Page 119 of Raven's Rise
Angelet prayed fervently—for justice and forgiveness and mercy, things she wasn’t surecould be reconciled. Then she went back to the house to worry about the coming audience. Despite the king’s graciousness during the private meeting, she had no idea how he’d rule. Otto was a baron, and Rafe merely a knight. The little she knew of politics suggested that power and influence mattered far more than who was right.
For the audience the next day, she dressed in the same white and blue gown. She nearly fainted when she entered the large audience chamber where the king would hear Otto and Ernald’s grievance. If ever a place was designed to make a person feel insignificant, it was this lofty, cold room.
She saw Rafe, who wore his usual black. He sat between Alric and Luc, with Octavian nearby. Whatever animosity had disrupted the men’s alliance, it was over now. Angelet was grateful, though she hoped that Rafe wouldn’t need their help by the end of the day.
Rafe caught her eye and gave her a tiny wink. He appeared much more confident than she felt. But then, she felt as if she were made entirely of butterflies.
Otto and his entourage came in, filling many seats. Ernald glared at everyone, and sat far from Otto. That was interesting. Had the two quarreled? Lady Katherine sat just behind Otto. She looked down at the floor and never anywhere else, from what Angelet could tell.
Once everyone was assembled, the king entered, along with Lord Drogo, who seemed to be in charge of orchestrating the proceedings.
He began by listing the details of the grievances, and then said to Otto, “You are Lord Otto Yarborough, and you hold the manor of Dryton, as well as other properties in Leicestershire and Lincolnshire.”
“Yes.”
Drogo turned to Rafe. “You are Sir Raphael Corviser, son of Sir Michael Corviser.”
“Yes.” Rafe stood proudly. Otto leaned over to mutter something to his aide.
“You hold no properties,” Drogo continued. Otto smirked.
“Not yet,” Rafe said, though he didn’t look downcast by that.
Drogo proceeded to recount the whole sequence of events, based on the accounts people had given him. Where they conflicted, Drogo questioned the parties involved until he seemed satisfied.
Unfortunately, he was not often satisfied. Too often, there was no hard evidence to fully prove that one person was lying or another person told the truth. Witnesses were accused of showing bias, or being blind. Angelet began to despair. If no one couldproveErnald planned to rob the cortège and hurt Angelet—and with his confidante Bethany already dead—he could easily win his case.
While her mind wandered, Drogo had just asked Rafe something, and he was responding vehemently.
“…and my own defense,” Rafe was saying. “There has been an accusation of theft and kidnapping. You heard the evidence, and you can see there’s no proof for them. I refute both charges.”
Drogo glanced to the king, then said to the gathered assembly, “When we questioned the lady Angelet in private, she declared that you are innocent of any charge of kidnapping. Indeed, she says she implored you to take her south, relying on your knightly oath to protect her.”
“After the attack, we could not be sure who was responsible for it,” Rafe agreed. “So yes, I escorted her south with the hope of finding a safe place for her. As you know, circumstances prevented us getting any further than Shropshire.”
“I heard her,” Stephen added. “The lady’s testimony was not that of a woman frightened. She gave her account very ably, and without contradiction. She seems credible, even though she is a woman.”
“Your grace,” Otto objected. “That she is a woman is all you need to know to discount her testimony! She has doubtless been seduced by this man, and will now say anything he wants her to.”
All eyes turned to Rafe. He took a breath, weighing his response. “Even if I wanted the lady to offer a particular answer to the king’s questions, I wasn’t there, and I could hardly dictate her responses. Whatever answers she gave were her own.”
The king put up a hand to call Drogo to him. He whispered to his advisor for a few moments. Then he nodded. “Truly, she seemed honest and forthright. And as for having her head turned by a handsome face…well, then she would not have asked me to find a place in a different nunnery for her, once this is all over.”
Angelet looked at the floor, too embarrassed to meet anyone’s gaze, and in particular Rafe’s. After all this, she would end up essentially where she started.
Otto looked annoyed by all the talk of Angelet being credible, and stood up to regain control of the situation.
“Your grace!” he said. “Everything I did, I did out of concern for my daughter-in-law. She was a dutiful wife to my son, and bore an heir. Even later, when she suffered visions and disrupted the household, I saw to it that she was cared for. Angelet, tell them it is true.”
Angelet regarded her father-in-law, feeling nothing but distaste. “I will not.”
Otto’s eyes narrowed. “What ingratitude, after all I have done for you.”
“You’ve done nothing for me,” she told him. “Don’t pour me poison and tell me it’s wine.”
“What?” he gasped.
“You used me at every turn,” said Angelet. “First I was a simple wife to your son to get an heir. Then I was a bargaining chip in your negotiations with other barons during the war. You even used my sewing for your own ends!” She turned to the king. “The altar cloth I gave you, your grace, was intended for the Abbot of Basingwerke. Otto insisted I make it as a gift, probably to soften the abbot’s annoyance once he learned he’d get no other payment.”
