Duchess of Aquitaine by Margaret Ball

Author:Margaret Ball
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780312205331
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

The lisping eunuch did not join their party on the tour of the holy sites of . Constantinople; his place as interpreter was supplied by the young man Eleanor had noticed in Manuel’s entourage, the one who seemed so taken with Faenze. He introduced himself as Alexios, the emperor’s nephew, and apologized in advance for any difficulty that might be caused by his imperfect French; the emperor wished only to do his distinguished guests the utmost honor by having them escorted by a member of his own family. “My uncle regrets that he cannot join you himself,”Alexios said, looking straight through the dark, thin-faced man who stood not two paces from him, “but imperial protocol forbids his meeting you again until the banquet of welcome.”

Louis said, “But—”and Eleanor trod on his foot, at the same time giving his little brother Robert a forbidding stare. Before either of them could say anything else, she thanked Alexios for his services, said truthfully that his mastery of the French language was most impressive, and added that she quite understood that the most serene basileus was not present, giving Louis another meaningful look as she said the last words.

The Greek party gave a collective sigh of relief as it became clear that the Franks had understood and accepted the polite fiction that allowed Manuel Com-nenus to walk among them, free of his hampering ceremonial robe and crown and also free, perhaps, of some of the formalities that kept the emperor of Constantinople fenced in between protocol and tradition.

In the church of the Holy Apostles they saw the iconostasis of beaten silver with images of the twelve apostles, and the column to which Our Lord was bound before He was put on the cross. In the church of Christos Pantokrator they admired the golden mosaics set between the arches, and the marble slab on which Our Lord was laid when He was taken down from the cross. In the church of the Blessed Virgin of the Pharos they saw two vessels of gold hanging from heavy silver chains, one of which, Alexios told them, contained the image of Edessa—the cloth with the divine features of Our Lord imprinted on it—and the other, the tile under which the cloth had been hidden, which also showed the face of Christ.

“They venerate the holy relics of Edessa, but they could not lift a hand to save that city from the heathen,”muttered Godfrey of Langres.

“We have also in this chapel,”Alexios said over the bishop’s resentful murmuring, “two pieces of the True Cross, the iron of the lance with which Our Lord had His side pierced, the crown of thorns, two of the nails that were driven through His hands and feet, and the girdle of the Blessed Virgin.”

Louis glanced at Eleanor. “We should remain and pray to Our Lady,”he said to her, “that she may grant us a child.”

“She has already done so,”Eleanor said through her teeth. That bright-eyed boy, the emperor’s nephew, most assuredly understood every word they said.

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