The Treasure of Montsegur by Sophy Burnham

Author:Sophy Burnham [Burnham, Sophy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Jerome is squinting at me, askance, waiting for me to continue. I duck my head. “It was long ago. I’ve had good times too. My life’s not all been bad. I’m not complaining. Roland-Pierre was a good husband and a good father to my little girl, who surely is in heaven herself. I have loved and been loved, and what more can any of us ask?”

I smile at him and toss my head. “And what of you?”

And so we pass the evening, the two of us indoors, exchanging our stories, with the smell of stew brewing in the pot and the smoke warm on the hearth, and the cozy sound of rain clattering against the roof.

Then, to keep from thinking about William or Roland-Pierre, I tell him the fable of King Midas and the golden touch, and the Bible story of Susanna and the three men who tried to seduce her. Jerome likes stories, so I tell about Abraham and how the angel saved him from killing his son Isaac, and then I tell the story of how Jacob stole his brother’s inheritance, and finally some of the romantic tales of Tristan and the Princess Iseult.

Jerome is impressed. He doesn’t know the Bible stories so well as I (not having ever had a Good Book to read, and not being able to read if he’d ever found himself in possession of one). Naturally, he doesn’t know the romantic ballads either. But he tells me about the robbers and the barnyard animals. Soon we’re laughing at each other’s tales.

One I tell him is the vision that Robert, the jongleur, had when we were under siege in Montségur, and we laugh so hard I think I’ll pee—flying castles and boats that swim underwater, haywagons that roll themselves along without an ox or horse! Such fantasies. Only of course I don’t mention Montségur. I just say a man I knew had visions of the Future, and I leave out all the rest.

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