“We did not realize you’d be away so long. And besides—” John cast his wife a sly smile, and Luke recalled that Gisela spoke nearly fluent Illyrian, as well, having once been engaged to Warrick “—we wanted to gauge your reaction for ourselves.”
Luke took a step back from his brother but kept his eyes trained on him. “Why?”
Gisela spoke from the throne. “It was obvious to us from the first moment that you care deeply for this woman. But the crimes of her father were great enough to destroy all the affection between you.”
“It is not for the crimes of her father that I hold her in disdain this day.” Luke’s anger swelled. “She purposefully kept the truth from me. The two of you have committed the same crime.”
“We did not intend to offend you, Luke.” John extended one hand toward him as though to place it on his shoulder.
Luke stepped back, angry enough to leave the room except that he had yet to accomplish what he’d come for. “These two are to be returned to Aachen to their mother’s family, if any remains.”
“Last I was in Aachen they were all alive and well,” Gisela assured him. “But if that has since changed, I can promise you my father will see to their welfare. They are our extended relatives, and it was because of my father’s sentence on theirs that they have been so long gone from their homeland.”
The queen’s well-measured words soothed Luke’s anger just enough to allow him to finish what he had to say. “Good. See to their needs. Provide for them. This woman saved my life once.” As he spoke, he backed toward the door.
John followed. “Where are you going?”
“I cannot stay here among so many who withhold the truth from me. Warrick has asked for my guidance in dealing with matters along the border. How much more does he need me now that his father is dead? I shall go to Fier. They may not be Christians there, but I can trust them more than I trust you, my brother.”
“Luke—” John started after him, but Luke had a head start and his horse had yet to be unsaddled from the ride from Sardis.
Luke took the reins from the stable boy who held them. He’d mounted the horse by the time his brother reached his side.
“Do not be angry with me, brother. I meant you no ill will.” John looked up at him.
“Whether you meant it or not, your choice has cut me deeply.” Luke maneuvered his horse around to face the gate.
But John held tight to his cloak. “Your anger exceeds my crime.”
Luke shook off his brother’s words in silence and urged his horse forward, so that John’s grip pulled free. Quickly, Luke rode through the gate before his brother could have him shut in. He spurred his horse to a gallop and made haste for Sardis.
The gathering clouds grew dark above him, rumbling with distant thunder. Soon it would storm.
* * *
Evelyn rose from the floor on trembling legs, still unsure what had happened. Luke was angry, but King John was not. And it seemed increasingly likely that she and Bertie were not to be punished at all but allowed to travel home. Her heart rose with cautious hope.
“Come.” Queen Gisela took her hand, speaking in Frankish now as she led her across the courtyard to another wing of the castle complex. “There is a ship that will be leaving for the north in two days. You have many preparations to make before then.”
“Your Majesty.” Evelyn felt shocked that the queen would speak to her kindly, let alone assist her. “What of our crimes?”
“To my knowledge you haven’t committed any.”
“But my father—”
“The Bible specifically instructs Christians not to punish children for the sins of their fathers. King John had the verses searched and read to him when we realized who you are. It’s in Ezekiel, one of the prophets in the Old Testament. So you see, the law is very old, far predating the vengeance code of the Illyrians.”
Evelyn found she was too stunned to cry and hardly believed the queen’s words could be true. She hesitated as Gisela led her from the great hall. “But I withheld the truth from Prince Luke.”
“As did I. From the moment he spoke your name, I recalled the girl you were in Aachen, but I could not believe that you might be the same, nor did I dare mention the possibility until I’d had time to review all I knew and reach a conclusion with certainty. By then he was gone.” Queen Gisela shook her head. “And it seems from his reaction that we were wise to keep the truth from him, for even now he is not yet ready to hear it.”
Evelyn followed the queen as she led her and Bertie down a hall, through doors to the courtyard and back into a wing of rooms on the other side, where she called for a team of maids to help them.
* * *
Two days later, when Evelyn and Queen Gisela were alone for a moment as they made their final preparations for the journey, Evelyn gathered her courage to ask the question that burned inside her. “Your Majesty?”
“Yes?”
“Why did Prince Luke react so strongly? He is furious with me, and yet you and King John have been so kind. I’m confused.”
“I cannot speak for the prince, but it is obvious his feelings for you run very deep.”
“His feelings? His anger, you mean?”
The queen smiled a very kind smile, and Evelyn could see clearly Charlemagne’s wise eyes as she looked at Gisela. “His anger is the lie he tells himself in order to disguise his true feelings. He feels hurt and betrayed, yes, but he is a very independent man. I think he is frightened by how much he cares for you. He prefers to focus on his anger rather than allow himself to appear weak.”
Evelyn nodded, the queen’s words resonating with what she knew about the prince. “He is a soldier. He is used to fighting. He would sooner die than admit defeat.”
“Your father was Prince Luke’s greatest enemy. Though Luke cares for you, that long-seated animosity may be too great for him to overcome.” Gisela offered her a sad smile.
“What can I do?” Evelyn felt the desperation of her circumstances. She hated to leave Luke knowing he was angry with her, and yet she’d longed for so many years to return to her homeland. If he’d asked her to stay, she would have, gladly. But he’d made it clear he didn’t wish to ever see her again.
“If I knew any advice to give you, I would, but the enemy Luke is fighting now is inside him, and there is nothing more you can do to touch it. It is between Luke and God. All you can do now is pray for him.” Gisela patted her hand. “Go to Aachen. Find your family. Make a life there and forget about Luke, if you can.”
Evelyn nodded, grateful for the queen’s wisdom and all the woman had done to help her, when she needn’t have shown her any kindness at all. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
In a short time everything was ready, and Evelyn followed her brother to the ship that would take them home. Bertie was ecstatic and ran about thanking everyone heartily, leaping and beaming. Evelyn tried to mirror his enthusiasm, but her heart felt heavy. Gisela had advised her to forget about Luke. She knew the queen’s advice was wise and she would do well to follow it.
But what if her heart refused to forget him?
Chapter Eighteen
Five months later
“The messenger Renwick from Lydia to see you, Your Highness.”
Luke startled awake and peered through the darkness of his chamber to see the Illyrian soldier Kai, who’d formerly been Omar’s assistant, standing in his doorway holding a torch. The man still bore a scar under one eye from the mother bear who’d attacked the Illyrians in the ravine the night Luke and Evelyn had escaped from them. Whatever the man’s allegiance, he served Luke faithfully.
“See him in,” Luke told Kai, wondering what had brought Renwick in the middle of the night. Luke hadn’t been to Lydia since he’d left Evelyn and Bertie there, and though his brother had sent messengers to inquire of his
well-being, the gap between visits had grown longer—perhaps because Luke had little to say to his brother. Instead, he’d stayed busy working as an ambassador at Fier, where he’d first appeased those who’d wanted to attack Lydia after Garren’s death and now busied himself learning all he could of the Illyrian tribes that lay beyond Warrick’s borders.
“Prince Luke?” Renwick panted as he took the torch from Kai, who quickly left the two of them alone.
“Yes?” Luke wasn’t used to Renwick being out of breath. The man was accustomed to traveling long distances, often quickly, to deliver timely messages.
“The queen Gisela has gone into labor.”
Luke scowled. He hadn’t expected any news about the coming child for another month. “Isn’t it early?”
“I’m afraid so.” Renwick’s voice sounded strained. “The queen may have overexerted herself and brought on the pains before their time. She struggles.”
Concern gripped Luke. King John had lost his first wife in childbirth. He’d sworn never to marry again for fear another woman might die trying to bear his child.
Luke had made up his mind long before not to return to Lydia, but he wouldn’t leave his brother to bear this trial alone, no matter what secrets John had kept from him or how much Luke held his brother’s silence against him still. “Did John send you to bring me back?”
“No, Your Highness. He specifically told me not to come.” Renwick’s eyebrows bent upward imploringly in the flickering light of the torch.
Renwick had defied orders, then, to alert Luke to his brother’s trouble. The messenger had always been a faithful servant of the crown, but like all Lydians, his allegiance was first to God, then to the king. Clearly Renwick’s conscience hadn’t allowed him to stay away.
Nor would Luke scorn the risks Renwick had taken to deliver the news to him. He reached for his boots. “You must rest. I will ride for Lydia at once.”
“I will follow soon. I cannot rest not knowing.”
Luke set one hand on Renwick’s shoulder. “How bad is she?”
“I did not see her, but her cries echoed through the courtyard. The king—” Renwick shook his head, his voice catching. “When the midwives shooed him from the queen’s chambers, he went to the chapel to pray. When last I saw him he lay on the floor in tears, pleading with God to forgive him for bringing this danger upon the queen.”
Luke breathed out a long sigh and for a moment couldn’t quite breathe in again. “He blames himself, then.”
“I fear he does. Can you console him?”
“I’m the worst person for that job.” Luke grabbed his habergeon and tugged it over his head. “But I’ll try. Thank you for bringing me the message.”
Luke stopped by the stables and asked for the fastest horse they could spare him. During his time in Fier he’d been given many privileges. Warrick had proven to be a far more gracious host than his father, Garren, had been.
“Would you like a party to ride with you?” the officer on duty asked.
“Thank you, that won’t be necessary.” The borderlands had been peaceful since Garren’s death, so Luke felt no need for any guard. Besides that, he had a great deal of praying to do and wished the freedom to voice his cries to God out loud without anyone overhearing.
He rode quickly, sticking to the roads he’d had improved during his time of service as ambassador between the kingdoms. While his reason for clearing and smoothing the pathways had been increased trade between the kingdoms, he now felt grateful for the even paths that allowed his horse to run at a full gallop, without fear of jutting branches or stumbling blocks in the road.
His prayers were first murmured pleadings that God would preserve Gisela’s life and that of the child she carried, but his imploring soon turned to confession that he’d stayed away far too long. Perhaps if he’d been at Castlehead, whatever exertions had brought about Gisela’s early labor may have been avoided. Certainly the stress of his absence and the strained relationship between him and his brother couldn’t have helped any.
Guilt clawed at him as he urged his horse faster toward Castlehead and all he’d left behind.
Aachen, AD 802, late summer
Evelyn heard footsteps in the courtyard behind her and turned from her parchment, settling the quill securely in its tray.
“Grandfather?” She rose to greet her mother’s father. “How was your afternoon in Emperor Charlemagne’s courts?”
Her grandfather studied her face a moment before speaking. “Another suitor has asked after you.”
“That’s the third this month.” Evelyn hung her head.
“Don’t think I’m trying to pressure you to marry. You are welcome to be part of our household for as long as you like. Your grandmother and I love having you back again. I simply thought you ought to know.”
Evelyn absorbed this news while looking down at her hands, which bore a smudge of ink from a day spent transcribing scriptures—an activity inspired by the prayer book Prince Luke had given her. Since her arrival in Aachen, she’d tried to make herself useful, but her grandparents already had plenty of servants and wouldn’t allow her to do any work.
Perhaps the best thing she could do would be to marry and oversee a household of her own. She didn’t want to be a burden on her grandparents. She looked up into her maternal grandfather’s round, aged face—so much more caring and loving than that of her paternal grandfather.
“I’m sure I ought to marry,” she confessed, hearing the strain in her own voice as she forced herself to speak the painful words. “It’s simply that—” She shook her head.
“You love another.” Her grandfather’s voice bore no judgment, only understanding.
Evelyn nodded, grateful for his perceptiveness. “How can I marry one man when my heart belongs to another? It would be a horrible deception, and I refuse to tell another lie—I certainly won’t live a lie.”
“Perhaps,” her grandfather said as he patted her hand with his wrinkled fingers, “this man will come for you one day.”
“I’m sure he’s forgotten all about me.”
“Have you forgotten about him?”
She had not, but had he forgotten her?
* * *
As he approached Castlehead, Luke saw to his relief that the flags that fluttered in the breeze off the Mediterranean were those of prayer, not of mourning. He’d have preferred to see flags of celebration hailing the birth of a new heir, but at least the palace wasn’t grieving.
Yet.
As Luke slowed his horse and entered the courtyard, an officer approached, and Luke dismounted, handing the man his reins. “My brother?” he asked, panting as heavily as Renwick had when he’d arrived at Fier.
“In the chapel.”
“How is the queen?”
“No news yet.”
“Thank you.” Luke hurried into the chapel, past the guards stationed there, who looked for a moment as though they might stop him from invading the king’s privacy but let him pass the moment they recognized him.
John stood at the front of the sanctuary, his head bowed over the large codex of scriptures that was kept there. His voice echoed through the vast vaulted space. “Lord my God, I call to You for help.”
Luke recognized the words from Psalm 30 a moment before John looked up and spotted him. He did not speak.
Nor did Luke, but he continued forward toward his brother, approaching slowly but steadily until he took his place beside him, his throat so full he wasn’t certain he could speak. Instead, he placed one hand over his brother’s clasped fists where they rested atop the sacred pages.
“Renwick carried the message?” John asked.
Luke nodded, his throat still full.
“I told him not to bother you.”
“I would prefer to be bothered than to have the
truth withheld from me.” Luke didn’t want to argue with his brother and so addressed the real purpose of his visit, painful though it was. “How is she?”
“Resting, or supposed to be. The midwives hope to delay the birth if they can.”
“And the child?”
“Still kicking—and apparently not very pleased with the disturbance.” John almost smiled. “Mother and child are fighting already.”
Luke felt relieved to hear it. There was still hope, then. “I’m sorry I stayed away so long,” Luke confessed honestly.
“Why did you?” John asked.
Though he could have boasted to his brother about the peace he’d established between Lydia and Illyria, Luke knew he could have visited Castlehead without spoiling any of those efforts. And he was tired of secrets. “I was upset with you.”
John scowled. “I fail to understand what I’ve done that grieved you so. Yes, Gisela realized the identity of Evelyn’s father, but we had no reason to believe you wouldn’t be back any day to hear the truth from us. And I’d hoped to give Evelyn the opportunity to confess the truth herself.”
Luke’s heart, already heavy with concern for the queen and the child she carried, now sank even lower in his chest. “I hadn’t thought about it from your perspective.”
“Well, now you know.”
“Then I’m doubly sorry for my long absence.” Luke hung his head. He’d clung so fiercely to his anger, which now seemed trivial, even foolish.
John nodded, his mouth working silently for a moment before he spoke. “All is forgiven. Will you pray with me?”
“Gladly.”
Together Luke and John prayed through the rest of the thirtieth psalm, making their way through to the forty-second before the door burst open and the old deacon Bartholomew stood outlined by sunlight.
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