Unbidden (The Evolution Series) by Jill Hughey Page B

is really like.”  She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “ It is said that his father, Charlemagne, was a most compassionate man. If a person felt so strongly in her – er, his heart that he should not do what the emperor commanded, would Louis not hear his plea and be merciful?”
    “Merciful?” the clerk repeated, as though testing the word out for the first time in his life . “You are asking what happens to a person who disagrees with Louis and refuses to comply with an edict?”
    “Yes, but just a little one,” Rochelle clarified, setting her thumb and forefinger a short span apart . “One little edict.”
    “Fire and smoke,” David muttered, rubbing a hand over his face.
    “I understand,” the clerk said, leaning heavily on the table. The topic obviously made him very nervous, yet he still attended her, getting almost moon-faced. “In the very few instances of outright defiance I have witnessed, and I must stress these are very few…”
    Rochelle shifted forward slightly, eager for the man’s next words . David watched her, resolved to quickly put a stop to this nonsense, no matter what answer the infatuated fool gave her.
    “In those cases,” the clerk continued, “the man has lost all his land, all his assets, has at times been banished from the country, and in one case , the pope excommunicated him, though that was a very special case of extremely poor judgment by the perpetrator.”
    Rochelle’s eyes widened with each word, then she sagged . David exerted a great deal of mental effort to keep his face devoid of expression, so that when her defeated eyes met his, he was able to look back at her in complete calm.
    “Shall we?”  David asked, inviting her to pick up the quill on the desk .
    Rochelle’s mark was simple, her skill at the creation of letters less practiced than her reading . She quickly signed both copies, then stood back so David could do the same.
    He wanted to raise his fist in triumph . This contract set him on the path for the next phase of his life, that of a landed family man. The combination of a well-run estate along with a wife who could teach him how to manage it was an unexpected windfall. Theo had indeed brought him the answer to his prayers.
    The fact that Theo once harbored his own romantic inclinations toward Rochelle still bothered David, th ough Rochelle had given no sign of returning that interest. She vigorously protested the fact of marriage itself, with no indication that her dissent would lessen for a different bridegroom. He didn’t know if he should feel encouraged or insulted by that.
    H e would be a good husband. He would try to allay her fears and make her more comfortable with him. Gaining her allegiance would make his domestic life infinitely easier. And he felt a strange kinship, almost as though they could become friends if given time, which proved he had gone completely around the bend since meeting her just two hours ago.
    Audulf happily reviewed the signed betrothal contracts , then handed one copy to David with a smile. “Now I am to say that while it is customary to finalize the marriage in 40 days, Louis desires that you do so sooner.”  David chuckled as Rochelle turned away.
     
    Rochelle needed a moment to compose her thoughts. Less than 40 days, indeed!  She walked along the wall of the atrium, studying the patterns in the marble. She trailed her fingers against the dark veins in the stone until she got to the doorway of the chapel where she stopped in awe. She’d never seen a building like it. Eight pillars built of stone blocks formed the corners of a two story octagon. On the first story the pillars supported arches of alternating dark and light stone blocks. Stacked upon these were second story arches divided into thirds by Roman columns of marble. Arched clerestory windows, eight of which provided light for the domed, frescoed ceiling, capped each second story arch. A gallery on the second floor and an aisle on the first ran