Day of the Dandelion
An Arthur Hemmings Mystery
Prelude THE MONASTERY OF ST. THOMAS,
Brunn, Moravia, Winter 1884
The abbot knew he was dying. Since the beginning of December, he had been
unable to summon the strength to take even a few steps in the monastery
garden. Each morning Frau Dupouvec, his housekeeper, wrapped his swollen legs
in thick cotton bandages to stanch the fluids his failing kidneys could no
longer remove. After a slight improvement in the summer, his sight had dimmed
again; now he could read only a few pages without severe eyestrain and,
sometimes, painful headaches. In recent days, the leaden cold of the
Moravian winter had seeped through the stone walls of the prelate's quarters
and seemed to settle most cruelly in his bones, his very being.
The monks at the Monastery of St. Thomas in Brunn were urgently praying for
their beloved abbot's recovery. They could not bear the thought of losing him
and had convinced themselves that he would get better. When ill health had
overtaken him before, he had always rebounded. The crippling backache that
had prev ... read full excerpt from Day of the Dandelion: An Arthur Hemmings Mystery ebook
