Bertrice Small - The Innocent

"But you promised I should only be incarcerated until King Stephen died," Isleen wailed.

"I have changed my mind," Baron Hugh said.

Isleen had escaped from her father’s house that night. He probably thought her dead by now, but she was not dead. She was alive, and she intended on having her revenge, even if she had to give up her immortal soul to obtain her victory.

THE WIFE
ENGLAND 1154

The winter passed quietly. There was more than enough food for the people of Ashlin and for their livestock. April flew by, and May first came again. On this birthday Elf was great with her child, and every little thing seemed to aggravate her. No one, even Ranulf, dared to forbid her when she decided to travel to St. Frideswide’s one mid-May afternoon.

"Do you think it wise?" the lord of Ashlin ventured in his only attempt to stop her.

Elf glared at him. "I have been cooped up here all winter, my lord. I have no one to talk to but Willa and old Ida, who fills my ears with dire predictions with every breath I draw. I will take Orva and Willa with me in case of any emergency, but there will be no emergency. I want to see my friends again!"

"The cart must be well padded," he insisted.

"Whatever will relieve your mind, my lord," she snapped.

"And you will have an escort of armed men, petite."

"Naturally."

"I am not happy that you go."

"It is unfortunate that my desire to see friends disturbs you so, my lord," she replied in acid tones.

Willa touched the lord’s arm gently and said, "Orva says a woman near her time can become cranky, my lord. The lady means no disrespect, I am certain."

"You will remember me to the abbess, petite," Ranulf said to his wife. "And to Sisters Winifred and Columba, too." He grinned at her.

"Of course," Elf said shortly.

The cart that Elf traveled in was well padded in thick wool upholstered with blue silk. It had a red-and-blue-striped silk awning over it with side curtains that would roll down in the event of a heavy rainstorm. The awning was waxed to prevent the rain’s penetration. Elf was most comfortable sitting with her legs up now. Orva and Willa rode next to the cart, which was surrounded by half-a-dozen men-at-arms. They departed Ashlin in the morning, arriving at the convent in late afternoon. The men-at-arms left them at St. Frideswide’s gate, returning home. A nun hurried forth to lead the cart horse into the cloister, its driver having departed in the company of the men-at-arms.

The cart came to a stop, its back gate was lowered, and Elf was helped down by her two women.

"Elf!" Sister Columba came running toward her friend, her dark robes flying. "Oh, Elf! It is so good to see you again!" the young nun exclaimed. She set Elf back, and looked at her. "Mary have mercy! You are huge! He'll be every bit as big as his father, I vow!"

"How I'm going to birth him, I do not know," Elf grumbled. Then she laughed. "It is good to be back," she said happily.

"Come along, and I'll take you to the guest house," Sister Columba said. "You will have it all to yourself."

"Most guests visiting St. Frideswide’s usually do." Elf chuckled. "These are my servants, Willa and Orva. Orva is the manor midwife. I thought it better I travel with her."

"Are you that near your time?" Sister Columba said, eyes wide.

"Aye," Elf told her. "I probably shouldn't have come, but I couldn't stand being boxed up at Ashlin one more moment. Then Ranulf attempted to play the lord and master. It was simply too much! Besides, I needed to see you and the others. I have not been back to St. Frideswide’s since we returned to Worcester. It’s been a year and a half!"

They reached the guest house, and Sister Columba ushered them inside. "What is it like being married, Elf?"

"Very nice," Elf told her, then turned to her servants. "Orva, Willa. Unpack my things, if you please. We will sleep in the dormitory through that door." She pointed. "Sister Columba and I are going to walk in the cloister garden. The bell will sound for the meal shortly. Listen for it." Then Elf hooked her arm through Sister Columba's, and the two young women walked outside of the guest house.

"You have grown so authoritative," the nun noted.

Elf laughed. "I have to be. I am the lady of the manor," she told her friend. "Now, let me tell you about being married. My husband is a kind man with a good heart. He is a fine lord, and our people respect him greatly. My life is a round of daily duties, very much like living here at St. Frideswide's. There is a time for planting and harvesting; for slaughtering and threshing; for making soaps and preserving foods. We have done much at Ashlin since I returned, not the least of which was restoring the manor church. We appealed to the bishop of a new priest, and Father Oswin was sent us in late autumn."

"Then, you are happy," Sister Columba said quietly.

"Aye," Elf told her best friend. "I am very happy, Matti. When I was torn from this life I believed I was to lead, and given to be Ranulf’s wife, I thought I should never be happy again, but I am. I am happier than I have ever been in my whole life."

"Do you love him?"

"Aye, I do, though I have never said it to him."

"Why in heaven’s name not?"

"Ranulf is a battle-hardened warrior, Matti. Sweet sentiment does not reside in his breast. I should embarrass him if I said I loved him," Elf said with a small smile. "What could he possibly say to me in return? We like each other, and I respect him. We have a good marriage."

"If you said you loved him, he might just return the sentiment," Sister Columba said hopefully.

"But what if he does not? I would discomfit him, and he would be abashed, for he would not harm me knowingly. Nay, it is better things remain as they are."

"I would want my husband to know I loved him," Sister Columba said firmly. "I tell our dear Lord each day of my love for him."

"But it is God you love, Matti. My love is all too human, and my husband would be quite confounded to hear me whispering sweet nothings into his ear." She chuckled.

"Eleanore."

The two young women looked up to see the abbess approaching, her hands outstretched in greeting. Elf took the Reverend Mother Eunice’s hands in hers. The abbess looked her former charge over carefully, and then she smiled warmly.

"It is as I said to you that day in Worcester, Eleanore. God has changed your fate. That you bloom with new life, and are so filled with smiles is proof in itself, although I never doubted."

"I'm afraid I did for a time," Elf replied with a wry grin, "but my fine husband won me over."

"The king, while not a wise man, is a good one. I knew he would not give you into rough hands," Reverend Mother Eunice said. "But, surely, my daughter, you are near your time."

"I am," Elf responded, "but I needed to come home again before my girlhood disappears entirely, and I find myself someone’s mother."

The two nuns laughed. "Isa did the same thing, although she was not near as far gone as you."

"Has Isa had her baby?" Elf asked. "I did not know."

"A little girl, last year, and she is again with child," Sister Columba replied.

Elf smiled.

***

For the next several days, Elf picked up her old life, attending the various religious services and helping old Sister Winifred. Her former mentor was teaching a young novice the duties of an infirmarian and herbalist.

"You have your own garden?" the elderly nun queried Elf.

"I do. I have been fortunate in that I have had only minor complaints, simple wounds, and a few broken bones to care for at Ashlin. I dread a full-blown epidemic."

"You are up to it," Sister Winifred said. "Ahh, child, how it does my heart good to see you again!"

Elf remained at St. Frideswide’s for over a week. The morning she was to depart for Ashlin, she arose, and no sooner had she done so when a sudden gush of water poured down her legs. Elf stared, shocked. "Orva!" she called in a strangely weak voice. "Orva!"

"Mary, Mother of God, protect us all," Orva said, coming and seeing her mistress standing stock-still amid a puddle of fluid. Then her common sense took hold. "Well, lady, there is no help for it. Your child will be born today, and here at St. Frideswide's, it would seem." She held up her hand, seeing the question in Elf’s eyes. "Nay, there is no time to return to Ashlin. Traveling when a woman is in labor is too dangerous. The lord would kill us all if anything happened to you or the child. This place is every bit as good as Ashlin for birthing your babe, perhaps even better. Willa! Come and help the mistress while I go and tell the abbess."

Orva trotted out of the convent guest house, and made her way across the cloister to the chapter house, where she knew the abbess could be found conducting convent business. The morning meeting was just coming to an end when she hurried to the abbess’s seat of office. She curtsied.

"Yes, Orva?" the abbess said.

" 'Tis my lady, Reverend Mother. She is going to have her baby. I should appreciate some assistance."

"Oh, dear," the abbess said, momentarily disconcerted. But then she smiled a broad smile that few within her world had ever seen. "My sisters," she called out to them. "A baby is to be born here within our convent this day. Sister Winifred, please give all aid and assistance to Orva. The rest of you pray for the safe delivery of Eleanore’s child, and her safety through the travails of childbirth as well. You are all dismissed now."