“Does scripture not demand that you honor, obey, and treat me with due reverence?”
His son nodded.
“I do not doubt that Brother Thomas has some benighted reason for spewing blasphemy and suggesting his foul lies were uttered by holier men than he. Did you ever see for yourself any proof that these letters came from the pope or the saint?”
Adelard shook his head.
“The Devil is clever with his tricks, often quoting events and letters that are only the spawn of hellish fantasy.”
“Aye, but…”
“Have you heard these tales before Brother Thomas spoke of them?”
“Never.” The young man began to bite at his knuckle.
“Then you do not know if they ever existed. Oseberne straightened his back and folded his muscular arms. “I would say that your greatest sin is to question my teaching.”
Wiping his hand on his robe, Adelard protested that he had never doubted his father.
“Have I not warned you about the wicked nature of women, creatures that caused Adam to be cast out of Eden and to this day lure his sons into sin? And have you not learned the truth of my teaching through your own observations?”
“Of course, but then why urge me to join an Order run by Eve’s daughter?” The youth stepped back as if fearing a blow for daring to ask.
Although Oseberne’s eyes narrowed, he only raised his fist at his son. “She is the daughter of a baron who found favor with King Henry. Her brother stands by King Edward’s side. If you serve her well, she may speak favorably of you to her well-regarded kin. In such cases, men have been granted small monasteries to lead. Or else I may profit from any favor you earn by gaining more business. I have offered a donation of bread to the hospital. Perhaps the priory will buy more, rather than having nuns bake when they should be praying for a soul.”
The young man lowered his head, the gesture suggesting he was humbled. A renewed sniffling reinforced the impression.
Oseberne smiled down at his eldest son, his eyes glittering with the expectation of an abject apology.
Suddenly, Adelard straightened and marched toward the door. “I must seek Brother Thomas,” he said, “and question him further about his meaning and ask for proof of his allegations. Surely you agree that I dare not reject the words if they prove true, but if he lies, the village must hear of it. The Jews cannot live if Satan protects them.”
Oseberne stared, rendered speechless by the unexpected intensity of this son’s gaze.
Adelard swung open the door and left the house.
Just as the door closed, Oseberne threw a pottery cup against the wall. It shattered into tiny pieces of clay and scattered across the floor, dotting the rushes with drops of scarlet wine.
18
Sister Anne sipped at a mazer of wine. “After we bathed and swaddled the babe, we called Master Jacob to see his son.” She ran a finger around the edge of the cup. “The child roared like a lion, but the new father stroked his son’s face as if the boy were a kitten.” Sadness swept across her face but lasted only as long as a wind-driven mist.
“His cry of joy pleased both his wife and Mistress Malka,” Gytha said, offering more wine.
Anne nodded. “Had it not been forbidden, he would have kissed the new mother in gratitude for the gift she gave him.”
“I did not understand why he kept such a distance,” Gytha said.
“The tenets of his faith forbade him to touch her after the birthing,” the nun replied and quickly turned to the prioress.
“How fares Mistress Belia?” Eleanor’s question showed concern for the young woman, but her troubled look was directed toward her maid.
“She suffered more than most, and it is a miracle that both she and the child survived.” Anne shook her head. “All danger has not yet passed. I pray she will continue to gather strength as she is now. After the difficulties of this birth, it is likely she will never bear another child. At least her bleeding stopped, and the afterbirth was soon expelled. Of course she had chills but that is normal.”
“I am grateful to you both,” the prioress said, “as the family must be as well.”
“My efforts were petty, but Mistress Signy assisted most,” Gytha said. She had drunk only a little of her wine before she set the mazer back on the table.
“Indeed!” Eleanor’s smile suggested this was not a surprise.
“I had only asked her to warm a bath for Mistress Belia, before the contractions grew too frequent, and she made sure the required herbs were well-infused. But later she insisted on helping to support the mother and massage her back. As she explained to me, she might not have birthed a child but she was still a daughter of Eve like us all.”
“Our innkeeper is a good woman,” Eleanor said. “I have known few others who understand the meaning of charity so well.”
“Where is Brother Thomas?” the sub-infirmarian asked. “He accompanied us back from the inn, but I have not seen him at the hospital.”
“He has gone to seek Brother Gwydo. Prior Andrew has not seen our lay brother since yesterday but assumes the bees had kept him from the Offices. I must ask him some questions about Kenelm’s murder.”
Gytha paled.
Anne, who had seen the same response, glanced at the prioress. “If you will permit me, I should return to the hospital,” she said. “If I am needed again by Mistress Belia…”
“You must go to her at once.”
Smiling, the nun departed.
Eleanor laid a gentle hand on her maid’s shoulder. “Stay with me, my child. We must talk.”
“I have feared this,” Gytha whispered.
Although she would have preferred to embrace the young woman and offer comfort, Eleanor believed she must put a formal distance between them if she were to seek truth without bias. As she sat in her carved chair and indicated that her maid must stand before her, she felt cruel and hated it. Only rarely had she insisted on such formality between them.
The young woman covered her eyes. “I have sinned, my lady. I have been so wicked that I contaminate all within the priory. Indeed, I have dishonored you by failing to confess what I have done and should have left your service…”
“You shall not leave my side until you marry,” Eleanor replied, then gestured at the abandoned mazer on the table. Her resolve to remain stern was already faltering. “Drink that for strength while you tell me what happened the night you returned from visiting Tostig. After all the years you have served me, and the love I bear you, do you think I would listen without compassion? What occurred between you two?” She deliberately left half of the pair unnamed.
“You have suspected the truth?” Shock briefly drifted across Gytha’s face, then dissipated. “I should never have doubted it. Anytime in the past, when I wished to hide something from you, I knew I would fail and therefore admitted all. This time, however…” Her voice failed and she looked away.
“Bring that stool and sit beside me, my child,” Eleanor sighed, unable to restrain her feelings any longer. “I must hear the tale from you.” Although she doubted that her maid had lain with Gwydo, she found herself wishing that they had. That transgression was arguably within her authority to judge and order penance. But something whispered in her ear that Kenelm’s murder must be involved. The man’s death and Adelard’s tale of the coupling were too coincidental in time and place.
Gytha took a deep breath, looked down at the wine, and swallowed half of it. “After I left my brother, I stopped to visit with Signy and then came back to the priory. Kenelm followed me, but I did not notice him until I was close by the mill gate. He grabbed my arm and forced a kiss.” She shuddered.
The prioress let silence take on the weight of her growing apprehension.
“When I struggled, he clasped a hand over my mouth and dragged me into the forest.”
“You feared rape.”
“With cause, my lady. Just off the road, I tripped. He fell on me and tried to thrust himself between my legs.” She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. “God heard my prayers. I found a stone with which I struck his head with all my strength. Then I was able to pull myself away.”