In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (073) – Holy Saturday

April

 

The Old Manor stands in the middle of the village and is the oldest surviving building and it was the home of Andrew Lane, his wife Violet and their six unmarried daughters, Emma, Dorset, Hilary, Heather, Rosie and Merri.

Andrew and Violet loved their children very much but as they reached the time in their lives when they were nearing their sixties they had expectations for their daughters.

For Violet her hopes involved the grandchildren that were not forthcoming whereas Andrew just wanted them to spread their wings, but as Spring loomed there was no sign of either of them getting their wish, however they were a religious family, so the power of prayer was a wonderful thing and both parents prayed for their daughters. 

However, 24-year-old Hilary had already found love, and that love had lasted since she was eight years old when she fell in love with music.

Hilary was a very accomplished musician, and an exceptional talent, and was something of a prodigy and could have pursued a career had she not also loved God and between her music and her faith she had no room in her heart to love anyone else as well.

But as Easter approached something happened that turned her world upside down when they were at the height of the rehearsals for Easter, when at the beginning of Holy week, she tripped down the church steps and broke her arm.

The choir rehearsals ground to a halt as she was confined to the home to rest, while frantic phone calls began to find someone of a decent enough standard to fill her shoes and it took a couple of days phoning around the county to find Wayne Challen who had just completed his master’s at Abbottsford.

 

Wayne was another prodigious talent but unlike Hilary he was a relatively new convert to the faith.

It was when he was in his first year at University and having arrived from a rural community to a large and busy city, of all things that might have happened to him, the most surprising thing was that, despite the fact that he had always believed himself to be an atheist, he had found solace in God.

He wasn’t sure where it came from, it certainly wasn’t from his upbringing, and although his grandmother and grandfather were both from strict Methodist families his parents were not believers themselves.

In fact he had never even set foot in a Church until he was almost 19, when one of his housemates asked him to escort her to mass at St Hilda’s Church, on one cold dark December night.

Wendy was the chorister, and her presence was very much required but her usual companion was unwell, so she was facing the walk there and back on her own.

But Wendy was of a nervous disposition and really needed an escort, so Wayne volunteered.

He planned to walk her to the door, leave her there in the safety of the church and then pick her up later, but it was a bitterly cold night, so Wendy persuaded him to go inside.

“You can just stand at the back”

“Ok” he agreed but as soon as he walked through the doors he felt it, it was like a comforting hand settling on his shoulder and he immediately felt at home.

 

After that first time he became a regular and within six months he was playing church music, although St Hilda’s didn’t have an organ, so it was a further year before he had his first experience of a real church organ, and he enjoyed it so much that he chose organ music for his masters.

He quickly gained a reputation as a talented and gifted exponent on the instrument and was very soon asked to sub for organists at Churches all over Abbottsford.

So, when Arthur Owens, Vicar of St Hilda’s heard on the grapevine that his old friend Andrew Lane mentioned to him the St Agatha’s were in dire need of an organist with Easter looming he didn’t hesitate to suggest Wayne Challen for the task.

He even drove him to Pepperstock Green to introduce him to his friend and when Wayne entered St Agatha’s during Holy week, he again felt Gods hand on his shoulder, so he knew at once that he was where he was meant to be.

“Good to see you again Andrew” said Arthur and the two men embraced.

Introductions were made and then the two friends went off to the Old Manor and left Wayne with choirmaster Patrick Coad who introduced him to the instrument, and the choir.

 

There was no time however for him to ease into the role because even though St Agatha’s had found Hilary’s replacement relatively quickly they still lost two days rehearsal, which was time that had to be made up so Wayne hit the ground running because as Easter approached the Choir needed to intensify the rehearsals to catch up and he was impressed as everyone involved gave total commitment and worked diligently to make up for lost time.

He was starting to panic as he had another piece to play in the Good Friday service that did not involve the Choir that he needed to practice.

But when it got to the evening of Maundy Thursday there was only Heather Lane’s Good Friday solo, and Choirmaster Patrick Coad kept insisting on Heather doing the solo over and over, not because he was a hard task master, it was obvious that he was mesmerized by her angelic voice, and appearance.

However, Wayne eventually called a halt to proceedings when Patrick asked to go again.

“I don’t think that’s necessary, it’s getting late, and you can’t improve on perfection”

“No, you’re quite right” Patrick agreed with his eyes still fixed on Heather.

 

Once the choirmaster and his angel had gone he set about practicing one of the two pieces he needed to rehearse, and it was the one he was performing the next day that he gave his immediate attention to, and fortunately it was the easier of the two but he still stayed at the organ until the early hours, and would have stayed longer if the Andrew Lane hadn’t dragged him away to the Old Manor.

But the next day he was up early and was on the way out the front door before Violet Lane caught him by the arm.

“Oh no you don’t young man” she said

“But I really need to get back to the church” he protested

“Not without some breakfast inside you” she insisted and steered him into the dining room where the entire Lane clan were sitting around the table and apart from Heather and Andrew there were unfamiliar faces looking back at him.

“Wayne dear boy” Andrew said amiable “let me introduce you to the brood”

 

Andrew went around the table introducing his daughters in turn, but it was the last of the six who had caught his attention.

She was a very striking looking young woman with long brown hair, tied in a French Plait, she was also very straight backed and showed a confidence he might otherwise have found quite disarming, but Wayne very much liked what he saw, and he knew from the fact that she had her arm in a sling that she was Hilary, the organist.

“And you must be the organist” Wayne said “You have a great reputation, I look forward to hearing you play, by all accounts you not only play beautifully but have a great repertoire”

“Well, that’s kind of you to say” she responded and blushed at the compliment

Wayne sat down at the table and Mrs. Lane put a plate of Bacon and Eggs in front of him

“Thank you” he said and then addressed Hilary again

“How long before you’re on the mend?”

“At least six weeks” she said sadly

“I can’t imagine not being able to play for that long” Wayne said

“It’s not great” she agreed “but I’m counting the days”

“Well, I promise I’ll do my best in your absence” Wayne said

“I just hope I can do that wonderful instrument justice”

“I’d love to come and listen to you practice” Hilary said

“I’m afraid not” Mrs. Lane said “You have to rest”

“But I can rest and listen at the same time” she pleaded

“Absolutely not” her mother insisted “But if you do as you’re told and spend the day resting you can come to the service this evening”

Hilary rolled her eyes and frowned in response and Wayne smiled

“Sorry” he whispered conspiratorially

“I hope they let you out later”

 

He only managed to get just over an hour of practice in, as the church was quite busy as it was being prepared for the service.

It was an important day in the church calendar and could either be at noon or in the evening but at St Agatha’s it was the latter.

 

That evening everything came together and all the choir practice and his additional sessions paid off, not that Wayne himself was convinced, and he had his doubts as he descended the steps but as he planted his foot on the final step he looked up and saw Hilary Lane sitting on the front pew and when their eyes met she smiled and gave him the thumbs up with her good hand.

He was going to go and speak to her, but her mother quickly spirited her away back to the safety of the Old Manor.

 

The next day was Holy Saturday, the Great Vigil of Easter, and when he got downstairs, he thought he would report to the dining room, he told himself it was because he didn’t think he should attempt to leave without breakfast again, but in reality he was hoping to engage with Hilary again.

Because it was so rare for him to have someone to talk to about proper music, let alone church music, and even rarer than that, organ music, well that was what he told himself but actually he really liked her.

Unfortunately, when he walked in, he found no table full of Lane’s, just Andrew.

So, he had coffee and toast and then walked over to the church.

 

Hilary managed to slip out of the house without being seen after her mother left to drive to the supermarket.

She expected to find Wayne practicing and when she entered, she found him doing battle with a piece by Wesley.

Hilary was an accomplished organist and had played at the church for many years but she hadn’t just sat in the church and listened to the music, so she did just that and she sat in a pew with her eyes closed and moved her hand and fingers of her good hand as if she were playing it herself and when the piece was finished she nodded and smiled and when Wayne emerged from behind the curtain she said

“Well done”

“Oh, bless me” he said “you scared me”

“Sorry” Hilary said and giggled

“That’s ok I just didn’t know there was anyone else here” he said

“How come you’re still practicing?” she asked “You really don’t need too”

“That’s very kind of you to say so” he said “I needed to reacquaint myself with the piece”

“That makes sense then” she said “It’s a tricky piece if you haven’t played it in a while”

“I bet you wish you were playing it” he said

“Yes, but alas I won’t be playing it this Easter” she said wistfully “I will be quite rusty by the next one”

“Would you like to play now?” he asked hopefully

“I’d love to, but I can’t” she replied nodding towards her sling.

“We could do it together” he suggested “You can play the right hand, and I’ll play the left”

“Oh yes please” she replied enthusiastically

 

So, they spent the next two hours playing together on the organ and they would have gone on longer had they not been disturbed by her mother.

“Hilary!! Is that you?”

The music stopped abruptly, and they looked at each other and Hilary shook her head’

Mrs. Lane waited for a reply then Wayne’s face appeared from around the curtain

“Hello Mrs. Lane” he said

“Ah Wayne is Hilary with you?”

“No, I’m afraid not, I haven’t seen her since yesterday”

“Oh dear, I was convinced she’d be in here” Mrs. Lane said

“Well, if I see her, I will be sure to deliver her home without delay” he said

“Ok dear” she said and walked briskly off

 

“Thank you for fibbing” Hilary said “I’m having fun and I’m not ready to stop yet”

“That’s ok” he said “I’m enjoying it too but just another half an hour, you are looking a bit pale”

“Fair enough” she agreed

 

As it turned out she only managed fifteen minutes as fatigue set in, and she asked

“I think I need to go home now, will you take me?”

“Of course” he said and helped her down the steps then she took his arm, and they walked slowly to the door.

Once outside they started down the steps and her legs went wobbly, so he scooped her up in his arms.

“Goodness knows what I’m going to tell your mother” he said

“Tell her you found me sitting in the gallery” she responded quietly

“I don’t like lying to her” he said

“If you tell the truth she might not let me, see you again” she said in barely more than a whisper

“And you wouldn’t like that?” he asked

“No, I would not” she retorted

“Then I shall fib” he declared and smiled

 

The door was open by the time he got up the path and her mum was by the door, but she had no question for him, so no lie was required, instead she led the way, and he followed on and he carried her upstairs and lay her on her bed and then her mum and sisters took control, and he was surplus to requirements.

 

The Great Vigil of Easter is a service held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus, which is held in the hours of darkness between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Day, most commonly in the evening of Holy Saturday, and is the first celebration of Easter.

There is some music during the service, but there was more prayer and meditation than music, but Wayne was not meditating on Christ’s Passion and Death, his thoughts and prayers were exclusively for Hilary and her well-being, and he swore a vow never to put her at risk again. 

At the end of the service proper when his contribution was over, he went to a vacant pew and knelt on a hassock and prayed and after a few minutes Mrs Lane knelt beside him and put her hand on his.

“She wants to see you”

“She’s alright?” he turned and asked her

“She’s fine now, she was just exhausted” she said then she smiled and added

“Organ playing will do that to you”

“You knew?”

“I always know” she replied “What I was unsure of was whether it was you or the music that was keeping her there”

“And?”

“And you will need to go and see her to find that out” she replied enigmatically and left him to ponder.

In truth his pondering lasted milliseconds and he headed as quickly as was expedient without breaking into a run.

When he got back to the house, he was met by a smiling Heather who said

“Wow that was quick, go on up, she’s waiting for you”

So without responding verbally he went up the stairs to Hilary’s room.

The door was open slightly but before he proceeded, he took a moment to collect himself, took a deep breath and then knocked.

“Come in”

Wayne accepted the invitation and pushed the door open to find a radiantly smiling Hilary sitting up in bed looking the picture of health, albeit with the assistance of her sisters, and a touch of makeup. 

 

Suffice is to say that Easter marked a special beginning for Wayne and Hilary, and Holy Saturday in particular would forever mark the anniversary of when two accomplished organists became a duet.