The Queen's Companion

by Maggi Petton

  As Edward pulled away from him he grieved. He missed Edward’s companionship more than anyone could know. For in truth, Thomas loved Edward more than as a brother. When once, still young boys in the throes of physical games and youthful endeavors, Thomas lost himself and tried to kiss Edward. The young prince pushed him away.

  “What are you doing?” Edward demanded. His look of confusion evident on his face.

  “I am sorry, Edward, I don’t know. I just...I thought that …” Thomas sputtered.

  “Don’t ever try such a thing again.” Edward said.

  And he did not, but thoughts of Edward were never far from his mind…or his loins. Their friendship resumed. Edward forgot about Thomas’ momentary lapse, but for Thomas the unrequited love he felt for Edward continued to burn with soul searing intensity.

  Thomas could see that his involvement in the Inquisition pushed Edward further away from him. He suffered quietly, and alone. There was nothing he could do to change what he had become…Rome had seen to that. But if his grief over losing Edward was intolerable in that first year he returned from Rome, it was insurmountable when the King died. Thomas was forced to abandon any hope that he would be able to make things right again with Edward. When Edward died, the Thomas that Edward knew died forever, as well. And Thomas, in his anger and his pain, became an ever more ruthless interrogator.

  At first, he was uncomfortable with this role, finding his conscience troubled as he interrogated innocent victims, but Bishop Capshaw soon discovered that he was quite gifted in his ability to interrogate those suspected of heresy. He used the fear of those being questioned to his advantage, intimidating them into confusion. Confusion created responses that were inconsistent with responses they had already made. Inconsistencies were as good as confessions. Still, he sometimes waited for the tiny prick of conscience that connected him by an ever fraying thread to the beliefs of his youth. Those feelings rarely intruded on him anymore.

  There were times he was glad that King Edward was no longer alive. The King was the one person who knew that his participation in the Inquisition was a complete reversal of his original beliefs.

  Chapter Thirteen

  When Catherine returned from her meeting with Father Tim, Bella did indeed look much better. Her appetite returned, along with her color, and they enjoyed a meal together.

  When Catherine left the quarters again, Bella dressed to wander the grounds. She was feeling the need for some fresh air, but she had something else on her mind. She requested Marie to have the Captain of the Guard meet her in the palace gardens.

  “Lady Isabella, it’s good to see you out and enjoying the fresh air.” Robert found Bella strolling through the garden.

  “It must be beautiful during the spring and summer months,” she replied as she reached out her hand to greet him.

  “I understood that you were ill, I am glad to see that you are well enough now.”

  “I am fine, thank you,” Bella responded.

  They walked together in silence for a short while. Finally, Bella said, “Sit with me.”

  They found a bench.

  She took a deep breath. “I wish to know what danger my presence poses to your queen.”

  Robert sighed and was quiet for several minutes, clearly giving his response thought. “Lady Isabella,” he finally offered, “a queen is always in danger, but I think you know this. I understand why you ask, and I will answer you honestly. “

  Bella nodded for him to continue.

  “Our queen is more at risk because some suspect your relationship to be more than a woman’s friendship.”

  He paused. Bella was not able to conceal her blush, but urged him to continue.

  “As I am certain she has told you, our Bishop is no friend to her. He would like nothing more than to accuse her of heresy and replace her with a monarch more likely to rule under his own control. He suspects you and Catherine, but I don’t believe he will do anything until he’s certain that he can succeed in imprisoning her. He is far from being able to do so.”

  “What causes the enmity between them?” asked Bella

  “That’s a long and complicated story, but suffice it to say that she does not accept him as the final authority on the teachings of Christ and the Church, and he doesn’t appreciate her independent nature or unwillingness to accept his authority as representative of Christ and the church.”

  “I see,” Bella replied thoughtfully. “That must make the heretical threat all the more meaningful to his Grace.”

  Robert nodded.

  “Do you believe she should marry?” Bella continued.

  “It grieves me to say so, Lady Isabella, especially now that she is so…” he struggled with words, “now that I see her so happy. But, yes, I believe it is in her best interests to take a husband.”

  “You have had this conversation with her?

  “Many times, Lady.”

  Bella stood and walked away from Robert a short way, then returned. She was quiet for some time, and then finally asked, “Why has she no ladies in waiting? It is very unusual for a queen, is it not?” Robert laughed. “Unusual for a queen, yes, for our dear Catherine, no.” He was hesitant to expound. He reached up and rubbed his face as if considering whether or not to continue.

  Bella smiled. “You have no reason to trust me where your queen is involved,” she said, “but I have a reason for asking these questions… and I ask that you search your heart to know that I, too, wish to protect her.”

  “Protecting Catherine is more than my sworn duty, Lady Isabella. She is a sister to my soul and I was born to serve her.”

  Bella reached for his hand. She raised it to her lips and kissed it fondly.

  “I understand why Catherine adores you so, Captain. You are an unusual man.” She waited to see if he would answer her query about the ladies in waiting. If he chose not to she would not press him.

  He looked at her and smiled. “As children, Catherine and I tended to be each others’ playmates. And as we grew, Catherine always eschewed the company of girls.” He paused. “She found them tedious. Catherine was always more content with boy games. While this delighted her father, her mother attempted to rein in Catherine’s swashbuckling endeavors with more sedate, ‘princess-ly’ activities. Catherine hated them. She hated the dress and formality of such ‘mundane rituals’ as she would call them. She was her father’s daughter. They were very close.”

  “How did he feel about her ‘swashbuckling’?” Bella asked.

  “Catherine could do no wrong in her father’s eyes. He adored her and encouraged her. I think he saw in her an inherent ability to succeed where he had failed.”

  “Where did he see his failure?”

  “In his ability to protect his kingdom from his own Church. It tore him apart to watch his Bishop and his Church become something so hideously twisted from Christ’s intention.”

  “Catherine shares this view,” Bella offered.

  “Wholeheartedly, but with less caution. That is another reason the Bishop so detests her.”

  “I see,” she said. Bella was feeling sick again and needed to find a graceful way to end the conversation.

  “As the expectations on Catherine grew, so did her resentment about the more feminine aspects of her future role. Her mother did, finally, insist on at least one formal lady in waiting.”

  “What happened to her?” She battled a rising wave of nausea.

  “Once Catherine’s parents were both dead she dispensed with the woman, whose ability to engage in intelligent conversation was limited, I fear. Catherine’s mind was always more keen on military strategies. And her need to protect her subjects from the harsh realities of this Inquisition has always been her passion. Try engaging with your typical lady in waiting on those topics!” Robert laughed.

  “Robert, I appreciate your candor,” said Bella as she stood. “I believe we share the goal of protecting the queen. I may be able to convince her that certain things will be in her best interest.”


  Robert stood to take his leave, “Feel free to call on me, Lady Isabella. I am at your service as well…especially where the queen is involved.” Robert bowed to Bella and turned to leave, but then turned back. “One last thing, my Lady, I feel I must caution you. Your continued presence here puts you in danger, as well. Your influence on the queen is being questioned by some. It would not be difficult to make a case for witchcraft against you. Please take care.”

  Robert bowed slightly again and took his leave. Bella turned and vomited into a dried up flower bed.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Absolutely no! How can you even suggest such a thing?” Catherine fumed. “Is it not enough that I must be forced to endure such talk from my Privy Council? I will not have it with you!”

  Bella expected such a response when she first brought up the idea that Catherine should consider marriage.

  Catherine was pacing. Her face was red with anger. Bella expected her to bolt from the quarters, but to her surprise Catherine eventually calmed and knelt in front of her.

  “Why? Who has put you up to this?”

  Bella bent and kissed Catherine tenderly on the mouth. “I love you. Do you believe me?”

  Catherine sat back on her heels. “I must confess I am not as certain of that fact as I was an hour ago!”

  Bella smiled, “It is because I love you that I make such an outrageous suggestion.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “My love, can you not see how we are in danger?”

  “I am accustomed to danger, it will pass. We need only to be cautious.”

  “How do you find cautionary admonitions to work with your subjects when dealing with Inquisitors?” asked Bella

  A look of pained resignation passed over Catherine’s face. She buried her head in Bella’s lap.

  Bella stroked Catherine’s head. “Catherine, listen to me. We cannot continue to share your quarters without arousing suspicion. I am well enough to leave, and my staying only raises questions.” She lifted Catherine’s chin with her finger. “Think about this. If you marry, the Privy Council will be appeased…as will the bishop.”

  “The bishop will never be appeased by me.” Catherine’s voice was muffled by Bella’s dress as she buried her head in Bella’s lap again. Then she stood and turned, walking over to the balcony doors.

  “Perhaps not,” Bella said, “but he will be forced to rethink his accusations of heresy. Here is the part I want you to consider. If you marry we can use your marriage as the reason for your change of heart regarding a lady in waiting,” Bella waited for Catherine to see the logic in her strategy.

  Catherine slowly turned back and smiled, “And that would be you, my Lady?”

  “Indeed, I would be honored, my queen.”

  “But that does not address the marriage! You do not know the men my Privy Council has paraded before me. One is as unappealing as the next!”

  “You cannot possibly think that I would make such a plan without having given that consideration!” Bella was on her feet now and walked over to where Catherine stood. She reached for Catherine’s arm and looked at her beseechingly. “Do you think I am willing to share you with just anyone? I am not inclined to share you at all... but, if I need to make this sacrifice to keep us safe and together,” she emphasized, “then I have the perfect match. He is the third son of King Christopher of Perugia.”

  “I don’t know him.”

  “At one time he was offered to my parents as a match for me. Fortunately, my father knew of him as a notorious womanizer and declined the offer. Even though it would have been a beneficial match for my father, he could not give me up to a life of such misery. He and my mother were very much in love. I was fortunate that he hoped the same for me.”

  “Did you love your husband, then?” Catherine asked, feeling a pang of jealousy.

  “At first I found him acceptable only. I knew that the match would make my father happy, and I did not wish to continue to burden him with the task of finding me a husband. Daniel was a good enough man and I did grow fond of him. I suppose I did love him in a way,” offered Bella. “But now that I know what real love feels like, I would call what I felt for him a great affection.”

  “Did you enjoy the marital bed?” asked Catherine cautiously.

  Bella looked at Catherine, a smile slowly spreading across her face, “Why, Catherine, are you jealous?”

  “It did not occur to me to be jealous, I was just sincerely interested to know whether you found the marriage bed pleasing!” protested Catherine, not able to mask her jealousy. It was difficult for her to imagine anyone else ever touching Bella’s body…and giving her pleasure. Her concern must have shown on her face, for Bella laughed out loud and grabbed Catherine seductively, “Not close,” she whispered, “to what I have with you.” With that she kissed Catherine long and sensuously and led her to bed.

  The marriage conversation was continued the next morning over breakfast.

  “Prince Ambrose is also perceived to be a devout Catholic, so your Bishop cannot disapprove your choice,” said Bella.

  “I’m still not convinced, Bella. I do not know if I can stomach the thought of the marital bed with anyone.”

  “You seemed to enjoy your bed quite well enough last night,” teased Bella.

  “You know what I mean.” Catherine did not like this idea, but the thought of her enjoyment of last night swept through her body, pulling on her loins.

  “If this Ambrose is as my father spoke of him,” Bella continued, “then you need rarely share a bed with him at all. Make it understood that this is a political marriage only, to produce an heir, and give him his freedom to continue his philandering. Perhaps, once you conceive a child, you can abandon the marriage bed altogether.”

  “That is placing an inordinate amount of trust in someone so untrustworthy.” Although Catherine recognized the plan as one worth pursuing, she could not bring herself, yet, to accept marriage as a way to conceal her relationship with Bella.

  “Perhaps Robert could convince him that his discretion is warranted.”

  “I am not entirely convinced, or comfortable, yet with this idea, perh….” Catherine stopped. Bella had grown pale and was searching for a bucket. Her vomiting began again.

  When she finally stopped vomiting, Catherine was frantic and led her to the pallet to lay her down.

  “Sometimes I am so fearful that God is punishing us for our sin,” Catherine lamented. “I don’t have the strength or the desire to resist you, so I fear God will take you from me. But sometimes I am utterly convinced that God has sent you to save me…I don’t know what to believe…” Catherine knelt at Bella’s side and held her through her sickness.

  “Catherine…” Bella began.

  “Now you will allow the physician,” insisted Catherine as she stood. “I will call for him immediately.”

  “Catherine!” Bella managed. “It’s not necessary. I know what’s wrong.”

  “You are as stubborn as you are beautiful, I am calling…” “Catherine!” shouted Bella, “I’m not ill, I am with child!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  The months that followed were agony for Bella. She felt the devil himself was growing inside her. This pregnancy was the result of being brutally raped for days without end. How could the offspring of such a union bear anything good? She didn’t want this child. It would always remind her of those days. She was inconsolable.

  “It will not be fair to the child to have me for a mother,” she wept into Catherine’s arms one night. “I will not love it…how can I?” She begged Catherine to help her find a way out of this intolerable situation.

  “Are you certain you were not already with child when you were abducted?” Catherine asked, hoping there was a chance.

  “It’s not possible. We weren’t together since my miscarriage,” Bella answered shaking her head and fighting back her tears.

  It tore Catherine apart to hear Bella like this. While she wanted to he
lp Bella, she believed that this was an overreaction. She tried her best to respond with a voice of reason.

  “Bella, please, let’s wait and see what happens. We can deal with the child when the time comes,” Catherine soothed. “Meanwhile, you must take care of yourself. You are allowing your fears to consume you. So much could happen between now and then. You miscarried your first child. This could cease to be a problem without help from anyone.”

  “I know there are herbs that can help eliminate the child.”

  “Stop! I will not have you talk like that. Are we not risking enough? We must not even consider such a thing. I could not live with myself. And I would never endanger any of my staff to involve them in such a sin! We will bear this together. That is final.” Catherine refused to discuss the subject any further.

  For her part, Catherine learned that she was powerless to do anything but allow Bella the tears and the emotions that seemed to dominate her. The only thing that took Bella’s mind off of her pregnancy was helping to prepare for Catherine’s wedding…yet another dreaded but necessary event in her future.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The Privy Council was astonished when Catherine informed them that she had decided to take a husband. Her presentation was such that after much thought and prayer, she felt that this was something that God wanted. The cavernous room exploded with animated discussion, angry and simultaneous. It seemed as if everyone was talking at once, voices echoing and bouncing off the walls, the high ceiling, the stone floor and the windows.

  “What do you mean you have decided?”

  “How dare you make this decision without speaking with us first!”

  “Who is this man you have chosen? I hope you have not already made arrangements!”