Page 405 of Historical Hotties
Bastian nodded patiently. “I realize that,” he said. “But Gloucester is going to want to knowwhyyou wanted to come with me so badly that your would risk your life and your safety to follow? What are you going to tell him?”
Henry went from defiance to fear in an instant. The young king was quite animated in his ideas and emotions. Everything he felt or thought was obvious in his expression.
“I… I will tell him that I simply wanted to go with you,” he said. “You promised that I could go to Etonbury with you.”
Bastian nodded, trying not to show his exasperation. “Aye, I did, but if Gloucester is following you, then he knows we have not gone north to Etonbury,” he said. “What then?”
Henry had no answer for that. He looked between Bastian and Gisella again. “Are you going to take me back to London?” he asked fearfully.
Bastian raked a hand through his dark hair, frustrated. “Nay,” he said. “We are so close to Winchester that it would be foolish to turn back now. We may as well finish what we started and then return as quickly as we can.”
Henry had great hope in his expression now. “Will we do it today?”
Bastian nodded, accepting the fact that he was going to have a great deal of explaining to do to Gloucester when all of this was over. He had no idea what he was going to tell the man but he was certain that Gloucester was already searching for the king. Gloucester was an intelligent man, experienced, but he would truly have no idea where to look for the young king other than Etonbury, which he should have already reached by now if he was searching for the king in a logical fashion. But Gloucester would quickly realize the king wasn’t there, leaving him with no other option than to return to London. Given the situation, Bastian hoped to be back in London by the time Gloucester returned. They would have to move quickly.
“Aye, today,” he said, sounding defeated. “We will eat and then we will travel to the cathedral. It should only take us an hour at most.”
Henry was showing distinct signs of excitement. “I am happy to go there,” he said. “I have never been to Winchester Cathedral.”
Bastian nodded. “Aye, you have,” he said. “You were christened there by your uncle, Beaufort. I remember that day, as I attended the christening. As I recall, it was the last time your father ever saw you. In fact… what day is it today?”
On the bed, Gisella cocked her head thoughtfully. “It is the last day of August, I believe,” she said. “The thirty-first day of the month.”
Bastian paused, looking at her for a moment before turning his focus to the young king. “Your father died nine years ago this day,” he said softly. “Mayhap we will offer up a prayer to him as well.”
Young Henry grew very serious. “I did not realize this was the day of my father’s death,” he said. “It is good that we are here, then. Bastian, what was it like on that day? The day of my christening, I mean?”
Bastian shook his head. “More nobility and pomp than I have ever seen,” he said, reaching out to grasp the boy’s arm. “But we will discuss that at another time. Meanwhile, you and I will go down into the common room and wait for Lady de Russe. Let us leave her to her privacy so she may dress.”
Gisella smiled at Henry, waving at the boy as Bastian grabbed his saddlebags and practically shoved the child out of the room.
“Hurry and dress, sweetheart,” Bastian told her as he and Henry moved through the door. “We will see you downstairs.”
Gisella nodded, waiting until the door was closed before tossing back the coverlet and jumping out of bed. She happened to be in her shift, her traveling clothes hung neatly on pegs, so she quickly washed her face and neck, donning her traveling clothes and braiding her long hair, moving swiftly so that they could depart quickly. Gathering her cloak and her satchel, she fled the room.
After a hearty meal, including two big bowls of porridge for Henry, the three of them were off to Winchester as the sun rose.
*
Winchester Cathedral couldbe seen for miles, an astonishing massive church constructed of beige stone and designed in the shape of a cross. When Henry had first seen it on the horizon, he thought they were much closer than they actually were due to the size of the thing. Another half hour of riding saw them to the north end of the town of Winchester with the cathedral looming ahead of them like a bastion of holiness in a sea of worldly sin. It was just after Vespers, the morning prayer, and peasants as well as nobility were filing out of the church, emerging into the bright August dawn.
There was a small livery not far from the church where Bastian left the horses, paying the livery keeper a tidy sum to feed and water them. He also paid the man well to watch out for the white stallion, which had drawn many an envious stare. Bastian didn’t want his horse sold out from under him under the guise of a robbery or a runaway horse, so he made sure to pay the man well to watch out for the beast. He was becoming rather attached to the horse as a testament to Gloucester’s humiliation. Every time he rode it, he knew the duke was furious, and that satisfaction was worth a great deal to him.
Upon leaving the livery with his saddlebags thrown over his broad shoulder, he took his wife by the arm and escorted her out to the avenue that converged with others around the square that held the cathedral. Since it was early morning, people were out and about with their daily tasks and Henry was fascinated with it all. He’d never really seen a city in its basic state like this, with people all going about their business. Usually, people werekept away from him, so this venture into his kingdom was a truly fascinating event for him.
As they proceeded down the avenue, a baker’s stall had stacks of warm loaves of bread for sale, which excited the young king tremendously. Bastian finally gave the lad a pence so he could buy himself a loaf, which he quite happily did. Tearing apart the warm, cream-colored bread with the thick golden crust, Henry gleefully ate his fill as Bastian and Gisella grinned at him. Simple pleasures meant a lot to the boy.
But there were more important things to do than eating bread on this sultry August morning. The avenue they were traveling upon eventually dumped them out into the square surrounding the cathedral, and Henry, mouth full, studied the structure with great awe. With great flying buttresses supporting the walls, the spires reached into the sky like big stone fingers. It was truly a sight to behold.
“This must be the tallest building in the entire world,” Henry declared. “This is my uncle’s cathedral.”
Bastian nodded to the boy. “Indeed, it is Beaufort’s,” he said. “It is fitting that we will bury the Maid’s heart here in the sacred grounds of her chief inquisitor.”
Henry chewed on his bread. “Mayhap someday her spirit will visit him,” he said. “Mayhap she will harass him for what he did to her.”
Gisella frowned at Henry. “That is a ghastly thought, Your Grace,” she said. “I would hope that the Maid’s spirit would be at peace now. Surely she would not want to come back and visit the man who tormented her in life.”
Henry shrugged and put another piece of bread into his mouth as they crossed the wide, dusty square that surrounded the cathedral. Bastian glanced up at the sky, thinking that it was a beautiful day much like this one when the Maid was put to death. He sincerely hoped that, with her heart buried, shewould finally find a measure of peace. Although she mentioned returning to announce to the English people that her fight for France was not over, he rather hoped she didn’t return. Much like his wife, he hoped her spirit was at peace. What he did now for the Maid was because of his sense of duty and for no other reason than that.
