The Plague Tales

by Ann Benson

  “Sire, I know that you desire to resume your full and natural life, and that your kingdom would benefit from your attentions. I, too, would love to venture outside these walls without limitation, but it simply must not be done! Be patient, I implore you; give it more time.”

  Edward’s frown of disappointment was dark and threatening. “How much time will satisfy you?” the king said.

  He will not tolerate this much longer, Alejandro thought. When, indeed, is the best time to start a new life? What would de Chauliac say? “Perhaps the astrologers ought to be consulted,” he said.

  The king made a gesture of dismissal with his hand and said, “Charlatans and hucksters, every one of them. They will tell me what best suits their own ends. But you have no such bent, Physician. It will be your decision. Name the time.”

  A new beginning, he thought. Springtime. He looked at the king and said, “How long will it be until the first flowers appear here?”

  “Five or six weeks, at most,” replied the king.

  “Then, if all goes well, we shall venture outside to pick the first flowers without restriction.”

  Alejandro and Adele met as often as they could; considering the demands for companionship made by the bored Isabella on Adele, their occasions were far too few for either of their liking.

  But their fortune turned when Alejandro’s elderly manservant became enamored of one of the cooks. He requested frequent leave to visit with her, and Alejandro was only too happy to oblige him. On one such night in January, Adele came to him in his apartment, having managed to steal away from her demanding mistress.

  “Does she mean to monopolize your time entirely?” he said, pulling her close to him.

  “She keeps me busy with planning the expenditure of her allowance once she has found a new clothier. I am constantly looking at sketches. My opinion on fashionable attire seems to have increased in value suddenly.”

  Alejandro sighed. “It will soon be spring. My time here grows short. I would have you to myself for what little time we have left together. I would tell all of Windsor, no, all of the world of my love for you, and let them think what they will. It is a secret too heavy to bear anymore. I grow weary of keeping my joy to myself.”

  “Alejandro, the king … we must think of his reaction. I simply cannot predict what his response will be.”

  “But you have spoken to Isabella—”

  “And she has held her thoughts to herself. She will not say what her opinion is on the matter of you and me.”

  “But surely she can understand your feelings for me … surely, she herself has loved.”

  Adele took his two hands in hers and brought them to her lips for a kiss. She looked up at him with great sadness on her face. “I fear that you do not understand her position. Hers is not to love. Hers is to marry as her father chooses for her. She knows only too well that love may elude her, for the sake of duty. Oh, the king is mindful of her opinion when he considers nuptial arrangements for her, but if a fair match presents itself, he will do as he wishes, regardless of her thoughts. He will tell her what all princesses are told, that she will find love in her husband if God means for her to find love.”

  “And yet there is love between the king and the queen. I have seen it with my own eyes.”

  “But Edward’s marriage was arranged by his mother, who detested his father. She was a woman of strong will and considerable diplomatic ability, and she found ways to put her son in situations where he might find a proper bride on his own, and think it his choice. He found Philippa among four daughters of a Flemish nobleman, one who was allied to the royal family of France, from whom she herself sprang. She was very clever about it. Her own son, our most noble king, seems not to have inherited that skill.”

  “So Edward loved Queen Philippa before they were wed.”

  “Indeed, and well, it is said. But I bore you; surely you know this history already.”

  He said nothing, allowing her to believe that he came from the segment of Spanish society where such things would be discussed. To admit otherwise would be to give himself away. “But still, Isabella must realize—”

  “Do you not understand women at all?” she said. “I am puzzled by your innocence! Isabella is jealous of our love. I know it! She changes the subject when I speak of you. I long to confess to her the depth of my feelings for you, for she is my dearest friend, and I depend on her for sympathy. Sadly, I get little. I know it is because she is envious. She has become hardened to the notion of love, and is constantly on guard against it. She knows only too well that should she love incorrectly, it will come to no good.”

  Alejandro allowed his resentment to show. “She is a princess. She has wealth, and great beauty, and every imaginable advantage. Surely she knows that when Europa has been freed from the grips of this plague, a match will be found for her? Even my mentor de Chauliac spoke of it—he said that the pope had arrangements in mind for her.”

  “Then when that happens, I think it will bode well for us. While Isabella is preparing for her own wedding, she will be too preoccupied to give any thought to my joy, as will her father. We need only wait. Please have patience, my love.”

  Wait until I am on my way back to Avignon, to be greeted by God knows what? “But I must leave before then. My work here is nearing an end. The king will not tolerate me here for one minute more than is necessary.”

  “Then you must tell him that there is work to be done on curing the plague. Surely he will understand the value of that work and become your patron. And surely enough time has passed since Kate was cured that she will no longer be in danger of his reaction.”

  “I am not prepared to trust him on that account.”

  She sighed in frustration. “Then you must simply tell him that you wish to stay. That you shall support yourself with your medical work.”

  Suddenly her voice became animated, and her eyes sparkled. “I have an idea,” she said. “There is lambing to be seen to at my holdings. I will tell Isabella that I must be present to oversee it. There is only a short time left until the flowers bloom, and then she will be so preoccupied with her wardrobe that she will have little time for me. I shall petition her for permission to travel out again. I know she will grant it. Petition the king for permission to travel out for some reason.…”

  The possibilities she presented were beginning to excite Alejandro as well. “I could say that I am in need of fresh supplies of herbs for medications … it would not be a lie.…”

  “Even if it were,” Adele said gleefully, “he will not know otherwise! Then you shall join me at my holdings. It will give us time to plan our campaign for Isabella’s approval.”

  It was more than he dared to hope for. A tiny flame of optimism began to glow in his heart, warming him. What had seemed once an impossibility might now be within his grasp. And as Adele sees to the running of her estate, I will make sure that I have what I need to cure this pest, should it revisit us, he thought. There will be the time and the freedom to see to it. His heart began to swell with joy, in the knowledge that his two most precious wishes might come true.

  On a clear day in mid-February the portcullis groaned upward, and Windsor’s occupants poured out of the gate, a frenzied horde of prisoners suddenly and unaccountably freed from their long and torturous confinement. Alejandro watched as the celebrants snatched up the white and purple crocuses, then danced about, hugging each other; riders galloped off on long-awaited hunts, or anxious journeys home. Within a few days hungry tradesmen, upon hearing that access to the castle was once again available, came calling in droves. Isabella spent all of her time reviewing their wares, her eyes hungrily roving from one fine item to the next. Thus preoccupied, she readily granted Adele’s request to travel away from Windsor.

  In conspiracy with his lover Alejandro petitioned the king for permission to go on an extended journey in search of spring herbs to renew his apothecary supplies, which had been dangerously depleted over the winter.

  “So,
Physician,” the king laughed, “you are no more immune to the deep longing for some air that has not been previously breathed than are the victims of your harsh restrictions! By all the saints, this winter has been miserably long. Go ahead, bring back wagonloads of such herbs as you like! And when you come back, we shall talk of making arrangements for your return to Spain, for happily, your own good work has rendered further service unnecessary. I’m quite sure that you miss your home and those you love in Aragon.”

  But in the ever-increasing idle hours available to him since the plague’s apparent cessation, Alejandro had begun to believe that what Adele had proposed might work, that he might find a good life here in England, perhaps as a medical practitioner in a nearby township. There was nothing in Aragon to which he could return, and Avignon held little more promise for him.

  Has this beleaguered monarch had enough of me? Will he balk at the request I am about to make? He had no way of knowing save to ask. “Sire,” he began timorously, “I am perhaps of a mind to settle in your country. I do not know what I will find in Avignon if I return.”

  “Indeed, Physician? I had not thought of it. But it might be a noble thing, your settlement here. We suffer from a dearth of skilled practitioners. Still, what of your family? How will they fare?”

  “Ah,” the physician said, “it was so long ago when we first spoke of such things! I am yet a bachelor, Your Majesty, and I have come to the sad belief that I am orphaned. My last knowledge of my father and mother was at the beginning of their own journey to Avignon, where we had planned to reunite. But they never arrived; I presume they were afflicted with countless others. I despair of ever finding them or of even having real proof of their demise.”

  In contrast to the monarch’s relaxed slouch Alejandro sat stiffly upright in his chair, his tension easily visible to even a casual observer. His future was in the hands of this man, on whom he had forced severe and unwanted restrictions for many months. At this moment, in view of the king’s immediate power over his future, he very much regretted some of the harsh rules he had imposed on the royal household. Pray God that he remembers his survival, not his discontent.

  But Edward did not hold Alejandro’s strictness against him, such was his glee at the lifting of restrictions. He said to his nervous petitioner, “These things considered, Physician, I see no valid reason why you should not stay, if it is your sincere wish.”

  With the weight of uncertainty lifted from his shoulders Alejandro proclaimed quickly, “It is, Sire; it truly is.”

  “Then so be it,” said the king.

  He was elated. “Sire, I cannot properly express my thanks. With your leave I shall go out in search of some of the necessities of my new practice.” He rose up from his chair, and bowed to the monarch, who remained seated. As he was about to pass through the doorway, King Edward called his name. Alejandro stopped, and turned, taking a few steps back into the salon.

  “My lord?”

  “I would say more, Physician, but your haste robs me of the opportunity.”

  His tone was not that of a monarch issuing orders to a subject, but simply one man speaking to another. “Lest this go unsaid, Physician, I owe you a great debt of gratitude. You have performed with as much bravery as any soldier serving under my flag, though your courage was not always of the kind that is lauded by those to whom its benefits inure. I am thankful that of all the children my queen has borne me, only our beloved Joanna has fallen to this scourge, and I own that it is because of your efforts I am able to make this happy declaration. You are a fortunate man to have been blessed with such great skills, and we thank God for His wisdom in sending you to our kingdom.”

  The king then proceeded to make an apology, which from his bumbling manner Alejandro took to be the more difficult admission. “I regret that there have been occasions on which we gave you good cause to feel misunderstood or maligned. You have been more valuable to me and the whole of England than you will ever know.”

  Then the air of royalty returned to his voice, and Edward brought out a map. “Now, come forward before I change my mind, for I have a sudden notion to improve your position here. Since you have decided to stay in my kingdom, we must see that you are properly settled. Had I known before now that you wished to stay, I would have set aside a choicer parcel for you. But there are many handsome ones still to be had. You will enjoy this one, I think.”

  Alejandro did not understand what the king meant. “Your Majesty, I am confused.…”

  The king smiled. “I am making a gift to you, Physician; you shall have this estate and its holdings for your very own.” He set the map down and showed Alejandro the parcel he had in mind. “Here, to the north a bit—the squire who owned it has died leaving no heirs, and the right to its title has reverted to me.”

  Alejandro was stunned. “My lord, I am speechless. You do me a great honor.”

  “You will honor me in return by accepting my gift. Of course, this will depend on the goodwill and efficiency of the gentleman’s advocate. Now that one plague has passed, there seems to be a new pestilence upon this land, the primary symptom of which is a sudden increase in the already excessive number of lawyers, whose chief contribution to our society seems to be the spread of the disease of greed. Would that the vicious pestilence had left more physicians, and taken more lawyers!” He roared in laughter at his own joke. “Ah, well, I am wishing for things that I cannot hope to have. The arrangements for your possession of the property shall be made by the time you return from your expedition. You shall, as well, be invested with the title that goes with the estate during the ceremony to be held at Canterbury in three months’ time. I have had a message from His Holiness that our new archbishop will arrive by then, and his investiture will be made at the same time.”

  Alejandro assumed that the pope had long ago forgotten de Chauliac’s army of physicians, but he could not stop himself from asking. “Am I to assume, then, that there were no directives for me in His Holiness’ recent message?”

  “You were not mentioned.”

  Well, then, he thought, my mission is at long last completed. “Thank you, Sire. I beg your permission to take my leave now.”

  “One thing more, Physician, and you shall have my permission. I have considerable largesse yet to expend, and some of it shall fall on you. Since you are a bachelor, are you of a mind to be married? Perhaps I can be of some service to you in that regard. There are many fine ladies unattached in my kingdom.”

  Alejandro was taken aback by the king’s unexpected question. Think carefully before you answer, he told himself. “Have you a lady in mind for me, Your Majesty?”

  “Presently, no,” the king said, “but there are many candidates of suitable station, some orphaned, some widowed, who would be acceptable matches for you. In view of your new holdings I doubt that your Spanish ancestry would be objectionable. And if your lands are well managed, you shall have no difficulty supporting even a wife enamored of luxury.”

  Noting the physician’s silence, the king questioned him. “Well?” he said, disappointed by Alejandro’s evident reticence. “Are you not pleased? Or is there a lady upon whom you have favorably cast your eye? Only name her, and I shall arrange it.”

  It is too soon to ask for her, he thought, though he was sorely tempted. Let some time pass first. Do not stray from the plan. “Truth be told, Sire,” he said, “until your offer now, I have had little thought of marriage. I have always thought first of my profession, and I had not thought to stay here. Give me some time to think on this.”

  The king nodded. “As you please, Physician. But be well warned! I am greatly relishing my role as a maker of marriages! Soon I will have given away all the most desirable ones, and you shall have to choose among toothless, dried-up old hags!”

  When he had finally tired of his own joke and stopped laughing, the king looked at the physician, and said, “Then our immediate business is concluded. Go forth as you wish, with my blessing and thanks. I myself shall go to London;
Windsor will be empty, I think, and none too soon.” He made a gesture of dismissal with his hand. “Go with God, Dr. Hernandez.”

  Adele rode out to her estate in the massive traveling party that accompanied the king on his ride to London. Though she offered the party the hospitality of her home for the night, Edward declined, for he was most anxious to get back to running his country and to resume the various wars that had occupied his time prior to the plague.

  “So many have died,” she explained to Alejandro when he arrived a day later, “that he must restructure his entire army. Many of his advisors are gone, and he must replace them with new ones. There will be much vying for his attention in London by those who would be elevated! I do not envy him. He will long be occupied with the work of governing.”

  To the preoccupied physician it was all just so much silliness. Things of this nature had never been of great import to him. And so it was that he failed to recognize one of the most obvious benefits of his newly granted status in England. When he finally thought to tell Adele of the king’s gift, she surprised him by falling immediately to her knees and praying fervently.

  “Beloved, what is this? Are you not pleased for me?”

  “Alejandro! You are a simpleton, and I am even more a fool for cherishing you! Do you understand what this means? When you are knighted, you will be of the nobility, even though you are not an Englishman. Oh, my love, we can be wed!”

  He soon became lost in the daily pleasure of Adele’s company, and their schemes for consolidating their future, and even though each day held a longer period of light than the last, the three weeks Isabella had allowed for Adele’s absence passed all too quickly. He forgot about returning to Mother Sarah’s glen to replenish his supply of her strange medications, for other sweeter things attracted his attention. Soon he would have an estate of his own to manage, and there was much to be learned by watching Adele and her overseers conduct the daily business of her property.