The Innocent (24 page)

He hurried to the directed spot and found Reverend Mother Eunice in the chamber, where she oversaw the business of the convent. The door to the room was open, and the abbess looked up from behind the long oak table where she was working.

"Come in, Sir Ranulf," she said. "Sit down."

He took the chair that was set before the table. "I have things I would impart to you that must remain a secret, my lady abbess," he began. "It is nothing traitorous, but you will understand the need for secrecy once I have spoken."

"Go on, Sir Ranulf."

"The king is dying," he began. "I have been asked by Duke Henry, who has my loyalty once King Stephen is gone, to go to Normandy in order to bring his wife and son back to England. I have been chosen by the duke to do this deed discreetly and in secrecy. It is unlikely that anyone, particularly the great lords, will ever know how the future queen came to England. The duke is returning to Normandy immediately. I will follow in a month. This should be a simple task, but if anything happens to me, I want you to know in order that you may aid my wife."

"I understand, my lord. Will you tell Eleanore where you are going and why?"

"I will. We do not keep secrets from each other, she and I."

"What will you ask the king in return for your service, Sir Ranulf?" the abbess queried him astutely.

"If I succeed in my mission for the duke, I shall ask his permission to build a castle at Ashlin."

The abbess nodded. "You are wise," she said. "We can use a castle nearby to defend our wee bit of the border."

"That is something else I wish to speak to you about. I am told that the Welsh are raiding again this year. There is a particularly vicious bandit among them called Merin ap Owen. He burned a convent recently and slaughtered the inhabitants of it. He rides with a woman, they say. Be on your guard. Make certain St. Frideswide’s is secure both day and night."

"We have generally been left in peace, as we are known to be a simple house with nothing of value. We have no silver or gold candlesticks, no reliquaries."

"You have sheep and cattle."

"That is true," the abbess said thoughtfully, "but if the Welsh come, they will more than likely drive off the animals and leave us in peace, Sir Ranulf."

"This Merin ap Owen is a man of no conscience. The younger nuns at the convent he destroyed were violated, Reverend Mother. He did not simply steal. He murdered, and he ravaged." Ranulf arose. "I will go and see my wife and son now. They continue well?"

"Aye," the abbess replied, her mind more on what he had told her than on her guest. A man who ravaged nuns was to be feared. They must pray that this Merin ap Owen not seek out St. Frideswide's.

Ranulf left the chapter house, and walked across the cloister to the guest house. Entering, he was greeted by Orva and Willa. Then his eyes moved past them to where Eleanore sat by the fireplace, nursing Simon. "Petite!" he called to her, and she looked up, her eyes alight, a smile upon her face.

"You are returned," she said. "Welcome, my lord. Come and see Simon. I swear he has grown already."

He rushed to sit by her.
God,
he thought,
how I love her! Why can I not tell her?
But he knew the answer to his question. Eleanore had wanted to be a nun with every fiber of her being. Their marriage had been forced. While women always had their marriages arranged by guardians, most had the opportunity to meet and know something about their bridegrooms before the wedding-and they had not been raised to be nuns. How could Eleanore love him when she had been made to marry him? When her whole life had been turned upside down? Still, she had been a good wife to him, but she certainly could not love the man who had been forced upon her. And he could not bear it if she rejected his love. It was far better to remain silent.

"When can we go home?" she asked.

"If you are well enough, tomorrow, petite. The men-at-arms arrived today to escort us. The Welsh are raiding again, I have been informed. I want you and Simon safe at Ashlin. I must go away in a month on Duke Henry’s business, Eleanore."

She looked puzzled and hurt, and he hastened to explain. Orva and Willa had left the hall to give them privacy. "I have entrusted this knowledge only to the abbess and to you. No one else must know why I have gone. You can say nothing, petite. We will arrange an excuse should anyone ask about my absence, particularly if Baron Hugh comes calling and snooping about while I am gone."

Elf had finished feeding her son. "Here," she said, handing the infant to his startled father. "Hold him a moment while I lace up my chemise." Then she laughed at the horrified look on her husband’s face as the baby rested in his two big hands. "Cradle him against your chest, Ranulf. He won't break." Elf laughed.

"He’s looking at me," her husband said, awed.

"Of course he is," she answered. "Your voice is new to him. He wants to know who you are. This is your father, Simon," Elf cooed. "When you are bigger, he will teach you how to use a sword and a lance, and to ride your own pony. I will teach you to read, and to write, and to have manners. And we will both love you, Simon Hubert de Glandeville, my adorable little son. And we will give you brothers to play with and sisters to tease," Elf promised.

"You want more children? But you have just had a child!" He was surprised and secretly delighted.

"Certainly I want more children! Ashlin will be a castle one day, and the de Glandevilles an important family in this region, Ranulf. Aye, we need more children. Besides," she purred into his ear, "we had so much fun making this one." Before he dropped their son, she took the baby back, laughing softly.

Ranulf swallowed hard. "Eleanore, you make it difficult for me to leave you," he said softly.

"Then, I have achieved my purpose, my lord, and you will hurry home to us." She chuckled.

Willa reentered the chamber carrying a tray. "My lord, we thought that you might not have eaten," she said, putting the tray upon the trestle in the hall.

Ranulf’s nose twitched at the fragrant smells coming from the tray, and his eyes widened at the bounty. There was a bowl of lamb stew in a thick gravy with carrots and leeks, a small broiled trout on a bed of green cress, fresh bread, cheese, and a carafe of wine. "This is convent fare?" he asked, surprised.

"The nuns eat simply, their students more heartily. You are a special guest, however, my lord," Elf said. Rising, she handed the baby to Willa, and began to serve the meal. She heaped the food generously into a bowl and onto a polished wooden plate, setting it in front of Ranulf on a small table she had pulled up.

Ranulf ate vigorously, finishing everything that he had been brought. When Elf placed a little dish of wild strawberries swimming in thick cream before him, he grinned happily. Finally, the food all eaten and the carafe drained, he pushed himself away from the little table with a contented sigh. "I have been dreaming for a week of a good meal such as you have just served me, petite."

"I want to leave after Prime," she said. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we will get home. I have been away from Ashlin for a month, Ranulf. I want to go home!"

"You are certain you are strong enough, petite?"

"I am not some delicate flower, my lord. I am strong, thank God! On the morrow we will take our son and go home," she said firmly.

"I can remember a time when you wept at not being able to remain here at St. Frideswide's," he teased her gently, leaning over to kiss her as she sat by his side. "You are not so much the little nun anymore, Eleanore. You are a woman, Simon’s mother, and my good wife."

"I am grateful for my years here. And I should have been happy to remain, devoting my life to God, but I am more than content to be your wife and a mother, Ranulf."
And besides, I love you more than my own life now,
she thought. If only you would love me, but I know that can never be. I must be content that you consider me a good wife and look upon me with favor. I must be satisfied that we are friends.

***

The women slept in a dormitory assigned, while Ranulf slept in the men’s section of the guest house. In the morning Ranulf and Elf attended Prime in the nun’s church, joining their servants afterward for breakfast. Elf’s cart was packed, and when she was settled in it with her son, the abbess and the other sisters came to bid them a farewell.

"We have made you a gift for your church at Ashlin," the abbess said. She handed Elf a lovely woven willow basket that held a beautiful embroidered altar cloth.

"We will treasure it," Elf told the abbess, but her smile encompassed them all.

"Take good care of our godson," the abbess ordered her with a rare smile. "We expect to see him as often as you can manage to bring him for visits, Eleanore."

"Good-bye, my dear," Sister Winifred said. "Here is a bit of angelica root for your garden."

Elf kissed the withered cheek of the elderly nun. "Thank you, sister." There were tears in her eyes.

"Now, now," Sister Winifred chided her gently. "Young Sister Mary Gabriel is working out, even if she has not your instincts." She stepped away from the cart.

"I will not say good-bye, Elf, but only farewell until we meet again," Sister Columba said. "Having you here these last weeks has been a blessing, and it has made me realize that as much as you belong at Ashlin in your capacity as a wife and mother, I belong here within the convent. God bless you, my dear friend." She hugged Elf.

The little train moved from the cloister courtyard out onto the road. The nuns all clustered at the open gate, surrounding the abbess like ducklings surrounding the mother duck.

"Remember fennel water if he grows colicky," Sister Cuthbert called. Being in charge of the children at St. Frideswide's, she knew all such remedies.

They waved. The abbess, Sister Agnes, Sister Hilda, Sister Mary Gabriel, Sister Phillipa, Sister Mary Basil, Sister Anne, Sister Winifred, Sister Columba, Sister Perpetua, and the others.

"Do not forget to keep the gates secure," Ranulf called to the abbess, and she nodded her understanding of his warning.

Elf had not missed the byplay. "Do you think the Welsh will attack the convent?" she asked. In all her years there St. Frideswide’s had been a place of peace and safety.

"It is possible," Ranulf said. "I see no reason why the abbess should take chances, petite. If the Welsh come, there is the possibility they will simply steal the livestock outside the gates and leave the nuns alone. St. Frideswide’s is not known to have rich accoutrements or a store of coin. They have a fine flock of sheep and a small herd of cattle, which might prove tempting to marauders. Still, there is the incident of that convent burned recently."

They traveled the whole day along the easy road back to Ashlin. Now and then Ranulf noticed a lone horseman on the hills above them, but the rider never came close, so he was not particularly threatening. The cart caused them to move slowly, and Ranulf wished he had twice the number of men-at-arms that were accompanying them. But he had not known of the Welsh threat before he departed for Worcester. Finally, however, they reached Ashlin in late afternoon. The serfs in the fields waved to their master and mistress, laying aside their farm tools to come and see Ashlin’s new heir.

"Show them the little lord, lady," Orva said softly.

Elf ordered the cart stopped, and displayed her son to her serfs. There were cries of joy, and many compliments at the healthy little boy. "Here is the line of Strongbow for yet another generation," Elf told her people. "With God’s blessing, he will have brothers and sisters in the years to come."

Father Oswin, the new priest of the manor, came forward. "He has been baptized, of course."

Elf nodded. "By Father Anselm, with Sir Garrick as his godfather and all the nuns his godmothers, represented by my friend, Sister Columba. Simon Hubert de Glandeville will be a patron to St. Frideswide’s where he was born," she told the priest.

"Amen!" Father Oswin said enthusiastically. He was a pleasant-faced young man with warm brown eyes and straight brown hair.

The cart moved through the gates of the demesne, and up to the manor house. Old Ida and Cedric were both waiting to greet their lord and lady.

"Let me have my child," the elderly nursemaid said excitedly.

Elf laughed. "Oh, no, Ida," she told the woman, "this child will have another to watch over him. I cannot get along without you. Willa cannot serve me as well as you serve me. She needs you to teach her. I will not let you go, though you may take my son for now."

Old Ida did not know whether to be disappointed or flattered. She thought a moment as she took the baby into her arms, then decided that she was indeed too ancient to begin with another infant. An infant required a much younger woman. She realized that she far preferred serving her mistress. "I will help you choose the right woman to care for the young lord. He will be her life, as you and your brother were mine."

Behind Elf, Orva smiled a secret smile. The lady had heeded her advice, but done so in such a way as not to offend Ida. Indeed she had made her old nursemaid feel important and indispensable. The lady was wise for one so very young.

They entered the house, and Elf was pleased to see that in her absence all had been well cared for by Cedric and the servants. Seating herself by the fireplace, she took her son from old Ida and began to nurse him, while preparations for the evening meal went on about her.

"I must find Fulk and speak with him," Ranulf said.

Elf nodded, her concentration upon Simon.

Outside the hall Ranulf found his sergeant at arms drilling a troop of men in archery. "Fulk," he said, drawing the grizzled soldier aside.

"My lord?"

"I am going to need a squire to serve me. Have you among your men one who is suitable for such a position? You know the duties required of a squire. Is there a lad here worthy of advancement?"

"My nephew, my lord. He is nineteen years of age and very strong. I have taught him myself how to use a sword, a lan:e, and a battle-ax. When I was a young man, I squired Lord Robert. I will teach the lad how to care for your armor and your horse. His name is Pax, and he will be loyal to you, I vow it, my lord."