay-bys at night, lit only by the stars and whatever moon there happened to be?’ Justin questioned.

‘Yes, I remember,’ she added with a smile. ‘The scent of ageing leather mixed with strong woody and oily smells.’

‘Oh yes, that was probably me,’ he responded.

‘No darling, it was definitely the car. Your teen aftershave at that time had more than a little note of detergent about it.’

‘Clean-living boy, what did you expect?’ he continued. ‘But be very careful about disclosing too much intimate detail about those times. Cars have ears.’

‘What on earth do you mean?’ she asked incredulously.

‘Only one letter different between the words – cars, ears – see?’

‘You really do enjoy odd connections, don’t you? Is that what we’re about?’

‘Could be, sweetheart, but it does seem to work, doesn’t it?’ he countered.

In response she placed her hand on Justin’s thigh and squeezed playfully, while he responded by pressing the accelerator pedal and noticeably increasing the speed of the sports car.

In the evening light the headlights picked out the shadowy trees and hedgerows along the twisting lane. On one corner, beside a broken fence and hedge, several fading bunches of flowers in brittle cellophane wrapping lay where mourners had left them some time before.

‘Darling, I know you’ll accuse me of nagging,’ Philippa said, ‘but could you maybe just slow down a tiny, tiny bit? This is the lane where that young driver got killed, isn’t it?’

Trying to lighten the moment, Justin responded in a fake Norfolk accent, ‘Yes, and they local folks do say as how his ghost do haunt travellers around these parts.’

‘Piss off Justin, that’s just not at all funny.’

‘Apparently he wasn’t that experienced. I think he’d borrowed his father’s Jag, poor sod. Don’t worry, Philippa I’ve driven this road a million times. We’ll get there safely. I’ve been looking forward to this party for a long time. I haven’t been in Johnny’s house in years. We had many good years together at boarding school but sort of lost touch a bit while we were at our separate unis. You know how it is – too many distractions and we were too young probably to deal with so many of them in such a short time.’

As he was speaking a pale thin hand reached between the seats and touched him on the shoulder startling Justin and causing Philippa to scream briefly.

‘Jesus, Charlie you made us jump. I almost forgot you were there. You were so quiet on the back seat.’

‘I’d hardly describe that as a seat, Justin old buddy, more a parcel shelf, but don’t get me wrong I’m deeply grateful to you for the ride… and the… um, experience.’

Charlie handed his hip-flask to Justin who took a small drink and passed it to Philippa.

‘By the way,’ continued Charlie, ‘I think my vote is with this lovely lady here – slow down a bit old boy or I may throw up all over you, and we certainly don’t want to start the evening like that, do we?’

Justin eased off the throttle slightly and reached for a music cassette which he awkwardly managed to insert into the cassette player of the car. Philippa picked up on the singing while Charlie and Justin played air-guitar to the strains of, and if this world runs out of lovers, we'll still have each other…

As the speeding car entered a tight corner, the headlights picked out a faint moving shape. Justin reacted, hitting the brakes hard and swearing, while Philippa screamed and Charlie shouted an obscenity.

The squeal of tyres coincided with the song lyric, Nothing’s gonna stop us, and then everything went very quiet.

Chapter 2

Silhouetted figures moved slowly in a brightly lit white room looking at a form lying on a trolley. Equipment was emitting a pulsing sound of heartbeats but otherwise everything was silent.

Eventually one of the figures spoke, He was middle-aged, masked and gowned, and his name, David Williams, appeared on a name badge. It would have been difficult to read his expression due both to the surgical mask and his reputation for calmly unemotional professionalism, but the nursing staff in attendance could read his body language well. It was no surprise for them to hear his succinct assessment.

‘Not good, but we’ll continue tests and keep a close eye on him. We’ll get him sorted out as well as we can and then we’ll have to tell them.’

With that completed, he left the room. Demands on his time were high.

Chapter 3

The private hospital room was clean and well-furnished. Interior designers had used their skills to create somewhere calm but sufficiently comfortable to aid the recovery of patients, while at the same time justifying the level of fees charged. The pictures on the walls were appropriately relaxing while the soft furnishings were to high-quality hotel standards.

This was mostly lost on Philippa and Justin as she lay asleep in the hospital bed with him sitting beside her, gently holding her delicate hand.

Justin dozed fitfully as the light of a full moon poured into the dimly lit private room.

Philippa woke suddenly looking frightened and attempted to speak, In a drugged voice she managed only the words, ‘The accident.’

Hearing her, Justin woke and answered, ‘Shush, darling. Try to get some more sleep. I promise it will all be all right.’

Chapter 4

The full moon had moved across the night sky as Philippa and Justin slept, him still sitting in a chair beside her bed, holding her hand.

Philippa woke slowly. Justin felt this and opened his eyes.

She spoke, ‘I’m awake now. Can we talk?’

‘How are you, darling?’ he asked.

‘It hurts a bit, and I feel a little woozy from the anaesthetic.’

Justin paused briefly. ‘You know that nobody’s to blame for how he is?’

‘Yes, but that doesn’t make it any better.’

Justin noticed small teardrops in her eyes. ‘I’m with you. It can be all right.’

‘If we can let it.’

‘Yes, I guess so,’ he said. ‘If we can let it be okay.’

‘Remember all that positive thinking stuff you used to tell me about. From your courses? We can use that, can’t we?’ she asked.

‘We’ll talk more later. Get some sleep, you’re very tired. I love you, Philippa.’

Chapter 5

The country churchyard was nestled in farmland in the English countryside, with ancient yew trees edging the graveyard and flint stone walls.

Wild flowers were growing in profusion under a summer sky blue as cornflowers while majestic clouds rode the winds high in the canopied dome above the earth. Individual birds sang their own songs and swallows dived and spun searching the warm air for insects and calling as they went. In a nearby field, young children were playing happily, the sound of their laughter carrying on the summer air, mingling with the voices of children singing inside the church. The notes of the organ floated through the partly open, faded oak doors and the words of the hymn, ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’ welcomed the christening party as they got out of their cars and mingled on the gravel path leading to the church from the lych gate.

Everyone was dressed fashionably and smartly for the occasion; bright summer dresses, elegant heels and hats complemented suits, blazers and slacks. The contrast of the vibrant living celebrating new life in the midst of the immobile buried dead was not noticed. It was not a time for such observations particularly given the extra dimension to what should have been a wholly joyous celebration.

Philippa and Justin welcomed and chatted with their guests as Philippa held baby James Patrick Stewart, wrapped tightly in his white christening shawl, introducing him to their family and friends as they walked slowly towards the old church.

‘I adore this place,’ Philippa said to Justin, ‘It’s so perfect on a summer morning for James’s christening. How sad it is that Charlie couldn’t be here to see this.’

In the distance, a tall dark male figure stood in the lane watching the church.

Chapter 6

In the hospital room, as Philippa slept and Justin dozed, the full moon had traversed the sky on its way to setting. The first hint of dawn, a sliver of pale silver, was edging the