"Nay, 'tis not right," Madelyne protested as Peg held a length of garnet-colored cloth alongside her face to check the color with her complexion.
The maid ignored her as she and Tricky clucked about, discussing colors and styles with the seamstress who had appeared at the door of their chamber the morning after their arrival.
"'Tis like the night sky!" Tricky breathed, sighing over a vibrant blue cloth shot with silver threads.
"Aye, mistress, and silver stars and moons embroidered on the cuffs," nodded the seamstress. Madelyne realized in annoyance that the woman had learned to disregard her protests almost immediately, turning her attention to the short, plump women who fluttered about their lady. The seamstress's eyes gleamed with satisfaction as yet another bolt of cloth was added to the growing pile of silks and linens and wools.
"'Tis not right," Madelyne spoke again, this time with more vehemence. "It's too much-the cost will be too great, and I do not need all of these gowns!"
This time, her objection was not ignored. Tricky turned to her with flashing eyes, surprising Madelyne with the indignation in her expression. "My lady, when I agreed to come with you, I vowed to care for you to the best of my abilities-to protect you and to serve you. I cannot allow you to dress in rags, or in clothing that belonged to another woman in another time. You must be dressed as befits your station, and you must adorn yourself with jewels and gold-else you will be eaten alive by the wild cats here!"
Madelyne blinked. How had Tricky become so seasoned with the ways at court, and from where had this stubborn streak come? "I am but a simple nun," she replied, "and I do not believe that you agreed to accompany me...I believe that you gave me little choice in that matter." A wry smile suddenly caught at her face-mayhaps that stubborn streak had always been there, but hidden by a veil and prayerful hands.
"You are no nun yet," Tricky reminded her boldly. "And until such time as you make your last vows and shave your head, you must bear the mantle of your position. Even you, my lady, must wear the pretension of the Lady of Tricourten if you are to have a chance here."
The seamstress bobbed her head vigorously. "Aye, my lady, you must listen to your maid-she has the right of it. And the Lord of Mal Verne has instructed me to clothe you in such a manner. I cannot disregard his wishes." The expression on her face revealed that she was not so much afraid of his lord as she was loathe to lose the business.
Madelyne frowned and didn't reply, trying to forget her sudden aversion at the reminder that she would shave her head. She could demand that the women go, and leave her to her simple, borrowed clothing...but mayhaps that would be no more than slicing off her nose to spite her face. She would need every bit of influence in her favor if she were to gain permission from the king to leave his court, and to survive her stay whilst she was there.
She sighed, and the others, seizing the opportunity of her tacit approval, returned to their animated discussion of her clothing. The seamstress left, and by that time, Madelyne was at peace-albeit temporarily-with the arrangement. It would be a temporary allowance, and when she returned to Lock Rose Abbey, she could don the familiar gowns of black and blue linen. Absently, she allowed her fingers to trail over the smoothness of a pearlescent silk, reveling in its sleekness. 'Twould be no hardship to slip into the softness of a tunic made from this cloth, she mused guiltily. Snatching her hand away, she turned to the small fireplace and forced herself to say two paternosters and one prayer to the Blessed Virgin in penance for her frivolous thoughts.
Madelyne had barely finished when a knock sounded on the door. She started for it, but Tricky gestured her back and opened it just enough to peer out. She withdrew back into the chamber and announced in a voice heavy with formality, "My lady has her first visitor. Lady Judith of Kentworth requests an audience with my lady."
Madelyne rose to her feet, smoothing her gown. "Tricky, please let her in." She stepped toward the door to greet the woman who breezed in, followed by a young page and two maidservants.
"Lady Madelyne." As she swept in, the other woman brightened the room with her smile and fiery, golden-red hair. She paused from taking Madelyne's hands into her own. "Do you not remember me?" Her laugh tinkled into the room as she moved forward, nearly stepping upon a stack of discarded bolts of cloth. "Our summer of fostering in Kent?"
The memory struck Madelyne with the force of a gale wind and she could not help the smile that burst over her face. "Judith? 'Tis you?" Before she could speak further, she was enveloped by her childhood friend in an exuberant embrace and she felt tension ease from her body.
Judith stepped away, holding her by the fingertips, and appraised her bluntly. "Aye, Maddie, how you've grown into a beautiful woman! But we must do away with your clothing!"
Before Madelyne could protest that she had much too much with fussing over her dress, Judith spurred into action and began to issue firm, simple commands. "Fetch you my ribbons and girdles trunk, Mellie," she said to a maidservant who'd accompanied her. "Onda, I will need to see Mistress Blaine-send to her to see us before the midday meal." Thus, each of the companions were sent away-including Tricky and Peg, who wished to accompany Onda on her mission-and the two women were left alone.
"At last," Judith said, casting her a bright smile.
"Please, sit," Madelyne found her voice and was determined to regain control over her future. She would gladly admit her deficiency in fashion and dress, and capitulate to those who knew better. But in other matters, she would not be overruled. Before she had a chance to speak and establish this, Judith waved a hand at her as she plopped onto the bed.
"I trow, 'tis most difficult to think up excuses to send them away that they do not wonder why I should be so urgent in the matter. 'Tis just that I wished for a moment alone with you-as you are guarded by that little dragon-to speak on these long years." Her face, beautiful in its own right, softened from the smile into one of quiet sadness. "Dear Maddie, you cannot know how ill I felt when I learned you'd been drowned these ten years past. And you cannot know the hope I felt when Gavin shared that he'd found you yet alive."
At the mention of Gavin, Madelyne felt an odd wrench in her stomach and she stood abruptly. This beautiful woman, with the red-gold beacon of a head and sparkling green eyes, was the one he'd told her to seek if she needed assistance. She spoke of him with familiarity and warmth, and though she shouldn't care, Madelyne couldn't keep back the unhappy thought of what Judith of Kentworth meant to Gavin of Mal Verne.
"Lord Gavin told me I should seek you out should I need assistance, but I did not know that it was you of whom he spoke," she replied carefully.
"How did he come to find you? How did you come to be alive?"
Madelyne gave a simple version of the escape she and her mother had made ten years earlier, careful to repeat the tale that Lady Anne had perished some years after reaching the abbey. "Lord Gavin came upon the abbey which had been our refuge, and after the sisters treated his wounds and those of his men, we released them." She thought it best not to refer to the trick she'd played on Gavin. "'Twas only a fortnight later that he returned with an order from the king demanding my presence at court." She looked questioningly at Judith. "I do not know why his majesty has ordered an audience with me."
A flash of surprise flitted across Judith's face. "King Henry has requested your presence? But Gavin told me-" She stopped abruptly and bit her lower lip. For a moment, she looked uncertain, and Madelyne watched her steadily, her heart freezing.
Then Judith clapped her hands together in chagrin. "'Tis always my loose tongue that puts me into the fire!" She shook her head, and a thick coppery braid swung around, falling over her shoulder.
"What did Lord Gavin tell you?" Madelyne asked with a calmness she did not feel.
Judith sat upright on the curtained bed, still gnawing at her lower lip. "He came to me to ask if I recalled the markings on your wrist," she gestured to Madelyne's left hand, the wrist barely exposed by the tight sleeve of her undertunic. "'Tis how he came to recognize you, if you did not know."
Madelyne inclined her head, trying to subdue the churning in her middle. "What concern was it to him?"
"Your father and Gavin of Mal Verne are sworn enemies," Judith told her, her eyes wide and solemn. "Gavin has vowed to crush Fantin de Belgrume, and he has the support of the king in this."
"King Henry has given his permission that Lord Gavin should kill my father?"
"Nay, not to kill him-'though, in truth, methinks Gavin would not hesitate to do so should he have a permissible reason. His majesty wishes only that de Belgrume, who has waged reckless war on other barons to steal their lands, should be brought under control."
It suddenly became clear to Madelyne how she'd been manipulated. "Lord Gavin has brought me to the king to suit his own purposes then," she said flatly. "The king has not requested my presence-'twas only to suit Mal Verne that he has done so."
Judith must have seen the coldness that settled over Madelyne's features, for she reached out to touch her friend's hand. "Maddie, Gavin does not mean you any harm-"
Madelyne drew away. "I do not know that. I do know that I'm here against my will, having been taken from the sanctuary in which I sought refuge-in which I was happy-for years. In this world, this man's world, I lose the freedoms I had in the abbey: the freedom to write and read, to manage my own affairs within the abbey, and the freedom to answer to no man except the king-who knew me not until Lord Gavin blazoned my presence to him."
She wrapped her arms around her waist, fighting the fear and anger that swarmed her. She had been a fool to believe the man meant her no harm...a fool to consider that a man might have more than his own interests at heart. Lady Anne had warned her over many years...and every word her mother had spoken had flown away in the presence of Gavin of Mal Verne.
"I am to be used, then, to bring my father to heel-or to his death." Her voice was dull and her mind numb. "Then Lord Gavin spoke true when he named me hostage. I am to be a tool, a carrot to dangle in my father's face." All hope of returning to her private, simple life at the abbey disintegrated, and she stood abruptly, moving to look out of a small arrow-slit window.
"Madelyne-" But before Judith could finish her sentence, a rap sounded at the door, followed by the announcement that the maidservants had returned.
Madelyne turned to answer it, pausing with her hand on the leather strap. "For what reason does Lord Gavin seek such destruction of my father?"
For the first time, Judith's eyes shuttered and her face lost its inherent glow. "He seeks to avenge a wrong he believes your father has done me, and to atone for Gavin's own perceived sins toward me. And...for the other cause he has to hate your father-you will have to ask Gavin yourself."
Although Madelyne pressed her for more information regarding Gavin's relationship with her father, Judith did not feel she should divulge more details. She would do nothing to promote Gavin's own feelings of guilt.
She made certain to remain in Madelyne's chamber until dinner, so that she could escort her proud friend to the hall where the meals took place. She'd been pleasantly surprised that Gavin had arranged a private chamber for her, but vexed that he had not visited his charge since leaving her there the day before. Thus, Madelyne had not ventured from the room, and had relied on her maids Patricka and Peg to procure bread, cheese, and wine for her meals.
"You must be starved!" she exclaimed when she learned of Maddie's simple fare.
Shaking her head, Madelyne replied with a quiet smile, "Nay, Judith, I am most content with the simple meals, for that is how we supped in the abbey. 'Tis true, I may find myself more overwhelmed than comfortable in the royal court." A glint of humor lit her luminous eyes and Judith smiled in return.
She patted her lightly on the cheek. "Maddie, somehow I sense that you shall garner strength and boldness that you did not know you have when confronted by the whirlwind of the court. At the least, you shall have myself, who knows much of what goes on here-and what I do not know, I most usually can learn." She took a last, appraising look at Madelyne, who, with her help, had shed her outdated gown and was garbed in a more stylish mode of clothing.
Madelyne was an exceptionally beautiful woman, Judith thought to herself-not for the first time. With her fair, smooth skin and midnight dark hair, she would likely cause a stir among the queen's ladies-as well as among the noblemen and men-at-arms who were part of the court. Now that she wore more fashionable clothing, the snipes and darts borne from jealousy would not carry the added sting of belittling her clothing or branding her a country mouse.
Judith had chosen an emerald green undergown from her own wardrobe for Madelyne to wear. Although she'd initially balked at the form-fitting skirt that laced up the side and along the sleeves, Madelyne had acquiesced and now wore that, covered by a floor-length overtunic of sapphire blue. Onda, Judith's tiring maid, had shown Peg and Tricky the intricacies of braiding Maddie's thick dark hair and looping it in stylish snoods over each ear. The snoods also belonged to Judith, and they sparkled with tiny gold beads nestled against the black masses of braids.
"Absolutely breathtaking," Judith told her, cocking her wrist to place a forefinger on her pert chin. "You will turn every head, and they will wonder who you are."
Madelyne blanched, her hands going automatically to touch her hair. "But I do not wish to attract attention!"
"Now, Maddie," Judith chided, linking an arm with her, "you cannot hide your beauty, and you shall soon be known to all anyway...so 'tis best to do it under your own terms. Come, we mustn't be late."
Brushing aside the unhappy expression on Madelyne's face, Judith propelled them out of the chamber, leaving the maids to scurry behind in their wake.
Upon reaching the hall where the masses of people who followed the royal court ate their meals, Judith paused, stretching onto her toes to look over the gathering. She hoped to spot Gavin and insist that he sit with them at table, or, at the least, that he settle them in a place near the royal dais. Aside of that, she intended to sharpen her tongue on him for leaving Madelyne to her own devices. A sigh caught at her, and Judith lowered from the balls of her feet onto her heels. She meant to take Gavin to task-if she found him-but their relationship was tenuous and fraught with tension, and 'twas likely he'd only turn cold and blank and proceed to act unerringly the gentleman, accepting the reprimand and his fault in the matter.
Her lips pursed. If only he'd show some emotion other than anger or blankness! Judith squeezed Maddie's hand and began to pull her through the crowd, heading toward the royal dais. There had been a time when Gavin laughed and joked, and his face warmed with smiles and caring...a time before Nicola, before Gregory...and before Fantin de Belgrume.
She threaded her way between the rows of tables, tugging Madelyne behind her. Suddenly, she felt the cool fingers slip from hers, and Judith stopped, turning about. "Maddie, are you-" She swallowed her words when she saw Gavin standing there, his face dark and unreadable as ever.
Madelyne had frozen and, having drawn her hand away from Judith, had folded her hands demurely over her waist. "Why, Lord Gavin, 'tis a surprise to see you. I thought you must have left the court."
Her words, quiet, calm, and without a hint of rancor, delighted Judith and made it unnecessary for her to make the selfsame point to him. The kitten does have claws, she thought, hiding a smile.
He gave a small bow, his gaze traveling over Madelyne from head to toe, then flickering to Judith. "I see that you are none the worse for your first day at court," he replied mildly, returning his attention to Maddie.
Judith stepped toward him, taking his arm with a firm grip. She looked up into his face and directed a bright smile laced with temper at him. "Madelyne had not ventured from her chamber since yestereve, and I bethought 'twas nigh time she found her way to sup with the rest of us."
Gavin had the grace to show a bit of shame as he made another slight bow to Madelyne, offering her his arm. "Many apologies, my lady," he said. "I did not mean to leave you unattended for so long, but my services were required elsewhere and I would have sent word had I known how long I was to be occupied."
Madelyne glanced at his proffered arm, but made no move to take it. Instead, she cast a cool smile at him and responded, "Do you not fear, my lord, 'twas not your presence that I felt lacking, but the desire to sup on more than bread and cheese. With Lady Judith to assist me in that, I should only need from you an introduction to his majesty, and you shall need to dance attendance upon me no further. Unless I am to play some momentous role in your vengeance upon my father?"
Judith swallowed back an exclamation of surprise at her friend's direct and powerful censure, and looked at Gavin. His countenance remained stone-like and immovable as always, although she saw a flare of surprise widen his eyes for a brief instant before he turned a frigid gaze onto herself. "You have ever the loose tongue, do you not, Judith?" Annoyance set in his face and his lips firmed into chiseled marble.
Then he turned back to their companion. "Lady Madelyne, I will be pleased to see that you are made known to his majesty. As to your role in the vengeance that I will have upon your father...it remains to be seen how you will figure there. Now, ladies, with your permission, I will escort you to your seats and I will leave you to your own devices."
