Fair Margaret

by H. Rider Haggard

  CHAPTER XXII

  THE DOOM OF JOHN CASTELL

  His evidence finished, the Marquis of Morella sat down, whereon, theking and queen having whispered together, the head alcalde asked Bettyif she had any questions to put to him. She rose with much dignity, andthrough her interpreter said in a quiet voice:

  "Yes, a great many. Yet she would not debase herself by asking a singleone until the stain which he had cast upon her was washed away, whichshe thought could only be done in blood. He had alleged that she was awoman of no character, and he had further alleged that their marriagewas null and void. Being of the sex she was, she could not ask him tomake good his assertions at the sword's point, therefore, as shebelieved she had the right to do according to all the laws of honour,she asked leave to seek a champion--if an unfriended woman could findone in a strange land--to uphold her fair name against this base andcruel slander."

  Now, in the silence that followed her speech, Peter rose and said:

  "I ask the permission of your Majesties to be that champion. YourMajesties will note that according to his own story I have suffered fromthis marquis the bitterest wrong that one man can receive at the handsof another. Also, he has lied in saying that I am not true to myaffianced lady, the Dona Margaret, and surely I have a right to avengethe lie upon him. Lastly, I declare that I believe the Senora Betty tobe a good and upright woman, upon whom no shadow of shame has everfallen, and, as her countryman and relative, I desire to uphold her goodname before all the world. I am a foreigner here with few friends, ornone, yet I cannot believe that your Majesties will withhold from me theright of battle which all over the world in such a case one gentlemanmay demand of another. I challenge the Marquis of Morella to mortalcombat without mercy to the fallen, and here is the proof of it."

  Then, stepping across the open space before the bar, he drew theleathern gauntlet off his hand and threw it straight into Morella'sface, thinking that after such an insult he could not choose but fight.

  With an oath Morella snatched at his sword; but, before he could drawit, officers of the court threw themselves on him, and the king's sternvoice was heard commanding them to cease their brawling in the royalpresences.

  "I ask your pardon, Sire," gasped Morella, "but you have seen what thisEnglishman did to me, a grandee of Spain."

  "Yes," broke in the queen, "but we have also heard what you, a grandeeof Spain, did to this gentleman of England, and the charge you broughtagainst him, which, it seems, the Dona Margaret does not believe."

  "In truth, no, your Majesty," said Margaret. "Let me be sworn also, andI can explain much of what the marquis has told to you. I never wishedto marry him or any man, save this one," and she touched Peter on thearm, "and anything that he or I may have done, we did to escape the evilnet in which we were snared."

  "We believe it," answered the queen with a smile, then fell toconsulting with the king and the alcaldes.

  For a long time they debated in voices so low that none could hear whatthey said, looking now at one and now at another of the parties to thisstrange suit. Also, some priest was called into their council, whichMargaret thought a bad omen. At length they made up their minds, and ina low, quiet voice and measured words her Majesty, as Queen of Castile,gave the judgment of them all. Addressing herself first to Morella,she said:

  "My lord Marquis, you have brought very grave charges against the ladywho claims to be your wife, and the Englishman whose affianced bride youadmit you snatched away by fraud and force. This gentleman, on his ownbehalf and on behalf of these ladies, has challenged you to a combat tothe death in a fashion that none can mistake. Do you accept hischallenge?"

  "I would accept it readily enough, your Majesty," answered Morella insullen tones, "since heretofore none have doubted my courage; but I mustremember that I am"--and he paused, then added--"what your Majestiesknow me to be, a grandee of Spain, and something more, wherefore it isscarcely lawful for me to cross swords with a Jew-merchant's clerk, forthat was this man's high rank and office in England."

  "You could cross them with me on your ship, the _San Antonio_,"exclaimed Peter bitterly, "why then are you ashamed to finish what youwere not ashamed to begin? Moreover, I tell you that in love or war Ihold myself the equal of any woman-thief and bastard in this kingdom,who am one of a name that has been honoured in my own."

  Now again the king and queen spoke together of this question of rank--nosmall one in that age and country. Then Isabella said:

  "It is true that a grandee of Spain cannot be asked to meet a simpleforeign gentleman in single combat. Therefore, since he has thought fitto raise it, we uphold the objection of the Marquis of Morella, anddeclare that this challenge is not binding on his honour. Yet we notehis willingness to accept the same, and are prepared to do what we canto make the matter easy, so that it may not be said that a Spaniard, whohas wrought wrong to an Englishman, and been asked openly to make theamend of arms in the presence of his sovereigns, was debarred from sodoing by the accident of his rank. Senor Peter Brome, if you willreceive it at our hands, as others of your nation have been proud to do,we propose, believing you to be a brave and loyal man of gentle birth,to confer upon you the knighthood of the Order of St. James, and therebyand therein the right to consort with as equal, or to fight as equal,any noble of Spain, unless he should be of the right blood-royal, towhich place we think the most puissant and excellent Marquis of Morellalays no claim."

  "I thank your Majesties," said Peter, astonished, "for the honour thatyou would do to me, which, had it not been for the fact that my fatherchose the wrong side on Bosworth Field, being of a race somewhatobstinate in the matter of loyalty, I should not have needed to acceptfrom your Majesties. As it is I am very grateful, since now the noblemarquis need not feel debased in settling our long quarrel as he woulddesire to do."

  "Come hither and kneel down, Senor Peter Brome," said the queen when hehad finished speaking.

  He obeyed, and Isabella, borrowing his sword from the king, gave him theaccolade by striking him thrice upon the right shoulder and saying:

  "Rise, Sir Peter Brome, Knight of the most noble Order of Saint Iago,and by creation a Don of Spain."

  He rose, he bowed, retreating backwards as was the custom, and therebynearly falling off the dais, which some people thought a good omen forMorella. As he went the king said:

  "Our Marshal, Sir Peter, will arrange the time and manner of your combatwith the marquis as shall be most convenient to you both. Meanwhile, wecommand you both that no unseemly word or deed should pass between you,who must soon meet face to face to abide the judgment of God in battle_a l'outrance_. Rather, since one of you must die so shortly, do weentreat you to prepare your souls to appear before His judgment-seat. Wehave spoken."

  Now the audience appeared to think that the court was ended, for many ofthem began to rise; but the queen held up her hand and said:

  "There remain other matters on which we must give judgment. The senorahere," and she pointed to Betty, "asks that her marriage should bedeclared valid, or so we understand, and the Marquis of Morella asksthat his marriage with the said senora should be declared void, or sowe understand. Now this is a question over which we claim no power, ithaving to do with a sacrament of the Church. Therefore we leave it tohis Holiness the Pope in person, or by his legate, to decide accordingto his wisdom in such manner as may seem best to him, if the partiesconcerned should choose to lay their suit before him. Meanwhile, wedeclare and decree that the senora, born Elizabeth Dene, shalleverywhere throughout our dominions, until or unless his Holiness thePope shall decide to the contrary, be received and acknowledged as theMarchioness of Morella, and that during his lifetime her reputed husbandshall make due provision for her maintenance, and that after his death,should no decision have been come to by the court of Rome upon her suit,she shall inherit and enjoy that proportion of his lands and propertywhich belongs to a wife under the laws of this realm."

  Now, while Betty bowed her thanks to their Majesties till the jewels o
nher bodice rattled, and Morella scowled till his face looked as black asa thunder-cloud above the mountains, the audience, whispering to eachother, once more rose to disperse. Again the queen held up her hand, forthe judgment was not yet finished.

  "We have a question to ask of the gallant Sir Peter Brome and the DonaMargaret, his affianced. Is it still their desire to take each other inmarriage?"

  Now Peter looked at Margaret, and Margaret looked at Peter, and therewas that in their eyes which both of them understood, for he answered ina clear voice:

  "Your Majesty, that is the dearest wish of both of us."

  The queen smiled a little, then asked: "And do you, Senor JohnCastell, consent and allow your daughter's marriage to this knight?"

  "I do, indeed," he answered gravely. "Had it not been for this manhere," and he glanced with bitter hatred at Morella, "they would havebeen united long ago, and to that end," he added with meaning, "suchlittle property as I possessed has been made over to trustees in Englandfor their benefit and that of their children. Therefore I amhenceforward dependent upon their charity."

  "Good," said the queen. "Then one question remains to be put, and onlyone. Is it your wish, both of you, that you should be wed before thesingle combat between the Marquis of Morella and Sir Peter Brome?Remember, Dona Margaret, before you answer, that in this event you maysoon be made a widow, and that if you postpone the ceremony you maynever be a wife."

  Now Margaret and Peter spoke a few words together, then the formeranswered for them both.

  "Should my lord fall," she said in her sweet voice that trembled as sheuttered the words, "in either case my heart will be widowed and broken.Let me live out my days, therefore, bearing his name, that, knowing mydeathless grief, none may thenceforth trouble me with their love, whodesire to remain his bride in heaven."

  "Well spoken," said the queen. "We decree that here in our cathedral ofSeville you twain shall be wed on the same day, but before the Marquisof Morella and you, Sir Peter Brome, meet in single combat. Further,lest harm should be attempted against either of you," and she lookedsideways at Morella, "you, Senora Margaret, shall be my guest until youleave my care to become a bride, and you, Sir Peter, shall return tolodge in the prison whence you came, but with liberty to see whom youwill, and to go when and where you will, but under our protection, lestsome attempt should be made on you."

  She ceased, whereon suddenly the king began speaking in his sharp, thinvoice.

  "Having settled these matters of chivalry and marriage," he said, "thereremains another, which I will not leave to the gentle lips of oursovereign Lady, that has to do with something higher than either ofthem--namely, the eternal welfare of men's souls, and of the Church ofChrist on earth. It has been declared to us that the man yonder, JohnCastell, merchant of London, is that accursed thing, a Jew, who for thesake of gain has all his life feigned to be a Christian, and, as such,deceived a Christian woman into marriage; that he is, moreover, of oursubjects, having been born in Spain, and therefore amenable to the civiland spiritual jurisdiction of this realm."

  He paused, while Margaret and Peter stared at each other affrighted.Only Castell stood silent and unmoved, though he guessed what mustfollow better than either of them.

  "We judge him not," went on the king, "who claim no authority in suchhigh matters, but we do what we must do--we commit him to the HolyInquisition, there to take his trial!"

  Now Margaret cried aloud. Peter stared about him as though for help,which he knew could never come, feeling more afraid than ever he hadbeen in all his life, and for the first time that day Morella smiled.At least he would be rid of one enemy. But Castell went to Margaret andkissed her tenderly. Then he shook Peter by the hand, saying:

  "Kill that thief," and he looked at Morella, "as I know you will, andwould if there were ten as bad at his back. And be a good husband to mygirl, as I know you will also, for I shall ask an account of you ofthese matters when we meet where there is neither Jew nor Christian,priest nor king. Now be silent, and bear what must be borne as I do, forI have a word to say before I leave you and the world.

  "Your Majesties, I make no plea for myself, and when I am questionedbefore your Inquisition the task will be easy, for I desire to hidenothing, and will tell the truth, though not from fear or because Ishrink from pain. Your Majesties, you have told us that these two, who,at least, are good enough Christians from their birth, shall be wed. Iwould ask you if any spiritual crime, or supposed crime, of mine will beallowed to work their separation, or to their detriment in any waywhatsoever."

  "On that point," answered the queen quickly, as though she wished to getin her words before the king or any one else could speak, "you have ourroyal word, John Castell. Your case is apart from their case, andnothing of which you may be convicted shall affect them in person or,"she added slowly, "in property."

  "A large promise," muttered the king.

  "It is my promise," she answered decidedly, "and it shall be kept at anycost. These two shall marry, and if Sir Peter lives through the fraythey shall depart from Spain unharmed, nor shall any fresh charge bebrought against them in any court of the realm, nor shall they bepersecuted or proceeded against in any other realm or on the high seasat our instance or that of our officers. Let my words be written down,and one copy of them signed and filed and another copy given to the DonaMargaret."

  "Your Majesty," said Castell, "I thank you, and now, if die I must, Ishall die happy. Yet I make bold to tell you that had you not spokenthem it was my purpose to kill myself, here before your eyes, since thatis a sin for which none can be asked to suffer save the sinner. Also, Isay that this Inquisition which you have set up shall eat out the heartof Spain and bring her greatness to the dust of death. The torture andthe misery of those Jews, than whom you have no better or more faithfulsubjects, shall be avenged on the heads of your children's children forso long as their blood endures."

  He finished speaking, and, while something that sounded like a gasp offear rose from that crowded court as the meaning of Castell's bold wordscame home to his auditors, the crowd behind him separated, and thereappeared, walking two by two, a file of masked and hooded monks and aguard of soldiers, all of whom doubtless were in waiting. They came toJohn Castell, they touched him on the shoulder, they closed around him,hiding him as it were from the world, and in the midst of them hevanished away.

  Peter's memories of that strange day in the Alcazar at Seville alwaysremained somewhat dim and blurred. It was not wonderful. Within thespace of a few hours he had been tried for his life and acquitted. Hehad seen Betty, transformed from a humble companion into a magnificentand glittering marchioness, as a chrysalis is transformed into abutterfly, urge her strange suit against the husband who had trickedher, and whom she had tricked, and, for the while at any rate, more thanhold her own, thanks to her ready wit and native strength of character.

  As her champion, and that of Margaret, he had challenged Morella to asingle combat, and when his defiance was refused on the ground of hislack of rank, by the favour of the great Isabella, who wished to use himas her instrument, doubtless because of those secret ambitions ofMorella's which Margaret had revealed to her, he had been suddenlyadvanced to the high station of a Knight of the Order of St. James ofSpain, to which, although he cared little for it, otherwise he mightvainly have striven to come.

  More, and better far, the desire of his heart would at length beattained, for now it was granted to him to meet his enemy, the man whomhe hated with just cause, upon a fair field, without favour shown to oneor the other, and to fight him to the death. He had been promised,further, that within some few days Margaret should be given to him aswife, although it well might be that she would keep that name but for asingle hour, and that until then they both should dwell safe fromMorella's violence and treachery; also that, whatever chanced, no suitshould lie against them in any land for aught that they did or haddone in Spain.

  Lastly, when all seemed safe save for that chance of war, whereof,having been bred to suc
h things, he took but little count; when his cup,emptied at length of mire and sand, was brimming full with the good redwine of battle and of love, when it was at his very lips indeed, Fatehad turned it to poison and to gall. Castell, his bride's father, andthe man he loved, had been haled to the vaults of the Inquisition,whence he knew well he would come forth but once more, dressed in ayellow robe "relaxed to the civil arm," to perish slowly in the fires ofthe Quemadero, the place of burning of heretics.

  What would his conquest over Morella avail if Heaven should give himpower to conquer? What kind of a bridal would that be which was sealedand consecrated by the death of the bride's father in the torturingfires of the Inquisition? How would they ever get the smell of the smokeof that sacrifice out of their nostrils? Castell was a brave man; notorments would make him recant. It was doubtful even if he would be atthe pains to deny his faith, he who had only been baptized a Christianby his father for the sake of policy, and suffered the fraud to continuefor the purposes of his business, and that he might win and keep aChristian wife. No, Castell was doomed, and he could no more protect himfrom priest and king than a dove can protect its nest from a pair ofhungry peregrines.

  Oh that last scene! Never could Peter forget it while he lived--thevast, fretted hall with its painted arches and marble columns; the raysof the afternoon sun piercing the window-places, and streaming likeblood on to the black robes of the monks as, with their prey, theyvanished back into the arcade where they had lurked; Margaret's wild cryand ashen face as her father was torn away from her, and she sankfainting on to Betty's bejewelled bosom; the cruel sneer on Morella'slips; the king's hard smile; the pity in the queen's eye; the excitedmurmurings of the crowd; the quick, brief comments of the lawyers; thescratching of the clerk's quill as, careless of everything save hiswork, he recorded the various decrees; and above it all as it were,upright, defiant, unmoved, Castell, surrounded by the ministers ofdeath, vanishing into the blackness of the arcade, vanishing into thejaws of the tomb.