Chapter 1
Savina paced nervously, anticipating the arrival of her invited guest. Had she done the right thing? Would he accept Kallen as part of his own family?
More importantly, would Kallen accept him?
She sat behind the massive desk that had belonged to Mother. Once a large woman who’d dominated a room, the abbess had dwindled away, little by little, consumed by an illness that ate away at her body over two long years.
Savina ran a trembling hand along the smooth wood. This would never do. She must remain calm. She must be in control of the situation. Reaching for a carafe, she poured herself a cup of wine. As she leaned back into the chair and sipped at it, her mind wandered.
Where had the years gone?
It seemed only yesterday she charged into this very room, ready to take Bevia under her wing. She’d made Bevia and the child she birthed her own, growing to love them both with a fierceness that only grew stronger over time.
Now Bevia lay dead of fever, years in the ground, joined recently by the convent’s abbess.
And as the new abbess, elected by her fellow nuns to lead the convent, Savina now chose to take it upon herself to play God, hoping in the next few minutes to change Kallen’s future.
Hoping to save her from an empty life in this sterile convent, a place that had never suited Kallen, even as a young child.
The knock startled her from her reverie. Savina composed herself, placing a placid look on her face and dropping her hands to her lap.
“Come.”
A red-cheeked novice with eyes of sky blue opened the door and smiled shyly. “Mother? Your visitor has arrived.”
Savina returned the smile, grateful she could show her love for her fellow sisters with such a simple gesture. “Show him in, please.”
The door swung open, and her heart almost stopped in her chest when the raven-haired stranger stepped through it.
Oh, he was so like Bevia. His dark blue eyes held kindness.
Savina knew instantly she had done the right thing.
This man’s posture and demeanor spoke nothing of the arrogant lord she remembered as Bevia’s father.
“Thank you, Sister. You may return to your duties.”
“Yes, Mother.” The novice closed the door behind her.
Savina indicated the chair in front of her desk. “Please, Lord de Mangeron, have a seat. I know your journey has been long and may have tired you. Would you care for a cup of wine?”
The nobleman cocked an eyebrow at her. “You roused more than my curiosity with your cryptic note, Abbess.” He seated himself. “Yes, wine would be appreciated. And to be told why you summoned me would be even more appreciated.”
She laughed and poured out the wine. As she handed it to him, she said, “I was sorry to hear of your father’s passing.”
A shadow crossed the man’s face. “I thank you. Not many have offered such kind words. How did you know of him, Abbess?”
Savina shook her head. “My lord, I have a tale to share with you that is most troubling. I hope when I’ve concluded, you will be the man I have prayed you would be.”
She rubbed her temples, preparing herself. “I met your father once many years ago. You would have been a young boy then. He brought your sister—”
“Bevia?” The lord sat up, wine sloshing from his cup. “You knew Bevia?” he asked eagerly, his face now boyish.
Savina nodded. “I knew Bevia from the time she was three-and-ten until she died of a fever eight years ago. She was my friend.”
“Impossible!” the man proclaimed. “Bevia died in a riding accident nigh on a score ago. She’d gone to court with my father. Her loss devastated my family.”
She gazed steadily at the man before her. “No, my lord. Your father revealed he would tell you and your mother that Bevia died, but she did not. She lived here at the nunnery until her death. With her child.”
“Her... child?” He stood, waving his hand wildly in front of him. “What reason would you have to lure me here with such lies?”
“Lord de Mangeron.” Savina’s tone rang firm yet soft. She’d discovered long ago shouts and anger did little good. As she expected, he quieted, confusion marking his features.
“Please sit, my lord,” she commanded gently.
He did so, bewilderment spreading across his countenance.
“Lord Renton brought Bevia here many years ago. His sister Julesa was then our abbess. He gave her a coffer of gold and demanded she keep Bevia and her unborn child here forever.”
“My sister was... with child?”
“Yes.” Savina sighed, uncomfortable sharing with him this part of the tale.
“The Earl of Nowland had violated her. Your father did not want this man to have her or the child, and Bevia’s betrothed would not have wanted her when he learned of her condition.
This is why your father pretended to the world that his daughter died.
He said he did not want ruin brought upon the family. ”
“God’s wounds!” Lord de Mangeron’s face crumpled. Tears slid down his cheeks. “I was but eight when Bevia died. She played with me, sang to me. I thought she was an earthly angel gone to live with the heavenly ones.”
He brushed the tears aside. “I so loved her, Abbess. There were no other children after me. Bevia was all I had.” Crispin slammed his fist upon the desk. “Yet I can barely remember her face after all these years have passed.”
Savina grinned. “Oh, but you will. You’ll see her in Kallen. Her daughter.”
“My niece?” Crispin sat back down, dumbfounded.
“Yes. She has her mother’s fair skin and luminous smile. Only her hair is different. A silvery blond instead of Bevia’s raven locks.”
Crispin’s mouth grew hard. “The earl’s is such an unusual color. By the Christ, I will kill the bastard!”
Savina came around from behind the desk and placed a hand on his shoulder. “No, my lord. I see that you are a good man. You will put your hatred aside and instead lavish love on your niece, who’s had no family for many years.”
He studied her a moment. “Kallen, you said?”
“Yes.” Savina smiled. “Bright, willful Kallen. She is intelligent, my lord. A great beauty, as Bevia was. Sometimes I wonder how one so sheltered in a nunnery can seem so worldly.”
“I must see her at once.” The nobleman stood. “We must return to Mangeron. She must meet her grandmother and my wife, Deva. She is with child. The babe will be Kallen’s cousin.”
Crispin began to pace rapidly in the confined space. “My mother’s spirits have been flagging as of late, Abbess. Losing my father was a hard blow since she loved him dearly. Bringing Bevia’s child home to Mangeron will make all the difference.”
He came to stand in front of the window. “My men are just beyond your walls. I shall send word to them that we are to return at once.”
Crispin turned to face her. “My gratitude at this news cannot be expressed adequately, I’m afraid. I do thank you for caring for Bevia and Kallen. I promise I will do everything in my power to see that Kallen is restored to our family in every way. Now let us go to her.”
“I fear not, my lord.”
The nobleman appeared stunned. “But why? I am sure she is eager as I to make our acquaintance.”
“Kallen has no knowledge of your existence,” she said bluntly.
“You never told her of us? Why?”
Savina raised her hands to her temples and massaged them again. “I have only been abbess for two weeks, my lord. Your Aunt Julesa, the former abbess, forbade any mention to Kallen of her family. She was to remain here always, never to be known by you.”
“What cruelty was this?”
“’Twas your father’s express wish that it remain so, and his sister abided by his words.
He said Bevia and her child were dead to him and his.
When Julesa died, I made an instant decision to send word to you.
I knew your father had recently passed on.
As the new abbess, I thought it best to inform you of Kallen’s existence.
“But you see,” she continued, “I could not risk telling Kallen of you. What if you had not come today? What if you did not wish to acknowledge this bastard child of your sister’s? Having knowledge of you, and then learning of your rejection, would have been more than Kallen could bear.”
“I see,” Crispin said. “Then I place myself in your hands, Abbess. Kallen has been in them for years. My trust is in you. I will handle the situation as you see fit.”
Savina nodded, relieved that Kallen would not be ripped away from her. “It will take me a bit of time to pray for the wisdom will take to tell Kallen the truth. Once she has adjusted to the idea, I will send for you. You can then escort her to her new home.”
Crispin frowned. “How long will this take?”
“I would give her a few weeks to become accustomed to the idea, my lord. She has known nothing but this convent for eight-and-ten years.”
“But my wife’s babe will come in five or six weeks’ time. I cannot leave again so close to the birth. No, Abbess, Kallen must come with me now.”
Savina fought the panic rising within her. “Then mayhap you could give me a week with her. Even two. Enough time to prepare her adequately.”
Crispin pondered her words for a moment. “I shall leave immediately for Mangeron. will take me a week to reach it. I will then send my emissary to return and bring Kallen home to her true family.”
His face displayed a deep agony. “Deva has already miscarried one child. I dare not be away from her. The man I send, though, is my wife’s brother. Sir Griffith is like my own kin. He will guard Kallen well. Is this satisfactory?”
“Yes,” Savina agreed. “‘Tis best you stay with your wife at such a time. I will break this news to Kallen. I promise she will be ready when Sir Griffith comes to return her safely to her new home.”
Crispin stood and took her hands in his. He kissed them with tenderness. “Abbess, you have made me so happy this day. I am now an uncle, and soon to be a father. God’s blessings are rich indeed.”
She squeezed his hands in return. “I shall pray that your wife delivers a child in good health, my lord. God’s grace be with you.”
“And also with you.” The nobleman turned and left the room, his step light.
Savina wrapped her arms tightly about her. The easy part was over. She had faced a strange nobleman with a sordid tale of the evils his father and an earl had taken part in many years ago.
Now came the hard part. Telling Kallen.