Title: The Lamentable Truth of Planning

Chapter: 17

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It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the air a heavenly mix of earthy scents…and that new maid was ogling her husband. Christiana scowled in Margaret’s direction, trying to resist the urge to slap her. Three days with Margaret and she wanted to smack sense into her! When she’d been a maid, she’d abhorred seeing ladies slap, pinch, and otherwise physically abuse their maids, but this girl was trying her patience. While there was no denying Margaret knew her work duties well, she was the most feather-headed, silliest of creatures. A slap might do her a tremendous amount of good. Margaret had told her that her former lady had treated her very well, like a daughter more than a maid, and indulged her. All code for: let her run wild as she pleased with little thought to decorum.

A dog would have been a better choice for a pet than the maid. That’s what it boiled down to really. Margaret’s former lady had wanted a pet and used her maid as such instead of just getting a dog.

She sighed a little, glancing back down at her lacework and untangling her threads. Some would claim Jocelyn had treated her too well, but she was nothing like this girl before her. Despite all the favor she’d held, she’d still remembered her place and station. Margaret didn’t. She wanted…. Everything. Margaret wanted to be lady. She wanted to have the clothes and fripperies when it wasn’t her place to dress so fine as Christiana was now able.

Christiana would admit to liking clothes and all of the accessories that went with them. Why wouldn’t she? Jocelyn had adored those things and had wanted her maid to as well. She’d learned to like them and take enjoyment in a fine piece of cloth or intricate embroidery. Margaret took it to the extreme, however, urging Christiana to take them into town to see the merchants. ‘A little ribbon, or embroidery threads, or some pretty cloth…’ she’d plead. When Christiana refused, Margaret went to Will and requested the trip of him, claiming Christiana was too embarrassed to ask since the merchant had been sent away by the time she’d decided she wanted something.

If that wasn’t enough to get her blood boiling, that girl flirted and tugged her bodice lower and all manner of things to try and gain Will’s attention. To Will’s credit, he appeared oblivious to the flirting, barely looking at Margaret and being as attentive to Christiana as he’d always been since their marriage.

Shoving her lacework aside, Christiana cleared her throat. “Margaret.” It took two more calls before she looked away from where Will and Wat were sparring. For a split second, a sulky pout turned her lips and Christiana sat up a bit straighter. This had to be the reason Sir Walter had gotten rid of her. Or rather his wife had gotten rid of her? It was looking more and more likely.

Coming to her, Margaret clasped her hands together and bowed her head. “Yes, my…lady.” There was just enough of a pause as to be skirting the edge of disrespect.

She wondered if Jocelyn would like to train a maid in manners, then dismissed the idea as being mean towards Jocelyn. Unless she fully disclosed why. “Have you completed your mending?”

Margaret’s eyes shifted slightly to one side. “I’m working on it.”

“It hardly seems so to me when your rear is not in your seat, your hands idle, and eyes upon my husband.” She arched a brow.

“I watch because he’s a magnificent…fighter.”

Again a pause, this one openly insolent. Christiana stood, smiling sweetly. “Do you know what the punishment for insolence is in this household?” She should, as Will had laid it out plain to all as they’d come in to work for them. He’d hated to decide on a list of punishments, but had admitted it was necessary for some. Between them, and with Mark’s advice, they’d come up with a list that was far more lenient in Christiana’s mind than it should be. She had no patience for servants who didn’t do their jobs or displayed open rebellion, such as insolence.

Margaret’s haughty, challenging expression faltered. “I do.”

“Do you wish to have stripes upon your back? I can arrange that quite easily. I can arrange more stripes with merely a word.” She never once stopped smiling. “I will arrange it if you do not keep your place. If you persist, I’ll sell you as Sir Walter did and I do believe you’ll discover just how good you had it in this household if that happens.”

“I mean no offense, my lady Christiana.” She appeared all of her young age right then, a girl frightened of the punishment she imagined.

“Then keep your eyes to men that have no wife and remember that God puts you where you are for a reason.”

“Yes.”

Christiana motioned to the seat that had been set out for Margaret. “Mind your work. Turn your back to the men and sew.” She paced a bit while Margaret settled herself as directed. “While Will and I are gone tomorrow, I expect you to finish the mending in your basket.” Not a light task, but one that should keep her occupied most of the day. Tournament and planting season had brought them many items to mend. There were also projects to work on for the coming winter. “When it’s completed, work on the bedcovers. You may work outside if the weather is fine and if you finish, go to George for further instructions. I’ll be leaving a list of tasks with him for you.”

There were no protests and Christiana decided that, in time, they’d get along just fine. The key with Margaret was going to be a steady hand of discipline. Pleased with how she’d handled the situation, Christiana sat back down and returned to her lace.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Must you go?” Jocelyn hated to see Adhemar go when they’d begun to make such progress in their relationship. He was insistent, however, that he had to take care of this business himself.

“It’s time to review the property myself. I’ll be back within the week. It’s not far. It’s not as though I go off to Italy.” Clasping her hands in his, he raised them, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “There are no pressing matters for you to make decisions on unless an accident occurs, so all you need to do is rest. Keep our child well protected.”

He was enthusiastic about their baby, that anticipation softening him a bit more. He’d taken to pressing a hand to her belly whenever he was near her, as though he could keep harm from the child by that gesture. She’d been surprised to learn that he’d no illegitimate children that he was aware of in the world. Jocelyn had always assumed he’d have several floating around in the various countries he’d fought in.

“If I can, I will.” Not exactly a promise to be still as he wanted. His eyes narrowed and before he could comment, she pulled one hand from his grasp, motioning towards the men waiting behind him. “Now go, before you lose more daylight.”

“There’s plenty of daylight as you well know, but I’ll leave. Business must be taken care of.”

When he was gone, she took her daily walk about the manor, speaking with servants and appraising the quality of their work. She enjoyed the task, Bess as her side. They were just settling down to decide on trim for a new dress, when Robert approached and asked her to walk with him a moment. Jocelyn didn’t see any reason not to. He’d been back for three days, today being the fourth, and had spent most of his time with Anne in their chamber. She agreed with a smile.

“So,” she asked as they exited the manor and walked across the courtyard. “What were you wishing to speak on?”

Robert shrugged, glancing about the courtyard, his smile warm and inviting. “Would you like to go riding with me? I know you like to ride and it’s a crime not to do so on a beautiful day such as this.”

She looked back at Bess. “Bess doesn’t care for it.”

“Bess can stay here. Come. We’ll ride about the edges of the property and I’ll tell you all about the opportunity I discovered.”

“Opportunity?” For months now, he’d been searching for ways to add to his wealth and leave Adhemar’s house. Had he found one at last that would aid him well? It appeared so. “Have you mentioned it to Anne?”

“No. I’d like your input.”

“You should ask for hers first.”

“Anne wouldn’t have any knowledge to work from.”

Jocelyn thought about the offer. Why not? It didn’t sound like he’d a long ride in mind, just a quick jaunt about the grounds, nothing that’d need a full escort. “I can’t be gone long. Bess and I promised Sophie a game of hide and seek later this afternoon.”

“We’ll be back long before that time.” He held out his hand.

Laughing, Jocelyn took it. “Very well, Uncle. Let us ride the grounds and discuss business opportunities.” Bess retrieved Jocelyn’s coat and cap, but remained at the manor. She wanted to tidy Jocelyn’s clothing trunk and would have a fresh outfit ready upon their return, along with refreshment.

~~~~~~~~~~

Will’s party set out in early afternoon along the north road, Mark directing them, and soon had left the main, well-traveled road for one with a thick forest on either side. The shade was a welcome respite from the growing heat of the day. Will was deep in conversation with Christiana when Mark made an abrupt halt ahead of them.

“My lord! There’s a man in the road!”

Christiana drew up on the reigns, halting her mount and Will motioned to Wat. “Stay here with her.” The guard her with your life part of the order was implied.

Mark had dismounted and approached the man by the time Will had reached them. There were no obvious signs of deception, the man splayed out upon the right wheel track, one arm at an odd angle, his features bloody. Mark touched fingers to the man’s throat, raising his eyes to meet Will’s.

“Pulse is thin, but he lives.”

Will crouched down, taking in the fine quality of the man’s clothes. “Thieves?”

“I’m thinking yes.” Mark stood, walked to the edge of the road and then back the other side. “Looks like there may have been some trouble here. Hard to tell though. Ground is so dry.” He was silent a moment. “Wait a moment…” Stepping from the road, he moved into the foliage, returning almost immediately with something white in his hands. “A woman’s cap.” He held it out for inspection.

“Will?” Christiana called from behind him.

He waved a hand at her, concentrating on the injured man. “Can we move him?”

“I’m no physician, but he ought not remain in the middle of the road I think.”

He nodded, taking the cap and glancing at it. “I agree. Find some branches. We’ll make a stretcher for him and find a place to make camp.” Striding back, he informed Christiana and Wat of what he thought had occurred. “Thieves most likely set upon the man and the woman he was with.” He handed the cap up to Christiana. “This was on the side of the road.”

Christiana took the fabric, held it, studied it, and swallowed hard, paling a fraction. “Who’s the man,” she asked, turning her gaze towards the injured man.

“I don’t know.”

“Is it Adhemar?” Her voice held a hint of urgency to it.

“No.” Will stared hard at her. A strange question to ask. “Why would you ask that?”

Her tongue flicked out, licking her lips, hands turning the cap inside out and right side out over and over again. “No reason. I believe he has lands close to here.”

Will reached up, stilling her hands with one of his. “Christiana, what do you know?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. It’s just…well…there must be a million women with this same cap in the same fabric…but Jocelyn had a cap just like this. It matched her coat -- white, with pretty red at the bottom.”

Suddenly, he remembered that coat and cap. She’d been wearing them that day he’d first seen her. The man wasn’t Adhemar, the graying at his temples proving it. Adhemar had no gray hair. “It’s not Adhemar,” he told her. “He’s too old to be Adhemar and too finely dressed to be a servant. He’s a noble, but not one I’m directly familiar with.”

She relaxed. “Then I worry for nothing.”

“We’ll sort it out. Trust me.”

They made camp in the first clearing they came upon, which ended up being several miles from where they’d found the man. The road they were on wasn’t a largely traveled one, as they passed no one the entire way and weeds choked the trail. Will sent Wat heading back home for supplies. They didn’t dare move the man too far.

As Christiana worked her tiny amount of skill at doctoring, the man roused slightly, grimacing with pain, thrashing about. He opened his mouth and cried out quite plainly, “Jocelyn!”

~~~~~~~~~~

Of all the indignities Jocelyn had been subjected to, being gagged felt the worst, for she couldn’t voice her opinion on what these odious men were doing. She and Robert had been getting deep into a discussion on his business idea when the men had struck, not allowing them to turn away. They were surrounded, herded miles from Adhemar’s property and onto a tiny isolated road that was overgrown with weeds. From there, she’d been forced to watch while the men beat Robert, cringing and nearly throwing up her last meal when she heard something in his arm snap. He’d made a valiant effort to fight them off, but in the end, there were too many of them.

She’d expected to be raped and abused, steeling herself for that eventuality. They’d bound her, gagged her, and thrown her over the back of a horse like baggage and ridden away from the scene. Somewhere along the way she’d lost her cap and the new white coat with Adhemar’s crest embroidered on it was getting dusty and dirty. Her last look back had shown Robert very still in the road, left where he’d fallen. She wondered if he’d been killed and were these men going to do the same to her?

They took her to a crumbling manor in desperate need of repair. It showed the neglect of an owner who’d not the funds to care for his property. Weeds mingled with the crops in the fields, more weeds than crop. The fences were tilting towards the ground, the stones of the buildings giving way. She could smell decay and mold as they shoved her into a dark, dank hall. The tapestries on the walls were torn and Jocelyn sneezed from the dust that their passage across the floor had raised. To the right out of her sight, she heard two male voices arguing.

“Are you insane?”

“My lord, Gavin. Don’t forget to call me that.” The voice was smug.

“You’ve completely lost your mind. How could you dare to kill him of all people? And take her as well? Don’t you understand that his family will come down on us all with the sort of wrath Edward shows? Count Adhemar, Henry? Where is the sense in that?”

“You’ll do the task I’ve set for you.”

“No. I’m done. Give me my daughter.”

“Bring me the woman and you’ll have your child.”

She heard a woman cry out in terror and fixed her gaze upon the doorway. Her heartbeat quickened even further, until it felt as though it would burst from her chest. Something horrible was going to happen. She could feel it in the air, taste the terror upon her tongue.

“I won’t.”

She heard the sound of steel, a gurgled protest and then a body came through the doorway. It was a young woman, hardly more than a girl, dressed in servant’s clothes. Her throat was slit, blood flowing onto the stones. Sightless eyes were turned towards the ceiling.

“I make no idle threats, Gavin. Surely you’ve learned that these years? Bring me the woman or your daughter is next.”

One man came through the doorway, carefully slipping by the dead woman. He was blond and though the set of his features was familiar, Jocelyn couldn’t place him. He stared at her, shaking his head, and with a helpless shrug, he said, “I’m sorry.” As he passed her, she noticed tears upon his cheeks.

Another man came through the doorway. This one she recognized only because he’d been pointed out to her as someone to avoid. Henry of Burgundy.

“Hello Jocelyn.” His toothy smile was more like a snarl than a friendly expression. “Let’s become acquainted before your love comes riding to the rescue.”

She swallowed hard and couldn’t quite keep from glancing back towards the dead young woman on the floor. Jocelyn prayed Adhemar would find her quickly.

~~~~~~~~~~

Usually, Adhemar enjoyed business, but this time he was bored to tears. Everything was in order and he hated spending time away when he could be enjoying far more pleasurable pursuits at home. Jocelyn’s pregnancy pleased him to no end. He imagined her bearing a handsome boy, a son that would be strong and a champion like himself. He supposed he’d accept a girl, though he’d rather have a boy. However, a girl could be profitable when she was of age. Mentally, he made a list of acquaintances he’d be able to align the family with in that case.

It was with great enthusiasm that he guided his party towards home when their business was completed. He’d been gone three days and was impatient to return. They found the hall unusually silent and empty of all but Anne. The air had a peculiar flat, stale taste, as though the cleaning had been neglected for those days he’d been gone. Anne waited by the fire, hands twisting together, and face a mask of anxiety.

“Anne.” He approached her. “Where’s Jocelyn?” When Anne didn’t answer, he crossed his arms. “Where’s Uncle?” Still no answer and he sighed impatiently. “Have you a tongue in your head? What’s happened? Where is everyone?”

She turned, stepping away, putting the long table between them, a move that wasn’t lost on him as she finally began to speak. “They went out riding and haven’t returned.”

Adhemar narrowed his eyes. “How long ago and with how many men?”

Anne flinched and appeared to shrink inside herself, putting more of the table length between them. “They left three days ago with no men.”

No men. Adhemar blinked. Why would Jocelyn and Uncle go riding with no men? He stared at Anne, at her trembling lips and fear-ridden eyes, and was sent most rudely backwards in time to another day and another woman with Uncle. Jocelyn had gone with Uncle just like Anne had. Rage began to rise inside him. He could feel the rush of it pushing through his veins. “You of all people let that happen!”

Anne raised her hands, still backing from his reach. Her head shook left and right. “I’ve no control over Robert’s actions, you know that. Nor have I any over Jocelyn.”

“What were his intentions,” he bit out through clenched teeth.

“I don’t know.”

“Anne,” he roared, leaning over and pounding the table.

“I don’t know,” she screamed back. “You have to believe me, Adhemar. All he told me was that there was a small matter he wanted to discuss with her. He swore they’d not be gone long.”

“And you believed him? You, who let yourself be abducted. You, who fell to his glib tongue. What small matter were they discussing? The child? Is it even mine or do they betray both of us?”

The fear drained from Anne’s face, anger filling it’s place. “How dare you! Jocelyn would never do such a thing to you or any man. Nor would Robert hurt me that way.”

Adhemar snorted. “Hah! He excels at betrayal!”

“Oh does he?” She placed her hands on the table and leaned over, putting her face close to his. “That betrayal you attribute to him was mine to begin with.” Her voice was rushed and low, eyes wide, bright spots of flush coloring her cheeks and giving her a feverish appearance. “It was I who betrayed you, Adhemar. I stole into his chamber that night thinking it was you. I’d had so much wine I could barely think straight and he’d had far more than I.” One hand raised, skimming his features. “Even then he looked like you. The hair, the eyes, his build. I thought I’d gone to you and it wouldn’t have been wrong, because the next day would have seen us wed, but when I woke, Katherine was there and I saw I’d gotten it all wrong. We fled on Katherine’s advice and I’ve regretted not telling you every day since then.”

Her words rang in his mind, at first making no sense at all, but then springing into sharp clarity. He recalled that night, the lateness of the hour and the merriment that descends after much drink. Anne had giggled as they drank, her long hair loose down her back and her voice husky as she admitted she could hardly wait for morning so they could finally be wed. She’d neatly avoided being fully alone with him just as a good girl was supposed to do, even though he’d been trying to seduce her for weeks.

She’d gone up to her chamber then and he and Robert had enjoyed a few more drinks before treading up those stairs themselves. Adhemar had seen his Uncle into the guest chamber and gone towards his own, as excited to wed Anne and finally have her as she’d professed for him. For a brief moment, he’d paused at her door, hand reaching out to open it, but he’d restrained himself with a chanted whisper of ‘just a few more hours’.

His restraint had no reward at the end, for come morning, Anne was gone and so was Robert.

How different their lives would be now if he’d opened that door! His young cousins wouldn’t exist unless Robert had married another woman. All of that affair with William Thatcher would not have happened and…he and Anne likely would have killed each other sometime over the years. They were honestly quite unsuited for each other.

Uncle Robert did not betray me.

That thought was immediately followed by this one: Jocelyn is in danger. My wife, mother of my heir, is in danger.

“So you see, he’s more honorable than you think. He made right what had been wrong and willingly accepted that rift between us and you.” Slowly, she stood back. “Your wife and my husband are missing. I’ve sent what men were here out looking and while they found evidence of a struggle, there’s been no sign of Jocelyn or Robert.”

Adhemar’s breaths came very shallow and he didn’t think he could manage to draw in enough air. The anger that had blazed hot was simmering. “The baby --”

“Is yours. How can you possibly doubt that?”

“There was a struggle?”

“Yes.”

Slowly, he stepped back. “Send the men to me, the ones that first went out to look for them.”

Anne leaned forward again, gaze going hard and cold. “If Robert is dead, I want you to kill the man responsible.”

He nodded once. If Jocelyn was harmed, he’d torture the man before killing him and take great pleasure in it. Adhemar turned on his heel and went out into the courtyard to wait.