“I am not certain,” she said. “Do you have something to confess to me, child?”
Now, they were getting to the meat of the situation. Andressa knew this moment would come at some point. She thought it would have come last night after she’d returned, but everything had been dark and silent. She never asked Maxton whathappened to Douglas, and he’d never told her, but surely the nuns would have been suspicious when he didn’t return to St. Blitha. They’d sent him out to follow her, after all.
But Andressa had been the only one to return.
Given what Douglas had said to her last night, Andressa knew that the Mother Abbess was aware the plans for the king were no longer secret. She’d known enough to send the man to follow Andressa when she left the abbey, presumably for Lady Hinkley’s. But it had been far more than that, and Lady Hinkley’s laundry had nothing to do with it.
She knows yer guilt, Douglas had said.
Now, the confrontation had come.
As Andressa looked at the woman, it occurred to her that she was on trial. All of this; it was a trial. The Mother Abbess was the judge and her minions were the jury. They knew she had discussed their plans and were more than likely deciding what to do about it. How they knew of her guilt didn’t matter, only that they did. Someone had told them that Andressa had confessed their darkest plans to men loyal to the king.
Oh, God…
Fear surged through Andressa but she fought it. She had to stay calm if there was any hope of coming out of this alive. To pretend as if she had no idea what they were talking about was her only defense, but there was a distinct problem with that– she had never been very good at lying. Now, she had to lie as if her life depended on it, because it did. She knew it did.
She was closer to death than she’d ever been in her life.
God help me!
“Confess?” she repeated, hoping she didn’t sound terrified and cornered. “I have not gone to confession today, but I shall confess to you if you wish.”
The Mother Abbess ended up over by her windows, her favorite place to stand as she surveyed her empire beyond.
“I have no time for foolishness,” the woman said patiently. “Tell me where you have gone and who you have spoken to. Tell me now.”
Andressa held her ground. “You know where I have gone, Gracious Mother,” she said. “Yesterday morning, a baker was kind enough to feed me, and then I returned to finish the laundry. I delivered Lady Hinkley’s undergarments and then returned last night at her request. Where is it that I am supposed to have gone other than what you already know?”
Before the Mother Abbess could answer, the door opened and Sisters Agnes and Dymphna appeared. One nun was holding a long, thick branch that had been carved out with heavy thorns projecting from it. It was a horrifying device of torture. The other nun was carrying leather bindings, larger versions of what falconers used to tether their birds. When Andressa saw the items, her eyes widened.
“Gracious Mother,” she said, swiftly turning to the woman. “What is it I am supposed to have done?”
“Tell us who the man was who escorted you home last night,” Sister Petronilla burst. “I saw him standing by the postern gate. Who was he?”
Shocked, Andressa turned to the woman. In truth, she hadn’t realized Maxton had been seen and she struggled for an answer.
“A… a man I could not be rid of,” she said quickly, thinking of the first lie that popped to mind. “He saw me returning from Lady Hinkley’s in the dark and would not go away. I told him to go away, but he refused.”
Behind her, Sisters Agnes and Dymphna were closing in. Andressa could feel it. Nervously, she tried to back away, turning so she could see what all of the nuns were doing, and she knew she was in a grave situation. In a panic, she turned to the Mother Abbess.
“Please,” she begged. “What have I done?”
The Mother Abbess showed absolutely no emotion. “Someone has spoken of our command from our Holy Father,” she said. “Someone has told the king’s men that it is our intention to eliminate the king come feast day. I know it could not be my faithful attendants; moreover, none of them have left St. Blitha since we received the orders. Butyouhave left St. Blitha. Who have you told, Andressa?”
Now, it was all out in the open and Andressa had never been so terrified. If she could make it past Sister Dymphna, who was standing near the entry door, she might have a chance to run for her life, but she couldn’t guarantee the sister, who was long-legged and fast, wouldn’t catch her.
Besides… running would make her look guilty. It would make it worse when she was caught. Fighting off tears, she turned to the Mother Abbess.
“You trusted me with information,” she said. “I told you I would not fail you. Why would you think I would speak of something you entrusted with me? Sister Dymphna has several nuns she is in charge of and everyone knows they gossip terribly. She has told them of what you do to women in The Chaos and they spread lies about you and they speak to those on the outside. Why not ask Sister Dymphna what she has told them? It must have been her!”
It was a well-known fact that Sister Dymphna had the inability to keep things to herself, and in Andressa’s panicked state, that was all she could think to say– to try and turn the situation off of her and onto another nun. Unfortunately, it was Sister Dymphna who was holding the thick branch with the thorns, called simply The Rod, and in her rage, she swung the thing at Andressa, catching her in the shoulder.
Andressa screamed in pain, trying to move away as Sister Dymphna went after her, bring the rod down again and barely missing her. By this time, Andressa was running, and she cameacross the Mother Abbess’ expensive sideboard, grabbing the nearest thing she could, which happened to be a pewter pitcher. It was heavy, like a hammer.
Sister Dymphna came up behind her and swung the rod again, and Andressa ducked beneath it. As Sister Dymphna staggered sideways with the momentum of the swing, Andressa came up and hit her on the side of the head with the pitcher with all her might. A dull, cracking sound filled the air as metal met with bone.
Sister Dymphna dropped like a stone.
