Bertrice Small - The Captive Heart

"The son is odd at best," the physician said. "He has a mistress to whom he is devoted, madame. Sir Udolf himself has told me his son is prone to unreasonable anger when he cannot gain his own way. I am not certain my daughter would be safe as his wife, especially as he so dotes on this miller's child."

"The girl cannot wed Sir Udolf's son. Her birth is low. Her children, should she have any, cannot be heirs to Wulfborn. Hayle Watteson must have a wife who is suitable," Margaret of Anjou said to her physician. "His heirs must be got on the body of that wife, and no other. This is a good solution, Alexander. You will live far longer safe here at Wulfborn, and you will be here for Alix. And Sir Udolf is a good man. The son will obey his father. Many a marriage has begun like this, between two strangers, as did my own. Yet I came to love my husband, and Alix will learn to love Sir Udolf's son. But should she not, at least they may come to have respect for each other. That is far more common in marriages among our kind than is love."

"Blanche and I loved each other," the physician replied softly.

"I know," the queen said with a small smile of remembrance. "It was your love for each other that gave me courage and hope when we came to England."

"Ahh, so many years ago now, it seems," he answered her.

"You can negotiate your own marriage contract for Alix with Sir Udolf," the queen told him gently but firmly. "Satisfy yourself that Alix will be well cared for by this family. But do not delay, mon ami . In another few days, when my messenger returns from my cousin of Gueldres, we will have to move on into Scotland in order to be completely safe from the Yorkists."

Alexander Givet sighed. "I know if there were another choice, madame, you would give it to me," he said.

"Better she wed here in England than Scotland," the queen said. "I am told the Scots are a wild and uncivilized people. I have always been surprised that the Duc de Gueldres allowed his daughter, Marie, to be sent to their king in marriage."

"I will speak with Sir Udolf this evening while we play chess, as has become our custom. He is a bit rough, but I believe him honest and fair," the physician said. "But if I am gone, madame, who will care for you?"

"I must care for myself now, Alexander," the queen answered him. "Fortunately, you have been careful of my health, and I have learned a thing or two from you over our years together. I will manage, for I must." Then she rose from her seat. "Come," she said to him, "the air is growing chill again, and the sun has gone behind those clouds." She helped him to stand, and together they walked back into the hall.

That evening Alexander Givet and Sir Udolf Watteson sat separated by a game table as they discussed a union between their only children. "My daughter is not penniless," the physician said. "She will come to your son with a dower portion of five gold pieces and ten of silver. Unfortunately, her dower trunk with her linens and her feather bed had to be left behind at Windsor. But she has been raised in the queen's household, and knows all there is to know about running a nobleman's hall. And, of course, she is a virgin. She is modest, obedient, and devout. Your son cannot be dissatisfied with her."

"Your wife had but one child," Sir Udolf noted.

"Blanche chose to have one child because her service to the queen came first. There are ways to prevent conception, though the church might not approve," Alexander Givet told his companion. "Blanche's mother had several healthy children. It was my wife's birth that was her undoing. I am one of nine."

Sir Udolf nodded. "Then I see no impediment to a match between Hayle and Alix," he said. "I will have the priest draw up the betrothal agreement. And, Alexander, you will have a home here at Wulfborn too. You have my word on it."

The physician nodded. "I am frail now, it is true, but I am still capable of performing my trade. One thing concerns me, however, Udolf. Your son does not want a wife. Can you force him to the altar? Will he hate Alix for it and be cruel to her? Will he keep his mistress?"

"I will be candid with you," Sir Udolf said. "He will wed with your daughter because he knows I will never allow a miller's daughter to birth my heirs. And despite his determination to have his own way, he knows he needs legitimate heirs. His loyalty to Wulfborn is strong, for he is a proud man. But he will keep his mistress, and I will not dissemble with you over it, Alexander. I am sorry, but even to gain Alix for Hayle, I will not lie to you, my friend."

The physician nodded. "Your honesty means much to me," he told his companion. "Now I will be honest with you. Were there any other choice, I should take Alix and return to Anjou. But I will never again be well enough to make that journey. I will die within a year or two. I need to know my daughter is safe, if not with a man who will love her, at least with a good family who will appreciate and respect her. If you will guarantee me that, then you may call your priest and we will draw up the contracts."

"I swear to you on the Blessed Virgin that my son and I will always take care of your daughter, Alexander. If I should die, he will honor my wishes," Sir Udolf said.

"Then I will speak to my daughter," the physician said.

Alix was not pleased to learn the future that was being planned for her. "Why can I not just serve the queen as Mama did?" she wanted to know.

"The queen is no longer honored as England's queen," her father answered her. "There is no court or royal household in which we may serve. I am too weak to take you home to Anjou, Alix. You do not wish to devote your life to God. There is no other choice open to you but marriage."

"But who will help old Edmee if I am not with them? Who will sing to the king when the dolor is upon him if I am not with them?" Alix demanded to know.

"There is no other choice," her father repeated.

"Have I ever seen this man you propose to wed me to, Papa?" she asked.

"He is the tall young man in the hall with the white-blond hair," the physician said. "He is there in the evenings sometimes."

"I do not recall such a man," Alix answered her father, "and I am in the hall every evening. Wouldn't he sit at the high board? Yet only the queen and the little prince sit with Sir Udolf. The king eats in his chambers."

"I have seen the lad," Alexander Givet responded stubbornly. "Look more closely this evening, mignon . Perhaps if you did not gossip so much with Fayme and Edmee you would pay more attention to the high board."

"We speak of bygone days," Alix told her father. "They miss their old life greatly. I do too, and I miss Mama."

"That life is gone for us all," he replied. "And you will not spend your days at court, ma petite . You will live out your life here in the north as mistress in your own hall. It is not a bad future, mignon . Your mama would be pleased by what I have done."

"You are marrying me to a stranger," Alix said unhappily. "At least you and Mama knew each other a little bit when the Count of Anjou approved your match."

"Aye, Hayle Watteson is a stranger to you, but I will be with you, mignon . And Sir Udolf likes you, and I suspect already thinks of you as a daughter. The queen wants you safely wed, and I concur."

Alix sighed sadly. She might protest, but the truth was there was no other choice for her. The queen could no longer keep them, and her father grew frailer with each passing day. At least this marriage she was entering into would give her father a safe haven for whatever time he had left upon this earth. Alix was a sensible girl, and she knew her father's days were numbered. Aye. Her mother would want this both for Alix and for Alexander Givet. And she had to marry sooner than later, didn't she? Sir Udolf was a kind man. He always had a twinkle in his eye, and Alix suspected if she ran his household well, and gave him grandchildren, he would treat her with great kindness and respect. Although she honestly could not recall having seen his son, he certainly couldn't be a terrible person. Not with such a father.