Dagobert frowned at the stone floor as he considered the implications of his new wife being Cathar.Eustache was right and he should have seen the full import of the situation earlier.
“Indeed, you may speak the truth, my friend.That she is my wife is of greater import.Our match could be construed as an alliance of the house of Pereille with the Cathar sect.”He scowled briefly before eying his companion.“Perhaps we read much into little, for she did finally eat the meat.”
“I was not the sole one to see her feed most of it to one of Iolande’s beasts.”Eustache kicked some straw with his boot, glancing up when Dagobert chuckled.
“She did?”he asked, and Eustache nodded ruefully.“Perhaps she is more clever than you would give her credit, my friend.”
“Only one night in her bed and your brains are addled,” Eustache muttered, his poor mood restored.“Truly this does not bode well for the future.”
“Eustache, you always see trouble lurking in every shadow.”Dagobert brushed off his chausses, then stretched with leisure.He doubted that anything could ruin his spirits this morning.Alienor’s religious convictions were but suspicions, and the import easily dismissed after the night they had spent together.
Did the Cathars not take a vow of chastity?Clearly his wife had taken no such pledge.He glanced at his companion to find Eustache no more appeased than before.Would news of Alienor’s sweet loving make him doubt his conclusions?Dagobert suspected not.
“Aye, ogres at every turn,” Eustache agreed.“Crusading season but two months away, the king’s troops fairly knocking at our door and his spies dining at our board.Pope and king persisting in a crusade purportedly against the Cathars, which we both know to be a hunt for your sorry hide.Truly, I overreact.”
“Spies?”Dagobert demanded, his attention captured by the casual comment.This was much more serious than he had thought.Rumors in his own home or among his own people were one thing; rumors in the king’s court quite another.
Eustache studied him for a moment, then nodded.“Perhaps you have not completely forgotten your responsibilities, after all,” he observed.“There were those at the board last eve who I have seen in close company with the king at Fontainebleau.”Eustache eyed Dagobert.“’Twas interesting to see them dressed as troubadours, not the nobles I know them to be.”
“You are certain?”A chill settled around Dagobert’s heart at Eustache’s affirming nod.“Spies at my own hearth,” he mused and turned to pace.So it had come to this.How much did the king suspect?Dagobert knew well that the king had no qualms of conscience in using the threat of the Cathar heresy as an excuse to hunt his family.Eustache’s tale of spies put new light on Alienor’s choice.
The tale of his new bride’s refusal of meat would be certain to travel and he could not even speculate what rumors it would prompt.Surely one simple gesture could not manage to send all their plans into disarray?Dagobert feared that he knew better.The road was long to Paris and who knew how convoluted the tale would become before it reached the court.
And there was so much at stake.Should suspicions of Alienor reach the king’s ears, the verbal assurance that his house agreed with the king’s crusade against the Cathars would no longer be enough.His participation in the attacks on his friends and neighbors would assuredly need to be enthusiastic, for the king would welcome any excuse to assault Montsalvat itself.It had been only thirty years since the crown had last declared the Pereille lands forfeit—ironically enough as penance for the flat refusal of Dagobert’s father, Alzeu, to join the crusade—and the regaining of Dagobert’s rightful legacy had been arduous, indeed.
The merest whisper of acceptance of Cathars in the house of Pereille at court might send crusaders and papal legates swooping down on Montsalvat come summer, intent on repossessing the lands.And what disastrous timing!This threat came just as years of planning were finally moving into place with such precision.
“Quietly ensure that the curtain walls are in good repair,” Dagobert commanded.“And keep a close monitoring of those who demand accommodation.”
“I have already sent a few trusted men into the villages to listen,” Eustache said with a confirming nod.
Dagobert sighed, hoping against hope that this summer would not be worse than he had already anticipated it would be.“Tell me the moment we receive word from Anjou and Brabant.We cannot take the risk of sending envoys.”
Eustache nodded, striding out of the stables and into the morning sun.
Dagobert remained behind, tipping back his head as he recalled the image of his new wife when he had left her this morning, her features soft with sleep.He regretted with all his heart that she had to be thrown into the midst of all this trouble.
But she was his wife in every way and it was impossible now to turn back.
They would make their future together, whatever it might be.
A tapon the door sent Alienor scrambling out of bed for a garment to cover herself.She pulled her chemise over her head before crossing the floor to turn the key in the heavy door.Iolande stood on the other side, as icily aloof as the previous day, her gaze sweeping over Alienor’s disheveled state as the younger woman curtsied.
“I trust all was well last night,” Iolande said, glancing at the beast at the hearth before she stepped into the room.Her obedient hound dropped to its haunches in the doorway, awaiting its lady’s command.
“Indeed...Indeed yes, my lady,” Alienor stammered, feeling a complete fool before this woman’s flawless composure.To her dismay—but not her surprise—there was a gaggle of women behind Iolande, jostling and joking, their smiles expectant as they awaited the sheets.Alienor swallowed at the knowing smirk that would surely curve the short priest’s lips at the evidence of her broken maidenhead and hoped she would not have to face him this day.
“Dagobert always sought to do his rightful duty,” Iolande murmured as she stared down at the stained sheets.Alienor flushed, folding her hands before herself.With one swift gesture, Iolande flicked the linens from the bed then tossed the evidence of the consummation to the excited women.
She stood utterly still as her vivid blue gaze fixed upon Alienor.“It seems that you will not receive your annulment,” she said softly, and Alienor flushed scarlet.
So the priest had told her husband’s mother of her request.
“I meant no offense, my lady,” she offered with quiet boldness.“You must understand that the situation was most uncommon.”
“Indeed.”The single word seemed to hold a wealth of meaning when it fell from Iolande’s lips.Alienor waited, guessing that her mother-in-law was not done.
“I would ask that you not hinder your natural processes,” Iolande said finally, her voice so low that no other could hear.
