Snow White and Rose Red (43 page)
Read Snow White and Rose Red Online
Authors: Patricia Wrede
Finally, the Widow described the confrontation with Dee and Kelly, Madini’s unexpected appearance, the smashing of the crystal, and Hugh’s resumption of his proper form. She was extremely careful in her description of Madini’s part in the scene, omitting most of the Faerie woman’s threats and angry remarks and confining herself otherwise to a strict recounting of the actual events. Rosamund stirred restlessly several times, but did not interrupt or contradict her, for which the Widow was profoundly grateful.
“I am in debt to thee and thine,” the Queen said when the Widow finished at last. “We shall speak more of that presently. First I would hear what Madini has to add.”
“Little enough, Your Majesty,” Madini said, sinking into a graceful curtsy. Her voice was low and sweet, without a trace of either anger or unease. “Save that I think the mortals owe more to Faerie than Faerie owes to them. ”
“Say you so?” the Queen said, frowning very slightly.
“Did not the mortal wizards cause your son’s misfortune?” Madini replied. “And these have made their livelihood for years from the virtue of the plants within our borders. They have restored your son by accident as much as by design, it seems, and accidents breed no debts.”
“And will you say naught of your part in all these matters?” the Queen said gently. “How you did come so timely on the wizards, and the reason for your interest in their crystal?”
“My tale’s of little interest,” Madini temporized, “though if Your Majesty commands, of course I’ll tell it.”
“I do command it,” the Queen said sternly. “Say on, but know before you do that Bochad-Bec hath told us much of your conspiracies together.”
A murmur of surprise rose from the assembled court, and several of them frowned at Madini. “How’s this?” Hugh murmured.
“I know not, but I think ‘tis great good fortune for us,” John replied in a low voice as Madini, after a startled look, began a slow recitation of her dealings with the mortal wizards.
“Oh, ‘twas not fortune, I assure thee,” Robin said, smiling slyly.
“What?” John stared at Robin, and shook his head in wonder. “And how didst thou manage that?”
“With guile and resolution,” Robin said cheerfully. “When thou asked me to discover what was toward in Faerie, he pricked my curiosity. The court’s been tense and thick with plots since you two left, and ‘twas no easy thing to find their source. And though it seemed Madini was waist-deep in all these schemes, I could find naught but rumor that would say so. So I went to Bochad-Bec, for though he’s no courtier I thought from what thou’dst told me that he, too, was tangled in Madini’s web. Once I ... persuaded him to come before the Queen, the rest was certain sure.”
“Thou‘st gotten Bochad-Bec to speak for John and me?” Hugh said skeptically. “I cannot believe it.”
“Not for thee, old bear; against Madini,” Robin replied, grinning. “And that was but a matter of repeating certain comments that she’s made these past few weeks, regarding the character and habits of oakmen. ‘Twas easier than I expected; our Madini’s no great one for tact.”
“So ‘tis seen,” Rosamund said, indicating the tableau before the throne. “Hush!”
“And this is all your tale?” the Queen was saying to Madini.
“It is.” Madini lifted her head proudly. “I acted for the good of Faerie, so I thought, and still do think it. Would you have Faerie tied forever to the mortal world?”
“That is the question you should have asked ere you began your plotting,” the Queen said in a tone like breaking ice. “‘Tis I that am Faerie’s Queen, yet you have presumed to work against my sons, cast spells that crossed the border without leave, and tried to alter Faerie’s very nature because you hate all mortals. Can you deny it?”
“No,” Madini said, and was silent.
“Then hear my sentence: you did play counselor to the mortal wizards when you did think thereby to gain their crystal; now shall you be their counselor again, imprisoned in another globe for seven mortal years. You shall be at the beck and call of the mortals whom you so despise, and be a link twixt Faerie and the world that you would have us sundered from.”
Madini’s sudden pallor was the only outward sign she gave of her reaction to the Queen’s sentence. “What of Faerie?” she said after a moment, and her voice was strong and steady.
“Faerie is my concern,” the Queen said, and there was no trace of sympathy or softness in her voice. “And I’ll have no more talk of separation from the mortal world; such a course would be disaster. Mortal lands are our stability, and without our link to them we’d fade to mist and shadows.”
“And so instead you’ll have us dwindle till our magic’s but a memory,” Madini said bitterly. “Will you command us to attend their feasts, and dance at mortal christenings and weddings?”
“It might be no bad thing,” the Queen said, glancing at her two sons. John smiled and inclined his head very slightly in acknowledgment.
“Save that Your Majesty command, you’ll ne‘er find me in such a place,” Madini said.
“An that’s her humor, she’ll not be invited,” Rosamund whispered softly in Blanche’s ear.
“Have you spoken your fill?” the Queen said to Madini. Madini nodded proudly. “Then thy punishment begins; go, and for seven years be bound.”
As the Queen spoke, she traced three lines in the air above Madini’s head. They hung glittering, then grew and enveloped the Faerie woman in a shimmering bubble. The bubble shrank in on itself until it was about half its original size; then it seemed to turn sideways, and for a moment there was a blurred impression of a small room full of books and a polished black crystal. Bubble and image vanished simultaneously, leaving no trace of Madini or the Queen’s spell but a rainbow mist of tiny drops like the residue of a soap bubble bursting.
“And now ‘tis your turn, the Queen said, looking at John. ”You disobeyed my firm command.“
“I did,” John said steadily. “And Your Majesty knows why.”
“I do indeed,” the Queen said. “Yet still, my order stands. You have made your choice, and for that choice, you’re barred from Faerie. Henceforward, you shall be no more than mortal.”
John bowed his head, and did not answer. Beside him, Hugh stirred and said, “Your Majesty, may I speak?”
“No,” the Queen replied. “Not until I have done.” She paused, surveying the company. “There remains the matter of reward for these four mortals, who have brought my son back here to me. As a beginning, ‘tis but just that they have leave to visit Faerie when they will; if they have more requests to make of me, I’ll listen, for my debt to them is great.”
“Four?” Hugh said, just above a whisper. He turned and looked at John, and suddenly he laughed. “It seems thou canst resume thy wandering ways in all regards. Wilt thou be back before All Hallows‘?”
“Belike,” John said in a dazed voice. The Queen gave him a small smile, while the court murmured appreciative approval.
Hugh shook himself, and looked across at the Widow and her daughters. “Your Majesty, I would request a favor.”
“Ask,” said the Queen.
“I would have your permission to wed the Widow’s elder daughter, Blanche, if she and her mother are willing,” Hugh said.
“‘Tis an appropriate reward,” the Queen said, nodding. “Wilt thou have him, girl?”
Blanche glanced at Hugh and blushed, but this time she did not look down. “Gladly, Your Majesty,” she said, and held out her hands to Hugh. “Oh, gladly, indeed.”
John leaned over to Rosamund. “And thou, my most uncommon Rose,” he whispered. “Wilt thou have me, an I ask for thee?”
“Ask, and thou‘lt discover it,” Rosamund whispered back, but she blushed as red as her sister while she spoke.
“It seems unfair to leave the younger girl unwed,” John said more loudly. “An Your Majesty permits, I’ll have her, and make all even.”
“Thou hast my blessing,” said the Queen of Faerie, and her smile was almost warm. “But what thinks the girl of this?”
“I think he is an impudent rascal,” Rosamund said, lifting her chin, “and I’ll wed with him or no one.”
“Then wed with him thou shalt.” The Queen studied the little group before her throne for a moment. “And, I think, as soon as may be. For tonight, you are my guests, and we will feast in honor of my sons.”
Hugh and John bowed, the Widow and her daughters curtsied, and the audience was at an end. Over John’s and Hugh’s objections, Robin took the three women off to the court seamstress to be suitably gowned for the coming banquet. That evening they feasted royally with the Faerie court, and the following morning the preparations for the weddings began. They were so busy that it was several days before any of them thought to wonder what might be happening back in the mortal world.
True to Robin’s prediction, it was late afternoon when Master Rodgers finally staggered into Mortlak. His doublet was unlaced and full of weeds; his boots were muddy, his hose torn, and his brown wool cloak and hat completely missing. His eyes were dazed, and he mumbled constantly beneath his breath. At the edge of the market, his legs failed him and he collapsed into a shuddering heap, still mumbling.
Such an apparition quickly drew a crowd. “His wit’s been turned,” the saddler said, nodding sagely.
“He mumbles of the Widow Arden,” the chandler said with a frown. “And Doctor Dee as well, but to what import I cannot tell.”
There was a murmur of anger from the assembly, and then Joan Bowes pushed her way to the front of the expanding crowd. “‘Tis the Widow’s doing!” she cried. “Her witchery has brought him to this state!”
“Witchcraft,” Rodgers said clearly. “Admitted sorcery. The bear ...”
“You see?” Joan said triumphantly. “He confirms it as best he may. The Widow Arden’s done this!”
The humming of the crowd grew louder, and then a clear, no-nonsense voice from the rear said distinctly, “Done what?”
A low voice muttered an explanation, and an instant later Mary Hudson thrust her way in among the inner ring which surrounded Master Rodgers.
“Belike the girl is right,” the baker said importantly. “He came from the south road, where the Widow’s cottage is.”
“The Queen’s palace at Richmond is to the south as well,” Mistress Hudson snapped. “Will you lay this to her?”
The baker returned a shocked negative, and Mistress Hudson turned to Joan. “You’re a spiteful, jealous girl,” she said contemptuously. “I might have guessed ‘twould be more of your mischief.”
“I?” Joan said, her eyes widening in shock. “I’ve naught to do with this!”
“And ‘tis plain to see you’ve done naught, neither, or by now this man would be in a sickbed where he belongs,” Mistress Hudson retorted. She picked out three stout yeomen with her eyes.
“You, carry him to his lodgings and see that someone stays with him until the doctor comes.”
“The doctor!” Rodgers said, rousing and looking wildly around. “Dee? Nay, ‘twas Kelly brought the bear!”
“Hurry, lest he stir up trouble with his words,” Mistress Hudson said to her chosen assistants, and together they bundled Rodgers hastily away.
But the damage was done. Too many in the crowd had heard Rodgers’s final words, and instantly coupled Kelly in their minds with the terrifying phantom bear that prowled the forest. The anger that had simmered all summer came to a head at last, and the crowd became a mob that surged through the streets to Dee’s riverside home. Joan Bowes screamed frantically that it was the Widow, not Dee and Kelly, who was at fault, but she was shoved aside and all but crushed against a doorway as the throng hurried by. Badly battered, she limped home after the mob had passed, only to find that Mistress Hudson had stopped by and she was without a position. For Mistress Rundel credited the Widow Arden with saving the life of her small daughter, Elanor, and having been told of Joan’s malicious comments refused to have her in the house a moment longer.
Dee and Kelly were already on their way to Poland with their families when the mob arrived; their house was empty. Balked of its prey, the mob threw stones through the windows, then broke in the door and poured in a strong, untidy stream through all the rooms. They smashed or scattered anything they found that seemed to smack of wizardry, beginning with Dee’s books and astrolabe. The gazing table with its arcane diagrams was reduced to a pile of splinters. They passed on to breaking stools and crockery, and in the end set fire to the house itself.
By the time Master Rodgers had recovered from his ordeal sufficiently to understand what he had set in motion, John Dee’s home was a smoking ruin. Wisely, Master Rodgers decided to say nothing more of the strange scene he had observed in the Widow Arden’s garden. He had no wish to be declared a madman. In any case, Dee and Kelly had fled the country, the Widow Arden and her daughters were gone, and there was no one left to prosecute. Rodgers departed for London on Monday morning, and confined his report to an account of Dee’s mysterious disappearance and the violent reaction of the mob.
News of the destruction of his home did not reach Dee for many months. By then, he and Kelly were well established in Krakow, with their wives, children, and servants. They had brought with them the things most necessary to their experiments, chief among them their original gazing crystal. When they were settled enough to begin their work once more they were amazed and delighted to discover that their helpful spirit had accompanied them.
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