Timestruck (31 page)

“Perhaps,” Hiltrude responded sadly. “I know
mine was.”

Charles sat for a few moments as if
meditating. Hiltrude leaned against Gina. Lady Adalhaid put an arm
around her daughter so the three of them stood together, facing
Charles. As he watched them his eyes began to sparkle. He motioned
to Gisela, who bent to hear his whispered words. Gisela nodded and
retreated behind the wall hanging.

“It is possible, Lady Hiltrude,” Charles said
after a few more minutes of silence, “that I can provide a remedy
for your unhappiness.”

Gisela returned just then, and Gina began to
wonder how many people were hidden on the other side of the doorway
behind the tapestry, for with the king’s sister came a short, wiry
man with a cap of unruly black curls. To Gina’s eyes he possessed
at least some Italian blood, for his most outstanding features were
a fine Roman nose and dark, flashing eyes.

The newcomer stopped short when he beheld
Hiltrude, and at the sight of him, Hiltrude went limp between her
mother and Gina.

“What have you done to her?” cried the young
man, and he snatched Hiltrude from her companions to hold her
against his bosom as if she were a delicate treasure. He appeared
oblivious to the fact that Hiltrude was several inches taller than
he and, by the look of them, ten pounds or so heavier.

“I do believe the unexpected sight of you has
made her lightheaded,” Charles said, regarding the couple. “Count
Audulf, I suggest that you take Hiltrude for a long, reviving
horseback ride, during which I expect you to come to an agreement
with her.”

“My lord,” the young man began to protest,
but he ceased when Hiltrude stirred in his arms.

“Audulf?” Hiltrude’s rather large, square
hand stroked his tanned cheek. “Is it really you?”

“I can see I was not wrong about you two,”
Charles said, forestalling Audulf’s response to his lady’s
question. “I trust Alcuin will be able to locate a copy of your
original betrothal contract somewhere among the palace archives, so
there will be no difficulty there, and no reason for delay.

“Count Audulf, this is my command: Heed it
well. You and Lady Hiltrude will marry in the great hall tomorrow
morning, after which we will all proceed to the church of St.
Peter, where your vows will be properly blessed by a priest. I want
no doubts raised later about the legality of your marriage or the
legitimacy of your future children, of whom, I suspect, there will
be many. Your marriage feast will be celebrated at midday tomorrow,
in the great hall. After the last two weeks, it is a pleasure to
have a joyful occasion to contemplate.” He sat gazing upon the
young couple with a pleased expression.

“My lord,” said Dominick, “with your
permission, Lady Hiltrude is welcome to join her mother at my house
for this last night before her marriage. I believe Lady Gina has
several available gowns from which Hiltrude may choose her wedding
dress.”

“Oh, yes, gladly,” said Gina, barely
repressing a giggle at the arrangement Dominick was suggesting. “I
am sure Ella and Imma will be happy to alter something that is
appropriate for a bride to wear.”

“Go on, children.” Charles waved Hiltrude and
Audulf away. “Enjoy yourselves today. Soon enough your lives will
turn serious again.”

They required no more urging. With Audulf’s
arm around Hiltrude’s waist they left by the tapestry-covered
doorway

“Charles,” said Gisela, “it’s cruel of you to
keep Dominick in suspense any longer.”

“As always, your advice is good.” Charles
nodded his agreement. “Dominick, I assure you, I have never
suspected you of involvement in that detestable plot, though I
deliberately waited to tell you so until after I had heard
Hiltrude’s testimony. For reasons I am not ready to divulge as yet,
I still do not want anyone else to suspect that I am aware of your
innocence. Therefore, I ask all three of you to swear that you
won’t reveal what I have just said. Tomorrow will be taken up with
Hiltrude’s very happy wedding. On the following day, I will meet
with you again. Have I your word that you will maintain a
scrupulous silence on the subject until then?”

“I swear it,” Dominick said at once.

“So do I,” said Gina.

“And I,” Lady Adalhaid said. “Sir, I thank
you with all my heart for the way you have made my beloved girl so
happy.”

“Well,” Gina said when the three of them had
been dismissed and were outside the palace gate, “what do you make
of all that?”

“You have just seen why Charles is a great
king,” Lady Adalhaid declared. “He has given me back my daughter
and has assured her safety.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Gina said, aware
that Lady Adalhaid wasn’t paying attention to much of anything but
her daughter’s wedding.

But Dominick was listening. He put his mouth
close to Gina’s ear and spoke softly, so only she could hear.

“What I make of it,” Dominick said, “is that
Charles is setting a trap for Fastrada. And we are the bait.”

“I can’t believe it,” Ella whispered to Gina.
“You invited Dominick’s former wife to stay here, and you are going
to provide her wedding gown? Have you gone mad?”

“Hush,” Gina cautioned with a quick look in
the direction of Lady Adalhaid, who was at the other side of the
hall telling Imma what had happened at the palace. “I don’t want
her to hear you and feel uncomfortable.”

“What about your feelings?” Ella cried. “I
can’t imagine what Hedwiga would say about this!”

“With Lady Adalhaid already staying here,
Dominick thought it only right to give her some time alone with her
daughter. Hiltrude has been through a lot.”

Ella made a rude sound, then said, “I know
how she treated Dominick when they were married, how cold she was
to him. You are much too generous.”

“You don’t know everything,” Gina said, “and
I can’t tell you all the details. I will just say that Fastrada was
behind much of Hiltrude’s unhappiness.” It was a statement
calculated to arouse Ella’s sympathy toward Hiltrude. Gina was by
now familiar enough with the way Dominick’s household operated to
know that Ella would quickly tell the cook, and within an hour all
the servants and men-at-arms would be united in favor of Hiltrude
against Fastrada. The one unalterable certainty among Dominick’s
people was that every one of them hated the queen. It wasn’t going
to take a special order from Dominick to keep Hiltrude’s presence
in his house a secret.

Gina also trusted the universal feminine
fascination with weddings to keep the household occupied and less
apt to gossip.

“There is one of Hiltrude’s gowns that I
haven’t worn yet,” Gina said. “It’s the pale blue silk. I think it
will be easy to open and then re-sew the side seams. Let’s ask Lady
Adalhaid what she thinks.”

Gina’s assumption about the power of nuptials
to preoccupy women was soon proven correct. She and Lady Adalhaid,
along with Ella and Imma, spent several pleasant hours talking
about brides they had known while they carefully pulled out
Hedwiga’s stitches – and saved the thread, something Gina hadn’t
thought of – so that when Hiltrude returned from her ride with
Audulf, the gown was ready to be refitted on its original owner and
re-sewn.

Since Gina still couldn’t sew a decent seam,
she left the other women at that point and went in search of
Dominick. She found him in his bedchamber in private conversation
with Count Audulf, and what she heard when she pushed open the
unlatched door left her speechless.

“What are you saying?” exclaimed Audulf. “Are
you telling me you never consummated the marriage?”

“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.

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.