James Patterson - The Jester

“I hope I don’t wear out my welcome, my lady. And that you are not displeased.”

She grinned. “I am most pleased. And look at you… Still in your jester’s garb. You look good, Hugh.”

“The same you made for me, just a bit frayed. Norbert has taken ill. I promised I would stand in for him.”

Her eyes, vibrant and green, seemed to illuminate the dark [185] hall. “I have no doubt we will all be the merrier for it. But tell me, Hugh, your quest…? How did it go?”

I bowed my head, not for a moment hiding my disappointment or true feelings.

Emilie led me down the hall, where no guards were posted and we were able to sit on a bench. “Please… I can see you are sorely troubled, but I have to hear.”

“Your plan was excellent. On the subject of my pretext , everything went well. I replaced the fool in Treille, gained access as we had spoken, and was able to snoop around.”

“I did not mean our pretext, Hugh. I meant your quest. Your dear Sophie. What did you find? Tell me.”

“As to my wife.” I swallowed dryly. “I am now sure that she is dead.”

The light in Emilie’s hopeful eyes began to dim. She reached out for my hand. “I am most sorry, Hugh. I can see how it saddens you.” We sat there silently for a while. Then she noticed my arm. “You are injured again.”

“Just a bit. It’s nothing. It’s healing. I found the person who was responsible for Sophie and my son. I ended up having to face him off.”

“Face him off…” A look of concern flashed in her eyes. “And the outcome?”

“The outcome?” I bowed my head again, then raised it with a slight smile. “I am here. He… is not.”

Her face lit up. “And I am glad. And most glad to hear that you will stay a while too.” She folded up my sleeve and studied the sword marks on my arm. “This needs treatment, Hugh.”

“You are always nursing me back to health,” I said. I was surprised at how easily I fell into her care again. Almost without trying. It felt good to be here. A calm spread over my face.

“But there is more I have to tell you, I’m afraid. This man I fought… he was a knight. More than a knight, in fact. He was [186] Baldwin ’s chatelain. It ended up, in our squaring off… I killed him.”

Emilie gazed intently at me. “I have no doubt that what you did was right.”

“It was , Lady Emilie… I swear it. He murdered my wife and son. Yet the man was a noble. And I …”

“Is it not regarded as justice when one takes recompense for the loss of his property?” Emilie cut in. “Or defends the reputation of his wife?”

“For nobles, yes.” I bowed my head again. “But I fear there is no justice in this world that shines on a lowborn man who kills a knight. Even if it is deserved.”

“That may be.” Emilie nodded. “But it will not always be.”

Her eyes met mine. “You are always welcome here, Hugh. I will talk to Lady Anne.”

Instantly I felt as if the heaviest weight had been lifted from my shoulders. How did I deserve such a friend? How in this one pure soul had all the boundaries and laws by which I had lived been set aside? I felt so grateful to have come here.

“There’s no way for me to thank you.” I clasped her hand. Then I realized my mistake, my forwardness, my stupidity.

Her eyes drifted to my hand, but she made no move to take hers back. “The duke’s chatelain, you say…” She smiled, finally. “You may be lowborn, as you say, Hugh De Luc, yet somehow your aim is remarkably high.”

“YOU ARE THOROUGHLY MISPLACED, child,” Anne scolded Emilie later, in her dressing room, “to stick your nose where you do. For such a pretty one, it always seems to end up where it is most unwelcome.”

Emilie brushed her lady’s long brown hair in front of the looking glass. Anne seemed noticeably out of sorts. In the past, Emilie had always been able to soften her with a few well-placed assurances and affable cheer. Emilie’s freethinking had always been a source of discussion between them and, though her lady hid it, a bond.

But not so now. Not since the word that Anne’s husband was soon back from the Crusade.

“I am no child, madame,” Emilie said back.

“Yet you act like one sometimes. You urge me to look the other way for this fool who admits to killing the chatelain of a duke. Who seeks refuge here.”

“He does not come to hide from justice, my lady, but because he feels among friends who understand what justice is.”

“And what is this friendship worth to you, Emilie? This friendship with a common scut who always finds his way back here when he is injured. Is it worth the loss of our laws and custom?”

[188] “The knight was killed in a fair duel, madame. The man’s beloved wife was abducted by him.”

“What proof is there? Who pledges for this man? The baker? The smith?”

“Who pledges for Baldwin, madame? Armed thugs? His cruelty and greed need no witness.”

Anne met Emilie’s gaze sharply in the mirror. “A lord needs no pledge, child.” There was an awkward silence between them, then Anne seemed to soften. “Look, Emilie, you know that Baldwin is no friend to this court. But do not make me choose between your heart and what we know as the law. A lord manages his own vassals as he sees fit.

“Men have always shown greed,” Anne continued. “They spread your legs and plant their seed, then pick their nose on the pillow and fart. Your common fool will prove no different.” Anne turned and seemed to sense that she had hurt Emilie. She held the brush and clasped Emilie’s hand. “You must know, it would be my joy to shame Baldwin in my husband’s absence. But your price is too high. Don’t ask me to choose between cads , high- or lowborn.”

“Showing justice on this, my lady, is how you will choose.”

Anne’s eyes hardened. “Don’t flaunt your fancy concepts at me, Emilie. You have never had to govern. You are not subject to a man. You are still a guest at our court. Perhaps it is time we sent you back?”

“ Back …” Emilie was startled. Fear shot through her. Anne had never threatened her before.

“This is an education, Emilie, not your life. Your life is written. You cannot change it, no matter how strong your passions.”

“My heart is not the issue, madame. He is just . I assure you.”

“You do not know just,” Anne snapped. “You know only a dream. You are blind, child… and stubborn. So far you have not found a husband here, despite the best efforts of some of our bravest knights.”

[189] “They are trumped-up oxen, and smell like them too. Their exploits mean nothing to me. Less than nothing!”

“And yet this lowbred pup does. What makes you think you can expect more from him? You must stop this dalliance. Now .”

Emilie stepped back, knowing she had taken it too far. She had offended Anne. Gradually Anne seemed to soften. She reached for Emilie’s hand. “Yet,” she went on, “you’ve never lacked the courage to stand up to me.”

“Because I have always trusted you, my lady. Because you have always taught me to do what’s right.”

“You trust too much, I fear.” Anne got up.

“I have given him my promise, madame.” Emilie bowed her head. “Keep him here. I will not go further in the heart. If I did not press this to you, you would not be the wiser. Please, let him stay.”

Anne gazed at Emilie, searching her eyes. She reached a tender hand to Emilie’s face. “What has life done to you, my poor child, to have so hardened you against your own kind?”

“I am not hardened,” Emilie replied, kneeling and placing her head upon Anne’s arm. “I only see that there is a world beyond.”