Sabina

by C. De Melo

  “You are quite impressed with him,” Edward concluded.

  “I am, Your Majesty. He is unlike any man I’ve ever met.”

  “That’s a bold thing to say before your king, my lady.”

  “But, my lord, you are also unlike any man I have ever met.”

  He laughed aloud, drawing curious looks from several courtiers. Sabina caught a glimmer of envy in some of their eyes. “Your English has improved to the point that you’ve developed a silver tongue.”

  “You flatter me, sire. Thank you.”

  “I speak the truth, my lady.” He cleared his throat. “Now, if you will excuse me.”

  It was a dismissal. Sabina curtsied low to the king as he walked away. James appeared before her and demanded to know what had made the king laugh so loudly. When she told him of their conversation, he was not amused.

  “You risked the king’s displeasure,” he chided.

  “I would never displease the king or disgrace you, for that matter.”

  “My father and I had an interesting conversation this morning.”

  “Did you?”

  “He said he would like to see us attend mass more often.” She wondered what had brought on such an unexpected comment. “It’s unseemly how seldom we appear in church together.”

  “I’ve been at your side every Sunday for mass.”

  “True, but some noble ladies take communion daily, and one must keep up appearances to prevent wagging tongues.”

  She was taken aback. “Has someone singled us out for gossip?”

  “Why do you oppose going to church? Remember, if you had not been at the convent, you would never have met me and saved my life. God works in mysterious ways. I’m merely suggesting that we honor Him more often.”

  “Does your father not have anything better to do than run our lives?” Sabina regretted her words when she saw the pain in her husband’s eyes. “Forgive me. I care deeply for your father and meant no disrespect.”

  He shook his head and walked toward a group of gentlemen. That day marked the first snag in the fabric of their marriage.

  ***

  Edward IV died in April of the year 1483 and his twelve-year-old son, Edward V, succeeded to the throne. He was a good boy, well loved by the people, and a promising king for England. Fate, being cruel and cunning, had different plans for the young king. Edward V, along with his younger brother, died two months later—only four days before his coronation. The young monarch’s reign lasted eighty-six days and was dominated by the influence of his uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester.

  The nobles who resented Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV’s lowborn widow, deemed her children illegitimate and managed to convince the clergy of this. The scandalous turn of events worked in the duke’s favor. He was crowned King Richard III at Westminster Abbey in July.

  All nobles were expected to swear fealty to their new sovereign. Sabina knew that her father-in-law was among those who suspected foul play on the part of the duke, but that didn’t deter the earl or his son. They dutifully went to London and pledged their allegiance to Richard.

  Sabina studied England’s new king. A thin man with shoulder-length brown hair, he possessed a somewhat pinched face and beady eyes. She noticed he had a habit of chewing his bottom lip, causing the skin to redden and chafe. In short, she wasn’t impressed by his countenance.

  Anne turned two the year Richard became king. She was a happy and healthy child with blonde curls and twinkling green eyes. James was completely smitten with his little girl. Thaddeus also doted on the child, but he barely hid his disappointment that Anne was not a boy.

  Umberto instructed Anne on Tuscan culture and language, while Tutor John taught her English and Latin. The little girl proved to be a bright student and, by the time she turned four, she was fluent in three languages.

  Whenever Anne spoke the Tuscan dialect in front of her grandfather, he corrected the child by saying, ‘Italian in private, English in public.’

  This annoyed Sabina, who didn’t want Anne adopting the notion that her mother’s native tongue was somehow shameful.

  ***

  Time passed quickly for Sabina, who devoted her life to being a good wife and mother. In 1485, Richard died in battle on Bosworth Field. It would be the end of Plantagenet rule because Henry VII, a Tudor, seized the throne. Once again, the nobles were called upon to swear fealty to their new sovereign. Sabina found this new king to be much more agreeable than the last one. Henry was not exactly handsome, but he was far from ugly. He held himself proudly, as a true noble should, and seemed to take his royal responsibilities seriously. She later learned that in order to strengthen his position, Henry pursued a European bride—the Queen of Naples.

  “Apparently, it’s becoming fashionable for Englishmen to have Italian wives,” Thaddeus said when he heard the news.

  Fate did not want the marriage to take place, and the king ended up marrying an Englishwoman, Princess Elizabeth of York.

  In 1487, Sabina received a letter from Camelia informing her that Clarice Orsini had died at only thirty-four years of age. Sabina knew Lorenzo must be suffering, and the thought of his pain made her own heart ache. Despite Lorenzo’s many infidelities, Clarice had been a good wife and a devoted mother to their children.

  Sabina wasted no time in writing a letter to him, offering condolences and comforting words. Throughout the many years, she had written to Lorenzo several times and had not received one letter in return. She was sure that he read her letters, so she continued to write them. She also knew through her correspondence with Camelia that gout, the family disease that plagued the Medici, was beginning to take its toll on Lorenzo’s health. Apparently, he was spending more and more time away from Florence in order to take therapeutic thermal waters to ease his pain. Unfortunately, it did little good.

  Chapter 18

  The long shadows darkened as the sun set behind the Roman hills. Massimo’s wife watched her husband reading a book in the courtyard below. She had once found him devastatingly handsome, but the stark differences in their personalities and his lack of funds earned him her scorn. Their marriage had been arranged due to the friendship between her father and her late father-in-law. It was a gesture that both men later regretted. Massimo was nothing like Luigi, the wealthy and cultured Sicilian nobleman she met a few months ago.

  “Michela.”

  She turned toward her father’s voice. “Yes?”

  “Have you heard from Luigi?”

  There were no secrets between them. She lifted the letter from her lap. “His letter arrived today.”

  “I spoke to the bishop.” He hesitated, his expression grim. “The Church will not grant you a divorce, so I’m going to appeal to the pope himself.”

  “I know you’ll succeed in your endeavor, Father. If only Luigi’s wife would hurry up and die, then there would be one less impediment.”

  Luigi’s bedridden wife had fluctuated between life and death for months. The woman’s demise would certainly make things easier.

  “A strong alliance could be made between the two families,” her father mused aloud. He stroked his daughter’s hair. Her brown eyes were two slits when she smiled up at him. Michela was no great beauty, but she was strong and determined, which was far more valuable. “In due time, my sweet girl. Everything will work out.”

  “What if we…” she trailed off and looked out the window.

  He followed her gaze to where his son-in-law sat. “Lorenzo would strike back. Besides, it’s a mortal sin to commit such a heinous act. I never want to hear such words from your lips again.”

  “Forgive me, but I can no longer stomach the sight of him.”

  “I can expel him from the city. It’s the best I can do.”

  “Then do it. It’s obvious he is still pining for his long-lost whore.”

  “Consider it done, sweetheart. I’ll send him back to the villa, far away from you. Think of him as being in exile.”

  Michela held her lover’s let
ter to her chest and continued to gaze down at Massimo with unmasked contempt.

  ***

  Desperate for a grandson, the Earl of Rochester became increasingly impatient with Sabina. She was forced to endure unkind comments and even hostility. James, who was also disappointed, still loved his wife and found himself stuck in the middle.

  Shortly after Anne’s ninth birthday, Sabina suggested that her daughter be presented at court. “She’s an accomplished and well-behaved young lady,” she said to her husband and father-in-law one day. “It’s time to present her to the king and start thinking of her future.”

  “We’ll take Anne to court when she has a brother to accompany her,” Thaddeus said coldly.

  Appalled, Sabina glanced at her husband for support and, when none came, she said, “My lord forgets that I’m as anxious for a son as you are.” In addition to having taken several potions and expensive tonics assured to promote fertility, she instructed Teresa to keep her eyes and ears open for the latest cures. A male child would ease the tension in her marriage and get her father-in-law to stop his constant nagging.

  “Is that so, my lady?” the earl asked in an accusing tone. “It seems to me that you were content to have inherited your last husband’s fortune without an heir.”

  James glared at his father. “Father!”

  Finally, Sabina thought, satisfied to see James take a stand against his overbearing father.

  “Sit down, James, I only speak the truth,” Thaddeus snapped. “You have been married for several years and she has given you only one child—a useless girl. You need a son.”

  “I won’t have you treat my wife in such a disrespectful manner, nor will I tolerate you speaking ill of my daughter.”

  The earl turned toward Sabina and said without a trace of remorse, “Forgive me.”

  Fuming, Sabina nodded in acknowledgment to his feigned apology and excused herself in order to check on Anne, who, gratefully, was not present to hear her grandfather’s unkind words.

  No sooner had she left the room, than the earl said, “It’s obvious that you love your wife. Sabina’s beauty and charm are beguiling, and she has won the admiration of many with her quick wit, but you must think seriously of your future. Without a son, the Wynne name will die out and the family’s money and lands will go to whomever your daughter marries. In other words, a total stranger. Is that what you want?”

  “Sabina feels terrible as it is without you adding to her troubles. She has tried everything possible and wants a son as much as I do.”

  The earl paced the room quietly, his mind racing. It was time to try a different tactic. “This is God’s punishment for your wife’s aversion to the Church. If she prayed more and aligned her life according to the Holy Scriptures, God’s divine spirit would pour over her and give you a son.” He paused in thought. “Sabina has never summoned the physician to discover what ailment prevents her from conceiving.”

  “She has tried many cures.”

  “Useless potions!” Then, a sinister thought crossed his mind. “If one didn’t know better, one may think her a witch.”

  “Father!”

  Thaddeus sniffed. “I beg your pardon, I misspoke. Others may interpret her lack of religious zeal and affinity for flower lore as being…ungodly.”

  James paled. “Sabina is a God-fearing woman.”

  “Of course,” Thaddeus agreed in a placating tone. “Don’t you find it odd how the castle’s cats are drawn to her whenever she’s outside? According to the kitchen staff, she’s constantly dabbling with roots and herbs, crushing them down with her mortar and pestle while muttering to herself like Morgana in the Arthurian tale.”

  “You should not pay heed to gossip.”

  “What about that odious crow she once kept as a pet?”

  “My wife is a good Christian,” James insisted. “She reads from the Bible she keeps by her bed and partakes of Holy Communion regularly. There are many godly women who share her inability to bear a male child and no one accuses them of witchcraft.”

  Thaddeus nodded in order to end the argument. The seed of doubt was already sown. “Let’s hope you’re right, my son.”

  James pondered on his father’s words for days afterward, and they gradually began to seem like truth. God was punishing his wife for her lack of faith. He felt personally responsible for Sabina’s spiritual health, and began pressuring her to attend mass daily. He insisted that she dress more conservatively, even going as far as forbidding cosmetics or ostentatious jewelry. When she resisted this onslaught of fanatical religious zeal, James turned to his father for help.

  The cunning earl seized the opportunity to rid himself of what he now called his “fruitless daughter-in-law.” James needed a son and the earl would do everything in his power to make that happen, even if it meant putting the matter before the judicial courts.

  Sabina was quick to notice the change in her husband and father-in-law. Whenever they were together, they would cease speaking the moment she entered the room. James became increasingly emotionally distant but continued to visit her bedchamber on a frequent basis.

  “Something is afoot,” Sabina said to Teresa one day after the men had departed for court without so much as inviting her to go along with them. “James is…different.”

  “I wish I could disagree, but the staff at the castle have been treating us differently, too.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Sabina fumed. “I know they’re both aggrieved by the fact that I’ve not yet produced a male heir but to treat me—us—like this is unacceptable.”

  “Do you want me to procure more herbs? I can go into town. Maybe the apothecary has heard of a new cure.”

  Sabina shook her head. “I’ve done everything short of selling my soul to Satan for a son. I will do no more. It’s in God’s hands now.”

  James and Thaddeus returned from court a week later. Sabina watched from the window of her bedchamber as they dismounted in the courtyard below. The late afternoon sun made James’s hair shimmer like rose gold. He glanced up and caught her eye. She turned her face away and wandered back to her desk.

  He stormed into her bedchamber a moment later. “You don’t come downstairs to greet your husband?”

  “I thought you were angry with me.”

  He closed the door. “On the contrary, I’ve missed you.”

  Sabina was surprised when he lunged forward to embrace and kiss her lips. She tasted the salty perspiration on his skin. His traveling cloak and boots were dusty and caked with mud.

  “Shouldn’t you change into fresh clothes and wash your face?” she suggested when his mouth moved to kiss her throat.

  James only grunted in response, pushing her against the wall. His greedy hands clutched at her skirt, pulling it upward.

  “James, please…”

  “I would have you now, wife.”

  He freed himself and entered her with desperate need, then stood perfectly still when it was over. She could feel his thundering heart.

  “I’ll see you at supper,” he said, kissing her brow.

  Sabina watched him leave the room. James had never been so lustful and it left her feeling bewildered.

  Teresa poked her head into the room. “Your husband and father-in-law have arrived.”

  “Yes, I know. I’ll dine in one of my finest gowns this evening.” As an afterthought, she added, “I’ll also don my best jewels.”

  “But his lordship forbids—”

  “They are my jewels to wear whenever I choose. I wish to redden my cheeks and lips, too. I hope my rouge pot has not been misplaced.”

  Teresa helped Sabina dress, then said, “I haven’t seen you look like this since the last time we were at court.”

  “A long time ago, indeed.” Sabina peered into the looking glass. “I’m fit to visit the Palazzo Medici.”

  Teresa’s eyes filled with tears and Sabina did her best to keep her own at bay. She left the room and went downstairs to greet her husband and father-in-law. The me
n’s eyes swept over her in astonishment, but she held her head high.

  James approached and took hold of her elbow. “I thought I made it clear that I prefer your adornment to be modest.”

  “Are you implying that a finely dressed woman is immodest? If so, then you and your father were surrounded by immodest women for a week. I wonder what the queen would think of such a notion.”

  Thaddeus cleared his throat and looked pointedly at his son.

  James nodded to his father. “I need to speak with you, Sabina. Shall we walk in the garden? It’s a lovely evening outside.”

  They walked outside under the twilight sky. The sun had already set and there were streaks of red in the sky.

  “I wish to divorce you,” he said quietly.

  Stunned, she said, “Divorce me? We made love only a moment ago!”

  “You are my wife and it’s my husbandly right to seek carnal pleasure from you.” When she continued to stare at him incredulously, he said, “You know I’m very fond of you, Sabina, but I can’t remain married to a woman who will not produce an heir.”

  “Will not? You speak as though it’s something I can control.” She paused, indignant. “Are these your words or your father’s?”

  “It’s no secret that my father feels the same way. We both care for you and had such high hopes that this marriage would be a success.”

  “I suppose in England marital success is based on how many sons a woman can produce. You Englishmen don’t want wives, you want cows capable of breeding only bulls.”

  “Sabina, please be reasonable.”

  She clenched her fists. “What is to become of me, James?”

  “You can remain here in England, of course. You and Anne will be provided for and continue to live in comfort.” He smiled. “We can even continue with our relationship. After all, I still desire you.”

  Sabina narrowed her eyes at him as realization dawned on her. “You want me to be your mistress?”

  “Well, yes.”

  “You would have me remain in England as your whore while you take on another wife? Are you mad? Did you truly believe that I would agree to such an arrangement?”