by Speer, Flora
Behind Gina, Lady Adalhaid gasped. Out of the corner of her eye Gina saw Alcuin clasp his hands together as if in prayer.
“Lady Gina,” Charles asked, “are you admitting your own complicity in the plot against me?”
“No, sir,” Gina answered. “I am saying the queen knew about the meeting at Feldbruck because Father Guntram told her of it. That must have been what they were discussing when I saw them in the courtyard, at a time when Father Guntram supposedly hadn’t come to Regensburg yet.”
“That is a lie!” Fastrada cried. “Charles, don’t you see that this woman is Dominick’s spy as well as his concubine?”
“Lady Gina is speaking the truth,” Alcuin said, his quiet voice cutting across Fastrada’s strident tones. “I also saw the queen speaking with Father Guntram.”
“No!” Fastrada screeched. “Charles, you cannot believe these vicious slurs against me. This creature who calls herself a noblewoman cannot deny that Pepin and Dominick met secretly at Feldbruck.”
“I do not deny it,” Gina said. “Unlike you, I have the benefit of having heard what they actually said, rather than what a malicious priest reported. I heard Pepin’s deep distress because he has been led to believe his father does not love him. He repeatedly insisted that when the conspiracy was carried out, no harm should come to the king. My opinion is that Pepin imagined he would gain his father’s full attention at last and that when he was king, his father would listen to his feelings about the slights that have been visited upon him for years.”
“Your opinion means nothing!” Fastrada yelled, starting toward Gina with fingers outstretched like claws.
“Stop, Fastrada.” Charles’s hand came down on his wife’s shoulder, halting her advance on Gina. “Lady Gina, you have so far neglected to tell us what Dominick’s response was to the suggestion that he should join the plot.”
“Dominick tried to make Pepin see what a foolish idea the plan was,” Gina said. She couldn’t understand what game Charles was playing at the moment, but she was willing to go along with it. “He insisted the other nobles involved were so untrustworthy that Pepin should not believe the promises they made to him. Later, Dominick told me he would never join any group that was trying to remove you from the throne.
“We came to Regensburg to seek out concrete evidence of the plot and who was involved in it, evidence so solid it could not be denied by the conspirators, evidence that Dominick could then present to you. We uncovered bits and pieces of the story, hints of coming trouble, but no facts reliable enough for us to tell you about them, until Dominick and Deacon Fardulf overheard the noblemen in the church last night. Fardulf was there purely by accident, as he explained to you. Dominick was there because he was following one of the men he suspected. You know about that, too, sir. Dominick told you everything he was able to learn about the conspiracy.”
“Fastrada was never involved in the scheme,” Charles said, sounding as if he was seeking reassurance.
“No, she was not,” Gina said at once. “Such an involvement would not be in her best interests. However, she does hate Pepin, and she hates Dominick almost as much.” Gina took a long breath to give herself a moment in which to reflect. Then she plunged on, risking much for Dominick’s sake, and risking making an enemy of Lady Adalhaid.
“I’m not surprised that Fastrada is trying to include Dominick among the traitors,” Gina said. “She tried to ruin him once before, when she used one of her ladies-in-waiting as a spy against him.”
“This is ridiculous!” Fastrada cried.
Charles regarded his wife with a cold gaze. Then he looked at Lady Adalhaid, who had gone white as chalk. Gina could see understanding spreading across the kings handsome features. His hand on Fastrada’s shoulder tightened noticeably.
“Is this true?” Charles asked Lady Adalhaid. “Is that why Fastrada was so insistent that Hiltrude should marry Dominick?”
“Tell him,” Gina urged when Lady Adalhaid hesitated. “It’s Hiltrude’s best chance for freedom and safety. If she is harmed now, Charles will know who is to blame.”
“Yes, my lord,” Lady Adalhaid said. “Hiltrude was such a poor spy that Dominick soon found her out. I do believe he sent her to Chelles in the belief that she would be safe from the queen as long as she was in the convent where your own sister resides.”
“I’ll have your heads for this!” Fastrada screamed, writhing against the firm hold Charles was keeping on her shoulder.
“Alcuin, ladies, I thank all of you for coming to me,” Charles said. He appeared to be perfectly calm, not the least bit flustered or angered by what he had heard, though Fastrada continued to squirm in his grip and to mutter threats against Gina and Lady Adalhaid. “Now I wish to speak with my wife, alone.” His nod toward the door was an unmistakable dismissal.
“Please, sir,” Gina said, “I beg you to remember-that Dominick has always been completely loyal to you.”
“He is a damned traitor!” Fastrada yelled.
“And Pepin loves you,” Gina added to Charles.
“That dim-witted monster!” Fastrada screeched. “That spawn of a concubine! That hideous troll!”
“Sir,” Lady Adalhaid said to Charles, “I humbly entreat you to consider who is the true monster.”
“Go now,” Charles commanded as Fastrada let out another threatening shriek. “Leave us, all of you.”
Gina and Lady Adalhaid left the chamber, followed a few seconds later by Alcuin, who had paused for a final word with Charles. Fastrada uttered a high-pitched scream of rage. Gina could hear the murmur of Charles’s voice. It sounded as though he was moving away from the doorway, perhaps to a more private room somewhere farther inside the royal apartments, and as if Fastrada was following, berating him as she went. Alcuin nodded at the guard, who closed the door.
“Oh, Gina,” Lady Adalhaid exclaimed into the sudden quiet, “I pray you have not made matters worse for my dear Hiltrude.”
“I think not,” said Alcuin. “Charles admires courage, and Gina has just displayed a remarkable degree of it, so we may be certain that Charles will consider with care everything she has said. Charles loathes injustice. Whatever he decides to do about Hiltrude, she will be well protected from now on.”
“I just hope I’ve helped Dominick,” Gina said. “And Pepin, too.”
“Whatever that misinformed young man thinks,” Alcuin said, “Charles does love Pepin and has often worried over his future.”
“He should tell Pepin that.”
“Perhaps he will,” Alcuin said, “now.”
“I am not sure I will ever forgive you,” Lady Adalhaid said to Gina. “You carried me off to the royal apartments under false pretenses. I was to speak for Dominick, and you knew I did not want to mention Hiltrude.” She looked so angry that Gina retreated a few paces before daring to respond to her heated remarks.
They were standing in the middle of the flowery courtyard, having paused to catch their breath and calm themselves in the same spot where only the day before Gina had observed Father Guntram and Fastrada in secret conversation. To Gina, it seemed like a year since that hour.
Alcuin had retreated to his office to continue his work of translating the Bible. Claiming that his students frequently visited him there, he promised to let Gina know anything he heard about Dominick’s situation, or about Charles’s intentions toward the conspirators.
“Actually, as far as Hiltrude is concerned, I believe our talk with Charles turned out rather well,” Gina said. “I think her chances of getting out of Chelles are greatly improved.”
“I pray you are right.” Lady Adalhaid’s eyes filled with tears. “You cannot know how frightened I have been for Hiltrude during these last years. First I feared Dominick’s reaction if he learned why she was apparently so eager to marry him. Then I was afraid of the queen’s long reach, even when Hiltrude was supposedly safe at Chelles. My daughter is all I have.” She wiped a tear off her pale cheek.
“I wish I had a mother w
ho cared about me as much as you care about Hiltrude,” Gina said.
“Haven’t you?” Lady Adalhaid looked at her in surprise.
“My parents are both dead,” Gina said flatly, clearly indicating she would say no more on the subject.
“I didn’t know.” Lady Adalhaid clasped Gina’s hands. “I am sorry. But now you have Dominick to care about you.”
“Unless Fastrada finds a way to have him executed.”
“We cannot let that happen.”
Gina had never been blessed with an aunt or an older female friend. She saw in Lady Adalhaid’s eyes that she possessed such a friend now.
They returned to the great hall together to find the nobles still gossiping. There were some new arrivals, among them Dominick s half brother.
“Good day to you, Count Bernard,” Lady Adalhaid said coldly when the young man approached them.
“Here’s an odd pairing,” said Bernard, looking from Lady Adalhaid to Gina. “Whoever would expect the two of you to become bosom companions? Have you heard the latest news?”
He was so smug, so self-satisfied that Gina regarded him warily, certain the news he spoke of was something to do with Dominick, and it probably wasn’t good. He was hoping to make her beg for it, too; she could tell by the way he was smiling. She longed to snarl an insult at him, but where Dominick was concerned she had no pride.
“What news?” she asked, almost expecting him to respond as the bullies of her childhood used to do, by inquiring why she wanted to know and what she’d give in return. She wished she had nerve enough to slap his face and wipe the smirk off it.
“Yes, what news?” demanded Lady Adalhaid, speaking so crisply that Bernard looked at her in surprise. “What do you know that is so dreadfully important?”
“Pepin Hunchback has arrived in Regensburg,” Bernard announced.
“Really?” Lady Adalhaid regarded him as if he were a worm on which she was about to step. “What of it?”
“He has been arrested.”
“Indeed?” drawled Lady Adalhaid with remarkable coolness.
Gina’s heart was in her throat. She made a snap decision to let Lady Adalhaid handle Count Bernard. Lady Adalhaid could manage a man like Bernard with greater skill than Gina, frightened as she was for Dominick’s sake, could hope to muster. That way, Gina wouldn’t have to try to drag information about Dominick out of his brother. Because this was about Dominick. Bernard was too confident, too sure of his inside knowledge, for his big news to be about anyone but Dominick.
Lady Adalhaid let Bernard stand there waiting for some further response from her until he could bear it no longer. Gina wouldn’t have been as patient. She was ready to grab the big oaf and shake what he knew out of him well before Bernard finally gave in and began to talk.
“The Hunchback is confined to his room here at the palace,” Bernard said. “It’s special consideration because he’s the king’s son. The other conspirators won’t be treated as well. But then, they won’t have to wait long before they are brought to trial. Plans are already being made.”
“I understand the others have fled,” Lady Adalhaid said, sounding as if she were terribly bored by the whole business.
“Most of them have gone. A few were rounded up here at Regensburg.” Bernard smiled at Gina. “Dominick was easy to find. He was with Pepin when Pepin was arrested. The two are being held together. They will die together, too.”
Gina could tell there was no point in arguing with him. Bernard didn’t want to hear that Dominick wasn’t part of the conspiracy. She was curious, however, about his reaction to what he assumed would be his brother’s fate.
“If Dominick is charged and convicted,” Gina said, forcing the hateful words off her tongue, “won’t that reflect badly on you?”
“Why should it? Fastrada will see to it that I remain in Charles’s good graces. Besides, Dominick is nothing to me.”
“He’s your brother!”
“He is a bastard!” Bernard shouted. In a quieter tone he said, “Our father loved him better than me.”
“I don’t believe this. How can a grown man be so childish? Bernard, you inherited everything from your father.”
“By law, not by love,” Bernard said. “Now, by law, Dominick will die. And I am glad of it.”
He stalked away, leaving Gina with her mouth open in astonishment.
“Jealousy can twist and pervert a man’s heart,” said Lady Adalhaid. “Fastrada is an expert at playing on the weaknesses of men. You have just witnessed an example of her work.”
She didn’t mention Charles. She didn’t have to. Gina understood what Lady Adalhaid did not say. And her fears for Dominick grew more desperate.
“My lady!” Ella hurried across the hall, interrupting Gina’s disturbing thoughts. “I have learned where Dominick is. He insisted on remaining with Pepin. The guards said that in that case, they’d have to arrest him, too.”
“Then what Dominick’s brother told us was only half true,” Gina responded. “Were you able to find Harulf?”
“Yes, and he has orders from Dominick. You and I are to leave the palace and return to Dominick’s house. Harulf will escort us there and see to it that we are kept safe. Dominick also sent a message through Harulf to tell you not to worry.”
“How can I not worry?” Gina muttered. “Ella, just let me tell Lady Adalhaid that we are leaving.” When she turned, she noticed a weeping maidservant speaking to Lady Adalhaid.
“What’s wrong?” Gina exclaimed, seeing the noblewoman white and shaking. “What has happened? Not bad news from Hiltrude?”
“As far as I know, Hiltrude is well,” Lady Adalhaid said. “I pray that you and Alcuin were correct in believing that Charles will see to her safety. No, the immediate problem is that I have been turned out of my room.”
“What?”
“As one of Fastrada s most senior ladies-in-waiting, I have for some years occupied a small room in the queen’s apartments so I can be quickly available to her if she requires my presence. This is Imma, my maidservant, who is commanded by the queen to inform me that I have been dismissed as one of her ladies and must quit the palace at once.”
“Fastrada doesn’t waste any time, does she?” The cold knot in Gina’s chest tightened still more. If Fastrada could get rid of one of her most important ladies so easily, even after what had been said in the royal apartments less than an hour ago, then she obviously still held a strong grip on Charles’s emotions. Which meant Dominick was in serious trouble. If Fastrada turned her sexual charms on her husband, she might be able to convince him that, despite what Dominick, Gina, and Fardulf had told him, Dominick really was involved in the plot against him.
Fastrada might find a way to circumvent Charles’s precautions for Hiltrude, too. That dire possibility, Gina admitted to herself, was her sole doing. If she had kept quiet, Hiltrude wouldn’t have been mentioned at all, and she’d stay at Chelles, forgotten in all the excitement of a treasonous conspiracy. There was just one way Gina could think of to make up for what she had done. She could provide shelter to Lady Adalhaid. She felt certain Dominick would approve.
“Lady Adalhaid, I want you and your maid to move to Dominick’s house,” Gina said. “We have plenty of space. I’ll sleep in Dominick’s room, and you may have mine. Unless, of course, you’d rather have nothing more to do with me, or with Dominick. I’ll understand if you feel that way. I have caused a lot of trouble for you.” She held her breath, hoping that Lady Adalhaid would agree to the invitation, while knowing she had to give the distraught woman a chance to refuse.
“I gladly accept your offer,” Lady Adalhaid said. “To tell the truth, being dismissed from Fastrada’s service is a great relief. I have spent too many years biting my tongue and trying to be polite to her, when I really wanted to scratch her eyes out. I stayed with her in the hope that she’d make a mistake and provide me with the opportunity to rescue Hiltrude. But she never has. Fastrada is too clever to make mistakes.”
“Sooner or later, everyone slips up,” Gina said. “Especially a person who is playing as many dangerous games with people’s lives as Fastrada is. We ought to be going. Can I help you with your packing?”
“Imma did most of it before she came to find me,” Lady Adalhaid said. “But we will require two or three men to carry my boxes and baskets to Dominick’s house.”
“Ella, will you ask Harulf to find a few men?” Gina said.
“Imma, come with me.” Ella put an arm around the weeping maid and led her away.
“I am so sorry about this,” Gina said to Lady Adalhaid.
“My only regret is that if we are refused admittance to the palace, we won’t know the latest news,” Lady Adalhaid responded.
“No one has told me I can’t return here,” Gina said, “and I’ve noticed that Ella is very clever about picking up useful information. We won’t be as isolated as you fear.”
Chapter 16
In late afternoon Alcuin sent a note to Gina to inform her that she, too, was henceforth refused entry to the palace.
“He promises to keep me informed of any developments having to do with Dominick’s situation, or Pepin’s,” Gina said, reading the letter to Lady Adalhaid. “Listen to this. ‘Charles perceives two separate problems, and he will deal with them individually. First and most important is the conspiracy. Only after the traitors have been tried and punished will Charles consider his wife’s misbehavior.’”
“Why can’t he see that Fastrada’s greed and her cruel character are partly the cause of the conspiracy?” cried Lady Adalhaid in exasperation.
“He is bound to her emotionally and sexually. Even I, who have known them for little more than a week, can see that,” Gina said. As she spoke, she folded Alcuin’s letter. “At least we have a contact inside the palace. While we try to think of a way to help Dominick, Alcuin will keep us up to date on what is happening.”
