Gart looked at David with a look of such desolation that David felt the physical impact. He turned to the priest.
“Her husband is the lover of Queen Isabella,” he said, his voice low. “The man openly commits adultery with the queen, for Christ’s sake. Is that not a violation of God’s sanctity of marriage?”
Jonas was beginning to understand more of the situation now. He looked at Gart. “Is this true?”
Gart nodded, struggling against the creeping sense of despair. “It is.”
“The man is beyond reprehensible,” David put in, more strongly. “Let me tell you about this man and see if the Church approves of the manner in which he obeys God’s laws of marriage. Not only has he been the lover of the queen for quite some time, but recently, the queen has started to show interest in another man so her lover, this husband, has sent for his wife and children to join him in London so he can make the queen jealous and remain in her favor. How is it not right for the woman to be granted a divorce from a man who clearly abuses the marriage laws?”
Jonas sighed deeply, obviously given much to think about. Setting his pewter cup onto the table, he rose on his long legs and began to pace the scrubbed wood floor. Gart and David watched him closely as he clasped his hands behind his back, thoughtfully, watching his feet as he moved around the room. He paused by one of the great Norman lancet windows, his gaze moving to the green gardens beyond.
“The Church is very specific about its views on divorce,” he said. “I am not entirely sure there is a simple answer to this, at least one that would be acceptable.”
“Please,” Gart was on his feet, moving towards the priest. “You do not understand, Your Grace. Lady Emberley’s brother and I were best friends as children and I grew up knowing the lady and her family. I had not seen her in years until we were reacquainted a couple of months ago, and I subsequently came to know a bright, wonderful and sweet lady who is the epitome of what every woman should be. She has four children that she loves dearly, all offspring of her vile husband, yet there is so much love between the five of them that it is difficult to imagine. I have spent the past two months with them and never have I known so much happiness or peace. Please understand that I will beg, borrow, steal or kill in order to insure she no longer lives in fear and pain from her husband. Even if she did not love me and even if we were never meant to be together, I would still fight to free her from her husband because she deserves far better in life than what she has been dealt.”
The priest was watching him from his perch by the window, moved by the man’s speech. Slowly, he made his way towards the knight, coming to stand in front of him, inspecting him, dissecting the expression on Gart’s face with every ounce of wisdom and intuition he possessed. He could feel the sincerity of the man and it touched him. After a moment, he put his hand on Gart’s shoulder.
“Your name is Gart?” he said softly.
Gart nodded. “My name is Gabriel but everyone calls me Gart.”
Jonas smiled. “’And the angel answering said unto him, ‘I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings’.” His smile grew at Gart’s confused expression. “Do you not know your Bible, knight? Gabriel was the archangel that announced the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. He is the bearer of God’s secret messages to his chosen ones. He is also the great protector of Mankind.”
Gart was torn between interest and embarrassment. “I only wish to protect Emberley and her children, Your Grace, not the entire world.”
Jonas chuckled softly. “Even if I knew nothing about you other than the fact that you are a knight, your impassioned plea has shown me that beyond the killing machine lies a man of flesh and blood and heart,” he said softly. “You have a compassionate and selfless soul, Sir Gart. That is something not often seen in fighting men.”
Gart wasn’t sure how to respond. “It is the truth,” he said. “I only want to see her happy and would do anything to accomplish this.”
Jonas nodded with some resignation, sensing that this simple conversation was the start of a situation that was anything but uncomplicated. Hand still on Gart’s shoulder, he looked at David.
“There is another option,” he said, “although you may not wish to pursue it. A man can divorce his wife on the grounds of adultery. It has been done. I would assume that the husband knows nothing of the affair?”
Gart shook his head. “He does not, but he will at some point. The lady is pregnant with my child.”
Jonas lifted his eyebrows. “Well,” he said with some irony. “That will help the husband’s case. Perhaps if he were to be told of the affair, it would prompt him to begin proceedings.”
David shook his head firmly. “Nay,” he said flatly. “It would only give him an excuse to kill his wife. I suspect he would murder her before he would divorce her.”
Jonas dropped his hand from Gart’s shoulder and sought his chair again, collecting his half-full cup of wine. Gart retrieved the heavy pewter pitcher and filled it to the rim, and Jonas thanked him.
“You would not know this, but the queen comes to St. Bartholomew every Friday for confession,” Jonas said. “She has her own priest but she does not trust him to fully absolve her for her sins, so she comes to my church every week to seek forgiveness for a multitude of transgressions. Usually, Father Constantine hears her confession, as head of our order. I have, however, heard her confession twice and with the acts of debauchery she confessions, she cannot do enough penance in a thousand lifetimes to make up for it. God has already turned his back on her.”
David held his cup out as Gart poured him more wine. “And she has never confessed the affair with Buckland?”
Jonas looked up from his wine. “So that is who she is having the affair with?” he snorted. “She did mention something about unholy appetites with a man other than her husband but I had no idea it was Baron Buckland.”
David scratched as his neck casually. “You are a priest. I do not believe you are supposed to discuss confessions with us.”
“You asked.”
“I should not have. I will have to ask forgiveness when I next go to Confession.”
Jonas chuckled at the man’s quirky humor. “It is not as if everyone in England does not know of her activities. I was not divulging something that was not already common knowledge.”
David fought off a grin. “I hope you do not discuss my confessions with anyone or I could be in a good deal of trouble.”
Jonas flicked a hand towards the manse entry. “Are hordes of the king’s supporters here to burn your home to the ground?”
