Chapter 4
Angelet could not have heard properly. The words Otto just spoke made no sense to her. “Postulant,” she murmured, in an uncomprehending echo. “Basingwerke.”
“You intend to take the veil?” the knight at her side inquired. “You didn’t say you’re the person we are to escort.”
She shook her head slightly, as if that could open her ears. “I don’t…”
“Angelet!” Now Otto stood by her side, looming between her and Sir Rafe. “You are extremely fortunate, my girl. I know the news comes as a surprise, but a welcome one, I hope.”
“It is indeed a surprise, my lord,” she said, her mind swirling. “I have many questions!”
“Then I’ll answer them,” Otto said heartily. “This moment in fact, to put your mind at ease. Come with me.” He emphasized his command by putting a meaty hand upon her shoulder.
“Please excuse me, Sir Rafe,” she murmured.
“My lady.” He rose to his feet when she did, a courtesy her own family often ignored. His expression was polite, but when she caught his gaze for a moment, she saw some speculation there, a recognition that the upcoming trip might be in doubt.
But then Angelet was being driven along by Otto, like a lamb before a shepherd’s dog. He directed her to a little alcove in one corner of the great hall. It was shadowed by a curtain that fell halfway across the opening. There was a comfortable padded bench, but Angelet remained standing.
“My lord, we have never spoken of this!” she began. “I’ve no wish for a religious life, and no calling for it.”
“You have visions of heaven, Angelet,” Otto countered.
“I do not want them,” she insisted. “If I could be free of the occurrences, I would do it in a heartbeat…”
“That is what the abbot of Basingwerke offers.”
She blinked several times, as Otto’s words sunk in. “He knows of my visions?”
“He does. Father Mark has reported news of your visions to his superiors, along with some details of what you recorded. Other visitors have their own tales too. Some are quite moved by what you claim to have seen, and by the scenes you’ve created out of mere thread and cloth.”
“I do not seek fame for what I experience. Only an end.”
“An end is precisely what you will find at Basingwerke. The abbot there has seen similar instances before. If you are merely sick, you will be treated. If you truly experience divine visions…well, what better place for you to be than in a house of God?”
“But at the cost of remaining there? For the rest of my life?”
“Everything comes with a cost, Angelet.”
“But…” If she were confined, who would be there for Henry? Her own life didn’t matter so much, but her son still needed an advocate. “What of Henry? He needs a mother…”
“Young Henry can certainly visit you there. That is a fair deal, is it not? You may be healed, and you’ll be safe and well occupied, and you’ll be able to write to your son and accept visits when his time allows. Perhaps he’ll inherit one of my manors close to Basingwerke. Or, even sooner, I could have him fostered by another family in the shire. Wouldn’t that be a happy solution? ”
She stilled. So that was the true bargain. Otto knew her vulnerability all too well. The implied promise was that if she behaved and went along with Otto’s plans, she’d be reunited with Henry in some limited way. Unlike now, when he was kept from her entirely. “I see.”
He added in an annoyed tone, “Have I not done well, to seek out assistance for your singular plight? No one else has done as much for you. Where is your thanks?”
“I thank you most sincerely for your consideration, my lord,” she said in a more obedient tone. “I only wished for more warning.”
“You have it now. By the way, do not speak of any of this to the hirelings.”
“Why not?”
“They are soldiers, and strangers,” Otto said. “They would not understand the complexities of the situation. If any of them asks, tell them merely that it is your ardent desire to take the veil. Do not mention your visions, or the physical afflictions that follow.”
Ah. He was afraid that Sir Rafe and his men would refuse the job if they knew about Angelet’s infirmity beforehand. Of course they would. Who would want to worry about escorting a sick and raving woman through the woods? “Am I to be alone then? Will no one who knows my state be there in case of an emergency?”
“Don’t be simple. You’ll have a female companion for the journey. One of the maids will go.”
Then Otto walked her back to the main table, after warning her to show joy about the decision made for her.
Sir Rafe stood once again as she returned, and waited for her to sit before he also sat.
“Where were you raised, Sir Rafe?” she asked, hoping to steer talk away from herself. “You have the air of a man used to the court.”
“Not at all,” he said. “I was raised at a manor in Shropshire. My environment was no more refined than here.”
“Have you been to court?”
“A few times. But I’ve seen the king more often on campaign…a setting where courtly manners mean little.”
“You’ve seen the king?” she asked, surprised. “King Stephen? In person?”
“Aye, and spoken with him once—on the day I was knighted. He wouldn’t remember me. My liege at the time owed allegiance to Stephen.”
“And now?”
“Now I have no lord,” Sir Rafe said, his eyes distant.
She nodded, though his answer puzzled her. Masterless men were not particularly welcome in the world. It was too chancy to have free lances wandering the land. That was how bandits gained strength, she was told. It was easier to steal and kill than to serve honorably. Yet Rafe seemed an honorable man. What had caused him to leave his lord’s service?
“Is it lonely?” she asked. “To be your own master?”
“Sometimes. But not always. For instance, there are times when I get to dine with a lovely woman.” His smile made her heart flutter, but she pushed the feeling away.
“You are a flirt,” she said, attempting to sound annoyed by it.
“True,” he admitted. “What harm is there in a little flirting?”
“You might break a lady’s heart.”
“I never have before.”
“I doubt that very much. You likely have cut a swath through the country, now full of women lovesick at knowing that you’ve smiled at them once and will never pass by again.”
“Now who’s the flirt?” Rafe asked, his eyes warming. “You look like an innocent, but I suspect you’re more than you seem.”
“I’m a widow,” she said suddenly. She touched the moonstones. “My husband gave me this necklace as a wedding gift.”
Rafe looked chastened. “I did not mean to be impertinent.” His smile returned. “Well, I did a little. It’s been said that I’m incorrigible.”
“Have no fear, Sir Rafe,” she said. “You will not break my heart.”
“I would not dare,” he returned. “And anyway, what chance would I have with a woman about to take the veil? You must be ready to leave all such worldly things behind.” His tone was light, but there was skepticism in his eyes.
“I hope to find peace at Basingwerke,” she said. She couldn’t outright lie about her situation, but she could dissemble. Think of Henry. Think of seeing him again.
“Do you not have peace now?” he asked.
Angelet saw Ernald staring at her hungrily from where he sat. She turned back to Rafe. “No. It is difficult to explain. Please do not ask me anything further.”
He relented immediately. “Then I will ask you if you’d like a little more wine.”
“Very kind. Thank you.”
Following the course of sweets and nuts, during which even more wine was poured, the hall grew noisier, filled with the contented babbling of dozens of people, full and drunk and happy.
Just as Angelet was about to excuse herself, Otto stood up once again. “Attention!” he called. “Attention!”
“Saints help me, now what?” she muttered, fearing a worse announcement than before.
The room fell quiet. Otto gestured for two servants to bring something toward the center of the hall, just in front of the high table. They rolled in a small cart on which was set a heavy wooden chest, the lid on but not secured. Next to it on the cart was a coil of heavy chain and a great iron lock. The contents must have been heavy, to judge by the grunts of one servant.
Everyone strained for a better look. Those in front leaned in over the tables. Those in back rose to their feet to see.
Otto chuckled as he walked around to where the chest sat. He made another impatient gesture. “Candles! Bring some here to better show the spectacle!”
Rafe leaned over to Angelet, whispering, “What manner of magic trick is this? Will some bird fly out of the box?”
“I know not,” Angelet replied, equally perplexed. “Otto is not above a little showmanship, but I have no idea what he has planned tonight.”
The candles were brought, and soon a pool of bright light shone on the chest and on Otto’s face. His expression was almost smug.
“I announced earlier that the lady Angelet was traveling forth on a journey to take the veil. Well, a nun’s place at Basingwerke Abbey does not come without cost. A bride of Christ must still bring a dowry with her.”
He seized the lid and swung it upward. The squeak of the hinges was a little comic, but that meant nothing in light of the revelation of the contents.
Gold. Gold and silver coins glittered and gleamed in the candlelight, drawing shouts and excited gasps from the viewers. Angelet herself was stunned. She didn't think she’d ever seen so much wealth in one place before. That was her dowry?
She glanced over at Rafe, expecting to see him also agog over the display. Instead, he leaned back a little, his eyes narrowed as he studied not the gold, but Lord Otto.
Otto himself was still basking in the attention of the whole crowd. His long fingers curled around the lid, and then snapped it shut. “There, there. You’ve all seen the dower gift, and you’ll be the last people to see it, until the abbot himself receives the chest.” Otto picked up the coiled chain and began to wind it around the chest, looping it several times, tightly enough to make the chest impossible to open without removing the chain first.
And that would also be hard to do, because Otto’s final touch was to loop the end links of the chain into the heavy wrought-iron lock. He snapped the lock shut. “Safe and secure,” he declared, holding aloft an iron key. “May this gift bring favor from heaven, and may Angelet’s holy service bring equal favor.” He turned to her. “You will say prayers for the Yarboroughs, Angelet. Every day.”
Angelet nodded wordlessly. So Otto found a use for her after all.