About Hand of Glory
by Kate Cotoner
89 pages / 36500 words
ISBN:
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc, epub, Sony-optimized pdf
Ethan Heng has come to the little English village of Hepplewick to
investigate his family heritage. A misunderstanding over some church
brasses leads to lunch with Matthew Jennings, the attractive young
vicar, but soon the two men are plunged into a five hundred-year-old
mystery when a Hand of Glory is discovered in the walls of the local
pub.
Ethan and Matt discover clues left by the Hand's original owner, Abbot
Fosbroke, who was executed for satanic practices and theft. Local lore
states that Fosbroke's treasure is still waiting to be found, though
generations have searched for it in vain. While Matt battles with demons
from his past, Ethan urges him to rebuild his life and live for the
moment. Their happiness, and the good of the village community, is
entangled with the mystery of Fosbroke's treasure, and only the Hand of
Glory can point the way.
Review
Syd McGinley,
author of the Dr. Fell books, writes: The Hand of Glory is a yarn of the
best sort! Mysterious burials, lights on the hill side, gossiping
villagers, hidden treasure -- and even better – smoldering romance
between the visitor and the local priest. Who knew brass rubbing was so
erotic? As an ex-pat Brit I got quite home sick as I read the
descriptions of villages, food, and pubs. The setting was gorgeously
realistic, the villagers rang true, and the historical details were spot
on – including the gruesome details about the hand of glory!
Highly recommended for a delightful affair, tight plot, strong
characters, great sense of place, and all around good read!
Sample
Ethan glanced at Matt curiously. “Do you believe in
ghosts?”
Matt met his gaze. “I’m a priest. I believe the human soul goes to God, but
it can sometimes take a twisted path to reach Him. I also believe many
ghosts aren’t spirits at all, but imprints of traumatic events--like Anne
Boleyn running screaming down the corridor at Hampton Court Palace prior to
her execution.” He hefted the hand gently. “That’s why people set such great
store by Hands of Glory. They all came from the hanged bodies of murderers.
Men who lived violent lives usually had violent deaths. The trauma around
them was considered a conduit for powerful magic, good or evil.”
“You mean that’s the hand of a murderer?” Ethan edged away from it. The
bathroom seemed to have gone cold suddenly.
“Yes.” Matt got up from the bathtub and set the hand down on the side of the
sink. “The left hand was always taken first, because the left was considered
evil. And this is a left hand. You can see where it was sawn off. Whoever
prepared this did a good job. The stump is cauterized, properly sealed
together.”
They both jumped as a loud banging sounded from the room on the other side
of the shattered wall. Matt jerked away from the sink, his sleeve catching
against the hand. It fell, and without thinking, Ethan lunged forward and
caught it.
It felt dry and scratchy in his arms. He had a strange feeling that the
clawed hand was reaching up to grab his throat. Pushing aside the thought,
he straightened and offered the grisly artifact to the priest.
“I’d forgotten about the other builder,” Matt said. “Scared the life out of
me!”
“Me, too.”
“Thanks for saving it.” Matt settled the hand back on the sink. “It would
probably have exploded into dust if it fell on the floor. Or at least a few
fingers would’ve dropped off. But look--the ring…”
Ethan had already spotted it. He retrieved the fallen ring and held it to
the light. At first glance it appeared to be made of gold, with a claw
setting holding a faceted ruby bigger than the first joint of his thumb. The
stone flashed fire around the bathroom. He lowered the ring and caught sight
of words engraved inside it.
“It says something here.” Ethan gave it to Matt. “I’ve seen that ring
before. It looks like the one worn by the effigy in your church.”
“Abbot Fosbroke?” Matt’s eyebrows rose. “You could be right. Medieval abbots
did tend to wear gaudy rings like this one to show off their prestige. Let’s
see if the lettering can give us a clue…” He peered closer and sighed. “This
isn’t English. I think it must be Latin. It says Auri Sacra Fames.”
Ethan gave him an admiring glance. “You can read Latin?”
Matt looked embarrassed. “Not really. Just the odd bit of ecclesiastical
Latin, Adeste fidelis, that sort of thing. But this is definitely Latin.
Auri means gold. Sacra must have something to do with sacred. Fames…”
“As in ‘famous’?” Ethan suggested.
“I don’t know.” Matt chewed his lower lip as he puzzled over it. “Sacred
gold? Maybe it’s a reference to Fosbroke’s treasure. He was reputed to have
stolen vast amounts of money from the abbey.”
“Aye, he did steal it. And he buried it, some say up on Grey Fell.” Sam
ventured back into the bathroom, nursing his cup of tea. The drink seemed to
have restored his spirits. “He knew he would hang if the authorities caught
up with him, so legend has it that he buried his treasure and left clues so
his son would find the money.”
Ethan blinked, not sure if he’d heard right. “Son?”
Sam grinned. “That’s what they say. Hardly surprising, given that Fosbroke
was shafting half the maidens in the village at the time. Stands to reason
he’d have a couple of kids running around. But as far as I know, the
treasure was never found.”
“Maybe because they didn’t have this.” Matt held out the ring.
Sam studied it but didn’t touch it. He frowned. “You think it’s a clue?”
“Could be. Otherwise why would a Hand of Glory be wearing an abbot’s ring?
Why wasn’t it stolen before the Hand was sealed inside the wall? It must be
there for a reason.” Matt shrugged. “Or maybe it’s not a clue at all, but
all that remains of the treasure. If Fosbroke tried to bribe his way out of
execution, he might have had nothing left except this ring.”
“Must be valuable.” Sam was still frowning. “That’s a big ruby.”