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"He is the fount of grace and honor His achievehout the four quarters of the earth"

The Aoi wo Lord Fride-braht, seated to her right, was certainly too aze to speak one single word to her Even old Villao in her brief time at court and who certainly had never before lacked the spirit or courage to flatter an attractive woman, attempted only a few coave up Alia watched the king, the court, and occasionally her son She ate and drank sparingly In this way, the feast continued without further incident

The poet finished his panegyric at last, and a cleric cas," the wedding song taken from the ancient Essit holy book

"My beloved is mine, and I am his

Let me be a seal upon your heart,

like the seal upon your hand"

The king’s favored Eagle, Hathui, beckoned to Rosvita "His Majesty will take his leave of the hall now"

"What h Hathui was only a co’s confidence

"It is unexpected" Hathui laughed at the absurdity of her own stateotten the baby settled on his knee and was now feeding her the choicest bits, elike consistency, fro would be better served if he sorts it out in the king’s chambers, in some manner of privacy, away from the assele’s statelant rose to toast the newly , he had the carriage of a prince and the proud face of a man who expects loyalty and obedience in those who follow hi throng

"Let s attend this union," he said to cheers When the hurrahs tailed off, he went on "But let , in particular, that is held by our blessed regnant andHenry"

The hall quieted The guards at the doors strained forward to hear Even the servants paused in their tasks

At the sound of her father’s voice, the baby stood up in Henry’s lap and sang out, "Da! Da!" in a voice surelyout above the clash of battle Henry laughed as many in the assembly chuckled appreciatively orwhat the prince was about Bastards siring children was nothing unknown, alas, but it wasn’t custoe to the attention of the entire court

A fly buzzed annoyingly by Rosvita’s ear As she slapped it away, Sanglant continued

"King Henry holds in his arht as her father"

"And a blessing she truly is, Son," replied Henry Despite the shock of Sanglant’s and Alia’s arrival, Henry had mellowed under the influence of the child Or so it seener, and in such circuet that his wrath, once kindled, was slow to burn out "In your place, with such responsibilities, it is wise for you to coiveness of uise you have taken, garbed soe of your royal lineage about your neck Surely your daughter deserves more than this journeyer’s life"

Adelheid’s slant to see hoould respond to this thrust

The prince downed his cup of wine in a single gulp and, with a flush staining his bronze-dark cheeks, replied with an edge in his voice "I ask for nothing for ht I made that plain when I returned to you the belt of honor which you yourself fastened on h my own efforts Nay, I return to court not for rowling before they bit

"If you do not coiveness, then why are you here?" dehter, Blessing I ask only for what is due her as the last legitimate descendant of the Emperor Taillefer"

Taillefer Dead these hundred years and his lineage died with hined after him and his empire had fallen apart soon after his death

Rosvita understood, then, everything that hadn’t been plain to her before: the puzzle of the pregnant Queen Radegundis, who had fled to the convent after her husband Taillefer’s death; the atia and the cryptic words of Brother Fidelis; and most of all, the inexplicable luster that ’s er she supposedly was