Bertrice Small - The Captive Heart

Alix was startled by the reference to Hayle's mistress. "Do not speak to me of that wench," she told Bab. "It matters not to me if she is pretty."

"You do not care that your husband futters her, and will continue to do so?" Bab asked boldly as she helped Alix into her bath.

"No," Alix said. "I do not." She began to wash herself.

"Yet you bathe yourself so you may please him. You'll never please him, mistress. It is Maida he wants."

"I bathe to please myself, Bab, and Maida is his for eternity. She matters not to me. I will be Hayle's wife, the mother of his legitimate heirs. Now, I have asked you not to speak of this wench. Cease, or I will be forced to beat you."

Bab sent Alix a surprised look, but she stopped speaking, helping her new mistress to dress when Alix had come from the tub and dried herself off. Then, unable to help herself she said as she slipped the camise over Alix's head, "Maida has more meat on her bones than you do." Then she cried out as the girl's hand made sharp contact with her fat cheek. "Oww!" Her own hand reached up to soothe the stinging flesh.

"Are you slow-witted that you did not understand me, Bab? You are not to speak of my husband's wench to me." Alix glared hard at the woman. "I will be lady in this hall very shortly. The household is mine to command. If you wish to remain in my personal service, you will obey me when I instruct you. Do you think because I am young I can be intimidated by you or your chatter about that wench? I was trained in my duties by a queen, Bab. And I have learned well."

"Indeed you have, ma chérie ," Margaret of Anjou said as she entered the chamber that was now Alix's. She gave the serving woman a scornful glance in passing. "I am so sorry I have nothing of value to give you on this day. Were things as they once were, I should have gifted you with a gilt salt sellar, or a dozen silver spoons. Your husband would have been given hunting rights in the royal forests. But alas, things are not as they once were, so I have brought you this." The queen then clasped a gold girdle studded with small gemstones about Alix's hips. "There! Now that gown looks perfect." Taking the girl by her shoulders, the queen kissed her on both of her cheeks. "I must speak to you now, as your mother is not here for you." She turned. "Get out!" she said to Bab. "You will be called when you are needed."

The serving woman scurried out, realizing as she went that the bride, whom all had thought soft and weak, was not. She hurried to tell the other servants and to see that her niece Maida knew that the new lady would not attempt to usurp Maida's place in Hayle Watteson's heart. But she wondered what the lady would think when she learned that Maida was with child.

Margaret of Anjou had waited until the servant was gone. "I must explain the wedding night to you," she said.

A small smile touched Alix's lips. "Papa has explained it all to me," she replied.

The queen looked shocked. Then she laughed. "Of course," she said. "He would not want you totally unprepared, and so Alexander would carefully tell you all the physical elements involved. However, his is the masculine viewpoint. I will give you the feminine side of the equation. You can experience passion even when you feel no love for your partner. Love, however, turns passion into a great wonder, Alix. I know that right now you and your husband are strangers. I am aware he has a mistress. But it is my belief that your sweetness and loyalty will overcome his baser nature eventually. Watch what will happen when you give him his first son. He will love you then. Now, be aware that some men are rough in their loving. Still, you need not be afraid. Just let him have his way, and be gentle in return with him."

"Thank you, Highness," Alix replied to the queen's speech. "I am grateful for your words and your wisdom." She wasn't going to argue with the queen, or tell her that Hayle Watteson would never love her. The queen had done what she believed was her best by her ailing physician and her goddaughter. Let her go off to whatever fate awaited her believing all was right.

"I am pleased that this solution presented itself for you and your father. I will leave tomorrow knowing that my dearest Blanche's husband and daughter are safe. Now, ma petite , I believe they are waiting for us in the hall. Shall we go?"

Alix drew in a deep breath and asked, "How do I look?"

The queen smiled tenderly. "Beautiful, and far too good for this baron's son, but hélas ! We must be grateful to God and his Blessed Mother that they have been given to us, ma petite ." She reached out to settle the gold girdle on Alix's hips, and touched the girl's long wavy hair that had been unbound to signify her virginity. " Allez! "

Together they descended into the hall where Sir Udolf, Alexander Givet, and the bridegroom awaited them with the priest. The two fathers were garbed in long dark furred robes. The bridegroom, however, wore a dark green tunic that came to his knees, and black breeches beneath. The king was present, silent in a dark heavily furred velvet robe that touched the stone floor of the house. The young prince was by his side. He gave Alix a mischievous wink that made her smile.

The priest, Sir Udolf, Alexander Givet, and the bridegroom all stood at the high board upon the dais. Alix came slowly to join them.

"The contracts for the marriage between Hayle John Watteson and Alix Margot Givet have been drawn up and approved by Holy Mother Church as well as Sir Udolf Watteson and Alexander Givet, the parents of the parties involved. It but remains for the bridal couple to sign the agreement," the priest said, and he held out the quill to the bridegroom.

Hayle Watteson took it, placing a careless X where the priest pointed. Then he returned the quill to the cleric, who handed it to Alix.

Taking it, she carefully wrote out her name, Alix Margot Givet . It was neat and quite legible. She handed the quill back to the surprised priest.

Both fathers and the queen stepped forward to sign as witnesses, adding their names on the parchment document. When they had all finished, the priest sanded the signatures. "It but remains for us to adjourn to the church now so this couple may be properly blessed, and their union may be formally sealed." He rolled the parchments up, binding them with a small strip of leather. Leaving them upon the high board, he led the bridal party from the hall.

They left the house, which was at one end of Sir Udolf's village of Wulfboro, and walked to its other end, where the small church was situated. The village street was lined with silent villagers who stood watching them as they passed. Inside the empty church, Alix and her husband knelt before the altar. The priest blessed them, and then he celebrated a short Mass. When the Mass had been concluded, he pronounced them husband and wife. They departed the church and returned to the house. The street was empty now.

"They hate you for taking Maida's place as my wife," Hayle told her cruelly. "She is with child. It was her wedding gift to me. Maida will bear my first son."

Alix felt as if her spirit was being crushed by his words. "Could you not at least be civil to me on our wedding day, my lord? It is not my fault that your lover is of low birth. You know I should not have married you at all were it not for my father."

"You are no better than a whore," he told her. "Maida loves me. She asks nothing of me in return but my love, and I gladly give it to her. But you have whored for your place here. You had best prove quickly fruitful so that my sacrifice not be in vain."

"Your sacrifice? What of mine?" Alix demanded of him.

"Whore!" he said coldly.

Sir Udolf had arranged a feast for the entire village, and his hall was filled when they returned. The beer was already flowing freely. Alix sat at the high board numb with her misery. She watched as her husband danced with the villagers, quickly realizing that the lovely dark-haired girl whose side he never left was his mistress, Maida. The baron was obviously shamed by his son's behavior, but Alexander Givet was furious.