Colin and Septimus from THE DARKLING THRUSH
Septimus invited me to his home for
the Yule Feast. I thought perhaps there would be a party, and I told myself I
wouldn’t mind that. This would be my first and only Yule spent across the Great
Big Sea
and I might as well see how a traditional feast was properly done.
But I can’t deny I was pleased to
discover that Septimus and I were spending the afternoon alone. I was tired of
being looked at and whispered about by my colleagues at Leslie’s Lexicons.
There was no need to pretend with Septimus.
Besides. Septimus was…Septimus. I
was happy to spend every moment I could with him.
“I brought you this,” I told him,
handing over a bottle of mulled wine.
Septimus smiled and kissed me –
right there in front of his butler. “We’ll have it after our dinner.”
I smiled too because I knew that
meant we would be spend the night together.
The meal was indeed a feast. We
started with raw oysters, supped right out of the shell. Then bouillon that
tasted of wild herbs and venison. Champagne
was next, served cold and dry, and pâtés made from veal and goose livers.
I knew roasted boar was the most
traditional of Yule suppers, but I was relieved when the brownies carried in a
large platter with roasted goose. The
goose was golden brown and tender, stuffed with sage and onion and pine nuts.
There were small potatoes in a white sauce, exotic roots and vegetables, and cranberry
and orange sauce.
“I can’t eat another bite,” I told
Septimus, pushing my plate away at last.
He laughed as though this were
nonsense, and I suppose it was since after that I consumed my fair share of
plum pudding, chocolate truffles, cheese and nuts and biscuits.
When we finally pushed away from
the table, I was convinced I wouldn’t need to eat for a week.
“I expect you’ll be hungry enough
by breakfast,” Septimus said slyly, and I felt my face warm.
He led the way to his library. I
had been in that wonderful room several times, but that afternoon, he reached
behind one of the old, rich tapestries, and one of the towering shelves slid soundlessly
away to reveal the entrance to another smaller room. I followed Septimus
through that low doorway. There were two brocade chairs, a small round table, an
old-fashioned lamp, and all four walls lined with books. Very old, very
valuable books.
Septimus chose several volumes while
I gazed around myself in awe.
“No.” He smiled faintly.
“Do you keep them for the texts or Perusing
their previous owners?”
“It depends. On the text and the
owner.” He handed me a gilt-edged volume. “Go ahead and Peruse to your heart’s
content.”
“Truly? You don’t mind?”
Septimus nodded. “We’ll spend all
day here if you like.”
There followed one of the happiest
afternoons I can ever recall. The books in that secret library were a treasure
chest of fabulous sights and sounds and smells…sometimes the jewel was the
text. Sometimes the rush came from the imprint of a powerful previous
personality.
Necile
gathered the softest moss in all the forest for Claus to lie
upon,
and she made his bed in her own bower.
Of food the infant had no
lack. The nymphs searched the forest for
bell-udders, which grow upon
the
goa-tree and when opened are found to be filled with sweet milk.
And
the soft-eyed does willingly gave a share of their milk to support
the
little stranger, while Shiegra, the lioness, often crept stealthily
into
Necile's bower and purred softly as she lay beside the babe and
fed
it.
“That’s sweet,” I murmured, turning
the browned page. I could feel many small ghostly hands turning the pages with me.
Their smiles and laughter were like sunlight.
“Try this one,” Septimus said.
I closed my eyes and rested my hand
on the cover. This one had lain forgotten many years in a dusty attic. The
imprint of previous readers was very faint. Twin sisters…an elderly collector…
The
young man came swinging along, debonairly; he was whistling under his
breath.
He was a dapper figure in a long coat and a silk hat, under which
the
candles lighted a rather silly face. When he reached the spot in the
sidewalk
where the Flanton Dog lay, he paused a moment looking down. Then
he
poked the object with his stick. On the other side of the street a
mother
and her little boy were passing at the time. The child's eyes caught
sight
of the dog on the sidewalk, and he hung back, watching to see what
the
young man would do to it. But his mother drew him after her. Just then
an
automobile came panting through the snow. With a quick movement Cooper
picked
up the dog on the end of his stick and tossed it into the street,
under
the wheels of the machine.
I shook my head. It was growing
late and I was tired from perusing so many books. I looked across at Septimus
and he was watching me, smiling.
“Overwhelming after a time, isn’t
it?”
“A little. They’re nearly unspoiled
they’ve been so little touched since their last reading.”
“One more then.” He handed the
final book. The cover was of faded blue and amethyst silk, patterned with lotus
and lilies. When I took the book in my hands I felt a faint and funny tingling.
I looked at Septimus in surprise.
His smile was almost rueful.
I turned the pages gently, but the
book fell open to the place where it had been most read.
Juventius,
if I could play at kissing
your
honeyed eyes as often as I wished to,
300,000
games would not exhaust me;
never
could I be satisfied or sated,
although
the total of our osculations
were
greater than the ears of grain at harvest.
I looked at Septimus and he cleared
his throat a little self-consciously. “I knew you would have no difficulty
Perusing that one.”
I smiled and turned out the lamp.
Really nice.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteAnother feast menu! Lovely descriptions!
ReplyDeleteOOh, how lovely! :)
ReplyDeleteBest Holiday Season ever!
I don't think I'll ever be able to top this -- it's pretty much a one time deal!
Delete:-D
It is so wonderful getting to spend a little holiday time with old friends that we haven't seen in awhile. That is what the holidays are about and you have given us such a wonderful gift! Thank you so much! I hope you're still having fun.
ReplyDeleteYes! That's how it feels writing them too. :-)
DeleteWonderful. Such a gift you have.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Felix!
DeleteYour ability to write convincingly in multiple sub-genres is truly amazing, Josh. And yet the holiday feasts always abound! And the opening photo - wow! Another delightful peek at old friends. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteSo pleased you're all still enjoying them!
DeleteThis is such a lovely glimpse of Colin and Septimus! So glad to see they're doing well (^o^) Their Christmas feast sounds great - very interesting!
ReplyDeleteYes! I thought it was time for a little change of scenery. :-)
DeleteGorgeous. I read this twice and then sat for a long while, with my chin in hand, staring at the screen, lost between the worlds of Septimus' library and ancient Rome...
ReplyDeleteThank you again for treating us to more of so many wonderful characters.
You're very welcome. I love to think what other books in that secret library bridge our world and theirs.
DeleteThat must be the best Christmas ever, in a secret room full of books ♡♡
ReplyDeleteYou know, I started reading The Darkling Thrush two or three times and couldn't quite get into the right frame of mind. It has been the only 'Lanyon' book I never finished, let alone, never loved at first sight. Reading this coda this morning I realized I now know enough about the MC to try again. I know them now enough to care. Or more so, now I know I want to know them better.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice Christmas present! :-)
I'm with Karan.
ReplyDeleteNow I think I'll read it ^_^
I really liked them and I'm curious.
Sweet.
I enjoyed The Darkling Thrush and this lovely coda too. It's a wonderful window into their relationship.
ReplyDeleteCool. Just right for these two.
ReplyDeleteKind of you to cook up a coda a day for us, Josh.
Cheers, Kelly
(and the foodstuffs you dream up for these are mouthwatering!)
I LOVE these two. Thank you so much for this.
ReplyDelete(Are they ever going to have a sequel? You left plenty of options open at the end of TDT.)
Thanks again,
Blue
Oh, that one was so sweet and the atmosphere was so Septimus-like. ;) I could easily imagine him watching Colin with the tail of his eye in his gorgeous library — and feeling all amused and in love.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved the texts of the books Colin was exploring! Thank you so much, Josh. You are so talented.
And for those who haven't read The Darkling Thrush yet, I wholeheartedly recommend the audiobook. It's wonderful. :)
I've always wanted to know more about Septimus, he's still rather mysterious here - but very sweet to Colin, apparently :)
ReplyDeleteSeptimus is one of those characters with a dark side -- though we've yet to see really see that side of him (except in his ability to do the unthinkable).
DeleteI just finished reading The Darkling Thrush a week ago and enjoyed it very much. Thank you for the coda; I love Catullus' poetry and I thought it was a perfect fit for Colin and Septimus.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the book and the coda.
Delete