A Vision of Light by Riley Judith Merkle

Author:Riley, Judith Merkle [Riley, Judith Merkle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2006-05-23T06:00:00+00:00

“Young men, I rede that ye be ware

That ye come not into the snare,

For he is brought into much care

That has a shrew unto his wife.”

Then Brother Sebastian and the others joined in:

“In a net then I am caught,

My foot is penned, I may not out;

In sorrow and care that man is put

Who has a shrew unto his wife.”

Then they began a song about spring, which suited me better. We passed several happy miles in this way, until we stopped for supper at an alehouse in a village on the road. As it was quite crowded, we were lucky to find seats together in a corner. Merchants and travelers going to and from Sturbridge had given the owner very good business. We could not help overhearing the heated discussion going on at the table next to us.

“And Peter Taylor says that he saw a host of angels there lift her by the arms bodily over the fiery pit!”

“A true miracle! God has sent a Sign!”

“Yes, all virgins are to be saved.”

“No, I think it means the end of the world is at hand.”

“How many angels did you say?”

“At least twenty, all with golden wings. One had a brazen trumpet.”

“Yes, the trumpet means the end of the world, definitely.” I shrank into the corner. I feared someone might recognize me, but I needn’t have worried.

“A virgin, you say?”

“Yes, a holy virgin, falsely accused. Clad in robes of white samite with golden borders. She had long golden hair down to her ankles. The angels just carried her away to heaven, for she completely vanished, without a trace.”

“Goodness, that’s amazing.”

“The best part is what happened to the accuser. Devils rose out of the earth and grabbed him, pulling him into the fiery pit, which opened and then closed around them. They left nothing but a hard black stone, which is what he had instead of a heart.”

“Mpf,” whispered Hilde, her mouth full of food. “I always suspected as much—about the heart, I mean.” Brother Sebastian had a pleased expression on his face.

“Altogether a highly satisfactory, first-class miracle, Margaret, don’t you think?” he gloated, beneath his breath.

“Shhh!” I warned. The others tittered behind their hands. We paid and sneaked quietly out, deciding it would be wisest to sleep by the road tonight, out of the range of gossips, rather than sheltering indoors.

The next morning the party took counsel. The players wanted to continue traveling rather than go directly to London, after all. It seemed that Tom had a problem with an important fellow in the London Saddlers’ Guild that he’d not bothered to tell anyone about before. He was waiting for things to quiet down before he returned to the City, and he judged that the fellow hadn’t really had time to cool down enough yet. I looked at my toes and said, “I don’t really want to go to any more fairs for a while. I know you understand how I feel about it.”

“Margaret, you’ll soon recover. Maybe you should train dogs next time.

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