As time went on, and as we completed our move from the old school to what now was called, Ardua Hall, the files became all the more secret. All the more secure. And Lydia spent even more time on them, herself locked into the inner sanctum.
If there had been a coup that night, it was not to do with Aunt Lydia per se, nor about a gender traitor spiriting baby Nichole to Canada, nor even about a Handmaid on a desperate search for the fruit of her own womb, it had been over the control of the files. Once we transitioned to the 'Former University Compound' all our meetings were held there. The movement of files then seemed less mysterious, even though they'd been even more securely locked away after our meetings.
Maybe the coup was as simple as this - The Commanders tried to get control of those files by themselves controlling the architecture of the Rachel and Leah Centre. Then that disappeared. Then Aunt Lydia controlled the files through controlling the arcane architecture of the Former University Compound.
Slow motion coup. Complete. People barely noticed.
ANOTHER LOCKDOWN
As years went on, 'recruits' for the Handmaid program became more pliable. It had been quite some time since I'd been found in my underwear in the old Red Centre basement. I'd not recently had opportunity to practice my bastinado skills. If there is a coming uptick of minor insurrections, I hope I can find the old form.
Late one night in the new sorting room, the new room at Ardua Hall where we senior aunts made critical pairings of Handmaid with Commanders' homes, we had finished early. For some reason that night, things had gone smoothly. At first it threatened to be otherwise, because that day Aunt Lydia had attended a 'Witnessing' with two of the petitioning Commanders - the Commanders who had directed that it be done. Like I'd written earlier, the now infrequent Witnessing had been one of the few disciplinary measures to do with Handmaids and fertility that involved Commanders as adjudicators. Outside of the purview of Aunts.
Aunt Lydia, in fact, had arrived at that evening's pairings session on time. That night was also the first where we dealt with a request from a Commander's home that two handmaids be pressed into service there. Aunt Lydia had been particularly sour on that one. Even though Aunt Vidala had demonstrated that availability was not a problem, availability was how Aunt Lydia eventually refused the request. However, the whole process left open unchallenged the theoretical legal possibility that it could happen.
Ardua Hall being a stone's throw (pun intended) from the Eyes of God headquarters, we were used to the occasional late-night spectacle of SUVs with emergency lights flashing blue and red. But as we were sitting back with our requisite sherry, the flashing blue and red seemed more pronounced. I got up and went to the window.
"What now?" I said. "They're right outside the main entrance. So far, no one is getting out or coming in to the building."
Lydia sighed. She said, "Aunt Vidala and Aunt Helena, would you be so good as to go downstairs or outside and see what is going on?" At those words Aunt Helena obediently stood, but Aunt Vidala just stared at Aunt Lydia. Helena then said, "Come on, Aunt Vidala, I don't want to do this alone."
After the two women left, I sat back down. Aunt Lydia said to no one in particular, "Boys and their toys." She then looked at me and said, "Aunt Elizabeth, if you could. Please pull the enabling legislation about Handmaids and the appointment process. See if you can suggest a way to amend it so that dirty old men cannot get their filthy hands on two - or more - of my girls. Be a dear, and do that will you?" I'd always suspected that Aunt Lydia had had those kinds of thoughts, but this was the clearest I ever heard her state it - right out front. I prayed to God that no listening devices were in this room, but then calmed a bit. Then again, if there were, Aunt Lydia had probably put them there.
The two other Aunts came in, short of breath. Aunt Vidala exclaimed, "The Eyes are locking down Ardua Hall. No one in, no one out." At that, Aunt Sara opened the door Aunt Helena had just closed behind her - Sara said, "Aunt Lydia, Commander Judd will be calling you in a couple of minutes in your office. He requests your presence." Meaning: it was not a request, it was a Command Performance. Not that Aunt Lydia would have missed it even if it had not been. Aunt Lydia got up heading for the door, saying, "I'll be back. I'll find out what's going on."
The three of us remaining, we just sat looking at each other. No doubt Aunt Lydia would return and fill us in. We were never clear that we heard everything when it was her version.
We were on our third glass of sherry when Lydia returned. She said, "We're going to be locked down at least until morning, maybe noon. These Commanders are losing it. It never used to be like this."
The three of us, none of us dared ask questions. But that didn't matter. Aunt Lydia explained that the Waterfords - both the Commander and his wife - were missing. On top of that, High Commander Winslow from the D.C. Chancery - not the local D.C. one, but the national one - was also missing.
Aunt Lydia added: "Once again, Gilead is under siege, and all Commander Judd can ask about is those flipping files." It was her guess that every time there was some sort of crisis, Eyes of God SUVs were going to ring Ardua Hall.
Aunt Lydia suggested that we all go to our rooms and get some sleep. She would stay for a minute to secure the files still open, still on the newer version of the lazy susan in front of us that we were used to. As we stood, she said, "They are questioning the Waterford's martha. If she knows something they'll get it from her."