Owen disregarded her fury toward David. “Welcome, Princess Arissa,” he said after a lengthy pause. “I am Owen Glendower. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.”
In spite of her anxiety, she managed to dip into a practiced curtsy. “My lord,” she greeted, her voice quivering regardless of Hotspur’s reassurances.
Owen heard the quake in her tone, passing a long glance at Henry. “Am I to understand that there were no obstacles to her acquisition?”
Hotspur shook his head. “None. Your plan was executed flawlessly.”
Owen nodded faintly, drawing in a deep breath through his nostrils. “I am pleased,” his gaze once again moved to Arissa. He could scarcely comprehend her blinding beauty. “God’s Blood, she’s exquisite. I had no idea Ellyn’s daughter would be so fair.”
Arissa, staring at the ground, suddenly blinked as the impact of his softly-uttered words settled. Brow furrowed, she raised her head to meet his dark, appraising eyes. “I…. I do not understand your meaning, my lord. Who is Ellyn?”
“Your mother, of course,” Owen replied.
Arissa’s eyes widened, forgetting her fear and apprehension and confusion. All that mattered at the moment was that Owen Glendower knew of her mother, the mysterious woman who had abandoned her at birth.
Gazing into Owen’s stubbled face, she removed the hood of her cloak, her eyes as vast as the sky above. “You know of my mother?” her voice was faint. In spite of the fact that the woman had left her to the mercy of the angels, Arissa simply couldn’t bring herself to hate her. It was not her nature to loathe. “Tell me what you know?”
Owen shrugged, glancing at David. “You would undoubtedly know more. I have not seen Ellyn in twenty years.”
Arissa shook her head faintly. “I know nothing about her, my lord. I have never met her.”
Owen’s eyebrows drew together. “Was she not at Whitby?”
“There was no Ellyn at Whitby.”
“She doesn’t use her birth name any longer,” he turned to David. “What was the name she assumed when she took her vows? Rachel? Re..Re….”
“Repentia,” David supplied. “Sister Repentia.”
Arissa suddenly found herself on the ground, her bum stinging with sharp impact as her flesh met with the cold earth. Her head was swimming, her ears ringing, and she could scarcely draw a breath. Strong hands were reaching down to aid her, but she brushed them off, eventually swatting them away. Crawling, rolling, moving away from them, she somehow made her way to the edge of the tent, leaning against a pole for support. Shock did not fully encompass what she was experiencing.
She had no idea what she was feeling. All she knew was that she was feeling more astonishment and anguish than she ever thought possible. The knowledge that demure, kindly Sister Repentia was the woman who had given her life was far more than her young mind could comprehend at the moment.
Hotspur watched her with concern; it was obvious that the lady had been unaware of her mother’s identity and he cast Owen a long, critical glance.
“Sister Repentia accompanied us from Whitby,” he said softly. “I ordered her to stay to the wagon.”
David suddenly rose from his chair. “My sister is here?” he rasped. “Ellyn is in Wales? Why…. how..?”
“As a chaperone,” Hotspur answered softly, refocusing on Arissa’s bowed, quivering head. “The mother abbess would not allow me to take Arissa without a chaperone.”
David’s pale face stared at the tent flap as if to see his sister in the camp beyond, clad in the nun’s habit secured with a simple coarse rope, tied with four knots to remind the holy woman of the four vows she had taken upon entering the cloister. A woman he hadn’t seen since his twelfth birthday, when last he had beenwitness to a terrible disagreement between his only sister and their parents.
Horrible words, nasty rumors. A disagreement that had caused her to leave Wales for the bustle of London, to fend for herself however she was able.
An argument that David had not been a part of, but he had been old enough to know that their parents had accused his sister unjustly and he found himself more than willing to apologize for her anguish. If Ellyn was truly in their midst, then he would not permit her to leave without allowing him to make amends for the sins of their parents.
Without another word, David quit the tent. Owen let him go, still focused on Arissa. He felt rather guilty that he had not realized her ignorance of Ellyn’s identity and knelt beside her quaking body, wondering how he could possibly make reparation for his lack of tact.
“I apologize for your surprise, my lady,” he said softly. “Had I known that you were unaware of your mother’s identity, I would not have been so callous. Forgive me.”
Arissa did not reply, completely shaken and bordering on madness. From the very moment she had gazed into Sister Repentia’s eyes, there had been something uncannily familiar about the woman. A puzzled inquiry of familiarity that had been politely refuted. Suddenly, she felt foolish and sickened; if Sister Repentia had wanted her to know, then she would have told her immediately. She would not have allowed weeks to pass with nary a word of recognition. Instead, the link had gone ignored. Just as the woman had ignored her since birth.
In spite of the fact that she could not bring herself to hate the woman, it did not prevent her from experiencing a barrage of violent emotions. Resentment, anger, the agony of the unknown… Arissa felt the emotions building within her chest, swirling into a hurricane of torrential feelings. She simplycouldn’t believe that the woman had been intent on making a fool out of her.
“My lady,” Owen broke into her turbulent thoughts. “Might I help you to rise? Come and sit by the vizier.”
“Leave her be, Owen,” Hotspur’s voice was tight as he interrupted. “Allow her to recover her shock alone.”
