Daughters of the Dagger 03 - Amber (7 page)

“A pilgrimage?” she sounded frightened. “But that is dangerous, is it not?”

“Lucifer is skilled with a sword and will be there to protect you.” He smiled and nodded, knowing this would impress her.

“Yes, I’ve seen how skilled he is with a weapon. That wou
nd in his side that almost killed him proves it.”

“He was trying to fight off a band of robbers with chains on his wrists,” he spat out. “If he hadn’t been hampered by them he could have taken down
all the marauders before they’d injured him.”

“H
rmph,” she said, and it sounded like disbelief. “So my penance is to go on a pilgrimage. Anything else?”

“Well, you should allow yourself to be tempted while on it.”

“Tempted? Whatever for?”

“To see if you can resist temptation. If so, you will know your choice of being a nun is correct
. But if you cannot, and give in to the passion between you, then you will know what you’ll be missing by taking your vows.”

“Missing?
What do you mean?”

“I mean … you’ll know you were missing your true calling and that it is not
right to take your final vows at the abbey after all.”

“Yes, Father, I understand. And what ab
out my penance for speaking brashly to you in the church the night Lucifer arrived?”

“Oh, yes, that.” He knew i
n order to sound like the priest he would need to tell her something, as the man had seemed upset and determined to punish her for what she’d done. “One Hail Mary and one Our Father will be sufficient.”

“One only of
each?” she asked. “Do you mean one rosary for each bead on it that represents both of the prayers?”

Lucas knew the rosary well, as he had said it often in his days of tr
aining as a monk. There were six Our Fathers and fifty-three Hail Marys on it, and that would mean she’d have to say fifty-nine rosaries which would take forever. He didn’t want her spending any more time in prayer as she was already going to the services eight times a day and also praying in her room. Mayhap it was selfish of him, but he wanted her to spend any free time she had with him instead.

“Nay, just one of each, not a rosary for each.”

“But … but I’ve never heard of such an easy penance.”

“All right, two then. But that is enough. Now go.”

“Aren’t you going to bless me and give me grace, Father, and absolve me from my sins?”

Lucas froze. To pretend he was a priest and listen to her confession was one thing. But to absolve sins – he just couldn’t do it. And if he were caught absolving sins, he knew the punishment was to be burned at the stake.
He feared that more than he did his soul burning in Hell.

“
You need no absolution for your sins, as you really haven’t sinned, my dear. You are just feeling human, that’s all, and there is naught to forgive you for.”

“But I lied to you
, Father. Surely I need to be forgiven for that!”

“But you didn’t know at the time it was a lie, I am sure. You are confused as you are trying to just decipher your decisions. Now I bless you, so
go quickly. And don’t forget – you’ll be leaving on pilgrimage with Lucifer in just a few days, if not sooner.”

“Thank you, Father.” He heard her bless herself and then the rustle of the curtain as she left. He sat back in the chair and folded his arms and just smiled. Good thing he
didn’t believe in Hell, because if he did, that’s exactly where he’d end up for doing what he’d just done. But damn, it felt good. Now he was going to get to spend time with Amber after all, and outside the holy walls. She wouldn’t fight him since she thought it was her penance. And what a fun penance he planned on making it be.

Lucas heard the door of the church close as Amber left, and he
just sat there smiling to himself. Anything could happen, and he was looking forward to finding out what.

W
hen he heard footsteps again, he ventured to peek out, seeing it was Father Armand coming from the sacristy – the small room where the extra vestments were stored. Lucas had his hand on the curtain and was about to step out and speak to him when someone else came in, causing him to stop in his tracks.

There in the doorway to the church was
a monk he recognized as Brother Gervase, who collected the tithes from the villeins each week. The peasants were expected to give to the church one tenth of what they earned. If they couldn’t give it in money, they had to give up crop, seeds or livestock instead.

“Brother Gervase, have you finished collecting the tithes a
nd put them into the tithes barn as ordered?” he asked.

“I have collected the twenty percent of their earnings, although most of it is in livestock and grain as the villeins do not have the coin to pay.”

Twenty percent? Lucas wondered how long this was going on, as ten percent of their earnings was already asking too much. The people of Bowerwood were poor with little or nothing to begin with. With Father Armand taking their food sources away now, they were going to starve as well as have no seed to plant come spring. It was nearly autumn, and they should be stocking their larders as well as their granary, but they were stocking the coffers of the monastery instead. Especially lining Father Armand’s pockets he was sure.

“Where is the coin you collected?” asked the priest eagerly.

“I’ve put it in your room, Father, where I always put the coin.”

“Good.
Now remember, not a word to the abbess about how much we’re collecting and that you put the coins in my personal chamber. I’ll give her pittance to suffice her and not rouse suspicion, just as I always do.”

“Of course
,” he said and held out his hand.

Father Armand grumbled and pulled a coin from his pocket and handed it to the monk. “Don’t waste it at the alehouse
in town next time you collect, as I have plenty of wine hidden away in the cellarium. You can have a tankard or two with every delivery of tithes you bring me.”

“Aye, Father. Thank you.” The man shoved the coin into the fold of his robes and started away.

“Oh, and Brother Gervase,” called out the priest.

The man stopped and turned around.

“Does anyone in the village seem to be close to dying?”

“Not that I know of, why?”

“Just keep a watch. I’ll be needing more teeth, hair, and bones, soon. I’m sending Lucas out on another pilgrimage and he’s going to Canterbury. With the popularity of Becket’s shrine there and the amount of pilgrims flocking there every day, we’ll need more relics to sell. Send someone out to see if the cordwainer has any old shoes, and see if you can get one of our cooks to give you some blood next time they slaughter an animal for a meal. Those type of relics seem to sell better than the rest. People believe they’ve been healed and cured from relics and we’re going to give them hope. I’m thinking we’ll bring in enough to possibly get another stained glass window for the church soon.”

“That much?” asked the man. “J
ust from relics?”

“
Fake relics,” he reminded him. “But soon, we’ll have a rare treasure at St. Ermengild’s. That is, the Regale ruby given as a present from King Louis VII from France, two centuries ago which resides at St. Thomas Becket’s shrine.”

“But that
is in Canterbury Cathedral. We’ll never secure it.”

“But just think. If we had the ruby at St. Ermengild
’s, then the pilgrims would flock here too, just to see it. We’d be rich in no time.”

“How do you plan on securing the ruby? I hear it is well guarded.”

“I have my ways. Just keep it to yourself. Now go.”

Lucas waited until the monk left,
then as Armand turned around, Lucas stepped out of the confessional.

“Lucifer!” The priest’s eyes opened wide. “How long have you been in there?”

“Long enough to hear your scathing plans and how you’re wringing everything out of the villeins. Why don’t you just squeeze blood from them instead of the livestock? After all, they have nothing left to give.”

“So you heard everything, didn’t you?”

“I did. And I am not surprised by your greed, as I’m used to it. But I am appalled that you’d take everything from the peasants as well as steal the ruby for your own personal gain.”

“It’s not that way at all,” he explained, trying
to put his arm around Lucas. Lucas shook him off and just glared. “Walk with me,” Father Armand said, leading him out of the church.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“I want you to see the tithes barn and what’s in it.”

Neither of them said another word until they arrived at the barn. Two monks whom Lucas knew to be less than honorable were guarding the door. Father Armand just nodded and they let them pass. Once
inside, Lucas’s jaw dropped at what he saw. He had no idea that through the years the priest was collecting so much from the villeins and storing it in here.

Grain was piled high along the walls,
and fruit, nuts and wool were stacked in barrels. There was also furniture and personal objects that were taken from the serfs. A far door was opened at the other end and Lucas could see the barnyard with pigs, cows, geese, many chickens and even a horse all pushed together in the pens.

And there were
many different types of seeds in open troughs along the walls that the peasants would need desperately for planting their winter crops.

“This is outrageous,” said Lucas. “
This is gluttony, as these things will spoil or be infested with bugs or eaten by mice before they can be consumed. You claim to have taken the vow of poverty yet these are the coffers of a king.”

“Not a king, but perhaps a bishop,” he told him.
“Did you know the archbishop of Winchester even owns a few stews which bring in more money for the church than everything else put together?”

“So now you’re going to buy a stew?” he asked. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

“Nay, I’m not, I’m just pointing out how wealthy one can be if they know how to go about it.”

“You are so greedy and deceitful that I can’t believe you call yourself dedicated to God. Now I’ve seen and heard enough! Return my sword and dagger as I plan on leaving for pilgrimage as soon as possible
. And once I have my castle, I’ll have naught to do with you again.”

“Now who is the greedy and deceitful one?” the priest asked.

“I don’t think of it as greed, but rather as back payment. After all, you’ve been collecting your little treasures for some time now, and I’ve never seen any of it.”

“And why should you?”

“Doesn’t a father usually bestow his wealth on his son?”

Father Armand’s head jerked up and he narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, you are the only family I’ve ever known, so I guess that makes you the closest thing to a father that I’ll ever know, though it pains me to say it.”

The priest
didn’t say anything. He led the way to his chamber and opened the door which was locked. Ironic, since this was a place of honesty and trust and no other door in the place was ever locked.

“There are
your weapons by the trunk at the foot of the bed. Now get them and get out.”

Lucas made a beeline to the bed, trying not to e
ven look at the wealth and riches that lined the walls and floor of the priest’s personal chamber. While Amber had a small room with naught but a thin straw pallet and only a chair and table, this room looked like it belonged to a king.

Statues
of saints that were gilded in gold with embedded jewels lined shelves on the walls, and oversized crucifixes looked down upon the warm woven rugs that lined the floor. There was a padded chair used by the nobles, and Father Armand’s bed was lifted off the floor on a pedestal and surrounded by thick, velvet drapes.

There were pieces of furniture and trunks lining the walls, each one of them overflowing with fine clo
thes as well as jewelry and golden chalices and plates. And in the corner hung some of the finest swords he’d ever seen.

“No wonder you lock the door,” he said under his breath, knowing that it would do the man no good for anyone to know what lie behind it. He picked up his weapons
, and as he was fastening them on, he spied a trunk with a noblewoman’s gown of burgundy and gold made from some of the finest velvet, taffeta, and silk. Next to it on the top of another trunk was displayed a gold necklace with amber stones in it and a matching ring as well. He picked up the ring and studied it, thinking what a beautiful piece it was.

“Nice, isn’t it?” the priest asked.

“Where did you get all this?” asked Lucas. “I know it wasn’t from the peasants.”

“I often – I mean
the church
often receives gifts from the nobles trying to buy their way to Heaven. For a promised prayer, they’ll give you just about anything if they think it’ll help pave the way to redemption after they die. Most people fear the devil and Hell and rightly so.”