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CHAPTER TEN – THE TRUMP OF REDEMPTION

(Fecamp abbey, Normandy, May 27, 1066)

As she awaited the arrival of her escort Katerine La Fidele paced about the quarters assigned to her by Abbess Bertrada, pausing at intervals to gaze out the open window onto the avenue in anxious impatience. The grand abbey church towered above all other structures in the complex, having been lavishly paid for and provisioned by the Duchess Matilda and many of Normandy’s leading families. Looking out at its east paradise Katerine intoned a silent prayer in her heart to bolster her courage, hoping she would prove successful in persuading her dear sweet friend and mistress Lady Agatha to heed Matilda’s instruction and accompany Katerine to safety in Ghent as the ward of Lady Alix, Agatha’s doting grandmother and a princess of France. The aromas from the kitchen next door wafted in upon a gentle breeze, reminding Katerine of how hungry she was, and the tall voluptuous eighteen year old attendant promised herself she and Agatha would enjoy Fecamp’s excellent cuisine ere they departed for Flanders, God willing.

The sound of approaching footsteps on the cobblestones outside heralded the appearance of a young novice who waved up at Katerine as she entered the building housing important guests of the abbey. A few moments later a sharp knock came at Katerine’s door, and when she answered it the fresh-faced nun smiled and curtsied in polite greeting as she bid Katerine follow her to see Lady Agatha.

“Bon jour, Madamoiselle. I’m Sister Oriel. I shall be taking you to your mistress if you will come with me, please. Your Lady Agatha’s taking a bath and has asked me to conduct you with all haste into her presence.” Katerine nodded in acknowledgment and walked down the stairway after Sister Oriel onto the avenue where they trod some yards before turning left, passing by the front of the church before which both young women genuflected and crossed themselves, Oriel complimenting Matilda’s generosity for its imposing grandeur. Katerine stared up at the sacred structure with a feeling of awe and anticipation, repeating her inward petition for eloquence and wondering how she would find Agatha after their unusual and unhappy separation.

“You must thank Lady Matilda once again from all of us here, Madamoiselle, for the beauty and grace her consistent Christian largesse has bequeathed to this noble house of Christ. If this magnificent edifice isn’t the most gorgeous church in all Christendom, save perhaps that where His Holiness resides in Rome, then my senses are deceiving. Don’t you agree, Madamoiselle?”

Katerine smiled, nodding in concurrence. She then inquired as to Agatha’s general health and emotional condition in a casual yet urgent tone.

“Yes, indeed, and upon the Duchess’s behalf I thank you for your gratitude, truly. And you may call me Kate if you like. May I call you Oriel? You’re of the house of Malet, aren’t you? Your kinswoman Lady Beatrice came to confer with Lady Matilda not too long past. I believe that meeting is the reason for my mission here, in large part. Tell me, how fares my mistress? Truly, Oriel, how is Agatha? Is she well, or still suffering melancholy from what transpired at Caen three months past?” Sister Oriel halted, looking about with caution in both directions as she proceeded to brief Katerine regarding Lady Agatha’s overall condition. Katerine paid close attention to Sister Oriel’s report, eager to discern the difficulty she might encounter in swaying Agatha to obey her mother’s dictate.

“Yes, by all means call me Oriel, Kate. There’s no great need to stand on formalities, after all. Well, I’ll tell you. When Agatha first came to us, she was miserable, I mean, the damned in hell couldn’t have been more steeped in sorrow and despair than your mistress, I swear. I was frightened to witness how despondent she was, in all frankness, and for a time Abbess Bertrada had me watch her like the proverbial hawk to ensure she didn’t attempt to do harm to herself, a most wearisome regimen I assure you. Anyway, this fellow sister in Christ then arrived to stay with us from Canterbury, a Sister Agnes. A very lovely and charming girl, if I may say, from France originally and quite vivacious in nature. She’s befriended Agatha the last two months and rendered her enforced residence here much more pleasant, thank heaven. In fact, they’ve become joined at the hip, in a matter of speaking. Of course, your mistress still craves liberty and a return home, but at least she’s not sulking anymore and giving us concern for her life’s endangerment as when she first arrived. Lady Agatha’s appetite has much improved and she volunteers at the infirmary with assiduous regularity, and she also spends time reading in the library as well as tutoring students and my less literate fellow novices at the abbey school. So, all in all things are well with Lady Agatha or at least better than they were but a short time past. She’s taking a bath with Sister Agnes right over there. Come on, we don’t want to keep your mistress waiting, do you, Kate?” Trudging after Sister Oriel with mixed sentiments regarding Agatha’s new friendship with the unfamiliar English transplant, Katerine resolved to examine the relationship with care to determine if it constituted any potential menace to her beloved mistress. Katerine couldn’t help experiencing a pang of envious encroachment at the thought of someone else sharing Agatha’s bounty of confidence and affection.

On entering the spacious bathhouse Katerine and Oriel ascended a flight of stairs to its upper level, traversing a long corridor lined on both sides with rooms for storing garments and bathing supplies as well as chambers for playing games and a solarium where the abbey residents could indulge in absorbing the soothing rays of the sun by virtue of the glass panel attached to a stone ceiling above several reclining couches of dark leather. The two visitors passed a massage room where a hefty woman was administering vigorously to the form of a supine nun who groaned in a pleasurable reaction to her skillful art’s effect upon her denuded flesh to reach the bath chamber where several large tubs were installed and the water was warmed over a blazing hearth during the colder seasons to be poured in buckets by assigned novices and other servants of the abbey for the benefit of bathers. There was a wall boasting manifold hooks, where those engaged in purifying their flesh could deposit their clothing and the tubs were lined with soft white linen clothes to limit the spillage on the tiled floor. Lady Agatha sat in a tub situated near an open window, splashing and laughing as she peered out sporadically to observe human traffic and wave to passing acquaintances. Next to her, Katerine beheld a dark-haired woman of about twenty, her sparkling eyes radiant with intelligence and her physical charms ample Katerine noted with an amused appreciation. When Agatha spied Katerine she squealed with joy and leapt from the tub to embrace her, the exuberance of her mistress so pleasing to Katerine she didn’t mind Agatha’s impulsive press of dripping nudity against her new blue silk gown. A tickle from the perfumed bath oil clinging to Agatha’s skin tartly teased Katerine’s nose.

“Kate! Oh, ma cher soeur, I’m so glad to see you again, ma belle ange cherie! You look marvelous as ever and I’m so happy to have you with me again I could burst into a chorus of Hallelujah, ma ami, I swear! You must tell me everything that’s been happening, Kate, and I have things to tell you about as well, important glorious things, Katerine, truly! Oh, but I am forgetting to observe the proprieties, aren’t I? Katerine La Fidele, this is Sister Agnes. She’s from Canterbury, Kate. Sister Agnes serves the Archbishop himself and informs me that he’s spoken of me and about how he holds it would be prudent policy upon Harold’s part to accept me as his royal consort to avoid conflict between my father and England. According to Agnes, there’s a possibility Archbishop Stigand may be inclined to intercede for me and champion my right to become Harold’s next Queen, isn’t that wonderful news, Kate? Oh, I am so excited my heart feels like it might burst from the sheer rapturous anticipation of my reunion with Harold! I just pray I can contain myself until I’m in the presence of my chosen love once again as fate and Divine mercy meant me to be, as I know I can and must be for the sake of peace as well as of my own happiness!” Katerine and Sister Oriel exchanged wary glances at Agatha’s assumption and both contemplated a pensive and somewhat embarrassed Sister Agnes with due curiosity and an aroused suspicion concerning what she’d been telling Lady Agatha and the motives behind such an apparent and unrealistic encouragement. Sister Agnes sensed she must react swiftly and with considerable dexterity to counter the understandable skepticism and complicating opposition of Agatha’s attendant to the notion of Agatha’s realization of her fondest dream through Stigand’s intercession, and deter Sister Oriel from reporting the nature of her private conversations to the Abbess. Stepping from the tub, Agnes smiled and placed a friendly hand on Agatha’s shoulder as she sought to clarify her prior statements made to the eager and impressionable maiden.

“I’m quite pleased to meet you, Madamoiselle, having heard so much about you from Agatha, all most complimentary, of course. I should perhaps make it clear that in my conversations with your mistress, while I did indeed relate to her what I’d heard the Archbishop declare concerning her relationship with King Harold – that is, in His Eminence’s opinion it would have been better for Harold, and England had the King honored his commitment to take Agatha as his bride after assuming the throne as he did without, let us say, the benefit of full legality – the Archbishop is not at present offering to advance Agatha as such. All I’ve heard Stigand remark’s to the effect that in his estimate given all of the forces now arrayed against Harold Godwinesson he could do worse than to perhaps reverse his perspective regarding Agatha’s potential utility as a sovereign consort, if it pleased His Majesty to do so of his own practical accord. If Harold were moved to so reconsider it’s possible, indeed probable His Eminence would approve such a decision but of course the King’s pleasure remains strictly a matter of his own discretion. I trust that puts what I’ve deigned to discuss with your mistress in a proper context, Madamoiselle La Fidele.” Lady Agatha’s crestfallen expression at Sister Agnes’s apparent altercation of convenience regarding whatever promise had been made to her confirmed to Katerine’s instinctively wary satisfaction her mistress’s new confidant was an entity to remain entirely cautious of, and as she nodded in reciprocation of the Englishwoman’s calculated courtesy Katerine determined the safest course for Agatha would be her removal from Fecamp with maximal expedition. Choosing her words with care Katerine undertook the sensitive task of persuading Agatha of a departure’s necessity, anticipating resistance owing to Agnes’s doubtless seductive and likely sinister influence.

“The pleasure is mine, Sister. I truly appreciate your investing of kind and helpful interest in my Lady Agatha during this most difficult period, but you’ll not need burden yourself with such concern any longer. Agatha, I have come hence to escort you to your grandmother Lady Alix’s residence in Ghent at your mother’s order. All I can tell you regarding Lady Matilda’s purpose is from what I can gather the Duchess is at present engaged in a daring effort upon your behalf and Normandy’s to avert war while granting you your heart’s true desire. Matilda instructs me to implore your trusting of her and to please abide by her wishes and accompany me to safety at Ghent in your grandmother’s vigilant care until the Duchess’s covert endeavor can bear a sweet fruit for everyone, you most of all, my dear mistress.” Agatha gasped at Katerine’s tidings and sat upon a bench near the tub upon which her and Agnes’s towels had been set, her mind racing as she tried to absorb the implications of what she’d been told and decide upon whether to heed her mother’s command or risk defying it. Sister Agnes appeared less than pleased at the notion of Agatha’s imminent flight from the abbey, Katerine observed, but her attention was instantly diverted to Sister Oriel who motioned urgently to Katerine to step aside for private conference regarding her unexpected revelation of intent to remove Lady Agatha from Fecamp’s decreed confine. Katerine was prepared for Oriel’s objection, thanks to Matilda’s foresight.

“I don’t mean to present you with an unanticipated obstacle, precisely, for I must admit to sympathy with your desire to assist your mistress during this time of great personal dilemma, Madamoiselle Katerine, but you must realize you’re placing me in a rather awkward position. I’m responsible to Abbess Bertrada for looking after Agatha, and part of my strict instruction is that under no circumstances is Agatha to set foot beyond the abbey grounds until Duke William informs the Abbess his daughter has proper leave to do so. And from what I’ve heard, that will involve a journey to Paris to become that realm’s royal mistress, not Ghent as the Duchess now directs. I know Agatha’s not happy at the prospect of wedding King Philip, and personally this is quite understandable to me but you must understand I can’t just stand by and allow the Duke’s daughter who’s been sent here under his dictate to simply depart with you without any effort on part to deter such a flagrant act of defiance. If you have a remedy of any kind for the difficulty your objective of accomplishing Agatha’s unwarranted flight confronts me with, Kate, feel free to advance it by all means.” Katerine produced a parchment from her gown’s right pocket and handed it to Sister Oriel for inspection. As Oriel perused its contents Katerine explained what Duchess Matilda and Oriel’s kinswoman Lady Beatrice Malet requested and expected of Oriel, and assured the anxious novice of their complete cooperation and promise of Oriel’s protection for her role in facilitating Agatha’s escape from Fecamp. Lady Agatha experienced a lifting of her spirits at the hope extended to her by Katerine’s arrival and her mother’s audacious strategy for rescuing her from the French marriage, but casting her gaze upon Sister Agnes inspired fear and a renewed sensation of peril in the young noblewoman’s pounding heart as she intuited her latest acquaintance’s as yet unspoken but certain opposition to Matilda’s plan, which she knew Agnes might well frustrate through deliberate exposure now that she had been made privy to it. The casual smile of Sister Agnes, somehow cold and calculating now in Agatha’s eyes, served only to augment Agatha’s uneasiness and irksome indecision.

“As is explicitly stated by Duchess Matilda, Oriel, in concert with your cousin Lady Beatrice, they both hereby issue you their sworn pledge that no evil consequence shall befall you for what service you render me in encompassing Agatha’s secure establishment in her grandmother’s care at Ghent. All you need do is present Abbess Bertrada with the letter in your hands and no injury will accrue to your actions. Bertrada owes her position here to Lady Matilda’s influence and the abbey she knows profits handsomely from the Duchess’s personal patronage. Bertrada is aware neither she nor you can be held accountable to Duke William’s temper so long as Lady Matilda defends you, and her current gambit meets with absolute success as we expect it to, God willing. I understand there’s an ancient escape tunnel located beneath the infirmary. This is true, Sister?” Oriel frowned, uncertain whether to acquiesce. Katerine sighed in annoyance at the nun’s lack of immediate accommodation, pressing Oriel to accede to her demands and the Duchess’s.

“What’s wrong, pray? You’ve a document signed by the highest gentlewoman of this realm as well as your own well-respected kinswoman, who I understand has always looked favorably upon you and you her, requesting you to support their earnest emergency effort to spare us war and an innocent young maid a sorrowful lifetime of enforced conjugal misery for the sake of an unjust political agenda’s selfish advancement, and yet you evince an unworthy and inexcusable hesitation in discharging the obligation to your house and Normandy, Oriel? I expect far better from the house of Malet, Sister, or must the Lady Beatrice suffer the shame of your failure and the Duchess of Normandy conclude perhaps that the loyalty of the Malets to their native realm ought be held in question owing to their English connections?” Sister Oriel flushed at such an insulting insinuation’s purposeful provocation and retorted with expected defensive resentment to Katerine’s deliberate impugning. Sister Agnes could not help grinning at the ease by which Oriel was manipulated by Katerine, being versed in the pursuit of such devious practice.

“That’s unfair and a lie and you damn well know it, Madamoiselle! My family’s allegiance to Normandy has never been questioned, never, and for damned good reason! We’ve always taken great pains to balance the loyalty due our native soil with that owed to our English kin whom we have accorded every courtesy and affection earned by their reciprocation of such and our mutual trust that the romantic accident of our relativity would never be abused by either side against the principles of honor, and the interests of our respective houses and the lieges these serve in noble conscience! My cousin Beatrice’s cooperation with Lady Matilda ought be fair proof of that, as should the fact that I haven’t rushed straight to Abbess Bertrada or Duke William to expose this clever little plot of yours! God knows I’ve naught against your mistress, Kate, and it’s owing to my family’s ties to England that we have even less desire to witness mortal conflict between our realms than most hereabouts, but I still maintain you’re putting me in a most imperiling position, Madamoiselle, for as you seem to forget it is Duke William who rules here, and Matilda’s word however powerful is not sufficient to override his should the Duke seek vengeance upon me and this abbey, not to mention my own family, for foiling his plans or can you swear before God the Duchess’s influence is indeed truly irresistible? Well? Can you?” Katerine was about to answer Oriel’s understandable concern but Agatha rose to grasp the anxious novice’s hands, swearing to add her voice in defense of Fecamp and of Sister Oriel and her house personally in exchange for the help petitioned in avoiding the royal betrothal decreed by Agatha’s sire. Oriel regarded her tearful pleading with sincere empathy, the emotional impact of Agatha’s desperate supplication profound in its moving ardency.

“Please, please, Oriel, help me realize the one dream I cherish more than anything, more than even blessed salvation itself! If you like I’ll write a personal letter to my father, informing him I had urged your cooperation in this instance, and insisting that no retaliation be made against you or the abbey, he’ll heed such a request from me, I know he will! Please, Oriel, you must support me in this, otherwise I’ll be left to mourn my shattered hopes all the rest of my days as the harlot bride of France! Please, Sister, I swear, no dishonor will attach itself unto you or your family by your kind extension of assistance to me in this hour of greatest necessity, help me escape abroad to England and reunion with my beloved Harold, and all the earth and the angels above will sing your eternal praise, as shall I so long as I live, ma cher soeur, oh please, Oriel, I’m begging you!

As one woman to another I implore you! Help me!” Sister Oriel embraced Agatha in consoling, tears falling from her own eyes at Agatha’s impassioned entreaty. Katerine started at the notion expressed by Agatha concerning travel to England and turned with a clouded countenance to an unperturbed Sister Agnes for immediate explanation regarding her mistress’s perspective.

“I’m afraid there’s been a serious misunderstanding here, Sister, which I presume you can be of service in clearing up. Agatha appears to be under the quite mistaken impression she’ll be on her way across the water ere long to an unlikely happy reunion with Harold Godwinesson. That isn’t what the Lady Matilda had in mind. My instruction if I haven’t made it plain require Lady Agatha is to be transferred to the custody of Lady Alix her good grandmother at Ghent until the arrival here of Lady Ealdgyth and her daughter from England. If an arrangement is reached the Duchess will have Ealdgyth’s girl established under her guarantee of security at the great castle of Graville-Sainte-Honorine, the home of your noble clan, Sister Oriel. Your kinswoman Lady Beatrice has agreed to be responsible for young Gytha, as she is known, until the bargain struck between Matilda and Lady Ealdgyth’s unveiled to King Harold and Duke William as something of a fait accompli. Only then shall a transfer of maidenly entities be accomplished, and not one moment before. On this point the Duchess of Normandy’s most adamant. Comprenez, ma amis? Therefore, Sister Agnes, I think you owe me an explanation as to why my mistress ought be of a persuasion given your earlier clarifying statements concerning your previous conversations with her England still is to prove her present destination. At once if you please.” Sister Agnes didn’t respond immediately, prompting Agatha to supply the answer that Katerine had already deduced. Katerine contemplated the dissembling Englishwoman with cold contempt and incensed enmity, hard-pressed to refrain from thrashing Agnes for her exposed treacherous design.

“Oh, tell the truth, Agnes, please! I can understand why you found it necessary earlier to shy from a frank admission of your purpose here but we’re among friends and I assure you Kate and Oriel can be trusted! Be honest regarding the Archbishop Stigand’s generous offer to me and its terms, and I’m sure they’ll both see how I cannot possibly refuse such an unexpected opportunity for encompassing claim of my rightful estate as Harold’s royal consort thanks to His Eminence’s prudent patronage! Go on, Agnes, tell them how the plan is to work, they’re my sisters, you can count upon their discretion and assistance in our endeavor, I promise!” Katerine reacted with an irate rebuttal to Lady Agatha’s rash exclamation, wagging her finger at her impulsive mistress as she sternly refuted Agatha’s irrational unwarranted confidence in her and Oriel’s acquiescence to the scheme advanced by the duplicitous Agnes. Agatha sulked at Katerine’s scolding, unwilling to surrender her last hope of escaping France’s clutches.

“With all respect, mistress, I’m not interested in hearing the details of an unworkable strategy, thank you! Your mother says you’re to go to Ghent, Madamoiselle, and there’s an end to further discussion of matters so far as I’m concerned, and you too, my lady! I don’t care what this damn Anglaise has seen fit to allure you with so far as spinning her deceiving web of lies to render you the captive pawn of her conniving master’s grasping ambition, Agatha, you’re accompanying me to the manor of Lady Alix if I need drag you hence by your hair kicking and shrieking, do I make myself understood? By Christ’s thorny crown, Agatha, I would’ve assumed you to be a far more discerning wench than to take the calculated word of a foreign putain at face value when the fate of entire realms is at stake and not just your own granted important but I remind you not entirely central satisfaction!” Agatha flushed at her attendant’s sharp upbraiding, resentful of Katerine’s aggravating effort to exercise absolute authority over her individuality and determined to exert free will in how her own destiny was to be affected. Seizing Katerine hard by the shoulders as she issued her fierce retort, Agatha declared unequivocally her intent not to allow herself to be treated as a mere chess piece by any party foreign or familial. Katerine sighed at such a naive defiance evinced by Agatha in the clinging to her romantic illusions, knowing she must impose a harsher practical perspective upon her youthful mistress, no matter the emotional cost. Agatha’s raw idealistic appetite must be leavened by the bitter but sobering fruit of its realistic awakening Katerine reckoned lest her mistress unwittingly embrace lasting ruin through its fool and perhaps fatal feting upon ultimate folly’s poisoned fare.

“How dare you presume to address me in such an imperious fashion, as though you were the mistress here and I your servant! I tell you frankly, Katerine, I will not prove anyone’s helpless instrument in this instant least of all my damned self-serving parents! The trump of redemption has sounded so far as I’m concerned and I’m resolved to seize my one true chance for an escape from being manipulated into a lifetime of matrimonial misery for sake of realizing the ambition of others and nothing you or anyone else can do or say shall now deter me from my chosen path, nothing, do you understand, Katerine? I’m going to England where Archbishop Stigand extends me his offer of support and protection in my effort to become my lord Harold’s recognized royal consort, do you hear, if I have to swim across the cold perilous sea to reach Canterbury’s asylum and that fair destiny my heart’s long since chosen to pursue despite all obstacles placed before it! You may assist me if it so pleases you, Katerine, but you shall not impede me, ma ami, not in the slightest, I warn you.” Katerine contemplated Agatha with genuine sympathy for her frustration at Harold’s callous indifference, and the selfish attempts at Agatha’s conjugal pawning by Duke William and Lady Matilda. Her compassion however didn’t inspire Katerine to spare her ardent friend the brunt of cold reality’s crisp splash of hopeless desire’s dampening.

“Look, Agatha, you know where I stand on matters. I only want what’s truly best for you. It’s been difficult of late I know, ma cher soeur, what with Harold Godwinesson denying you proper status as his duly betrothed spouse and your parents playing you against each other’s interests as a mere physical means to their opposing political ends. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but you will not find a remedy for it abroad, mistress, of that I’m quite confident. Right now, your mother is trying with all her considerable talents to encompass an outcome to the current situation we can all live with, God willing, and you most of all. That’s hard for you to believe, I realize, but it’s the truth, I swear upon my love for you. You may yet end as Harold’s Queen, but you must be willing to wait for your mother’s effort to bear fruit for such an exalted goal to be encompassed, Agatha, and you must trust Lady Matilda’s proven competency to obtain whatever happiness is fated to be yours when the crisis is at last settled without resort to armed conflict as we all hope and pray. This means you must discipline your heart and exercise a patient discretion befitting your mother’s daughter until your path to England’s cleared by Lady Matilda’s careful crafting. Therefore it’s imperative you ought now come with me to Ghent to await what I truly hope for your sake’s a positive conclusion to the impending negotiations that your mother’s taken such pains to arrange on your behalf and that of peace between all Christian nations.” Sister Agnes scoffed at Katerine’s assessment, advising Agatha to dismiss the conservative counsel offered by her attendant in favor of heeding Agnes’s more appealing and audacious exhortation to grab the reins of her own fate by confronting Harold directly as Archbishop Stigand’s esteemed ward in residence. Katerine glared at the interfering Englishwoman with exasperation, straining to keep her temper from exploding as she strove to avert Agatha’s perceived deliberate misguiding.

“With all respect to Madamoiselle La Fidele, my Lady Agatha, that’s but sheer nonsense you should ignore lest you forfeit this single fleeting opportunity I can now proffer you for obtaining sovereign rank as Harold Godwinesson’s sole legal bride. Since we’re all being candid with one another, I’ll frame the truth without any deceptive romantic overtones. At this moment Harold’s vulnerable, and thus may be moved by pure practical consideration to acclaim you as his consort, provided he is presented with the proper impetus which renders such a delicate choice desirable under the currently prevailing circumstances. You’ve a small window through which to impose yourself upon Godwinesson, Agatha, and should you fail to take advantage of it and Archbishop Stigand’s critical alliance at once I daresay the moment of maximal promise for your successful reunion with your beloved shall doubtlessly quick pass in face of some new development’s less favoring alteration of possibility and you’ll need live with the perhaps regretful consequence of your erroneous caution for a very long time. Eternity, to be precise.” Agatha gazed with glum indecision from Katerine to Agnes and back again, torn between following her youthful heart’s impetuous instinct and the oppressive voice of an inner timidity that screamed for her prudence. After a few tense minutes of silent pensive brooding regarding the course her future would take Agatha arrived at her decision, praying in her heart she wasn’t rushing blindly down the road to mortal perdition by the shortest route. Making as if to reveal her determination Agatha swayed suddenly as if faint, then rolled her eyes and erupted in a convulsive fit, falling to the floor and flailing about as if in the grip of involuntary spasms. Sister Oriel and Sister Agnes leapt to aid the stricken noblewoman, while Katerine regarded Lady Agatha’s abrupt collapse with curious suspicion, unmoved by Agatha’s dramatic display of writhing, frothing, and flopping.

“Sweet Blessed Virgin, the girl’s afflicted with the falling sickness! Quick, put something in her mouth before she bites off her tongue! Didn’t you hear what I said, Sister Agnes? Katerine, don’t just stand there, it’s your mistress who’s in distress after all, help us lest Agatha sustains a lasting damage from her unfortunate malady’s latest manifesting!” As Agnes hastily shoved the bar of soap from the bath between Lady Agatha’s jaws and Sister Oriel held her tight to ease the tremors of her quivering form Katerine flashed a queer grin of mixed discerning and admiration regarding Agatha’s artful performance to the bemused ignorance of her mistress’s unsuspecting assistants. Locking eyes with Agatha briefly Katerine nodded in rueful homage to the deft ploy of Agatha’s childhood being utilized with undiminished skill and timing, as Agatha managed to wink in furtive unrepentant acknowledgment between affected bouts of spastic trembling.

A short time later, Katerine waited in a small antechamber outside Agatha’s private room in the abbey infirmary, having conferred with Sister Agnes concerning the Archbishop’s proposal for sponsoring Lady Agatha at length. When a tall lean woman garbed in white emerged from Agatha’s bedchamber Katerine arose from her seat upon the bench by its door to receive Lady Agatha’s prognosis and gain admittance to visit her.

“Well, Madame de Laon? How’s my mistress? I trust her recovery proceeds without any complications, oui? May I please speak with Lady Agatha now? And how soon shall she be able to travel?” Charlotte de Laon, a seasoned medical practitioner of great insight regarding the human condition and its manifold ails, smiled as she tendered her report of Agatha’s status and gave permission for Katerine to engage in brief converse with her patient. Katerine turned red with embarrassment at the physician’s indication of awareness concerning Agatha’s fraudulent sickness, though Charlotte de Laon seemed disinclined to expose Agatha’s curious pretense.

“Oh, you mean have her convulsions subsided, Madamoiselle? Yes, they have. I must say it is the queerest case of the falling sickness I’ve yet encountered. Most of those afflicted display consistent symptoms at rather predictable intervals, provided specific stimuli, yet your mistress demonstrates a remarkable resiliency against such usually effective provocations. Between us, Madamoiselle La Fidele, I believe Lady Agatha’s alleged suffering of this disease to be invalid. She has no history of its unfortunate manifestation, and her lack of further residual effects from her supposed attack leads me to conclude she’s perpetrated a clever but alas insufficient conceit of dramatic deception. Morally and professionally, I therefore have an obligation to inform the Abbess Bertrada regarding my considered opinion concerning Lady Agatha’s attempt to fake a most serious malady for as yet unexplained purpose, you understand. However, since I happen to know the reasons behind your mistress’s residency with us the last three months, I think my conversation with Bertrada can be delayed awhile to ensure there’s no sudden recurrence, as I could be wrong about the nature of Agatha’s health. Let’s say this. If Agatha remains in my care past another week, and shows no further signs of relapsing, then I’ll have to speak to the abbess regarding her deliberate deceit. Of course, if Lady Agatha’s no longer my patient and present to be called to account for herself, then God’s will be done in the matter. Fair enough, Madamoiselle? You may go in now. Please, keep it short, as your mistress requires rest after her doubtless debilitating ordeal. Good day, and remember the shock of cold water can incite renewed convulsion and cause drowning. Therefore I’d advise against any sudden swimming. Something to consider, wherever your journey next takes you.” Katerine smiled and curtsied, grateful for Charlotte de Laon’s kind indulgence. Entering Agatha’s room Katerine found her mistress lying in bed under a soft white linen sheet, her eyes closed in contemplation. Sitting upon a wooden stool, an anxious Katerine chided Agatha gently for her dissembling, informing her about Charlotte de Laon’s penetration regarding Agatha’s faking of the falling sickness and telling Agatha of the physician’s generous ultimatum. Agatha opened her eyes and sat up, alert and attentive.

“You’ve got some nerve resorting to that tried old trick of yours, you brazen little pretender! I remember well how you used to vex and frighten your parents as a child by flinging yourself down and frothing at the mouth while you flailed about in apparent grip of involuntary spasms, only to leap up laughing when they yielded to your dramatic exercise and granted your desires, you shameless sprite! You’re just lucky that physician’s a woman of good heart, or else you’d now be explaining yourself to the stern displeasure of Abbess Bertrada without a hope of much sympathy, I daresay! As things stand, Madame de Laon is affording us a week to depart, not a day more, you understand? The only question left to resolve, it seems, is where we’ll be going. I’ve spoken to Sister Agnes as I knew you intended, Agatha, but I am unconvinced concerning the legitimacy of her master’s purported charity towards you. Sister Oriel concurs with me in my perspective, you should know. She thinks you ought heed your mother’s decree and place yourself in your grandmother Alix’s care at Ghent, allowing Matilda time to reach settlement with Madame Swanneshalles. I gather you believe otherwise, ma cher soeur? Well, there are a few things you should know concerning some recent developments abroad that I pray might be more effective in changing your mind than my alas impotent entreaties.” Agatha rose from the bed with a frown, irritated at Katerine’s unwavering skepticism. Examining herself in a mirror that hung upon one of her spacious chamber’s walls Agatha scolded Katerine for her excessive suspicion and reiterated an unshakeable faith in fortune’s presumed blessing upon her English endeavor, despite all its formidable dangers. Katerine rolled her eyes and sighed with disgusted annoyance at Agatha’s obstinate innocence, at odds to dissuade her but conscience-bound to try and reason with her headstrong mistress for both their sakes.

“My tried old trick worked well, if I do say so, thank you. I appreciate your concerns, Kate, but remember too much wariness can prove just as detrimental to one’s perspective as too little. Faith can overcome all obstacles and I’m certain events shall validate my confidence in Harold and his essential decency. Heaven must favor our reunion, Katerine, or else why else would it have arranged matters so as to lead me to this precise moment and its most critical opportunity, pray, why? It must truly be fate, ma cherie, there’s simply no other explanation. I’m meant to be with Harold, and there’s neither sense nor virtue in resisting the ordained pleasure of divine mercy, now, is there? Even Madame de Laon understands this, Katerine. Why else would she deign to grant me leave to depart this abbey otherwise? Did you know she once experienced a similar situation, being faced with a choice between a loveless matrimony and the pursuit of a professional vocation? Isn’t it revealing how many of us are forced to render such a decision concerning the demand of our so-called conjugal duty and the call of our innate desires, Kate?”

Katerine responded to Agatha’s romantic vision with stark practical objections, informing her of certain critical facts regarding the less sanguine realities of the situation confronting her mistress that in Katerine’s estimate undermined the likelihood of any positive outcome resulting from the proposed course of flight to England. Agatha sighed, indifferent to Katerine’s sober intelligence under the spell of her inflexible enchantment.

“I’m tempted to have de Laon declare you mad, Madamoiselle, for you are not demonstrating proper sanity in your view of matters so far as I’m concerned. The will of heaven my sweet arse!

If you weren’t so beguiled by your own baseless romantic fantasies, my lady, you’d listen to true reason and exercise due prudence regarding your choice of destination, by Lord Christ’s crimson thorns! You believe you know Harold Godwinesson so well, Agatha? Perhaps you just weren’t listening when Sister Agnes explained why Harold might wish to recognize you as his sovereign consort! And perhaps you’ve made yourself deliberately deaf to the manifold reports forwarded for years concerning your true love’s less admirable nature, Madamoiselle!” Agatha flushed and attempted to cover her ears but Katerine refused to indulge her, forcing Agatha’s hands from her head and continuing to denounce Harold in the fiercest possible terms. Agatha glared with bitter resentment at Katerine, clinging harder to her sentiments as Katerine sought to dispel them.

“The reports alleging Harold’s wanton plying of murder and treachery of the most despicable character to achieve his ends, the whispers of how he may have murdered his own sire and elder brother to become Earl of Wessex and then arranged for the dispatch of Edward the Exile as well to ensure his status as King Edward’s eventual royal successor! What else could be expected of a man who might well be a bastard sired of his harlot mother’s adultery, a villain who’d immure his own sister, a queen of England, to retain grasp of a stolen crown, a most heartless shameless opportunist who wed one of the most notorious women in all Christendom out of pure political calculation, a woman of such low moral quality she’s been held liable for her former husband’s savage slaughter in collusion with her present spouse, the implied price of Harold’s accomplice being her own daughter’s virginity! This is a man charged by his own kinswoman no less than ours with having assaulted her and his young niece, Agatha, and one who’s treated you to date with absolute contempt!” Agatha let out a cry and made to flee the room, but Katerine caught her and held Agatha fast, hammering her illusions without pity. Agatha wept, furious.

“Can you stand there and tell me in light of I’ve just said such an entity is truly worthy of the misplaced affection you hold him in and that you still feel secure in trusting your life and liberty unto the presumed decency of such a disreputable individual, a demonstrated blackguard if ever one was fashioned from the accursed fabric of Judas’s cloth? Grow up, my lady, please, before your chosen innocence leads you to the looming precipice of yawning hell! I warn you, if you persist in behaving like some callow mewling girl, Agatha, then that’s how I’ll treat you, Lady, my most cherished mistress and friend or not!” Agatha shoved Katerine away, clenching her fists and flirting with the sore temptation to hurl herself in spited wrath upon her attendant, the hot blood pulsing so fast within her veins Agatha’s sight was tinged with a scarlet hue of rage. Before Agatha could react with violence to Katerine’s attack on her convictions, however, the anger incited by such stern hostility’s unusual and wounding display was somewhat mollified by Katerine’s gentle laying of hands upon Agatha’s face, and the bestowal of a tender kiss upon her lips as a gesture of unwavering and uncompromising devotion.

“Agatha, I’m sorry that necessity and my love for you bids me speak with such blunt candor to you, dispossessing you of your romantic idealism. However, you must consider the situation clearly without resort to illusion’s false allure of non-existent promise. I have heard from Caen, Agatha. Your mother expects to arrive here shortly accompanied by Ladies Beatrice and Judith, the latter being enlisted to assist Matilda owing to her greater familiarity with Madame Ealdgyth and her daughter. The Duchess assumes you’ll be safely established at Ghent by then, and I am very reluctant to disappoint her. If things go well you stand a much better assurance of attaining your heart’s desire than if you fly impetuously across the water on your own, ere the support for your conjugal claim needed from Madame Swanneshalles can be obtained through your mother’s negotiation. All I’m suggesting is that you have a little more patience, ma ami, and extend Lady Matilda sufficient time to handle matters upon your behalf so you can grace England with proper legal standing, minimizing the likelihood of your rejection. That isn’t such a hard thing to ask, is it, ma cher soeur?” Lady Agatha took a deep breath, then hugged and kissed Katerine in sincere gratitude for her consistent loyalty and sage counsel. Sitting upon the bed, Agatha conceded her attendant’s points while remaining steadfast in determination to follow her heart’s guidance.

“Kate, I know what you’re saying, truly. I realize full well the great risk I’m taking, but I can see no better choice set before me. If I should go with you to Ghent and Mother fails to persuade Madame Swanneshalles to set aside her spousal claim to Harold, then what becomes of me? I’ll end up right back here, a prisoner awaiting execution as it were, or worse, in the bed of Philip in Paris, a thought I can’t contemplate without nausea. I know much evil has been said concerning Harold, and God knows I don’t hold him to be a saint by any means. However, I do believe he’s a good man at heart, simply trying to survive and do the proper thing as he sees it under difficult circumstances. I’ve seen my own parents do as much throughout the years of my childhood, so who are they to criticize Harold Godwinesson, pray? Besides, much of what’s been said about Harold is no different than the malicious gossip bandied regarding my sire, typical merde that’s spread against every important gentleman by his envious enemies, nothing more. I don’t think Harold’s a murderer and I don’t believe he’s a true usurper of the English crown either. I don’t care what Aunt Judith or Uncle Tosti say about him, they’ve their own agendas to advance, so they cannot be held as impartial witnesses. And as for that horrible wench Aldgyth, Harold is set to divorce her, Sister Agnes informs me, upon grounds of adultery for which he has irrefutable evidence. As you said, Kate, he only consorted with her for political reasons and whatever she says about him is tainted by her own shame which shouldn’t attach to Harold by virtue of mere association in my opinion. What matters is that Harold now needs a wife who can help him to retain his sovereignty and forestall attack upon his country, and as Agnes explained it I am the only candidate left available who can fulfill such critical requirement. That’s why Archbishop Stigand is willing to sponsor me, and why it is now imperative I seize the opportunity that his offer yields, Katerine. The establishment of lasting peace and the grasp of my own happiness can’t wait. They’re prizes to be obtained solely through audacity’s bold exercising and I shall not falter in its pursuit, Lord Christ be my Savior and witness!” Katerine shook her head with rueful foreboding, certain of Agatha’s grave error in judgment but lacking in her persuasion to reason. Making a last-ditch effort, Katerine then warned Agatha of the increased perils events of recent occurrence presented to her proposed intention.

“Agatha, in all honesty I truly don’t know what else I can say to make you change your mind, except … You realize your presence in England could spark civil war? Lady Agathe may view your arrival as an act of provocation, and command her faction to rise against Harold in defense of her son Edgar’s endangered inheritance. Can you live with the responsibility of that, Agatha? And would you truly accede to bedding with a man who may well be of bastard origin? I must also inform you regarding another serious impediment to reunion with Harold Godwinesson of recent manifestation, I fear. Brace yourself, mistress. A report has been received detailing that Earl Tosti has brutally slain Lady Tilaflaed, his own kinswoman, in her manor at Norwich, and has also slaughtered Princess Gwendolyn, the daughter of Lady Aldgyth and the purveyor of that supposed evidence of her mother’s alleged adultery you had heard of. It seems Tosti’s fleet was surprised and defeated by Aldgyth’s brothers the Earls Morcar and Edwine off the English coast, and Tosti’s lieutenant, a certain Copsi, was captured, thereafter revealing the fact of his master’s guilt for the barbarous murders. The reasons behind the killings are still unclear, but I’d wager something unsavory was afoot to bring Tosti to Norwich, and such atrocity’s cruel undertaking. Tosti’s fled to Scotland, it’s said, and the word of his nefarious deed has inspired great outrage throughout England, and elsewhere. To be plain, Agatha, it’s being whispered your father’s to blame, that he deliberately dispatched Tosti to Tilaflaed’s door for illicit purpose, and thereby bears equal onus for her and Gwendolyn’s slaying. You are your sire’s daughter. Need I say more regarding the likelihood of your meeting a warm welcome from an incensed population, Madamoiselle? I understand English trees grow particularly tall, to provide a longer drop for hanging, I imagine, or plenty of wood for a mob’s vengeful bonfire.” Agatha frowned, rising to pace about in acute anxiety at Katerine’s baleful tiding. To Katerine’s surprise Agatha inquired concerning additional intelligence from England Katerine had been instructed to withhold from her which reflected negatively upon the prospects of success for the Duchess’s conference with Lady Ealdgyth.

“I agree Tosti’s action poses a threat to me, perhaps, but aren’t you forgetting to inform me regarding a few likewise significant details that cast doubt upon the likelihood of my mother’s strategy bearing fruit, Katerine? For example, isn’t it true that Mother sent Godeleva to Lady Torfrida, her old friend who had wed Hereward, Harold’s close associate, to discuss Torfrida approaching Lady Ealdgyth with her proposal for secret conference, only to have Godeleva’s mission end in summary arrest and confinement? And isn’t it also true that one of Torfrida’s attendants, a Laura de Fiennes – a Norman, by the way – has also been arrested lately for an attack in public upon Lady Ealdgyth and her servant? If this is indeed the case, Kate, then I fail to see how the possibility of my mother’s achievement of a satisfactory arrangement with Lady Ealdgyth may retain a realistic promise. Can you? So it seems to me the case for taking things into my own hands is strengthened by the sum of developments, rather than weakened by it as you presume. Or have you another argument of greater substance yet to articulate, ma cherie?” Katerine swore, vexed at Agatha’s discerning. After a few minutes of brooding contemplation Katerine responded with a final flaccid retort, recognizing her cause was futile.

“I’ll not even bother to ask how you came to know of Godeleva’s embassy and imprisonment or of the assault on Ealdgyth by Torfrida’s wench, regrettably a countrywoman of ours, true. No matter. The simple fact is, Agatha, Sister Oriel refuses to divulge the location of the escape way out of here, so your plan to leave for England alas is foiled by her refusal to cooperate, I believe. Thus you have no choice but to come with me to Ghent as your mother desires, and await fate’s verdict there in relative safety, rather than place your life and the fortune of nations in jeopardy by reckless impulse’s vain following.” Agatha smiled, shaking her head in amused admiration for Katerine’s dedicated effort to protect her. Laughing with confidence born of her wild hope Agatha expressed her appreciation for Katerine’s concerns as she issued her decisive rejection regarding her attendant’s ardent appeal.

“Oh, you mean the underground tunnel situated in close proximity to the infirmary kitchen, Kate? Or did you think my time here wouldn’t have proven well spent enough to uncover my path to ultimate redemption? To be frank, it was Sister Agnes who ferreted out the passage’s location, and it was also she who had sent me word through Madame de Laon concerning the events abroad that you and Mother would’ve preferred I remain conveniently ignorant about. You see, Kate, Sister Agnes is quite well informed. She understands me, Katerine, I daresay almost as well as you do, and I am therefore certain I can invest my trust in her, despite your misgivings. Sister Agnes makes the necessary arrangements for my travel to England as we speak. We intend departure in three days. If you’re still doubtful concerning the wisdom of my action, Katerine, you can bid me adieu now, with neither regrets nor fear of losing my sweet eternal affection, ma cher soeur.” Katerine flushed at Agatha’s insinuation, irked at such an presumption that she would abandon her mistress unto the fickle whims of fortune. Kissing Agatha’s cheek in a resigned acceptance of the young noblewoman’s decision regarding her destination Katerine sighed, nodding.

“You’ll not get rid of me so easily, Madamoiselle. If you’re resolved it’s to be England we fly to, Agatha, then so be it, against my better judgment, mind you. You’d best get some rest, mistress. Three days will pass swiftly, and the sea can be rough in transit even in the best of weathers. And may God help us if you are proven wrong, Lady.” Agatha smiled as Katerine left her, lying on her bed with a heart and spirit inspired by an immense rush of renewed optimism. Closing her eyes Agatha entertained most pleasing dreams of the joyous and bountiful life she envisioned resulting from her impending English excursion, ecstatic at the prospects held out for obtaining a lasting personal contentment by her true love’s direct engagement.

CHAPTER ELEVEN