I Promised You - William and Ophelia (3 page)

“What were you drinking today, Ophelia?” Her
mother asked. “Did that William boy offer you ale?”

“No, I am quite serious. I heard little Hugo
say quite plainly Thank you, Ophelia.”

“What did Gertrude say? Did anyone else hear
the child speak?”

“Gertie and Julia took the child upstairs, no
one else had been close enough to hear. Mother, I am sure that the
child spoke to me!”

Ophelia’s mother clapped her hands together
in joy. “He is one of us, Ophelia, little Hugo is one of us! You
must get word to your sister as soon as you can. Although, perhaps
he will make himself known to her as well.”

“That cannot be, mother. His father is called
Mathew, and he is a man who has been summoned to help with the
purification. He and an even worse huntsmen they call The Great
Evil. I shudder to think of what either one of them would do to the
child if they knew.”

“You must not speak of this to the child’s
mother, Ophelia. If his blood goes back into times that did not mix
with his mother’s, then she might harm her son, kill him even.”
Ophelia’s mother said, alarm in her voice. “What kind of a person
is his mother?”

“I do not know, mother. I only just met her
today. She treated me kindly while I was there. I do know that both
William and Gertrude speak well of her and both have expressed
worry of what type of beast her husband is.”

“You must set out again for the Palace before
too long, daughter. If Hugo has shown himself to you, then maybe he
will also seek out your sister. Let’s pray that he does, she will
be able to protect him.”

Ophelia had many sleepless nights after that
conversation with her mother. She wanted to make yet another trip
to the Palace. She was concerned that she might be deemed a
nuisance and banned from the Palace if she were to appear too
often. Then too, she knew not when the King and Mathew were to
return. It would do more harm than good if she would visit while
the King and Mathew were there.

Ophelia was washing out some garments of hers
and her mother’s near the waterfall when William appeared.

“Oh my! William, what are you doing here?”
She asked.

“Looking for you, in fact. This was where I
first met Gertie. I was hoping to have the same luck today and now
I have.” William said, smiling.

William told her to wait there for a moment
and he ran back to the wagon and retrieved a basket with cheeses
and fruits. He and Ophelia had a picnic there at the base of the
waterfall. Ophelia felt a wave of happiness being with William.

“William, may I speak what is on my mind to
ye?”

“Of course, did I offend you in some
way?”

“Not at all. I am very surprised to see you
today, but also very happy to be sitting here with you as well. I
have so many questions for you that my head hurts.” Ophelia said,
taking a bite of the delicious orange William had brought with
him.

Encouraged by his kind big brown eyes,
Ophelia spoke. “William, I have noticed that you speak in different
tongues. Tis hard to tell if you are of Nobel birth, or something
else. You told me that Julia found you in a market place when you
were much younger. Do you have no parents of your own?”

“I do speak differently at times. I supposed
I get that from living with Julia for all of these years. She also
speaks in a variety of words. I suppose it comes from traveling
around as much as she has. It is easy to pick up different
languages or ways of speaking when you are around so many different
groups of people.” William said. “My parents were poor and had to
leave me to my own resources when I was very young. I have not seen
them in many, many years. I owe everything to Julia. May I ask a
question of you, now?”

Ophelia almost dropped a grape she was about
to put into her mouth. Perhaps this session of questions was not
such a good idea after all. She looked down and said nothing.

“You apparently have not traveled far from
the forest. But both you and your sister Gertie have also spoken in
words that are foreign to my ears. I wonder why that is.” He
said.

“Gertie must have been listening to Julia and
as for me, well, I catch on very quickly when Gertie speaks to me.
William, what do you think of this purification that so many people
are speaking of?” Ophelia asked, almost sure that William would not
be so willing to seek out her company after today because all of
her questions and she was determined to find out everything she
could from him.

“I think it is horrible. Please do not get me
wrong, Ophelia, I do not know any witches, nor do I know any magic
tricks. It seems to me that to go into someone’s homes for the
express purpose of killing them, well that is just wrong. I hate
the very thought of it and so does Julia.” William said loudly, and
then obviously thinking about his words, amended “Although I do not
speak for Julia, only myself.”

“What if there was something that we could do
to help these unfortunate people who are to be preyed upon? Would
you be willing to help them? To stand with them and fight against
the treacherous, evil men who are nothing but killers?” Ophelia
asked.

William stood up and took a few steps away
from her. For a moment, Ophelia wondered if she should not take
this moment to run. What if he told Julia what she asked him? Or
worse yet, let Mathew or the King know when they returned?

After a moment’s reflection, William walked
back to Ophelia and knelt beside her, taking her hands in his. “I
am a good man, Ophelia. I only wish for everyone to live in peace.
I would do anything in my power to help others in pain. But I know
not what I could do. I am not born of wealth. I have no influence
with anyone other than maybe Julia, but as a woman, she also has no
power. I will not be asking you today more about your words, but I
will not forget them either. Ophelia. I think perhaps it is time
for me to return to the Palace. Until we meet again.” William said,
kissing her hand and taking his leave.

For the next month or so, William came into
the forest several times a week to seek out Ophelia. Gertie
accompanied him on a few occasions. William and Ophelia talked and
laughed near the waterfall while Gertie slipped away and ran home
to spend time with their mother.

“I have missed you so much!” Gertie said,
throwing her arms around her mother.

“I have missed you as well. Sit daughter, we
have but a short time and there is much to say. Tell me everything
that you have learned.”

“The King and the man called Mathew have yet
to return. I don’t know how long our luck will last. Julia and I
have become friends.”

“You must be careful, daughter. I worry about
you being in the Palace and your sister has been seeing a lot of
that young man, William. I am afraid her head and heart is so full
of thoughts of him that she is not thinking straight. It scares me
that you and she might let your guard down around Julia and the
young man.”

“We do not have to worry about Julia, for her
son is one of us! We have nothing to fear from her, and she loves
William as if he were her own.” Gertie told her mother.

“The power must be Julia, for Ophelia tells
me what a bad man this Mathew is. Although, there have been more
than a few men willing to slaughter their own to keep from being
found out. Those are the most dangerous. You must find out,
Gertrude, for if he is one with the power it would mean sure death
for all of us and we must flee.”

The door opened and Gertie and her mother
were shocked to see Ophelia walk into the kitchen with William.

“Mother, Gertie, William and I have news to
tell you both. We have decided to wed.” Ophelia said, a big smile
on her face.

Their mother sat down at the table and put
her hands on her lap. “William, please sit, Ophelia, Gertrude,
please leave us, go and bring in more wood. I wish to speak to
William alone.”

As soon as the sisters left, William spoke.
“I understand that you do not know me and therefore might not trust
me. But I am speaking from my heart, Goodwife.”

“Rose”

“Rose, that is an unusual name, one I have
never heard before. But it fits you and I daresay Ophelia’s name
could also be Rose, such is her beauty.”

“William, I do not believe I can give you and
my daughter my blessing.”

“We would very much like to have your
blessing and consent, Rose. It would mean everything to Ophelia and
to me. However, I am here to tell you that I plan to marry your
daughter. It would hurt Ophelia if you said no, and that would hurt
me as well, but make no mistake, I will marry Ophelia. I love her
very much. I will protect her from all harm and she will never know
a sad day. This I promise.” William said.

“There is much you do not know about Ophelia,
about our lives here, William.” Rose said.

“Then tell me so that I may fully be prepared
to be a part of your lives.”

Rose stood up and opened the door to the back
of the house. Gertie and Ophelia were pressed up against the door
trying to listen and had to scoot away to keep from getting hit by
the opening door.

“Ophelia, come. You have much to discuss with
this young man. I want you to be honest with him and mindful of
your tongue. If William still wants to marry you then I shall not
object. I trust your judgement and I see the way you look at each
other, I want only the best for you. You understand the risks are
great, Ophelia, our lives are very much in your hands. Come,
Gertrude, let’s take a walk down by the waterfall.”

Gertie looked at Ophelia and William and
winked as she took her mother’s arm and walked away from the
house.

“Gertrude, what do you think of this proposed
marriage between William and Ophelia?” Rose asked.

“He loves her, mother, and she loves him.
Julia and I have become close and I now believe that she is one of
us. As for William, I do not know. Julia loves him like a son, but
she has never spoken to me of him in that way. I know not if she is
trying to protect him by not telling him about herself and Hugo, or
if indeed he does know.”

“They have spent many years together, it
would seem that there would not be much that he did not know about
his benefactor.” Rose said.

“That is true, however, there has always been
Mathew with them. He is not a man who would look kindly upon
learning he has been deceived. I imagine it was much easier for
Julia to hide her true self from him in the past, but with the baby
comes questions. Since Mathew and the King are still away, he has
not seen his son, but when the day comes that Hugo does something
strange or speaks, everything could change.” Gertrude said.

“I fear for Julia and her child, Gertrude,
but my heart is with you, tis you I am more concerned about, and
Ophelia.” Rose said.

“William has been away so much courting
Ophelia, that he has not been around Hugo a great deal. Thus being
so, I have no knowledge of what he knows or does not know. Things
are changing and decisions will have to be made before the King
returns. Thus far the delays have been a blessing. I will keep my
eyes and ears opened.”

Much later when Rose returned to her house,
William was gone. Gertrude had already left on her way back to the
Palace, taking one of the horses from William’s wagon. Ophelia was
sitting at the table and seemed very deep in thought.

“Ophelia, where is William?”

“William has returned to the Palace,
mother.”

“Is all well?”

“I am to be married mother, William
understands and loves me.”

“You told him – everything?”

“I was honest with him, mother. William is a
good man. I have given him a lot to think about and much to fear.
But William has decided that we are worth the risk. For as long as
we can be together, we will be.” Ophelia told her mother.

“Even though for him that will not be
forever?”

“Even then. William will be back in two days’
time and he will bring Gertrude back with him and we shall be
married, here in this beautiful forest. Please say that you are
happy for me, mother. I could never smile again if you are against
our marriage. I love William, I love him so much, mother.” Ophelia
said, kneeling at her mother’s feet and placing her head in her
mother’s lap.

“I am happy for you, Ophelia. With William’s
connections in the Palace and with your sister there, perhaps we
shall be spared too much scrutiny. Where will you live, surely not
in the Palace? Am I going to lose both of my girls to the King’s
home?”

“No, mother. Alma told me that she is going
to leave this forest to go live with her sister. The long walks
over to the next village have been hard on her. She has offered
William and me her home to use for as long as we need it.”

“Then it is all settled.”

“Yes, mother. It is.”

William and Ophelia were married in a small
ceremony in the forest among the tall trees and wild flowers near
the waterfall. Julia had offered them the use of the Palace, since
the king and her husband were still off on their travels. Ophelia,
however, wished to be married in the forest, among their friends.
She also wished to not bring her mother to the Palace, even for the
wedding. The more she was noticed there, the more dangerous their
situation could be if things changed for the worse. As it was, no
one had laid eyes on her mother’s face.

When Julia and Hugo arrived with Gertie and
William for the ceremony, Rose and Julia stared at each other.

”Genevieve, is that really you?” Rose
exclaimed, rushing up to Julia.

“Elizabeth! Do eyes deceive me?” Julia
cried.

Gertie, Ophelia and William stood back
watching the reunion. “You two know each other?” William asked.

Julia answered him. “Indeed we do, William.
This is my old friend, Elizabeth. It has been a great many years
since we last parted. Another time, another place. You are called
Rose now? What an unusual name! It is so good to see you again, my
friend. I heard about your husband, Robert, and I am so sorry.”