by Speer, Flora
From a branch on a nearby tree a bird called, and received an answer from another direction.
“I hear it’s mating season,” Theu said, laughing. “For the birds as well as for you and me. I wish we could stay here all day in this peaceful place and watch the stars come out when it’s evening, but we ought to go now. The others will be waiting for us.”
She got to her knees again, still holding the flowers, lowering her face to them once more.
“I can’t throw them away,” she said, and slipped them carefully into the pocket of her tunic.
Theu was already on his feet, adjusting his clothing, then reaching for her trousers. When she had them on and fastened, he knelt to help her with her boots. Sitting now, she brushed his straight brown hair back with a gentle hand. He looked up into her eyes, laughing again.
“What joy you’ve given me,” he said. “How much I love you.”
It was then that Autar found them. He came marching out of the forest to the meadow, blinking in the sudden sunlight, and stopped short when he saw Theu kneeling before India.
With admirable calmness, Theu finished sliding India’s boot onto her foot, then rose, one hand on her arm to help her up, his other hand holding his belt and sword. As if to send a deliberate message to Autar, Theu kissed India full on the mouth, taking his time about it, and she saw a glint of humor in his eyes just before she closed her own to better savor the sweet taste of his lips.
When Theu let her go and began to buckle his sword belt about his waist as if he had not a care nor an enemy in the world, India noticed Marcion and Hugo approaching with purposeful tread. But Autar had begun to move again toward the couple in the field, and Marcion and Hugo followed him.
“This is activity unworthy of a great lord when he is soon to ride into Spain to kill the infidels,” Autar declared. “How can heaven speed our course or grant us victory if Charles’s counts dally with worthless women in this way?”
“Come now, Autar,” said Marcion, laughing, “do you really imagine none of Charles’s nobles will lie with a woman from now until we return from Spain? That’s asking too much of mere men.”
“Not too much for Count Hrulund – or for me and the rest of his men,” Autar answered before accusing Theu again. “You ordered these two to occupy me so you could bring your concubine to this field unnoticed and lie with her like a rutting animal.” He would have said more on the subject had not the look on Theu’s face stopped his tongue.
“If I do not use my sword on you here and now,” Theu said in a quiet, deadly voice, “it is only because you carry Bishop Turpin’s message to Charles. But I tell you, Autar, if you ever again say anything insulting about India, I will kill you within the hour.”
“Theu, I’ll be there as your witness,” said Marcion.
“And I,” Hugo added.
“You will regret this,” Autar promised, looking from man to man. “All of you will.” After a glance at India that plainly showed what he thought of her, Autar turned his back on them and stalked away.
“I am so sorry,” India said to Theu. “I seem to cause you constant embarrassment. My very presence makes enemies for you.”
“Those who are my enemies,” Theu responded, taking her hand, “would be my enemies whether you are beside me or far away. To Autar, or to Hrulund and Turpin, you are but an excuse. Lacking you, they would soon find some other reason to voice their enmity toward me.
“What lies between us,” he went on, looking into her eyes, “is no light or casual thing. I think you know I would wed you at once, if you would only agree.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Hugo told him. “I had begun to wonder what your intentions toward India might be. I feel toward her almost as tenderly as toward my own sister, and I’d not like to see her hurt.”
“Will you marry him?” Marcion grinned at her. “You owe him an answer, after he has asked you before witnesses.”
“I wish I could say yes.” India’s eyes were still on Theu’s. “But I cannot, for a reason Theu understands.”
“What reason?” asked Marcion. “Widows are free to marry where they please, unless the man is totally unsuitable, which Theu is not. If it’s a dowry you need, I’ll be happy to provide one for you once I return to Lombardy. I can give you a small estate in the hills, with a nice little manor house…”
“Or if you need someone killed so you can be free to wed,” Hugo offered, “I’ll do the job for you. If there’s more than one person to finish, I’m sure Eudon will be glad to help.”
“We’ve seen Theu through a long and lonely time,” Marcion added. “I, for one, would like to leave him with a good wife when I go home this autumn.”
Caught between laughter and tears, India looked from Theu to his friends.
“You make me wish I could stay in Francia forever,” she said. “But I may have to go home myself, and quite suddenly, too. It wouldn’t be fair to Theu to marry him and then leave him.”
“That makes sense,” Hugo agreed. “Husbands and wives should not be separated, except when the husband goes to war.”
So saying, Hugo headed toward the trees into which Autar had vanished. Marcion followed him, with Theu and India, still hand in hand, trailing behind them.
“If it should happen that you find you can remain with us after all,” Marcion said, looking back at India as he spoke, “then you could still marry him, you know.”
“Thank you, Marcion,” said Theu in a dry tone of voice. “If India’s circumstances should change, I will ask her again myself, with no help from you or Hugo.”
Marcion, still looking backward, was about to make some laughing reply, but he stopped walking instead, his eyes going wide at something he had seen in the open field behind them. India and Theu both turned to see what had caught his attention.
In the field, hanging just above the place where they had lain together, a globe of brilliant orange light was steadily expanding. India edged closer to Theu’s side.
“No,” she whispered, “I don’t want to leave you.”
Releasing the hand he had been holding, Theu set her behind him and began to pull his sword from its scabbard. She heard the whisper of Marcion’s blade being freed, too.
With a loud clap, the orange light disappeared, leaving the field as empty as it had been a few minutes before.
“What in the name of all the saints was that?” With his naked sword in his hand, Marcion took a tentative step onto the field. At the same moment, Hugo came crashing out of the trees with his own blade drawn.
“What happened?” Hugo demanded. “It wasn’t Autar – I heard him well ahead of me. What made that noise?”
“Lightning and thunder,” Theu replied, sheathing his weapon. “I recognize it now.”
“Out of a cloudless sky?” Marcion looked as though he could not believe this explanation. “I have never seen lightning like that.”
“I have,” Theu said, looking at India, speaking as if to relieve her trembling fear. “I’ve seen it before. It causes no harm unless it actually strikes someone. There is no danger now. It’s over and won’t come again for a while. But let us gather everyone together and be away from this place as quickly as we can.”
For all his brave words, he put an arm across India’s shoulders, holding her tightly while they made their way back through the trees, holding her as if he would never let her go.
Chapter 15
“Which circuit did you blow out that time?” An emotionally exhausted Willi leaned back against the office wall. After this latest unsuccessful attempt, she could no longer hide from herself the possibility that India was gone forever.
“No problem,” said Hank. “I can easily get the stuff I need from the storeroom. The repairs won’t take long.”
His complete self-confidence set Willi’s teeth on edge. Since India’s disappearance, she had learned entirely too much about Hank’s character. She was sorely disappointed in him – and in herself for not realizing sooner what
kind of person he was. And she blamed herself for suggesting that he should give computer lessons to India.
“You can’t get anything from the storeroom today,” she pointed out. “It’s Sunday. No one will be in the office. Besides that, you need a requisition, properly filled out and signed by your department head. That’s the way we get supplies for the Art History Department. All of which means that you will have to wait until tomorrow to get what you need. But tomorrow may be too late for India,” she finished bitterly.
“Not to worry. I know how to bypass all that administrative red tape.” Digging one hand into his trousers pocket, Hank brought out a well-filled key ring. Having selected the key he wanted, he held it up for her to see. “Clever, yes?”
“How did you get that?” she asked, appalled by his sheer nerve. She did not really want an answer to her question. She knew in advance that she wouldn’t like his explanation, and she could easily imagine what he would say if she reminded him that he could be fired for possessing a departmental key he wasn’t supposed to have.
“The janitor is never around when I need him,” Hank’s voice broke into Willi’s thoughts, “so I had my own key made. Crooks do it all the time, so why shouldn’t I? Don’t let anyone into this room. I won’t be gone long.”
After the door had closed behind him, Willi sank into the only chair, burying her face in her hands. She had just seen yet another side of Hank that she had refused to acknowledge before, and she knew she had to think about her relationship with him at once, whether she wanted to or not.
“I could have loved you forever,” she whispered, badly shaken and uncertain what to do about Hank’s appropriation of university property without a requisition, which had apparently been going on for some time, or his cavalier attitude toward breaking and entering, which was what his use of the illicit key was. “You aren’t the honest man I believed you were. I think I always knew you cared more for your experiments than for any human being, including me, but now I find you’ve been stealing heaven-knows-what from the university to improve this computer they let you use. Improve? That’s a joke! Whatever you’ve done to it has destroyed India.” The thought of her dearest friend dead because of Hank’s actions brought Willi to tears.
“Oh, poor India,” she sobbed. “This is all my fault. I wish I had never asked Hank to help you. Oh, I wish I were dead, too.”
“Excuse me, do you know where I could find the janitor?”
At the sound of an unfamiliar masculine voice, Willi sniffed and began to wipe the tears off her cheeks.
“I knocked, but I guess you didn’t hear me. I’m sorry to interrupt your work, but I was supposed to deliver some personal property to the History Department office and I can’t find anyone to open the door for me.”
“It’s Sunday afternoon,” Willi said with another sniff, still keeping her back toward the speaker because she had just realized that her makeup must be a mess after all the crying she had done. “Actually, it’s almost Sunday evening.”
“I know, but my brother promised there would be someone here. Do you think you could help me?”
After wiping her cheeks one last time, Willi stood up to face the intruder, a slender young man with dark curly hair and dark blue eyes. He had a charming, slightly mischievous smile that faded as soon as he saw her face.
“You’re crying.” He pulled a spotless white handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her.
“Good guess.” Willi blew her nose rather noisily into the handkerchief. “What did you say you wanted?”
“The key to the History Department office,” he repeated very distinctly.
“I’m not supposed to leave here,” she informed him, waving a hand toward the computer. “There is an experiment going on, and it had better work soon or there will be murder done in this room. But Hank should be back before long, and he seems to have the keys to every blessed door in this building.”
“I take it you aren’t too fond of Hank,” the stranger said, watching her reaction.
“I used to be.” Willi blew her nose again. “But I just discovered how dishonest he is. And he lost my best friend.”
“Now, that’s what I call bad policy, mislaying a friend.” The stranger smiled at her, once again suggesting mischief and abundant charm. “I’m sure your friend will turn up soon.”
“If she doesn’t,” Willi said, “I’ll go to Campus Security and tell them everything I know. If they can’t help, I’ll go to the police, maybe even the FBI.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” The man’s smile vanished. He took a step into the room, his eyes on Hank’s machinery. “What’s really going on here? And what the devil are all those extra components attached to the computer?”
“Don’t answer that.” Hank came through the open door carrying a large box in his arms. “Willi, I thought I told you not to open the door to anyone. Who the hell is this guy?”
“This gentleman,” Willi told him, “needs the history office key.”
“What makes you think I have it?”
“Haven’t you? Along with all the other keys?” Her voice was tart. Hank set down the box, looking at her as if he would like to throttle her for revealing anything about his activities, but she stared back at him until he relented.
“Okay, Okay. Come on, mister, I’ll open the door for you. Willi, don’t let anyone else in here.”
“Are you sure you’ll be all right?” The stranger looked concerned until Willi nodded.
“I’ll be fine.” She tried to give him back his handkerchief, but he pressed it into her hand, folding her fingers around it.
“Keep it. I have others. I hope you find your friend.”
After he and Hank had gone out, Willi looked more closely at the handkerchief she was holding. It was real linen with the initial B embroidered at one corner.
“Elegant,” she said. “Most people use Kleenex. He must be rich.” When Hank reappeared, she stuffed the handkerchief into her pocket and promptly dismissed it from her mind because Hank was fuming.
“What did you say to him?” Hank demanded.
“About what?” Willi tried to recall everything she and the stranger had talked about, but she had been so upset that she couldn’t remember all of it. “Why are you asking?”
“He told me not to be so rude to you. Said you are a lady and I ought to treat you better.”
“Did he?” In spite of her fears for India’s sake, Willi almost smiled. “Gosh, that’s nice.”
“Who is he, anyway?” Hank began to pull his supplies out of the box he had brought.
“I don’t know. I never saw him before and will probably never see him again.” She experienced a pang of regret at the thought. Men didn’t call her a lady very often. She came on too strong for that. But she found she liked the idea. She had a momentary vision of herself with her hair grown longer, wearing a soft, floating dress in pale green, with matching shoes and pretty earrings, dancing with the unknown man. She sighed, thinking it would never happen to her. Then she forgot all about the mysterious stranger when Hank started to work on the computer and the screen began to glow once more, renewing her hope that they just might be able to find India after all.
Chapter 16
“I did not come so long a distance to Agen,” snapped Sister Gertrude, “to be housed in a tent among crude warriors.”
“It was kind of Count Theuderic to let us use his tent,” Danise said in her most soothing tones, “and to say he would not mind bathing and dressing in Lord Marcion’s tent. After all, dear Sister Gertrude, it’s only until we are presented. You said yourself we could not appear before the queen unbathed and travel-stained.”
“Danise, this gown is lovely,” India put in, hoping to stop the annoyed retort she could see coming from Sister Gertrude, who had recovered all of her old acerbity now that their journey was over. “Thank you so much for lending it to me.”
“It is the very finest Frisian wool.” Sister Gertrude tugged at the skir
t to settle it more gracefully over India’s hips. She stepped back, casting a critical eye at India. “If only your hair weren’t so short, you could braid it, or pin it up. The last time I was at court, most of the ladies were wearing topknots with jeweled ornaments. It was such a pretty style and would become you better than just letting your hair hang loose.”
“It will grow, in time.” India wished she had a mirror so that she could see herself. The borrowed gown was a lovely shade of deep blue, with a round neck and loose sleeves that ended halfway between elbow and wrist. She wore beneath it a fine white linen shift, the edges of which showed at the neckline and sleeves, and a loose gold belt rested upon her hips. Her only jewelry was the medallion on its gold chain, the multicolored enamels glowing against the dark color of her gown. For all that she was not used to wearing dresses that fell to her ankles, India found this clothing remarkably comfortable and not the least bit constricting.
“Now, both of you turn around for me just once more,” Sister Gertrude ordered. “Yes, you look very nice. Danise, that green silk is most becoming. Are you ready? Good. It’s time to go”
When they reached the building that was serving as a temporary palace while the court was at Agen, Danise and Sister Gertrude were called into the reception room first. While India was wondering whether to join them without being announced, Theu and Marcion appeared.
“Wait,” Marcion called, running to catch and stop her before she could follow her companions through the door.
“I hardly recognized you,” she said, surveying his wine-red silk tunic trimmed in gold and his jeweled belt, the luxurious clothing a startling reminder to her that her humorous friend on the long journey from Saxony was in fact a wealthy Lombard nobleman.
“We always dress well at court, just to impress the ladies,” Marcion told her, joking as usual. Flinging out a hand in Theu’s direction he added, “Behold now our mighty leader, freshly bathed and clean shaven. Does his magnificence take your breath away? I hope so, for that is what he planned, and it took him so long to dress that we are almost late.”