Mad King Robin by Vella-Bardon James

Author:Vella-Bardon, James [Vella-Bardon, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tearaway Press
Published: 2022-04-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter VI

THE VISITORS

Rochester Castle, England, 23 rd June 1314 AD

Lady de Burgh’s heart leapt when she heard the afternoon knock on the door. She was already seated and waiting to make her confession, although she was more interested in the company. However much she relished her afternoon walk in the castle courtyard, she found that the frosty looks which she received from her silent armed guards did not do much to lift her spirits. So Elizabeth was already smiling when she made out the timid, handsome face of the monk as he passed through her door. Matthew smiled back at her half-apologetically.

‘Do you need to confess?’ he asked sheepishly.

‘I thought you’d never ask,’ she replied, then issued a low chuckle.

During the sacrament, she could not but tell him that she had erred by clinging to hope for her husband’s victory, no matter how unlikely.

‘Yet for an excommunicated outlaw to prevail,’ he whispered, ‘would that not bring discord and treachery to prevail across the land?’

She had not replied, resigning herself instead to reciting the prayers which he had assigned to her as penance. With typical courtesy, the young monk patiently waited alongside her until she was finished. They next spoke about Matthew’s background, since they had over previous encounters long exhausted the subject of her life and misfortunes. So that the Lady de Burgh learned that he hailed from the nearby village of Boxley, which was not two leagues distant from the castle. He also told her that his old, widowed father was a blacksmith who still toiled at the anvil, with his three brothers having marched north with King Edward II to fight her husband.

‘Father is proud of them,’ he said, ‘they have always done him proud.’

‘Is he not proud of you?’ she asked.

Matthew stared back at her, seeming uncertain what to say.

‘I don’t know. They always saw me as different. I was quieter and more timid. I had a mind for letters, it did not go unnoticed by our parish priest. My mother, bless her soul, encouraged me to pursue the path of the Lord. Father would have preferred me to help in the smithy, yet she urged him to respect the summons of the order.’

‘Was she at least proud of you?’

‘Yes, I believe so,’ he replied, ‘although news of her passing reached me while I was at the college.’

‘I am sorry,’ said Elizabeth.

‘Alas, my lady,’ he replied with a faint smile, ‘such is life.’

Great whinnies were suddenly heard outside, which were followed by the unmistakeable creak of the castle gate. Elizabeth and Matthew beheld each other in surprise and rose to their feet, quickly hurrying towards the window. In silence they made out a man wearing a pointed cowl attached to a robe which stretched over his shoulders, as he thundered over Rochester bridge towards the keep. A half dozen armed riders rode after him, and as he entered the courtyard he was greeted by Stephen de Dene, the Constable of Rochester Castle.

‘He looks like a diplomat,’ said Elizabeth in surprise, then added: ‘from London.

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