by Ida Curtis
“Ever since we met you have been surprising me, Gilda.” Although he was pleased by how quickly she made up her mind, he wanted her decision to be based on something more than respect for how he dealt with others. “What else? Are there other reasons for your eagerness to wed?”
“How about my powerful desire to do this?” Gilda moved close and pulled his head down to kiss him full on the lips.
It took only a second for Justin to respond, then he lifted her off the floor so that she could wrap her arms around his neck. He fitted his body close to hers and returned her kiss, all the while edging her toward his bedchamber.
Reading his mind, Gilda whispered, “Wait.”
Justin groaned as his vision of taking her to bed disappeared. But her explanation had him wide-eyed again. “We have to rush to the monastery and find someone to marry us.”
Justin lowered her so that her feet were on the floor. “Are you sure about this, Gilda? When we were at the convent, I thought you wanted to stay there. I know you were torn.”
“Yes, I did think about staying, I won’t deny that. And it was hard for me to ride away. But even then, I think I knew I’d made my choice.”
Still in doubt as to her quick reversal, Justin took her face in his hands. “I want to marry you more than anything in the world, but we don’t have to rush to marry, Gilda.”
“Please believe me, Justin, I’m sure about this, and I don’t want my lie to the bishop to be a lie for any longer than necessary. The only reason I was able to tell it in the first place is that I knew I wanted to marry you. The bishop is utterly contemptible, and the idea of his marrying us called for drastic action.”
Justin embraced her again and twirled her around. They had whirled full circle when they saw Freda at the door. She appeared to be about to leave when Gilda called to her, “Wait, Freda. We need your help.”
“It looks like you are doing fine without any help from me,” the nun replied. “I was just going to remind you it’s time for vespers.”
“We’re going to be married,” Gilda blurted out.
“Good. Now it’s time for vespers.”
“No, you don’t understand. We need to go to the monastery to find someone to marry us. Bishop Gunthar offered to do it, and I said we were already married. I didn’t feel that I was lying because in my heart I feel married to Justin. Now we have to make sure that’s the truth. I’m hoping your nephew, Brother Arnulf, will help us.”
Freda’s lips had curled into a grin as she listened to an excited Gilda explain herself. “It’s something I’m sure he would enjoy doing. Perhaps we should leave while the others are at vespers.”
Justin gave the elderly nun a quick hug, then said, “I’ll go see if I can find Leonardo to go with us.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Gilda, Justin, and Freda spun around to see Leonardo in the doorway of the bedchamber. He was grinning. “I was trying to rest, but there was too much noise coming from this room.”
The idea of the energetic Leonardo needing a rest baffled Justin. Nodding toward the bedchamber, he asked, “Are you alone?”
Justin’s question had Gilda and Freda staring at Leonardo, who shrugged his shoulders and blushed. Gilda had a hard time keeping a straight face as she remembered Justin trying to move her into the bedchamber. It would have been crowded in there. “Did you hear everything?” she asked.
When Leonardo nodded, she said, “Let’s get going. I want to be married as soon as possible.”
The evening was mild, and it didn’t take long to ride to the monastery. Vespers had just concluded, and the brothers were exiting the chapel. It was easy to pick out Brother Arnulf, as he towered over the others.
“Welcome!” the monk shouted as he came toward them.
When Freda slipped behind Gilda to avoid the embrace that he had treated her to at their last visit, Brother Arnulf grinned at her. “A pleasure to see you again, dear aunt.”
Justin maneuvered Arnulf away from the other brothers. “We need some help,” he said.
“Always happy to help. What can I do?”
Justin glanced at Gilda and she spoke. “We need a priest to marry us.”
Arnulf clapped his hands with delight. “I can help with that. How soon were you thinking? We’ll set a day and I’ll find someone.”
“You don’t understand. Tonight. We need to be married tonight,” Gilda said, suddenly realizing how insane that sounded.
Arnulf scowled. “What have you done?”
Impatient, Freda jumped in to say, “They haven’t done anything, Arnulf. Can you find someone or not?”
Intent on their conversation, the small group didn’t notice that the Abbot had approached them until he spoke. “Sister Gilda and Lord Justin. It is good to see you again. What brings you back to visit us?”
There was a long pause before Lord Justin spoke. “We have come to find someone to marry us, Holy Father. It has to be right away. Tonight.”
The stern expression was back on the Abbot’s face. “What is the hurry?”
“It’s my fault,” Gilda offered, eager to set him straight. “Bishop Gunthar offered to marry us, and I pretended we were already married so as not to offend him. Since we both wished to be married, I didn’t think it was much of a sin, but now I’d like my words to become true.”
“And the bishop believed you?”
“Yes, I think so. I said I would wear my habit until our mission for the king was complete.”
“You do not wish to have the bishop marry you?” the Abbot asked.
“No,” Gilda answered simply.
“Would you like me to hear your vows?”
A sudden smile lit Gilda’s face, and Justin sighed his relief at the Abbot’s words. “Yes,” Gilda and Justin said in unison.
“Come to the porch of the chapel. I will marry you, and then we can go to supper.”
Justin grasped Gilda’s hand as they followed the Abbot for the few steps necessary to reach the porch. There, with Sister Freda, Brother Arnulf, and Leonardo standing beside them, Gilda and Justin said the words that bound them together and received the Abbot’s blessing.
When the Abbot was finished, he said, “Go into the chapel and say prayers to ask God’s blessing on your union, then come to the dining hall.”
Kneeling beside Justin in the chapel, Gilda was overwhelmed by the tenderness she felt for him, and suddenly tears streamed down her face. She seldom cried and tried to hide the evidence of her emotion by wiping away the tears on her sleeve.
As Justin became aware that Gilda was weeping, he was struck by a sudden fear. “Are you having regrets?” he forced himself to ask.
“No! No! Justin, please don’t think that. I have known for some time that I wanted to be your wife. The only reason I hesitated so long was because I also wanted to remain a nun.”
“What about your fear of losing your freedom, Gilda? Your words to Lady Emma about a nun being free of the dictates of a father or husband have haunted me since you spoke them.”
“I admit I wondered if it would work out for us. But I know you are meant to be my partner and husband, Justin. We complement each other in so many ways, and I’ve come to trust you. Besides, I love you more than I thought it was possible to love anyone.”
Still kneeling in the candlelit chapel, Justin kissed his wife, and she clung to him for a long time. Then he heard a rumbling from her stomach. “You’re hungry,” he said with a grin.
“Starving. Never been so hungry.”
In the dining hall there seemed to be a great deal of excited conversation, and all heads turned toward the entering couple, who joined Sister Freda and Leonardo at one of the long tables.
“I thought this marriage was supposed to be a secret,” Justin whispered to Brother Arnulf.
“Don’t worry. Monks know how to keep a secret. But little happens at the monastery that is not observed by someone. The Abbot made a short speech calling for a vow of silence on the matter, without even saying what the
matter was.”
“He is being very helpful. I’m surprised he offered to marry us,” Justin said.
Brother Arnulf grinned. “There is no brotherly love between the Abbot and Bishop Gunthar, although the Abbot would never admit it.”
Gilda was attacking the food in her trencher. Sister Freda poked her arm and said, “I see being married hasn’t diminished your appetite.” When Gilda only grinned in reply, Freda added, “I’m glad you made up your mind, Gilda. I know you made the right choice.”
At that Gilda did pause in her eating. “Justin never ceases to amaze me. At first all I knew was that I desired him,” she whispered. “I didn’t trust myself to make a decision based on desire. But he means much more to me now that I know the kind of man he is.”
“I hope you are better prepared for marriage than Lady Mariel was,” Freda said with a smile.
Gilda returned the smile. “I’ve worked with women long enough to have learned a great deal.”
Justin noticed the exchange of smiles and wondered what it was about. He had been watching Gilda tear into her food, and the sight made him eager to have her to himself and satisfy some of his own appetite. “We should head back to Mainz as soon as possible,” he said to them all.
“Why don’t you and Gilda go ahead,” Leonardo suggested. “Sister Freda and I will follow after a long visit with Brother Arnulf.” He emphasized the word long.
Gilda had sprung to her feet. “I think that’s a fine idea.”
Leonardo whispered to Justin, “You are a fortunate man.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Riding their horses at a sedate pace, Justin and Gilda waited until they were out of view of the monastery to give the animals their head and race toward Mainz. Once at the castle they rushed up the stairs and were almost to their room when Philip appeared out of the dark shadows of the hallway.
“I need to speak to you,” the young man pleaded.
“Tomorrow,” Justin replied, pulling Gilda toward their rooms.
“I’m in trouble,” Philip said. “I’ve been hiding out, waiting for your return. It’s urgent, Justin.”
When Gilda looked from one man to the other, her concern clear, Justin relented. “Come in,” he offered.
Once the door was closed, Gilda said, “Be quick about it, Philip. We have no time for a long tale.”
Justin would have grinned at her words if he wasn’t so irritated at the interruption.
“I’ve waited for an hour, hiding in the hall. Where have you been?” Philip asked.
Justin’s frown deepened as he glared at Philip. “That’s none of your concern. If you don’t tell us immediately what trouble you are in this time, I’m tossing you out the door.”
Philip finally seemed to realize that his presence was only barely tolerated. “I tried to see Emma, but I was met by her father, who ordered me off his property. When I arrived at Mainz, a friendly porter warned me that Cedric is furious with me and asked the guards to watch for my return.”
“Any idea why that might be?” Justin asked.
“I think Emma may have spoken to her father about me, and he must have sent word to Cedric. If Cedric knows about Emma and me, I fear I’ll end up in the dungeon again.”
Justin suspected the young man might be in more danger than even he knew. If Cedric was still determined to marry Lady Emma and he learned about Philip’s relationship with her, Philip’s life was in danger, not just his freedom. In the eyes of the church it would be considered incest for one brother to bed a woman another brother had been intimate with. Only if Philip was dead could Cedric still hope to marry Emma. The only alternative was to pretend nothing happened between the young couple, but Justin doubted Philip would go along with that. One way or another, Cedric would have to see that Philip disappeared.
“Can you find someone to hide you until morning?” Justin asked, but even as he spoke, his hopes of spending the evening alone with Gilda were fading.
“Cedric knows who my friends are. I hate to put them in danger.”
“How thoughtful,” Justin said, making no effort to hide his cynicism. “Give me a minute with Gilda. Go into my bedchamber and stay there until I call you.”
As soon as Philip had closed the door, Gilda took Justin’s hand and pulled him to sit close beside her. “Do you think he’s in immediate danger?” she asked.
“I’m afraid so. The fact that he has had a relationship with Emma may already be known.”
“Can we do anything to help him?”
“I hope so, but we’ll have to be careful. We don’t know how long Cedric will continue to trust us. He’ll remember I spoke up for Philip last time.”
“Surely we are safe until we make our report to the archbishop.”
“I’m depending on that,” replied Justin. “But Cedric can make things unpleasant for us.”
“What can we do?”
“I hate to admit it, but I think we’d better take Philip away from here tonight.”
Gilda nodded. Still not feeling close enough to him, she moved to sit on Justin’s lap. As he held her tightly, she whispered into his ear, “You are a good man, and I love you more and more each minute.”
Justin groaned as she clung to him. “I had wonderful plans for you this night,” he said.
“Don’t forget any of them. Hopefully you can show me all of them soon,” she replied.
Setting Gilda aside, it took Justin a minute to refocus on the task at hand. He knew that the only way he could be alone with Gilda was to deal with the problem and leave Mainz behind. Because they didn’t have time to wait for Leonardo and Freda to return, Justin wrote a brief message to explain their absence. He left it in Freda’s bed, hoping no one else would find it.
While he was doing that, Gilda gathered a few necessities. As soon as they were ready, Justin alerted Philip. “We have to leave Mainz at once. Do you think the cottage you took us to before is still a safe hiding place?”
“Yes. Emma wouldn’t have told anyone about it.”
“In the morning Gilda and I will visit Metcalf and see if we can persuade him to favor your suit over that of your brother’s.”
For a moment, relief flooded Philip’s face, then he asked, “What if he refuses?”
“Philip, don’t press me. Right now, I want you to follow my orders. You and Gilda will go on ahead. I’ll follow to make sure you get away, then make an appearance in the dining hall so that Cedric will not suspect anything. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”
Gilda grabbed his arm and turned him to face her. “No, Justin, you must come with us. I don’t wish to leave without you.”
“I’ll join you as soon as possible, but we must be cautious. I want to hold back in case someone tries to stop you and Philip. With Leonardo gone there is no one to act as a rear guard.”
Gilda wasn’t happy, but she finally said, “We’ll wait outside the walls until you come.”
“If there is a long delay, go with Philip to the cottage,” Justin urged. “I have to know you’ll be safe, Gilda. Cedric may detain me, but I won’t be in danger. Please, do as I say.”
Gilda nodded her agreement, then clung to him one last time.
Justin watched Gilda and Philip descend by a back staircase that was lit by only a few torches. He followed at a distance until he saw them mount horses supplied by a friendly porter. He sighed with relief and made his way back to the great hall.
The large room echoed with loud, boisterous talk, no doubt in celebration of the news he and Gilda had given Cedric earlier. Although the meal seemed long over, men loitered at the tables, drinking and gossiping. When Count Cedric saw Justin, he waved him to the head table. “Where have you been, Lord Justin? I wished to drink your health.”
“Sister Freda wished to visit her nephew at the monastery, and we accompanied her. We just returned,” he answered.
“I’m glad you’re here, as I have a question for you. Why didn’t Philip return with you?”
“Perhaps he
was still angry about being thrown in the dungeon, Cedric. I imagine he will appear before long.”
Cedric’s eyes narrowed, and he slammed his fist on the table, spilling the wine in front of him. “You persuaded me to let you take him with you to the convent, but he hasn’t returned. I hold you responsible for his appearance.”
“I needed Philip with me to discover the truth about Lady Mariel. He was proven free of any guilt. I don’t understand your concern,” Justin said.
Justin’s words seemed to enflame Cedric. “Do you not?” he shouted.
In spite of his bulk, the bishop moved quickly from the other end of the table to stand beside Justin. He addressed Cedric, “My lord, it’s been a long evening. Perhaps you should leave this discussion with Lord Justin until morning.”
“I do not think so,” Cedric answered, but he looked around at the faces turned in his direction. “We will move to a more private room, Lord Justin.”
“I agree with Bishop Gunthar that we should wait until morning,” Justin answered.
“Now!” Cedric bellowed, and two of his guards moved to stand on either side of Justin. There didn’t seem to be any choice but to follow the count.
Outside the walls Gilda and Philip watched for Justin to follow them. It didn’t take Gilda long to regret she had gone along with Justin’s plan. Philip was also impatient, and after some time had passed, he said, “Perhaps we should go ahead as Justin suggested.”
“No. We are waiting for my husband.”
“Your husband?”
Gilda was amazed at how easily the word husband flowed from her lips. “Yes, we were married this evening at the monastery,” she answered, no longer caring who knew about their secret wedding.
To give him credit, Philip looked embarrassed. “I’m so sorry, Sister Gilda. I had no idea.”
“And if you did, would you have done anything different?” she asked.
After a minute, Philip said, “You must think me very selfish.” Gilda relented. “No, it’s not your fault. But we are waiting for Justin.”