Читать книгу In The Shadow - Анна Морион - Страница 8

– Philip! You're back!

In a moment, Alienor was hanging around her older brother's neck, and he laughed and twirled her around, just as he had done before he went to war. That loving sisterly embrace, that favourite ringing voice, that exuberance of feeling, that angelic smile… How he missed it all! Although there was a difference of four years between brother and sister, she never let Philip be bored, and he, like their father, indulged all her whims. Long years of European wars, drenched in the blood of enemies and friends, toughened the character of young Norton, but for his "little sister" he remained the same Philip.

– How you have grown… Yesterday you were running up and down the stairs after your father's dogs, and now you're going to walk down the aisle! – Philip said, looking admiringly at his sister and admiring her native features. – All the local lords, single and married, must be wild about you!

– Oh, do you even doubt it? – replied Alienor in a sweet voice. – The other day a handsome young man, whose father is almost as rich as ours, asked for my hand.

– I have just come from father, and he has not even mentioned that he is giving you away in marriage! – Philip laughed heartily. – Poor father! Well, who else is going to ravage him when you come under your husband's care?

– Marriage, dear brother, is not my destiny! – Alienor snorted contemptuously and twirled her brother in a dance. – I will be the Queen's lady in waiting!

– But, what of the suitor? – Philip wondered, obeying Alienor's whim.

They danced in the middle of a garden decorated with brightly coloured flowers, to the loud singing of birds, as if they were in a huge dance hall, and their feet glided over the grass as deftly as over cold flat stones.

– The suitor had to pick up the shards of his heart trampled by my shoes! Father was upset, mother even cried, secretly from me, but you know, Philip: my will cannot be broken! – sang the blonde beauty Alienor. – But this castle will still see the wedding!

– How did you know? – Philip was so astonished that he stopped the pas, and his lips spread into an incomprehensible smile.

– I heard that today some fine rich man has asked for the hand of our beautiful Brigid," Alienor said with a sly smile, as if not noticing her brother's surprise, still dancing without a partner. She danced so gracefully, and her movements were so captivating, that the gardener, a sullen young man, was distracted from his work and stared mesmerised at the dance of the master's daughter.

– And this man is the happiest of mortals," Philip grinned, but noticing the gardener's attention to Alienor, he said rudely, "What are you looking at, dog? Are you caressing my sister, Miss Norton, with your lustful eyes? I should have your ugly head chopped off for such insolence! – He frowned menacingly and gripped the hilt of his sword.

– For Christ's sake! Forgive me, sir! Forgive me, miss! For Christ's sake! For the sake of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God! God knows I've been blinded by the beauty of Miss Norton's sunshine! – The frightened gardener fell on his knees and crossed himself repeatedly.

– Go away, you dog! If you ever look at my sister again, I'll have you quartered! – Philip spat out, and his face showed such anger that Alienor frowned.

– I don't recognise you, my brother… To be so angry over a miserable gardener! Dance with me! – She grasped her brother's hands again, wishing to win back his good spirits by dancing, and he, with a deep sigh, joined her again. – Happy Brigid! How happy she is! Think of it! She's been in love with this man for years!

– In love? Did she tell you that? – Young Norton's heart thumped as loudly as a horse's iron horseshoes against a stone bridge.

– Who else? – Alienor laughed gleefully. – Soon she will have what she desperately desires, and I am happy that she is happy! And even if her fiancé is not worthy of her, even if he is a fool and a buffoon…

– How nice to receive such praise from my own sister! – Philip laughed.

– They are not for your ears, you fool! They are for the ears of Brigid's betrothed!

– He is the one you are talking to now.

Alienor stopped abruptly, pushed her brother away from her and gazed intently into his face.

– Are you Brigid's fiancé? – She asked uncertainly, but she did not need an answer: Philip's imperious smile spoke for itself. – But Father got the letter! It is not you… No, it is not you who should be her husband! It is not you she loves!

– If she doesn't love me now, she'll love me later, when I give her a beautiful, healthy baby," Philip said smugly. – We'll have many children.

– Philip, she loves William Tury! She'll die when she finds out that he was the first to ask for her hand in marriage, but they gave it to you and not to him! – Alienor threw herself indignantly. – She will be miserable! All her life!

– But she will never know that, will she? Her own father never said a word to me about this lickspittle boy wanting to marry her.

– Sir Guise knows nothing! William's father did not write to him, he wrote to our father! I begged our father for a generous dowry for my poor Brigid, and Sir Tury was pleased! And here you are…

– Ah, Philip, you must have pleased your sister by now with the news of our engagement? – suddenly the Nortons heard Brigid's voice, and it made them stop their heated argument, turn to Miss Guise and hide their feelings behind smiles.

– 'Yes, he told me… But, Brigid, you must kno…-' Alienor cast an inquiring glance at her brother, as if asking: "Do you love her?" to which his gaze, full of pain and hope, replied, "More than life! And you will plunge a knife into my heart if you tell her the truth!"

– To know what? – Brigid smiled as she approached the Nortons.

– That your wedding day will be the most joyous occasion this huge old castle has ever seen! – Swallowing the lump lodged in her throat, Alienor exclaimed with fake joy. Feeling unable to stay here any longer, and not wanting the tears of bitterness pressing in her bosom to burst out and upset her friend, she added hastily: – I will find Mother and tell her! – She hugged Brigid tightly, in her thoughts begging her forgiveness for her deception, and then gracefully raised the hem of her dress and left the garden.

***

Lady Gilda did not yet know of her son's return, so when Alienor found her mother in her chamber embroidering a tapestry, she was so delighted that she dropped both tapestry and needle to the floor. The poor woman's eyes filled with tears of happiness: her son, her firstborn son, Christ's warrior, and defender of England had returned to her! After years of separation, filled with prayers for Philip's health and life, she would at last be able to press him to her motherly heart and tell him how much she had missed him, how much she loved him, her son! And even if he came back crippled, she would care for him tirelessly, still with the same love and patience.

– Mother, he's safe and sound! Stop crying, or your eyes will turn red. Men love our tears, but I think Philip has had enough of women's tears, for he has left so many women of France as widows. Our dear Philip needs cheering and dancing! – said Alienor affectionately, stroking her mother's narrow back.

– You are right, you are right! Let us make a feast in honour of his return! We'll sing and dance and laugh! Let us surround him with mirth and make him forget the horrors he has seen and the things he has done! – Lady Norton immediately cheered up. She rose from her chair by the window and went to the door.

– He did these horrors for the good of England, Mother! These Frenchmen will not rest, will not be satisfied, these wolves! – Alienor followed her mother.

They went out into the corridor and, lifting the hem of their skirts a little higher than they should, hurried to the kitchen: the cooks and the cookesses had a lot of work to do! Dozens of dishes had to be prepared in honour of the master's son's return! Meat! Fish! Poultry! All the freshest, most delicious! There must be plenty of wine too!

– My dear, when men kill each other and leave each other's wives as widows, there's nothing romantic about it! But my boy is back! Alive… How long I have waited for this day! We shall have to go to church and give God a prayer of thanks! – said Lady Gilda. – No, no! We'll have mass! Send the maid to the priest! Let her prepare a long and beautiful Mass for tomorrow!

– I will, Mother! And mass is necessary! – Alienor exclaimed enthusiastically, but then a shadow darkened her brow, and she added: – The celebration will be not only in honour of his return, but also in honour of his engagement… He's getting married. And do you know to whom?

– Married? – This news made Lady Norton stop her step, press her palms to her breast and almost cry with happiness: "Oh, will I soon hold my grandchildren in my arms? And who is the lucky lady? May God send them happiness and fertility! May her womb nurture and bear many children!

– He's going to marry Brigid, mother! – bending down to her mother's face, Alienor said quietly. No one must hear their conversation.

– But, my dear, it is already agreed that she is to marry William Tury! Of course it's wrong of him to try to hurt you and avenge your rejection by marrying your best friend, bu…-" Lady Norton whispered loudly, surprised.

– 'Forget it! Neither Brigid, nor her father, nor her mother know of that fool's letter! Our Philip loves her! He never told me so openly, but in his letters he often asked about her, and told me to send warm greetings from him! – She had already resigned herself to the fact that Brigid would not be married to the man she loved, for Miss Norton knew that her brother would love, protect, and cherish her friend. And Philip himself deserves to be happy! As he said: "Brigid may not love him now, but she will love him later." After all, how can one not love this blond, blue-eyed handsome man?

– But… Brigid is poor! Her father won't give her a dowry, you know he's in disgrace! Why should our boy marry a maiden of such reputation? What will they say of us? That we are related to traitors? – Lady Gilda said indignantly, and her face flushed.

– You speak as if my Brigid were some kind of harlot, mother! – Alienor replied icily: her mother's words had hurt her deeply. – It was not her fault that Sir Richard had been so foolish as to cross Anne Boleyn! Why should she suffer for his long, sarcastic tongue? There is no wife like Brigid in the world for Philip! Beautiful as an angel, timid as a doe, obedient as… – The girl hesitated, unable to find the right word, because she herself was never obedient and was not going to become. – As a woman should be! Take back what you said, or I swear I won't say another word to you! Not a word, even if you were lying on your deathbed! – Alienor's anger at her mother's unjust remark was so great that she was ready to put her threat into action.

– Oh, my angel, I love Brigid as much as you, as if she were my second daughter! – Lady Norton hastened to correct herself, and, smiling ingratiatingly, took her daughter's hands in her own. – Our Philip will be happy with her! And I shall be as happy as he is! But go to the church; there is no need to look for a maid! And I'll hurry to the kitchen, and have so many delicacies prepared that the leftovers will feed thousands of beggars and poor people!

***

Alienor was surprised to find her friend in the old stone church, which was pleasantly cool in summer and cold in winter, leaving Father Mark and his parishioners freezing to the bone.

Brigid was kneeling at the crucifix, gazing into the face of Jesus, and slowly working the rosary. Her lips were moving in silent but passionate prayer, oblivious to everyone and everything around her. She had come to God to ask him: Is this the destiny he wants for her? Is she destined to be the wife of Philip, a man she does not love and can never love? Even though he is Alienor's brother, even though he is handsome and strong and his father is rich… She does not wish to walk down the aisle with him, does not wish to lie in the marriage bed with him.

"Why are you so cruel to me, Lord? I am Your faithful and obedient daughter, I have not missed a single prayer, and at Mass I sing the loudest, and my soul quiets at every word You have written in Your sacred book… Why not William? Why Philip? But my father is so pleased… He can't wait to get rid of me, I can feel it… Forgive me my doubts, forgive my lack of understanding, my stupidity… But is this what You have prepared for me? To be the wife of a man I don't love and the mother of his children? If so, give me a sign, and I will humble myself and never doubt again. If not, if it is… A misunderstanding or… Or something else, tell me! Before it's too late! Before I say 'I agree' to him at your sacred altar!" – prayed Brigid, closing her eyes tightly and rocking back and forth slightly, hoping to get an answer to her questions from her Creator.