The Tale of Temperance Dunn

Part One: Darksom Woods

April 1664

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Temperance Dunn stepped outside and checked the sky for rain. Spring this year had seen more than its share of rain: chilly too. Most unexpected after the rather benign winter. It looked clear enough, for now; she should make it to the woodlands and back without incident today.

?????????????? Heading out from her cottage, on the southern edge of the village of Clyst Tavy, Darksom Woods was only a short walk away. She had her foraging planned, hoping to find some Jack-by-the-Hedge, Cow Parsley and Bramble leaves today. Common enough in this area of Devonshire and useful to a respected “wise woman” and midwife like Temperance. She hummed to herself as she strode purposefully up the gentle hill leading into the woodland. Her eyes were on the meadow around her, looking for anything useful that might be in bloom on this early April day.

“Good day to thee widow Dunn, thee sound cheerful today. Art thou well?” The voice startled Temperance, then she noticed Grace Palfrey on the path ahead.

“Oh Grace, thee startled me withal thy sudden brow!”

“I'm so sorry widow Dunn, that wast not the intent.”, Grace said meekly.

For all her polite and pleasant manners this morning, Grace Palfrey was no friend of Temperance Dunn. Grace envied the position of respect and popularity widow Dunn had acquired, being the “wise woman” of Clyst Tavy. She felt she should have some of that respect – she was after all a good midwife and healer in her own right, but most of the village would turn to Temperance Dunn, before her.

?????????????? Temperance was well aware of Grace’s feelings, but could not, she felt, be held responsible for the lack of trust some of the villagers had for the younger woman.

Two years previously Grace had declared herself a midwife and began to curry favour amongst the village’s young women. That same summer a young farmer’s wife, Hester Gidley, had sent for Grace, as her labour began. It was a difficult birth and both mother and child – a son – were lost. Not an uncommon occurrence in 1662, but as a new midwife Grace’s reputation was set amongst the women of Clyst Tavy. Henry Gidley had also spoken often and loudly in the local tavern about how Grace Palfrey had robbed him of both a wife and an heir.

Temperance Dunn was the very embodiment of her name; she felt sympathy for the younger woman – the loss of a mother and child was possible in any birth; all midwives knew that – and she would not add fuel to the fire of any ill will and resentment Grace was harbouring beneath her polite smiles this spring morning. She responded in kind to the young woman, the difference being Temperance meant what she said, “O, do not worry thyself, young Grace, mine own mind wast far from the path, looking in the meadow for herbs.” She added, “I am very well, Gramercy.? I hope thou art well also.? What brings thee to the woods this fine morning?”

“I am just taking a walk on a spring morning”, Grace replied curtly.

“Well, enjoy the fresh spring air.? I must go into the woods and find some herbs, good den to thee.”

“Good day, widow Dunn!”

Temperance felt the edge and definition added to the word “widow” in Grace’s parting words but did not react. ?Grace was an angry young woman, but Temperance could do nothing to change that. In the coming months, the depth and fury of that unwarranted anger would change Temperance’s world forever; for now, she had not the slightest inkling of what was to come.

?????????????? As the two women parted, Temperance heard a distant rumble; looking east she could see that over the moors a storm was brewing, she had better be quick gathering her herbs this morning. Thunderstorms had become a regular feature over the last few weeks and could be sudden and heavy! As she turned to look at the storm clouds, she noticed Grace looking back at her from the path to the village - a cold, dark look in her deep brown eyes. Temperance felt a chill wash over her. Shaking it off, she strode into Darksom Woods, the approaching storm adding urgency to her foraging.

A short while later, Temperance was deep in the embrace of the large woodland that was known locally as Darksom Woods. A well-worn track ran through the woods, taking a south-westerly route emerging above Clyst Tavy and joining the road to Tavistock, and most travellers who passed through the woods never ventured from it. ?Legends of fearsome beasts and Fae folk lurking amongst the trees and darker tales of woodland spirits meant most people didn’t linger there. Temperance, however, had been coming to these woods since she was a little girl and they held no fears for her; she knew all the lightly trodden paths, that led deeper into the trees intimately. These were where she would find the herbs and plants she was looking for today. Silly superstitions held no sway with Temperance.

?????????????? The first time Temperance had come into these woods she was a baby of only a few months. Her mother, Joan Chave, had her slung across her breast, as she herself came foraging for the same herbs, fruits and leaves that Temperance was searching for today. Joan had been the village wise woman and midwife in those days, and she had taught her daughter everything she knew.

?????????????? Young Temperance was a quiet and intelligent child and had watched avidly as her mother treated villagers for everything from toothache to setting broken bones. Once she was old enough, she also assisted Joan with her midwifery – almost everyone in the village over 20 years old had been brought into the world by “Ol’ Ma Joan” as she had become known. Joan and her daughter were well respected in the village. Between them, they took care of the villagers and brought a good many babies safely into the world. Temperance, although quiet, was regarded as a reliable healer, like her mother she had a kindness and intelligence that bred trust in those whom she met.

?????????????? As Joan became older and frailer, Temperance had taken on much of the responsibility from her mother and at age 16, when Joan died suddenly in her sleep, Temperance, still not much more than a child, had become the village healer and midwife in her own right. Things had been that way for 20 years now, and although Grace Palfrey had tried to replace her two years earlier, the young woman’s inexperience had meant Temperance was seen by almost everyone in the village as the person to go to if something ailed you. No one had trusted Grace to be a midwife since the loss of Hester Gidley and her baby.

?????????????? The foraging had been fruitful today. Temperance looked at her basket, now almost full and thought that just a little further along the path she should find a good cop of Cow Parsley on the edge of a little clearing she knew. That would be enough for today and she set off, humming as she went.

?????????????? Her mind drifted back to her childhood as she walked. Her mother Joan had first brought her foraging out here when she was no more than three years old. She loved learning all the plants and their uses. Joan had been very careful to teach her daughter well, an unwary child (or adult for that matter) could, if not taking heed, mistake Hemlock for Cow Parsley with deadly results. In fact, many children were taught the name “Mother Die” and told that if they picked it their mother would die to deter them. On the day she had picked out her first Cow Parsley successfully, Temperance, usually such a calm and collected little girl, had run excitedly up to her beloved father, Samuel, to tell him of her newfound knowledge.

?????????????? Samuel Chave, the village blacksmith, was a large man - strong and muscular from his long days in the forge. Like his wife, he was well-liked and respected in Clyst Tavy and vital to village life. When he too was taken in an accident while raising a barn for the Squire, Temperance was desolate. At 18 she was alone in the world, her family gone.

?????????????? With the death of Samuel Chave, his young apprentice, Oswald Dunn, had taken over the duties of the blacksmith in the village of Clyst Tavy. The following year, on Temperance’s 19th birthday they were married. Oswald was a year younger than his new wife and the marriage was not a loving one – he spent too much time in the tavern and had a foul temper when drunk…

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Temperance stopped in her tracks… something had snapped her back from her memories into the here and now. Something was wrong in the woodland. What? She realised the woods were silent, not a sound to be heard. No bird song, no rustling of trees and bushes in the wind, even the sound of the approaching storm no longer rumbled in the distance!

?????????????? Looking around, she didn’t recognise this part of the woods. For the first time in her life, she was lost in Darksom Woods! She looked desperately around at the woodland, hoping to see a familiar path or tree, but a mist seemed to be closing around her. Fear began to rise in her… “Why?” she asked herself. She prided herself in always being calm and rational, but now she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, “Do not be a fool, Temperance,” she said out loud, as if to reinforce the message, “’tis just thy mind playing tricks!” Then she realised she was not alone.

To her left, someway off, amongst the trees stood a figure, watching her. The figure didn’t move but stood perfectly still, regarding her silently. Temperance could not be sure if it was a man or a woman. The figure wore a long, hooded robe, with no defined shape. The hood was dark, and the face hidden in shadow. For the merest moment, she felt she saw a flicker of light, like eyes reflecting firelight, inside the hood. She felt that same chill she had felt earlier when she had caught Grace staring back at her wash over her again. That sense of something being wrong was centred on this being standing some 20 yards from her, and it was growing stronger. She stood rooted to the spot frozen in fear, unable to move or speak.

?????????????? Pushing back against the fear that was trying to take her over. Temperance forced herself to confront the dark figure lurking on the edge of the mist. “Thee thither! Who art thou, wherefore dost thou stand and stare at me so?” Her voice echoed as if she was in a cave. Although more fearful and unnerved than ever, Temperance kept her composure. The figure just stood there silent, still, watching. “Speak! Art thou lost in these woods?” The figure stood, unmoved; again, there seemed to be a flicker under the hood, like eyes in firelight. Now anger, an emotion that Temperance rarely experienced, began to rise in her, dissolving the fear. “Art thou some demon or spirit? Do not vex me, I am a child o' the Lord! He shall protect me!” Her voice echoed around her.

?????????????? The deep silence of the woods was broken by the faintest of laughs, far away and rasping. It didn’t echo like Temperance’s voice had; it was flat, joyless, inhuman. For a second the figure appeared to move forward, then stopped. Temperance felt her heart begin to pound again, she began to take a step backwards, not daring to take her eyes off the dark figure that faced her. Something moved in the creature’s robe. Was it raising a hand?

?????????????? There was a flash and a sudden crackle of thunder, the storm was back, and the trees rustled in the wind. Temperance looked for the figure, but it was gone, and so was the mist, the woodland had come back to life. A panicked deer leapt from the undergrowth, not five feet from her, and Temperance let out a gasp and stumbled backwards, just managing to stay on her feet. As she composed herself, she looked around and realised she knew this part of the woodland well. She picked up the pathway and began to run out of the woods away from…from whatever that had been.

?????????????? Breathing hard, Temperance ran down the small pathway she was following and burst out onto the larger, more defined track that ran through Darksom Woods. She stopped running and steadied herself. She looked along the track towards the edge of the woods and her village. She began walking towards home. Keeping up a good pace as the storm was close. Her mind was racing, and she tried to rationalise what she had just experienced. “Thither wast nought in those trees, thee imagined it!” she said to herself. “Thee ate something that upset thy mind.”

?????????????? Calm now and keen to be back safe in her cottage, Temperance was coming to the edge of the woodland. She had convinced herself that the figure and the mist were all in her mind, they couldn’t be real. She was most likely tired and had imagined the whole thing. The storm was closing on her. She came out of the woods and headed down through the meadow and back down the hill towards her cottage, the storm hot on her heels. She should just make it home!

Grace Palfrey stood in the doorway of her cottage. She had been watching the storm approach for some time now. It was odd, but she could have sworn the storm had stopped a short while ago. It seemed to pause and go silent for a brief few moments, then with a boom and flash of lightning it started up again. Now, as she stood there watching, Temperance Dunn appeared in the distance striding quickly across the meadow on the hillside above the village. In her wake came the storm. The impression she got as she looked on was that Temperance was leading the storm! In the skies above Temperance Dunn, the clouds were dark and threatening, every now and then lightning illuminated them from within; the storm clouds came to a point in the skies above and just behind her. A curtain of rain, sweeping over the meadow and following just a few yards behind Temperance emphasised the vision unfolding in front of Grace. ?She stood watching, stunned by the sight.

?????????????? Temperance quickened her pace; the rain was almost on her as she neared the village. On the edge of the village stood an ancient Oak tree, seen by the villagers as their “guardian”. An old village superstition stated: “As long as The Oak stands, Clyst Tavy will flourish.” As she headed towards her door, Temperance glanced at the old oak, happy to be back under its protection. At that very moment, with a deafening boom lightning shot from the clouds above and split the oak in two. The remains burning fiercely. Temperance recoiled from the lightning strike and the shower of flaming splinters it produced, running headlong into her cottage, bolting the door behind her.

?????????????? Grace was standing in her doorway, trembling, almost not believing what she had just seen. She looked around to see if anyone else had witnessed the events; it seemed no one had. But people were emerging from their cottages now, alarmed by the sound of the exploding oak tree. They stared forlornly at their precious oak tree now a rapidly burning pile of splinted remnants.

?????????????? The rain front reached the village, vicious in its intensity, it extinguished the burning oak in seconds. People rushed back inside to shelter from the torrent.

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At the edge of Darksom Woods stood a figure looking on. Unseen by anyone in the village. The creature smiled to itself, pleased with its morning’s work. You couldn’t call it human anymore, although once it had been – centuries ago. It barely remembered those times. Fire flickered in its soulless eyes. Controlling the storm had fatigued it. It would rest and watch events unfold for a while, regain its strength. It turned away from the village and melted into the mist now filling Darksom Woods.

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In their cottages, Temperance and Grace sat quietly alone. Both women had seen things this day that they didn’t understand which had terrified them. Their futures were now inexorably tied to each other and neither had any idea of the horrors ahead.