“We would not know how to use force, Gracious Mother,” she said calmly. “But making our way to the king is much different from any of the other tasks we have accomplished. What is expected of us, then? How are we to accomplish that which has been asked of us?”
Sister Petronilla tended to be the more rational one of the three. The Mother Abbess turned to her.
“Remember the Bishop of Leeds?” she asked. “And you will recall the priests from Kent who sided with the king against our Holy Father. Do you recall what we did for them? We have used ingredients from our garden. Why do you think we grow this great garden of deadly flowers and herbs? It is because they are our weapons in fighting for the rights of the church. It will simply be a matter of using those weapons again, this time against our king. He will die a death that looks to be from the heart or from the brain. Nothing sinister will be expected, and it will truly be the Will of God. He has provided us with the necessary tools, as evidenced by our great and beautiful garden. He allows it to grow by giving us the sun and the rain. All we need to do is use what God has provided.”
She made it sound so very simple, as if it were merely another task in a long line of tasks the four of them had undertaken over the years. Anything that displeased the Holy Father, or hisminions in Essex or Ely. In fact, the nuns had accomplished several tasks for the Bishop of Essex, and both bishops that had been known to give a command to remove a rival or enemy. In any case, no one ever suspected the method of delivery– when they were looking for armed men, they failed to notice the unarmed women.
And it was their downfall.
Who would suspect a nun?
“Itisthe Will of God,” Sister Petronilla agreed without reserve. She tended to be the first one to follow Mother Abbess in all things. “When are we to complete this glorious mission?”
There was no reserve with any of them. It was simply another request from the Holy Father in a long line of them. As far as they were concerned, they were doing God’s work; that was how they rationalized it. The Mother Abbess moved to the window of her solar, the one that overlooked her lovely garden. She was looking to at the tall stalks of foxgloves in particular.
“The Feast of St. Blitha is next week,” she said. “The missive from the Holy Father was a great coincidence to this feast because the king has come every year for three years. I have been told that he will be in attendance this year again, eager to pray to the patron saint of hunters. He will take Communion and it will be a simple thing to poison the man’s wine.”
Sister Petronilla stood up, making her way over to the windows where the Mother Abbess was. “But the king surely has tasters,” she said. “They will taste the wine before it goes to the king.”
The Mother Abbess looked at her. “Let them,” she said. Then, she returned her focus to the garden, pointing to the tall, purple foxglove stalks. “Some of those plants are just preparing to blossom. Cut the leaves from them, dry them, and crush them into fine powder. We shall mix the powder with the king’s wine. Even if he has someone taste it first, there will be no evidence ofthe poison and the taster will not become ill right away. It will take time and, by then, the king will have ingested enough to kill him.”
It seemed like a logical enough plan. It was something they’d done once before with the Bishop of Leeds. The man had died in his sleep after a fine meal at the Mother Abbess’ table.
“I shall prepare the wine myself,” Sister Petronilla said quietly. “I will all ensure it is the only wine the king drinks.”
The Mother Abbess nodded but she seemed to be distracted by what she was seeing out the window, beyond the garden. Sister Petronilla looked to see a few nuns milling about, including the nun who managed the kitchen and the pledge who tended to the laundry. It was difficult manual labor, given to the young and the strong. As Sister Petronilla tried to figure out what had the Mother Abbess’ attention, the older woman pointed from the window.
“The du Bose girl was there when Alasdair arrived, as I mentioned,” she said, gesturing to the woman who had just come in from the postern gate and seemed to be engaged in an animated conversation with the kitchen nun. “I have been watching her, you know. She is an orphan and her aunt, the woman who gave her over to us, paid me a mighty sum to keep the girl here for always. She says that the woman is headstrong and rebellious, but I have never seen that in her. She is an excellent worker and she is obedient.”
By this time, Sister Dymphna and Sister Agnes were moving to the window, straining to see what the Mother Abbess was pointing to.
“I have been thinking, Sisters,” the Mother Abbess continued. “The truth is that we are not growing any younger. If St. Blitha is to remain loyal to the Holy Father, then we must bring in new blood to serve him, as we do. We must bring in young women who understand the importance of fulfilling hiswishes, in any circumstance. Women with no ties to family, no ties to the outside world. Women who could disappear from this earth and no one would mourn them. Women who have nothing else to live for.”
Now, all four nuns were looking from the windows at the laundry yard, where the tall and pale du Bose girl was in what seemed to be an increasingly heated conversation with the kitchen nun, Sister Blanche.
“I know Andressa,” Sister Agnes said, her gaze on the girl in the distance. “She is joyful and she never complains. She does as she is told.”
The Mother Abbess nodded. “She pleases me,” she said. “Her wash commands a fine price and she is quite valuable to me. I have been thinking of rewarding her for her work by asking her to serve as one of us. She would never have to want, and never have to worry. She would know my care and protection. She is young and strong and bright, and she could carry on our work and traditions long after we are gone.”
Sister Dymphna looked at her. “Do you wish her to replace you when the time comes, then?”
“Mayhap.”
“But what if she refuses? What we do is only for the most faithful, Mother. What if her faith is not strong enough?”
The Mother Abbess’ dark eyes flickered, a ripple of evil in the black depths. “Then she shall belong to The Chaos,” she said simply. “No family will miss her when she disappears, and I’ll not have her out in the world where she can tell others of our business. If she does not agree to my offer, she will die. And I am sure she will choose life and dedication to the Holy Father over anything else. As I said, she is a bright woman. She will understand and she will be grateful.”
The woman said it without any remorse or grief whatsoever, as if discussing something as benign as the weather. She’d livedwith her evil so long that, to her, it was normal. It was the way of things.
And they needed new blood to continue their way.
Before anyone could speak again, the object of their attention was slapped by a very angry kitchen nun and, as they watched in shock, Andressa struck back and sent the kitchen nun to her arse. Then, she jumped on top of her and they lost sight of the fight behind the vast garden that was between them and the kitchen yard. The Mother Abbess snapped her fingers.
“Go,” she instructed her followers quickly. “See what has happened. Bring Andressa to me and confine Sister Blanche to her room. I will decide what is to be done with her.”
The three nuns scattered, fleeing the fine chamber, rushing out to do the Mother Abbess’ bidding. As they fled, the Mother Abbess returned her attention to the yard where more nuns were now rushing to break up the fight. She saw clearly when two of them pulled Andressa to her feet and began pulling her away while the kitchen nun, Sister Blanche, continued to scream angrily.
It was a chaotic scene, but one thing was for certain– Sister Blanche struck first. The Mother Abbess didn’t know why the woman had lashed out and it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that the woman had struck out at someone the Mother Abbess had her eye on, and that kind of thing could not be tolerated. There was no fighting or violence at a convent, as Sister Blanche was about to find out. No matter the reasons, Andressa was about to discover that the Mother Abbess would protect her from a nun out to do her harm. Perhaps, it would make the offer to join their exclusive little group that much sweeter, knowing the Mother Abbess would protect her and keep her in all things.
