by D. J. Holmes
***
In Beaulieu, Julia continues her imprisonment in the tower. Knowing that Jon is on his way to help her escape, Julia surveys the tower she is being held in. Above her is an open window, tall and skinny, yet too far above her head to escape from. Pushing on the rocks that make up the wall, she finds that none of them are loose. She turns her attention to the wooden wall across from her. “The boards…. Why do they have boards across one side of my room when all of the other walls are made out of rock?”
Walking over to the boards, she can see that they have been thrown up quite haphazardly with bigger gaps in some places. “They must have thought that I was a lot bigger than I am, because I think that even though this gap is small, I’ll be able to squeeze through it.” Quietly, Julia lifts her right leg over one board set at an angle. Next she leans back and slides her head and body through, finally lifting her left leg up and over the board. Grateful to be free she says, “Now to get out of here.”
Down the hallway, she can hear the voices of guards laughing, and playing card games. “It won’t be long before they notice I am missing. I must find some way to block their door to prevent them from getting out.”
Finding a board that is just the right size, Julia wedges it perfectly against the door so that it cannot to be opened from the inside. “This is too good to be true. They’re trapped.” As she turns to run down the stairs, she runs smack dab into another guard standing just behind her. Taking a step back she looks up at him and says, “My goodness, you’re big.”
Grabbing her shoulder, he says, “I’m big enough that I can hold you with one hand.”
Hitting him as hard as she can, he patiently picks her up with one of his strong arms and holds her dangling to his side. Moving the carefully placed board from the guard’s door, looking into their room, he asks, “Have you lost anything?”
“No. Why do you ask?”
“Look at what I found out in the hall!” he states as he swings Julia, thinking that she is Jehanne, into their room.
Jumping up, the guards hurry to take control of their prisoner once again. “What are you trying to do, make us look bad?”
“It is up to your superior as to what he thinks that you look like. But I would imagine that if five guards as big as you are can’t keep watch of a small woman, and keep her in her place, then if I were your superior I might not think too highly of you,” Julia quips.
Still holding her off the floor with one arm, while her arms and legs are flailing about trying to force him into putting her down, the huge guard says, “She makes a lot of sense. I’m going to take her to John of Luxembourg. He is one of the most important commanders that we have. He is the one who captured Jehanne in the first place.”
“Well now, wouldn’t that be wonderful? There are a few things that I would like to talk to him about,” she snaps.
“My commander doesn’t talk to prisoners, Jehanne,” the huge guard says as a matter of fact.
When Luxembourg is told how Jehanne escaped from her room while her guards were playing cards, he is furious. “We will take her to Beaurevoir, my residence in Picardie. I’ve just recently reinforced it with high walls, great towers, and a very deep moat. Let her try to escape from there!”
Arriving at Picardie, they cross the drawbridge as the huge gates of Beaurevoir open to let them enter the castle grounds. Julia constantly looks at her surroundings trying to see a weakness so that she can attempt another escape. Walking up the tower stairs she is left alone in her room. Listening intently to detect footsteps walking back in her direction, she decides she might only have this one opportunity to contact Jon. “I’ve got to tell Jon that they have moved me.”
Before she is able to connect with Jon, there is a knock on the door and three women enter the room.
“Jehanne we wanted to introduce ourselves to you.”
“Come in ladies. Who are you?”
“I am John of Luxembourg’s wife, Jeanne de Bethune, Viscountess of Meaux.”
Jehanne stands up and says, “I’m glad to meet you. And who are these other women?”
Turning to her right, the Viscountess holds out her arm to an elderly woman standing at her side. “This is my husband’s aunt, Jeanne of Luxembourg.”
“I’m so glad to meet you, Madame.”
The older woman compliments Jehanne, “I’ve heard so much about you Jehanne. I would never have imagined that a woman would be able to accomplish everything that you have.”
“Thank you, Madame. I could never have accomplished anything without the help of our Lord and Redeemer.”
“Everyone counts on His help, Jehanne, this I am sure.”
The Viscountess then turns to a younger woman. “Jehanne, this is my daughter Jeanne. She was named after me and her aunt.”
“This is amazing ladies,” she smiles, “I’ve never been in a room with three women that have the same name.”
“Yes, it’s quite funny. When anyone calls ‘Jeanne’ we all turn to see who they are talking to. To make it easier for you if you don’t mind, why don’t you call me Viscountess, my aunt, Auntie, and my daughter you could just call Jeanne. That way we can all keep track of who you would like to talk to.”
“That sounds like a great solution, ladies.”
“Jehanne, since we all live here at Beaurevoir, we were thinking that we would like to invite you to walk in the garden with us each day. Would you like to do that with us?”
“They will let me go for a walk? I can leave this tower?” Julia questions with surprise.
“Oh, yes. There are so many guards here and the walls are so tall, you’d never be able to escape. My husband has made our home so that no one could enter, or for that matter, leave. He has thought of everything.”
“I would love to walk in the garden. Since my capture I haven’t seen too much of the sun, and I love the flowers that you have here.”
Looking at Julia, Auntie asks, “Maybe you’d like to take that hat off and let your hair have some air?”
Knowing that everyone is aware of Jehanne’s beautiful black hair, Julia doesn’t want to raise questions by letting her blonde hair show. “I’ll think about it, ladies. But for now if you don’t mind, I’ll wear it.”
“Would you like us to bring you a dress so that you will look more like a lady?”
“Thank you for your concern. For now I’ll wear the clothes that I have on.”
“That’s fine. Maybe in time we will be able to talk you into looking more like a woman.”
“Thank you for your concern, ladies. I would like to see your garden though.”
“We’re happy to hear that. Would it be all right if we called for you tomorrow?”
“I would love to….Until tomorrow then.”
After the ladies leave, the Sun trades places with the Moon shedding light onto the grounds of the castle. Silence begins to surround Julia as she finds herself listening for sounds outside her door. She decides it’s time to make contact with Jon. Tapping on her bracelet the connection is made.
“Jon.”
“Yes Julia, where are you? We went to Beaulieu, and the talk of the town is that they moved you.”
“They are right, Jon. I tried to escape but was caught.”
“You knew that we were coming. Why did you try to escape?”
“I felt that there might be a chance that I could get free. If I did you wouldn’t have to fight any soldiers.”
“You’re all right though, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’m fine. They moved me to Picardie. I’m in a tower in John of Luxembourg’s castle, Beaurevoir.”
“Then, we’ll come there.”
“The castle is massive, Jon. The walls are very tall and there is a huge moat all around it. I don’t see how even the largest army of France could rescue me.”
“You don’t need to worry about that, Julia,” Jon says as he looks at Jehanne and Pierre.
“What do you mean by that, Jon?”
“I just mea
nt, don’t worry. We’ll get you out.”
“Wait until I call you again, Jon. There are two ladies here that want to take me for a walk in the garden. I’ll see if it is around the same time each day. I couldn’t believe it, Jon… these ladies are trying to talk me into wearing dresses.”
“Just stay in the same clothes that you have on, Julia. I’ll explain later.”
“I’m sure there are soldiers everywhere, Jon.”
“It will take us a few days to get there anyway.”
“Be careful, Jon. I would hate to have something happen to you!”
“See you soon Julia.”
After ending their conversation, Jon and Julia, sit in silence savoring the sound of each other’s voice. The words spoken to each other continue to repeat over and over in their minds bringing comfort, along with the possibility that one day soon, they would be together again.
Chapter 8
