right,” he whispered. “My poor,
frightened girl, it will be all right, I promise.”
“You are so good and kind,” she said, ashamed
at her inability to go to his bed with a whole and open heart.
* * * * *
The
ritual for the bridal night proceeded as it had been planned. The
ladies took Joanna to the chamber where she and Crispin were to
begin their life together, and there, led by Rohaise, they stripped
all her clothing from her and quickly bathed her. They had barely
finished before there came a knock on the door. Rohaise opened it
and the men entered, pushing before them a naked Crispin. Father
Ambrose, still in his green and gold vestments, was among the men.
He made short work of blessing the marriage bed and saying a prayer
to ask for children of the marriage. Taking Crispin’s hand and
Joanna’s and linking them together, Father Ambrose
inst ructed Cris pin to
kiss his bride. This Crispin did, in a perfunctory way, managing to
touch no part of her except her lips.
“ You’ll
have to do better than that, lad,” cried Radulf, in high good humor
at the culmination of his carefully laid plans. “Reme mber my
ad vice.”
With much laughter and more than a few jokes
of the sort that would have been considered most unseemly at any
other time, the newlyweds were bundled into bed and the curtains
drawn about them.
For
Alain, this scene was the worst part of the long, unhappy day. He could not avert his
eyes from Joanna’s naked form, so smooth-skinned, girlish, and
slender, with her budding, pink-tipped breasts, and her hair, that
long, waving glory of pure gold that streamed down her back to well
below her waist. The first sight of his love unclothed would stay
with Alain until he died.
She saw him looking at her and blushed, but
he kept his eyes on her while the heavy blue bed-curtains were
pulled closed, gradually shutting her away from his view. At the
last instant Joanna’s eyes met his, and in them he imagined he saw
a plea, saw fear, and a wish for something other than the lot her
father had arranged for her.
He told
himself he was a fool. Any innocent girl would be frightened on her
marriage nig ht, and the
more so when her bedchamber was crowded with inebriated folk making
crude jests. He hoped Crispin would be gentle with her. Alain
rather thought he would. His cousin was not a passionate man where
women were concerned, and so he would most likely feel no need to
force himself upon his bride too hastily. Crispin was not a man to
terrorize a young girl. Crispin’s kind-hearted character was the
only thing Alain could find to be grateful for.
As for himself, there was nothing Alain could
do now but wish them well and leave, before he said or did
something they would all regret. It seemed the other guests would
leave too. At many wedding celebrations the revelers remained in
the bridal chamber, eating and drinking while the marriage was
consummated on the other side of the bed-curtains. The small size
of the rooms in Radulf’s castle prevented this, for not everyone
could fit into the chamber, and would-be witnesses to the bedding
were stuck on the stairway, jammed together and unable to move.
Having seen the couple properly bedded, the guests trouped out to
continue their feasting in the great hall, where there was more
space to move around.
That was
when Alain left the party, during the confusion of getting everyone
out of the bridal chamber and down the crowded stairs. Alain simply
jumped off the open side of one step to the floor below. Then,
taking a large jug of Radulf’s best wine along, he made his way to
the stable, where he sat upon a pile of straw and drank steadily
until the jug was empty . The wine did nothing to ease his pain. Drunkenly angry when
there was no more, he threw the jug against the nearest wooden
post, smashing it into pieces.
Sinking farther down into the straw, he
buried his head in his arms, wishing he could get out of his mind
the picture of Joanna, naked
frightened girl, it will be all right, I promise.”
“You are so good and kind,” she said, ashamed
at her inability to go to his bed with a whole and open heart.
* * * * *
The
ritual for the bridal night proceeded as it had been planned. The
ladies took Joanna to the chamber where she and Crispin were to
begin their life together, and there, led by Rohaise, they stripped
all her clothing from her and quickly bathed her. They had barely
finished before there came a knock on the door. Rohaise opened it
and the men entered, pushing before them a naked Crispin. Father
Ambrose, still in his green and gold vestments, was among the men.
He made short work of blessing the marriage bed and saying a prayer
to ask for children of the marriage. Taking Crispin’s hand and
Joanna’s and linking them together, Father Ambrose
inst ructed Cris pin to
kiss his bride. This Crispin did, in a perfunctory way, managing to
touch no part of her except her lips.
“ You’ll
have to do better than that, lad,” cried Radulf, in high good humor
at the culmination of his carefully laid plans. “Reme mber my
ad vice.”
With much laughter and more than a few jokes
of the sort that would have been considered most unseemly at any
other time, the newlyweds were bundled into bed and the curtains
drawn about them.
For
Alain, this scene was the worst part of the long, unhappy day. He could not avert his
eyes from Joanna’s naked form, so smooth-skinned, girlish, and
slender, with her budding, pink-tipped breasts, and her hair, that
long, waving glory of pure gold that streamed down her back to well
below her waist. The first sight of his love unclothed would stay
with Alain until he died.
She saw him looking at her and blushed, but
he kept his eyes on her while the heavy blue bed-curtains were
pulled closed, gradually shutting her away from his view. At the
last instant Joanna’s eyes met his, and in them he imagined he saw
a plea, saw fear, and a wish for something other than the lot her
father had arranged for her.
He told
himself he was a fool. Any innocent girl would be frightened on her
marriage nig ht, and the
more so when her bedchamber was crowded with inebriated folk making
crude jests. He hoped Crispin would be gentle with her. Alain
rather thought he would. His cousin was not a passionate man where
women were concerned, and so he would most likely feel no need to
force himself upon his bride too hastily. Crispin was not a man to
terrorize a young girl. Crispin’s kind-hearted character was the
only thing Alain could find to be grateful for.
As for himself, there was nothing Alain could
do now but wish them well and leave, before he said or did
something they would all regret. It seemed the other guests would
leave too. At many wedding celebrations the revelers remained in
the bridal chamber, eating and drinking while the marriage was
consummated on the other side of the bed-curtains. The small size
of the rooms in Radulf’s castle prevented this, for not everyone
could fit into the chamber, and would-be witnesses to the bedding
were stuck on the stairway, jammed together and unable to move.
Having seen the couple properly bedded, the guests trouped out to
continue their feasting in the great hall, where there was more
space to move around.
That was
when Alain left the party, during the confusion of getting everyone
out of the bridal chamber and down the crowded stairs. Alain simply
jumped off the open side of one step to the floor below. Then,
taking a large jug of Radulf’s best wine along, he made his way to
the stable, where he sat upon a pile of straw and drank steadily
until the jug was empty . The wine did nothing to ease his pain. Drunkenly angry when
there was no more, he threw the jug against the nearest wooden
post, smashing it into pieces.
Sinking farther down into the straw, he
buried his head in his arms, wishing he could get out of his mind
the picture of Joanna, naked
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