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Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned
Madelyne clenched her hands together and tried to banish the last memory of Gavin of Mal Verne fro of her consciousness, for tricking hi into the dry, unpolished wood of the prie dieu even as her knees pressed into its uneven hardness A splinter shot under a fingernail, and Madelyne winced but e it The pain would be her penancethe pain and that surprising sense of loss now that he was gone from her life
"Madelyne"
The sound of her name pulled her from more fervent prayers, and she looked up into the round face of Sister Patricka
"The Mother wishes to speak with you" Patricka offered a hand to assist Madelyne to her feet "Maddie, are you unwell?" There was concern in her blue eyes
"Nay" Madelyne smiled at her friend-one of the only other inhabitants of the abbey as near her in age "&039;Tis only a guilty conscience that ails me"
"Ah" Patricka scrutinized her closely, and Madelyne looked away, fearing that her friend would see that uilty conscience pricked at her "Mother awaits you in her chaers into the cuff of her sleeves, the absence of her prayer beads painfully conspicuous as she hurried along a hallway to Mother Bertilde&039;s office
The door was closed Madelyne knocked, then stepped back and waited with an inclined head When the oaken door swung open, she was surprised to see her ownher within
"Maave a brief curtsey, then a quick e care not to knock their wimples askew
"You have spent much time in the chapel as of late" Bertilde spoke without preamble from her cushioned arued by that which needed to be done"
Madelyne lowered her eyes to look at the stone floor and curled her hands together A twinge from the splinter still embedded under her nail surprised her, and she rubbed at the tender spot She saw the glide of herthe stones as she ret that &039;twas necessary to resort to trickery in dis Lord Mal Verne and his men from our abbey"
"&039;Twas necessary, Madelyne!" Anne spoke "As long as Fantin lives, we cannot chance that word of our existence reach him &039;Twas necessary to re the chance that they&039;ll not find their way to return"
"But to drug them!" Madelyne looked at Bertilde, and then back to her mother "They could not knoho I a their respite here &039;Tis inize you! Father, if he lives still, cannot hurt us when there is no one to carry tales to him"
"He lives still," Anne said, her voice still and heavy
"Madelyne, child," Bertilde said, offering her hand to the younger woht-&039;tis most unlikely that Gavin of Mal Verne should be the cause of Fantin de Belgru that you and Anne are hereyet, when those ood would follow They are gone nearly a fortnight, and that fear has not left e, capable hand, she was drawn into the abbess&039;s arms, enfolded in the softness of her linen habit and hint of musky incense The ease that usually came with such an e her eyes Mayhaps Bertilde spoke correctly and the safe idyll that she and her mother had found would be destroyed The mother abbess was closer to God than anyone else Madelyne knewmayhaps He had spoken to her
"Madelyneyou did not talk of your past whilst you tended to their wounds, did you?" Anne&039;s voice betrayed what must have been a most deep-rooted fear
Because Madelyne understood her hted by Anne&039;s question, and she moved to put her arms around her "Nay, Mama, I did not You have i of how I came to be here I never shall" She felt the tremor in Anne&039;s shoulders and pulled back to press a kiss to her er either of us in that way I will do anything to keep you safe, Ma" Her serious words became a vow, as if before God, spoken with conviction and certainty
Anne seeripped her and slid her hands down frohtened around her daughter&039;s arms with her next words "Bertilde, and you, and I-and Seton, aye-are the only ones who know the truth of hoe came here If there are no others who know, then we must be safe We must be" She repeated those last words with such fervor that a chill raced down Madelyne&039;s spine
It ht God ruenet&039;s voice caused even the scribe who sat in the corner of the royal chambers to look up "Mal Verne?"
"Aye" Gavin&039;s mouth firmed in annoyance at the reold eyebrows together The taste of defeat sat heavily upon hi "I do not kno he learned of our planned assault at Mancassel, my lord, but &039;twas obvious that he did, for ere set upon in a dense forest several leagues from there No one could have knoould be there at that tiin to wonder if I have a spy in rume is simply the most fortunate man alive If I had not sent half my men on ahead to Mancassel that ht now be presenting him to your Majesty
"But, in the end," Gavin continued, "&039;tis de Belgruh he surely believes I aht of it His sword has long itched for you, and yet you continue to deny him that satisfaction But still he oblet on a nearby table as he strode past it "&039;Tis the reason I gave you the task-he ed you for years It&039;s only you who can put an end to this, Mal Verne And I fear it is because he&039;s never forgiven you for being Nicola&039;s husband Nevertheless, bring him to our custody, or when next youturned, see the fact that he&039;d just ordered one of his vassals to murder another one He paced back toward Gavin, who stood next to a small table laden with bread, cheese, and wine
"You know I should like naught better than to bring de Belgrume to his knees He&039;s taken much from me, and all in the name of his unholy work"
"&039;Tis unfortunate that the Church doesn&039;t consider the study of alche up a piece of soft white goat&039;s cheese "If it did, then at the very least we could excorume for itand at the best, he could be tried for treason and executed" His brows furrowed as he brandished the cheese "Then I would be rid of hi the Holy Grail through alcherume&039;s obsession has completely betaken his mind His obsession has tipped him into madness" This was a familiar conversation, one they&039;d had many times over in shared frustration
"When he first came to our court, he didn&039;t strikemused
"Nay, &039;tis true When he first became known to me, and to Nicola"-Gavin did not pause at his wife&039;s name, and &039;twas a ht the man to be only an empty-headed charmer with a well-hidden temper An odd man, but a harmless one Yet, in these last six years, he&039;s coht in his eyes more oft than not" Gavin helped himself to a piece of pale yellow cheese "I believe that the secrets of the Holy Grail continue to elude him, just as my own death hasand it&039;s those failures which have ushered hiruainst you when he te before this lunacy becaain there is that matter of your cousin&039;s betrothed-Geoffrey? Geoffrey of Lancourt, was it?"
"Gregory, ory, and, aye, he was betrothed to rume Aye&039;tis as if he and I were fated to oppose the other in all ways" Gavin sed the ain I believe I&039;ve found a way to stop hi at froreat, vigorous strides that brought hiain "And how is that?"
Gavin fingered the rough, unevenness of the beads in his pouch "I mislike to speak of it yet, my lord Untiluntil I&039;ve put all plans into place"
"I do not rightly care," Henry fuht under control, made to pay his taxes, and swear his fealty to me-I do not care how you do it!"
As always, it caenet&039;sa ht but, "Aye, my lord I shall" He sed the last of the wine in his cup "By your leave, your ements"
"Be off" Henry waved a hand and returned to his pacing "Keep us inforress"
"Aye, my lord Thank you, your majesty"
Gavin took his leave of Henry, relieved that the privatewas over
It had been no easy task to ad, but noould redouble his efforts to stop Fantin de Belgrume He&039;d declined to describe his stay at the abbey, and the hasty, iven him and his men-for that, too, stuck in his craw that they should be treated with such indignity
Fortunately, the night in which he, Tholen with their mounts tethered nearby had been dry and warain Gavin knew they had been drugged, and, indeed, knew the perpetrator of the deed The serene Madonna-nun, who had so innocently given hioblet fro hih he&039;d recognized a certain steeliness under her calht to be the recipient of such callousness froht all of it no more than hallucination, had he not found her prayer beads tucked into his pouch An&039; it hadn&039;t been until sos on her wrist and realized what that ht mean
He would seek out Judith, who served in the queen&039;s court, to be certain his suspicions were accurate
As alhen he meant to speak with his cousin and childhood playain those moments when Judith realized what hurt he&039;d caused her Those blue eyes had pooled with angry, accusing tears, and her long fingers had clenched into her own ar prickles of blood She had bid hiht
Ere that tih the accusation was no longer in her expression, he could see sorrow and pain still ht about putting the anguish there except to have vengeance upon Fantin de Belgrume in her name as well as his own
When Gavin, Lord of Mal Verne, was announced in the queen&039;s court, the gossip and giggles halted abruptly and the ladies turned to watch in fascination as the tall, rugged man strode into the cha, and when a slight s she murmured to him, it ell-noted
Judith, who sat in a nearby corner eown for one of the ladies, stood as he rose fro over the queen&039;s hand She walked quickly to hi to impress upon hi, they&039;d been friends-although Gavin was nearly seven years older than she He&039;d fostered under her father&039;s care, and Gavin had been the elder brother she&039;d never had This rift between theory&039;s death
"Gavin!" She s the interested looks cast from the other ladies
Mal Verne had a reputation at court that caused a co the ladies-they either discussed ways in which to breach that iron-like armor in order to captivate his heart, or &039;twas declared that he had no heart to conquer He turned, and though she had war from her body, she saw that hesitation and apprehension still swam in his eyes
"Lady Judith," he said fore, scarred hands "You look well, as always How do you fare?"
Disappointard and hard, his face set as if in stone, his gray eyes cool and flat as marble &039;Twas as if he allowed any emotion to come to bear, he would cru as always, to show that she&039;d forgiven him for that day years beforeand, as always, he did not see remote and cool "I am well, of course-how could I not be, here with the queen?"