Timestruck

by Speer, Flora

  “How could I, when Hiltrude was unable to hide her terror?” Dominick responded. “At first I thought her fear was directed toward me. Only later, after I discovered her futile attempts at spying, did I learn it was Fastrada she feared.”

  “But that means you were never legally married.” Audulf stared at Dominick in astonishment. “You didn’t need a divorce. You could have demanded an annulment.”

  “The divorce was for Hiltrude’s protection, and yours. If the marriage were annulled, she would be expected to return to court and resume her position as the queen’s lady,” Dominick said. “Surely Hiltrude has explained to you by now how Fastrada threatened her. The arrangement she and I agreed to in private allowed her to retire to Chelles, as other divorced ladies do. I have told you all of this, Audulf, so you will be forewarned that the bride you take tomorrow is a virgin, and you will treat her accordingly, with the patience and gentleness that any innocent girl deserves.”

  “What a wedding gift you’ve given me.” Audulf sounded as if he was about to cry. “How can I ever thank you for your goodness toward my love?”

  “You can repay me by treating Hiltrude kindly and by respecting her mother, who would gladly give her life in order to keep Hiltrude safe.”

  “I will,” Audulf promised, clasping Dominick’s hand. “No one but you, Hiltrude, and I will ever know she comes to me untouched by any man. I think it best if the queen never learns of this.”

  “I agree,”’ Dominick said.

  Gina wiped away the tears that were spilling down her cheeks. The gesture caught the attention of both men at the same instant.

  “Don’t worry,” Gina said. “I won’t tell anyone. I’m sorry I intruded. I was looking for Dominick and overheard by accident.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Dominick said. “I was going to tell you tomorrow, after the wedding, after Hiltrude was safely married to Audulf and away from Regensburg, out of Fastrada’s reach.”

  “Thank you again, Dominick,” Audulf said. “If ever you need anything, all I have is yours to command.”

  “Then I command you to be happy,” Dominick said, and he sent the young man on his way.

  “I do wish,” Gina said when she and Dominick were alone, “that we didn’t have to tiptoe around to avoid upsetting a spoiled queen.”

  “We won’t be tiptoeing tomorrow. Fastrada is going to be at the wedding.”

  “Yes. It’s sure to be an interesting occasion.” Gina looked directly into Dominick’s eyes. “You never slept with Hiltrude.’’ It wasn’t a question. She knew what he’d said to Audulf was the simple truth.

  “How could I take a weeping, cowering young girl to my bed?” he asked.

  “You never loved Hiltrude.” Gina put her hands on his broad shoulders.

  “No.” Dominick’s arms slid around her waist. “I gave Hiltrude her own room, hoping the separation would allay her fears. Of course, it didn’t, because I wasn’t the true source of her constant terror.”

  “That’s why Ella thought Hiltrude was afraid to have children. Because she slept apart from you.” Gina kissed his chin.

  “It’s also how I discovered she was spying on me. I found her in my room, a place where she had no excuse to be, rummaging through my belongings.” His hands slipped upward until his palms rested against the sides of her breasts.

  “Just as you once found me,” she whispered, moving nearer.

  “I soon learned what you were doing in my room,” he murmured as he began nibbling at her earlobe. “Now I must ask you, why have you come to my room today?”

  “To find you, because I missed you. I didn’t expect Audulf to be here, but I am glad I heard what you said to him.”

  “Are you?” His mouth caressed her throat, and Gina’s heart began to beat faster.

  “May I suggest that you latch the door securely this time?” she said. “You don’t want anyone else coming in, do you?”

  “No.” He backed her against the door and pinned her there with his body while he fastened the latch. “Definitely not. I prefer one woman at a time, and of all the women in Regensburg, I prefer you.” His mouth scorched hers until Gina was grateful for the door supporting her back. Without it she’d be a puddle on the floor, every bone in her body liquefied by Dominick’s passionate heat.

  He lifted her high in his arms, and Gina put her hands on his shoulders to look down at him. Then he lowered her, very slowly, until she was fully aware of his hard and eager need of her. He carried her to his bed and undressed her as if he was unwrapping a wonderful gift, but Gina knew he was the real gift, an honest man who would never force an unwilling woman or take any woman without tender feelings on his part. And when, toward the end, their passion turned wild and fierce and Dominick no longer restrained himself, she knew he was the only man she would ever want.

  Chapter 20

  Fastrada knew about the wedding, and she knew Audulf was to be the bridegroom; she just didn’t know the name of the bride. Gina learned later that Charles had promised her a delightful surprise.

  Thus, Fastrada came to the great hall robed in cloth of gold and glittering with jewels and took her seat on the dais beside Charles’s chair, which was unoccupied at the moment. Her ladies, also finely gowned for the occasion, arranged themselves to one side of the queen.

  She hadn’t yet noticed Dominick in the crowd or the discreet little group around him. Ella and Imma blended easily into the background, for servants were always to be found in the hall, and Harulf looked just like all the other men-at-arms. Gina and Lady Adalhaid stood behind the protective width of Dominick’s shoulders, and they kept Hiltrude well hidden between them.

  After the courtiers were assembled, Charles arrived, accompanied by Gisela, Alcuin, and Audulf.

  “This young man comes before us to be wed,” Charles announced, laying a hand on Audulf’s shoulder. “If the bride and her mother will step forward, Alcuin will read the marriage contract.”

  A suspenseful moment passed, during which Fastrada looked around the hall in open curiosity. Then Lady Adalhaid took Hiltrude’s hand and led her toward the dais.

  In her pale blue silk dress, with her hair piled up in the fashionable topknot style and decorated with two of Lady Adalhaid’s gold combs, Hiltrude looked remarkably pretty. Her cheeks were flushed with color, and she moved toward Audulf with easy, smiling grace.

  Gina’s gaze flashed from Hiltrude to Fastrada. She didn’t think the queen recognized her erstwhile pawn at first. But Fastrada did know Lady Adalhaid, and her beautiful face swiftly assumed a fearsome expression. Gina noticed how the queen s fingers clenched the arms of her chair. Fastrada must have realized by then who the bride was, but she sat as if transfixed while Alcuin, parchment scroll in hand, moved to stand facing the young couple.

  Alcuin began to read from the scroll while Gina watched unconcealed fury mounting in the queen. The marriage contract noted that Hiltrude’s original dowry, her inheritance from her father, had been turned over to Chelles when she entered that convent and could not be returned to her. In place of that dowry Charles conferred a large estate on Hiltrude, which was given, the contract stated, in return for faithful service to Francia. In obedience to Frankish custom Audulf granted a portion of his estate to his bride, thus completing Hiltrude’s transformation into a great heiress.

  Charles and Gisela smiled benignly at the bride and groom as Alcuin beckoned to a servant to bring a small table, ink, and quill pen so the copies of the contract could be witnessed and signed. The king and his sister were the first to sign after the bride and groom. Next, Lady Adalhaid took up the pen and bent over the parchment.

  “Count Dominick, Lady Gina,”’ Alcuin called out, “will you come forward and make your marks?”

  At those words Fastrada’s head whipped around so she was no longer watching the bridal party. Instead, she regarded Gina with cold malevolence.

  Gina’s heart was pounding, but she wasn’t going to let the queen know it. Keeping a smile pasted
on her face, she approached the table where the marriage contract lay. Alcuin handed her the pen. Gina had never used a quill before, had never even used an old-fashioned fountain pen. She saw Charles’s name written in the shape of a cross, and Gisela’s neat letters in the new writing style Alcuin was promoting. She noticed that on one copy Hiltrude’s signature was marred by an ink splatter, probably the result of nervousness. Gina made up her mind that she was not going to add a sloppy signature. She dipped the point of the quill into the ink bottle and began to write her name.

  Gina of New York, The pen skimmed across parchment three different times, and not a drop of extraneous ink spotted any of the documents. Gina smiled at Alcuin in triumph. She could have sworn he winked at her.

  As Dominick took the quill from her and leaned down to sign his name as the last of the witnesses, Gina stepped back and looked around. That was when she saw Fastrada rising slowly to her feet. The queen’s baleful glare moved from Gina to Dominick, and on to Charles, who she must have known was responsible for what was happening.

  “How dare you?” Fastrada demanded in a low, venomous tone. “Dominick of Feldbruck, a traitor and Hiltrude’s former husband, to be a witness to her remarriage? This is an outrage! No priest will bless a marriage so witnessed. The contract is illegal. This so-called marriage is a sham.”

  Dominick calmly finished signing the contract, and Alcuin’s servant began to sprinkle sand over the damp ink.

  “Did you hear me?” Fastrada screeched at Charles. “What are you thinking to lend your consent to this abomination? Every bishop of the Church will condemn you for it. The pope will declare the marriage invalid. Hiltrude is making herself into a concubine, not a wife.”

  “Sit down, Fastrada,” Charles ordered in a terrible voice.

  Confronting his furious wife, he heaved a great sigh. The sound, as well as the expression on his face, reminded Gina forcefully of the sigh she had observed after Fastrada’s loud scene during the trial of the traitors. Comprehension flooded over Gina, allowing her to understand the full meaning of what she was seeing. That first, earlier sigh had been the moment when Charles relinquished his marriage to Fastrada for the sake of the Frankish realm. Fastrada’s unregal behavior in the present moment merely confirmed him in his decision.

  Fastrada didn’t know it yet. Caught up in her anger and confident of her influence over her husband, she still thought she held Charles in the palm of her hand – or the heat of her bed – as she had held him for ten long years.

  Then Gina saw the grief etched on Charles’s handsome face, and noticed how quickly it was hidden, and she knew he loved Fastrada still, in spite of all her wickedness. Charles would hide his deepest feelings, and he would go on, for he truly was the good ruler that Dominick and Lady Adalhaid believed him to be, but he’d go on without Fastrada. Her days of power and influence were over.

  The revealing moment ended quickly, and then Charles was kissing Hiltrude on both cheeks and congratulating Audulf. A few minutes later they were all trooping out of the palace and along the road to St. Peter’s church for morning prayers and to hear the marriage blessed.

  As if she had never uttered her loud complaints about the marriage arrangements, or perhaps in expectation of yet another emotional scene when her prediction came true and a blessing on the marriage was refused, Fastrada took her place beside Charles at the head of the procession. Already Gina could detect the cool formality in Charles’s manner toward his wife. She wondered how long it would be before Fastrada was aware of it. The woman was no fool; she’d figure it out quickly. And when she did, she’d see to it that someone else paid for her misdeeds.

  Contrary to Fastrada’s passionate declaration, there was no problem at all at the church, and after the new marriage was blessed by Father Theodulf, the head priest at St. Peters, morning prayers proceeded smoothly. The queen stood quietly at Charles’s side, a glowering presence who could not dampen the innocent joy of either the bride or the bridegroom. When the wedding party returned to the great hall, Fastrada claimed a sudden headache and retired to her chambers before the feast began. A surprising number of her ladies chose to remain in the hall.

  “They remind me of politicians,” Gina said to Dominick. “They can spot a loser a mile away, and they don’t want to be associated with one. They’re probably making secret bets on whether or not Charles will pack Fastrada off to a convent.”

  The wedding feast was over by early afternoon, and the guests waved Audulf and Hiltrude off on their journey from Regensburg to Audulf’s home at Birnau.

  An hour or so later, back at Dominick’s house, Lady Adalhaid sank down upon a bench, leaned her shoulders against the wall, put her feet on a nearby stool, and tossed down the large goblet of wine Gina handed her. Then she expelled a long breath and held out the goblet to be refilled.

  “Just like every other mother of the bride, once the wedding is over,” Gina said, teasing her.

  “You were remarkably kind to my girl. I won’t forget it,” Lady Adalhaid responded.

  Turning her attention to Dominick, she said, “You did invite me to remain here for as long as I like. However, I have no desire to stay near a court where Fastrada is. I will impose upon your hospitality only until our meeting with Charles tomorrow. On the day after, unless Charles has other plans for me, I will leave Regensburg and go to live at the country house near Trier that was settled on me when I married Hiltrude’s father. I do think I ought to allow the young people some time to be alone before I visit them,” she added with a wistful smile.

  “You are always welcome in my home, whether here or at Feldbruck,” Dominick told her, and he sounded as if he really meant it.

  Gina couldn’t work up much concern over the meeting with Charles. He had been so kind to Hiltrude and so obviously annoyed about Fastrada’s scheming that Gina was convinced he wasn’t going to punish either Dominick or herself. She believed Charles was planning to grant Dominick permission to return to Feldbruck. She would go with him, back to his peaceful estate with its views of mountains and forest and stream. She could hardly wait to see it all again.

  She didn’t think it the least bit strange that there were no guards sent from the palace to escort them to Charles, as there had been since the treasonous plot was revealed and Dominick placed under house arrest. But the plot was over, the traitors were punished, and things were returning to normal in Regensburg. There was no longer any danger, though a nobleman usually wanted an attendant or two. Dominick called on Harulf to act as their escort.

  Leaving their maidservants at the house, Gina, Lady Adalhaid, and the two men set out for their appointment with the king. This time they weren’t heading for the main palace gate. Instead, they took the street that ended at the square in front of St. Peter’s church. At one side of the square was the palace entrance Gina and Dominick had used with Deacon Fardulf, which provided a direct route to Charles’s private apartments.

  They had reached the square and were starting across it when Gina noticed Fardulf also crossing the square, headed for the front door of the church. She waved to him, and Fardulf waved back.

  “Good morning, my lady,” Fardulf called.

  Then, in a split second, the deacon’s smile of greeting changed to a fearful look, and he abruptly altered his direction.

  “No!” Fardulf shouted, breaking into a run and heading directly for Gina. “Beware! Dominick – no!”

  At first, Gina was perplexed by Fardulf’s peculiar actions. It wasn’t until she heard Lady Adalhaid’s cry of terror and spun around to ask what was happening that she saw the horsemen bearing down on them. She hadn’t heard their hooves on the damp, muddy street, but Fardulf had seen them and had guessed at once what they intended.

  There were at least six heavily armed men, though from the instant she first saw them everything was so confused that Gina couldn’t be sure of their exact number. She did notice that each horseman was wearing a rounded metal helmet with a noseguard that effectively disguise
d his identity.

  Even as she began to wonder why they were all riding so fast through the center of a busy town, and whether they were going to swerve in time to miss her and her companions, she realized that the horsemen were heading directly toward Dominick’s group – and it was clear they had no intention of changing direction. They were set upon riding down every person who stood in their path.

  The other pedestrians in the square scattered fast, heading for doorways or the church steps to get out of the way of the charging hooves.

  Dominick was basically unarmed, having only his eating knife thrust through his belt in obedience to the rule forbidding swords to be worn within the palace confines. Harulf, who expected to await his master outside the palace entrance, was armed with both sword and knife. Gina and Lady Adalhaid carried with them the dainty eating knives that ladies used, worn in decorated sheaths at their belts. In no way were those paltry weapons a match for the flashing broadswords in the hands of the onrushing horsemen.

  “Run, Gina!”

  She heard Dominick shouting and tried to do what he commanded, only to discover that her feet would not obey her brain. She heard Fardulf yelling and panting for breath as he raced toward her. Then the horsemen were upon them in a clamorous rush, and Gina looked up at the gleaming edge of a raised broadsword that was mere seconds away from descending on her head.

  Suddenly, everything went into slow motion. Gina saw Dominick slash with his knife at the hindquarters of the horse carrying the man about to kill her. The animal reared upward, unseating its rider. Dominick caught Gina around the waist and pulled her away, hurling her into Fardulf’s arms.

  “Take her to the church!” Dominick shouted, and he turned to meet the next horseman.

  Gina heard Lady Adalhaid screaming and saw the unhorsed rider who had tried to kill her raising his sword again, this time over her friend. Without thinking she pulled the eating knife from her belt and jabbed at the assailant s sword arm.

  He was wearing chainmail that reached only to his elbows, and she struck his forearm. It was enough. He cursed, dropped his sword, and whirled on her, cold blue eyes furious. When he saw Fardulf in his clerical robes beside her, the man turned to retrieve his sword.