Castle, a group of newly betrothed ladies, those who had been my maidenly friends, came to visit me in my chamber. They looked sadly at my black skirts and twisted their handkerchiefs in their own bright laps.
“We would have come to you before, Lady Marian,” Lady Clarice began, voicing, as usual, the attitude of the flock, “but we had such fears as to your state. How wretched for you!”
They nodded in unison and gripped their hands, each thinking of her new fiancé and weighing, I supposed, the amount of sorrow she would feel at his death.
“Please, my dear gentle ladies, do not trouble yourselves,” I said with a smile. “As you well know, I had not seen my husband these three years, and though we were good friends as children, we had grown distant in older age. I expect my heart will heal in time.”
This brought a happier murmur to their lips and laid a foundation for easier topics.
“How horrid, Lady Marian, to have to dye your gowns all black!” one of them whispered amid titters of agreement. “I should have been made so ill to do it.”
“As should I,” said another. “Lady Pernelle was not so quick to cast her violet gown into the vat.”
“Nay, she wore it just yesterday, did she not? And, Lady Marian, to think of there being no dower for you!” Five heads nodded in amazement and five pairs of eyes looked at me for my response.
“’Twas a shock, I admit it, but upon reflection I understand better. Since Hugh and I never lived together as husband and wife, an annulment does seem warranted. Although it is strange to annul a marriage so quickly after the husband’s death.” They nodded at this but did not observe, as I thought they would not, that this was not the reason given for the annulment. These were not ladies of great penetration.
“Indeed!” was all they had to add and soon talk turned back to fashions and trifles.
“Shan’t you be very lonesome in your retirement, Lady Marian? I don’t know how I should manage to go four months together without visitors and traveling, and you shall have far longer to manage!”
“Aye,” I agreed. “I expect I shall have to read and study a great deal and content myself with quiet pursuits.”
“Could you fathom a full year spent on stitchery alone?” groaned Lady Clarice. “No, indeed, Marian, you must do something for your own enjoyment. Hire a legend singer, that’s what I say. Lady Claudine had one come to her when Lord Phillipe died, and she said the time fairly flew by. And I too have often lost myself in a troubadour’s song of romance. It shall be a distraction to you at a time when distractions must be welcomed.”
“Oh, a bard, yes, that’s the very thing,” echoed another. “And the moment you are released you must endeavor to get a gown of this Vexin silk. The colors are so splendid, it will be just the item to raise your spirits. I think a ruby shade would suit her best, do not you ladies agree?”
S O ENDED MY TIME in the public eye. Our party moved in somber silence on the journey home, and I was allowed many long hours in which to consider what had passed. I had come to town a married woman and now I left a maid again, and yet a maid who had agreed to do a widow’s work in mourning. This was odd, but as I’ve said, I am no stranger to the unusual twists my life seems wont to weave for itself.
Lady Pernelle’s actions at court caused me grief for some long time, for as I reflected upon my own behavior in her presence, I saw that I had failed to grasp the extent of her duplicity. I did not trust her—I, at least, had been true to my own oath in that manner. But I had not seen her true motive, and it had cost me. Had I understood it all, I might have acted, might have given Queen Eleanor some offer of my own in exchange for what was legally mine.
Lady Clarice’s final advice also rang in my head and while thinking back over her words made me smile at my pretty friends, I saw some wisdom in her charge. A
“We would have come to you before, Lady Marian,” Lady Clarice began, voicing, as usual, the attitude of the flock, “but we had such fears as to your state. How wretched for you!”
They nodded in unison and gripped their hands, each thinking of her new fiancé and weighing, I supposed, the amount of sorrow she would feel at his death.
“Please, my dear gentle ladies, do not trouble yourselves,” I said with a smile. “As you well know, I had not seen my husband these three years, and though we were good friends as children, we had grown distant in older age. I expect my heart will heal in time.”
This brought a happier murmur to their lips and laid a foundation for easier topics.
“How horrid, Lady Marian, to have to dye your gowns all black!” one of them whispered amid titters of agreement. “I should have been made so ill to do it.”
“As should I,” said another. “Lady Pernelle was not so quick to cast her violet gown into the vat.”
“Nay, she wore it just yesterday, did she not? And, Lady Marian, to think of there being no dower for you!” Five heads nodded in amazement and five pairs of eyes looked at me for my response.
“’Twas a shock, I admit it, but upon reflection I understand better. Since Hugh and I never lived together as husband and wife, an annulment does seem warranted. Although it is strange to annul a marriage so quickly after the husband’s death.” They nodded at this but did not observe, as I thought they would not, that this was not the reason given for the annulment. These were not ladies of great penetration.
“Indeed!” was all they had to add and soon talk turned back to fashions and trifles.
“Shan’t you be very lonesome in your retirement, Lady Marian? I don’t know how I should manage to go four months together without visitors and traveling, and you shall have far longer to manage!”
“Aye,” I agreed. “I expect I shall have to read and study a great deal and content myself with quiet pursuits.”
“Could you fathom a full year spent on stitchery alone?” groaned Lady Clarice. “No, indeed, Marian, you must do something for your own enjoyment. Hire a legend singer, that’s what I say. Lady Claudine had one come to her when Lord Phillipe died, and she said the time fairly flew by. And I too have often lost myself in a troubadour’s song of romance. It shall be a distraction to you at a time when distractions must be welcomed.”
“Oh, a bard, yes, that’s the very thing,” echoed another. “And the moment you are released you must endeavor to get a gown of this Vexin silk. The colors are so splendid, it will be just the item to raise your spirits. I think a ruby shade would suit her best, do not you ladies agree?”
S O ENDED MY TIME in the public eye. Our party moved in somber silence on the journey home, and I was allowed many long hours in which to consider what had passed. I had come to town a married woman and now I left a maid again, and yet a maid who had agreed to do a widow’s work in mourning. This was odd, but as I’ve said, I am no stranger to the unusual twists my life seems wont to weave for itself.
Lady Pernelle’s actions at court caused me grief for some long time, for as I reflected upon my own behavior in her presence, I saw that I had failed to grasp the extent of her duplicity. I did not trust her—I, at least, had been true to my own oath in that manner. But I had not seen her true motive, and it had cost me. Had I understood it all, I might have acted, might have given Queen Eleanor some offer of my own in exchange for what was legally mine.
Lady Clarice’s final advice also rang in my head and while thinking back over her words made me smile at my pretty friends, I saw some wisdom in her charge. A
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