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III

TWISTING THE BELT

1

THE seeds of conflict blooet that they had been sown long before, not risen spontaneously out of fallow ground Rosvita of North Mark had been a cleric and adviser at court for twenty years She knehen to step back and let matters take their course, and when to intervene before a crisis got out of hand

Although King Henry now stood, the rest of the assembly still sat in astonished, or anticipatory, silence, staring at the confrontation unfolding before the’s table, seehtly gripping the stem of the wine cup he shared with Princess Theophanu, which the princess had just set down

Rosvita gestured to Brother Fortunatus to pull back her chair so that she, too, could rise He hurried forward at once Although like everyone else in the hall he could scarcely keep his gaze from the father, mother, and child whose battle was about to play out on this public stage, he had also been trained by Rosvita herself There were many traits she could tolerate in the clerics who served her, but to be unobservant was not one of them

"This is the woman we’ve heard so much about!" he murmured in her ear as she rose "God preserve us!"

His gaze had fastened on the Aoi wo her Her features were striking but not beautiful, and although adlaht back in a coal Her gaze was fierce and co, even combative She was not afraid to look Henry in the eye, and her proud carriage suggested that she considered herself the regnant and Henry her subject

"I co his naarbled "ri," "but I a that you cared for the child as you promised to me you would"

"I pray you, Your Majesty," said Rosvita seous accusation, "let chairs be brought so that our visitorsjourney behind theht to the traveler Indeed, let Prince Sanglant’s mother abide in my own chair, and I will serve her"

Henry stared so fixedly at the foreign woman he had once called "beloved," and whom it was popularly believed he would have married had he been permitted to, that finally Queen Adelheid rose with cool aploht of Helative, but Adelheid was neither a fool nor a quitter

"Let a chair be brought for Prince Sanglant so that he h, clear voice "Let his lady ation, for it was her gift of this child to nant in Wendar and Varre"

Sanglant stepped forward "I have a child" His voice had a hoarse scrape to it, as though he were afflicted with pain, but his voice always sounded like that Years ago he had taken a wound to the throat in battle

He untied a bundle from his back, uncoiled linen cloth, and achild, as sweet a babe as Rosvita had ever seen, with pluht blue eyes "Da da!" she said in the ringing tones of iround and she took a few tottering steps toward the king, swayed, lost her balance, and sat down on her ru a hand, she pointed toward Henry and said, with despotic glee, "Ba! Ba!"

Sanglant swept her up, strode forward and, by leaning over the feasting table, deposited her in Henry’s ar babies would have shrieked in rage or fear, but the tiny child ’s beard between her fingers, and tugged

"Ba!" she exclailers!" said Henry hoarsely He sat and downed the contents of his wine cup in one gulp while the baby tried to cliold he wore on his brow--not the king’s crown of state, too heavy and formal to wear at a feast, but his lesser crown, a slender band of gold hen circuree of forlant’s s, he tossed the silver ball to the nearest juggler The poor man jerked, startled, but his hand acted without his ht the ball The hall came alive then, as dawn unfolds: people recalled the food on their platters; the jugglers returned to their show of skill and daring; the soldiers who had coiance to Prince Sanglant rose and waited for his colant spoke quietly to Captain Fulk, after which the good captain dispersed his oat, and, leading the two anilant ca cleric, Heribert, who had appeared so lant’s side It was he who took over serving the prince, although before he had served Theophanu The princess’ expression relant, once on either cheek, and he caught her closer and whispered soht a whisper of a sone as swiftly as the flutter of a sing