Chapter 16
Galeran and Raoul collected their horses and worked their way back to Hugo's house, which took longer because they were moving against the flow of traffic. They stopped partway along at a tavern to eat and wash down the city dust.
It was a relief to arrive back at Corser Street, until Mary ran out, wringing her hands, her veil and circlet all askew. "Lord Galeran! They have all been carried off!"
"My wife? The babe? By whom? Lowick? Flambard?" He grabbed his horse's reins back from the man who was leading the animal away.
"It was the king's men!" Mary gasped. "They came with full authorization. There was nothing we could do!"
"The king!" Galeran's mind spun madly. Henry had heard Flambard's story the day before. Did this mean he was on the bishop's side? Was it time to flee?
"Where have they taken her?" he asked, gripping his sword hilt.
"St. Hilda's convent. It's off Aldersgate Street, not far from here." Mary gave quick instructions and Galeran's fears eased a little. A convent was a suitable place, as long as they didn't want to lock Jehanne up there forever.
He turned to leave the house, and Raoul stopped him. "Shall I come?"
"No. You'd better stay here."
"Take some men, at least. Don't forget the original plan."
Galeran turned back. "What?"
"The last time someone tried to seize Jehanne and the baby, your murder was part of it."
"But this time it's the king's men."
"But the game could be complex. Flambard might still know about this convent—the king may even have told him. He could still plan an ambush."
"In the middle of the city? I doubt it." Galeran's mind was on another track. "As soon as Henry knew I was at Westminster, he sent men to take Jehanne into custody. I don't like it. He's probably already decided what his judgment will be, God rot him."
Raoul gripped his arm. "Cool your tongue before you go in public, Galeran, and look to your own safety. Jehanne is not in any direct harm, but she needs you alive and well to defend her."
"She's in custody." Galeran twisted free. "What happens if Henry and the Church decide she should be punished?"
"You could never have stopped them."
"I'd have found a way. I might still." With that Galeran swept out into the street, judging that a man on foot would make better speed than a horse. Any escort could follow or not as they pleased.
* * *
St. Hilda's was a solid establishment covering many acres and surrounded by high wooden walls. An excellent prison, Galeran thought, but not impregnable. He was already considering ways to liberate his wife.
Behind the walls, Galeran could see the tops of some thatched roofs and a stone bell tower, presumably part of the convent's chapel. Nothing about the place was militant or defensive.
Of course, a religious house was protected by God and man, and anyone who invaded it would suffer dearly.
He tugged on the bell rope that hung by the heavy oak door, and a small peep door slid back.
"I am Galeran of Heywood, come to see my wife."
The little door slid closed and the large one immediately opened. Galeran's fears began to subside. The thin portress said, "You must speak to our mother superior, my lord," and led the way across a pleasant cloister garden full of herbs and flowers.
Galeran's heart eased even more. St. Hilda's was not a dungeon or a place of terror. Doubtless the king had felt it safer to have the cause of contention kept out of sight. Perhaps it had even been an attempt to protect Jehanne and the baby from the Church.
Though she could be said to be in the hands of the Church...
The mother superior's office was stark—plain whitewashed walls, plain benches and tables, and for ornament, just one ivory crucifix.
It spoke of virtue of the more severe kind.
The mother superior was equally plain, with sallow skin and a mighty nose, but like the room, her plainness gave her a kind of majesty.
"Lord Galeran," she said, gesturing toward a bench.
He didn't sit. "I wish to speak to my wife."
She folded her hands neatly on her desk. "For what purpose?"
"To ensure that she is well, and content to be here."
"And if she isn't?"
"Then to remove her."
The woman's bushy brows rose, pushing up her pristine veil. "Against the king's orders, my lord? I am ordered to hold the Lady Jehanne here until all matters concerning her and her child are settled."
"Are you ordered to prevent me speaking to her?"
The woman considered him a moment. "No," she said at last. "Wait here a moment, my lord, and I will see if she wishes to receive you."
If she wishes...
Galeran stared at the closed door, wondering for the first time whether Jehanne was pleased to be here, away from all the stress of their tangled situation.
He put his hands to his head. Old suspicions of her feelings for Lowick still hid in his brain, waiting to ambush him at the slightest provocation.
He couldn't think straight about any of this anymore, but he had to. Tomorrow he had to convince the king that it was right to let matters be, to leave Jehanne untouched and to leave Donata in their care.
The mother superior returned. "She will see you. By our rule, Lord Galeran, you may not touch each other."
"I understand." He followed her along one side of the roofed cloister-walk to a door, which she opened to let him into a tiny room. A small high window let in little light, and it took him a moment to see a narrow bed, a bench, and a prie-dieu before a wooden cross.
This was no guest room. This was a nun's cell. Jehanne stood there alone. Where were Aline and the baby?
"Are you all right?" he asked, silently cursing the fact that the mother superior had entered the room with him. If not for that, he would have held her, rule or not.
"Yes, of course. It was a shock...."
"I'm sure it was. The king is to hear our matter tomorrow morning, so this shouldn't be for long."
"This is an excellent place to pray about it."
"I suppose it is." Something was wrong. This wooden calm was very unlike Jehanne. "Where are Donata and Aline?"
"In another room. They bring the baby for feeding. There's no problem, Galeran. Privacy gives me a chance to meditate and pray."
He didn't believe her, and yet he could see no problem other than the fact that she was a prisoner, and that would only be for another day.
Unless the king ordered her kept here for life.
Galeran would burn the place down before he'd permit that.
He put on a smile. "Don't worry. We can probably be on our way home tomorrow."
And she smiled back, a smile that traveled into her eyes. "Have pity! Having come so far, perhaps we can stay a day or two and enjoy the celebrations."
"If you wish, then we will." Galeran blew her a kiss and turned to leave, but she spoke again.
"When is the case to be heard?"
"At terce."
"Will I be able to attend?"
"What do you have to say that I cannot?"
"There might be something...."
Galeran knew his Jehanne. She was keeping something from him.
But he also knew she couldn't easily be made to tell it, especially with the nun as witness.
He feared that Jehanne's new resolution to be a good, quiet woman and let the men handle things was proving hard to hold by.
That could be disastrous. Galeran hoped to convince Henry that Jehanne had sinned out of weakness, overwhelmed by her loss.
"Jehanne," he said with heavy meaning, "leave this in my hands. I won't let harm come to you or the child. I promise it."
She frowned, almost as if in pain. "Of course I trust you, but... Oh, I know you will do what is right."
"Just pray, Jehanne," he said, "and wait patiently until tomorrow."
When he left, the mother superior turned a heavy key in the lock.
"That hardly seems necessary, Mother."
"I am following my orders, Lord Galeran. You cannot deny that your wife has sinned. Such little pains as she is now suffering will help save her soul, perhaps help save you all."
He wanted to protest that, but there hardly seemed much point. If he gave in to his impulses and released Jehanne by force, he'd end up either exiled or in custody himself, which wouldn't help anyone. "I would like to see the Lady Aline and the baby, to be sure that they, too, are well."
With an audible sigh, the mother superior led him across the garden to the other side of the cloister.
"Wouldn't it be more suitable for them to be housed nearby?" Galeran asked.
"These were our only two empty rooms, my lord. Many people have asked for hospitality during the king's visit."
But do you lock all your guests in? Galeran wondered as the nun again unlocked a door. It wasn't worth fighting over. Jehanne was safe, if rather tense. As long as Aline, Winifred, and Donata were also well, he'd let it be until tomorrow.
The mother superior ushered him into another small room very like Jehanne's, but this time crowded with two narrow beds and a cradle. Aline leaped to her feet with fretful energy. "Galeran! Thank heavens."
She would have flung herself into his arms, but the mother superior stepped firmly between them. "Conduct yourself properly, young woman!"
Aline pulled a face, but settled down. "A troop of men brought us here. They had the king's seal and—"
"Yes, I know," said Galeran. "Don't worry. It will all be settled tomorrow. How's Donata?"
Aline looked toward the cradle in which the baby slept. "Well. But I don't know why they've split us up. We're to call when she needs feeding, then one of the sisters will take her over to Jehanne."
Galeran looked at the mother superior. "Well?"
"I was told to keep the Lady Jehanne alone so that she could contemplate her sins in peace, my lord. Children are not peaceful. She has stated that she appreciates every aspect of the arrangement. The child will be taken to her whenever necessary."