Authors: L. M. Roth
Cort stared at
Marcus in disbelief. He had thought that Marcus of all people would believe
him! For a moment he felt as if the ground beneath him had cracked open and
threatened to swallow him whole; if he could not depend on Marcus Maximus,
loyal and stalwart friend that he had always been, then who would he be able to
trust?
Marcus noted
the look in Cort’s eyes; like a faithful hound wounded by its master for some
reason he could not understand. And yet…the account of Melisande as told by
Cort seemed to lack credence. Was it possible that Cort did not know his own
heart in this matter?
He let out a long-drawn
sigh and turned to face the young man who looked at him with such pleas for
understanding in his eyes.
“Cort,” he
began hesitantly, not certain whether what he was about to say would only make
matters worse. “When a man does not want a woman, the usual course of action is
to reject her advances by harsher actions than you took with your
sister-in-law. You say she kissed you, yet by your own account, you did not
pull away from her. Nor did you fling her away from you as one who is truly
repulsed by someone would. It can not be helped: it is a natural and
instinctive reaction.”
He paused for
a moment, uncertain how to proceed. He sensed that one false or misspoken word
would devastate the grieving young man, already mourning the loss of his
brother. He wracked his brain for the right words; he was suddenly inspired by
the memory of a conversation with his own son on this very subject a few years
ago when young ladies were a new source of attraction for Lucius.
“A man may not
love a woman, but he may still have an attraction to her. It may be something in
her eyes, her voice, a certain way she has of looking at him. You say you do
not like Melisande, yet is it possible that you are still drawn to her in some
way, even for reasons that may be unknown to you? Tell me if that is possible,
Cort?”
The look of disbelief
in Cort’s eyes hurt Marcus to see; yet he had to ask. He remembered all too
well the love between the brothers, and Brenus would have rejected Cort for one
of only two reasons: he thought his brother was lying, or he feared his wife
was.
“I am telling
you the truth, Marcus! Melisande shocked me with her behavior, and I froze
where I stood. I could not move, so stunned was I when she kissed me. And it
was the worst luck in the world that Brenus followed us and saw it. And he
blamed me instead of his wife!”
Cort reddened
to the roots of his blond hair, and Marcus suddenly believed him. He remembered
the aversion Cort had felt even as a small boy to Fanchon, whom Dag had almost
married, and who would have certainly led him a dance. It was not likely that
he would have felt the slightest attraction to the daughter of the woman who
would have been his stepmother had events taken a different turn.
“I am sorry,
Cort,” Marcus apologized. “I see now that you are telling the truth. But I
needed to be certain of that. Sometimes we do not know our own hearts, and for
Brenus to threaten to kill you I felt he must have believed Melisande for a
reason, and that reason was that he thought you were lying,”
“No, it was
she who lied, Marcus. Melisande has lied from the moment she landed on these
shores. She told my brother nothing of herself, and my father still does not
know her true identity. I still wonder whether I should tell him, especially
now that Brenus is dead and she has no valid reason to stay in Eirinia. I feel
I should tell the truth and send her on her way.”
Marcus nodded
his head: it would be best for Melisande to leave, and for her father-in-law to
know the depths of her duplicity. After all the grief she had caused the
family, the sooner she was on her way the quicker the hurts she had caused
could heal.
“Yes, Cort,”
he agreed. ”I believe that Dag should know the truth, and the sooner the
better.”
It should have
been easy, or so Cort thought, to find a quiet moment to talk to Dag. Yet with
the family all huddled together in their seclusion, there was not a corner of
the hut that was not occupied by a grieving family member who wished to be
alone to mourn. His siblings all sobbed or wailed, each according to their
individual temperament, and shared stories of Brenus that were intended to
console the others as they recalled happier times.
Of all the
family, Judoc was the hardest to watch; her mute grief was heartrending to
witness. She sat in a chair and looked off into space with eyes heavy with
unshed tears. Even Dag could bring her no comfort. Only Brit was able to bring
a solemn smile to her face. Brit sat beside her and took her hand, offering
silent solace. Judoc would turn to her at such moments and stroke the other
woman’s cheek in gratitude. Of all present, only Brit knew what it was to lose
a beloved son, and as her heart spoke to Judoc’s, the other woman was
comforted.
Cort silently
watched Melisande with growing contempt. Surely her mourning was entirely
false! He noted how she would begin a sentence, some memory of Brenus, only to
dissolve into tears that racked her body and shook her shoulders. He did not
believe that she truly missed Brenus that much, as he recalled not only the
incidents with himself that tore the family apart, but other incidents, equally
disturbing in his eyes.
For how many
times had she shamed his brother in front of others for contradicting her on
some matter, only to have her glare at him with a clear threat in those
secretive green eyes? Had she ever truly loved Brenus? Cort did not believe she
did, not for even a moment.
No, Marcus was
right: the sooner he told Dag the truth the better for all concerned.
When the time
of seclusion was fulfilled, Cort went back to his own dwelling with Siv and
Brit. He reveled in the space and quiet of his own hut, and being with the
women who loved him above all others. They also were grateful to be back in
their own home. Siv especially breathed freer, released from the presence of
the grieving widow whose sincerity she doubted as much as Cort did.
Cort watched
for an opportunity to speak to Dag, and decided that their return to the field
on the morrow would be the best time. They would be away from Melisande’s
prying eyes, and out of earshot of everyone else. Yes, that would be the best
time to tell him the truth about the woman who had become his daughter-in-law.
Before he had
the chance, however, life gave him one of those unpleasant surprises for which
it was known.
After the
evening meal when Siv and Brit spent the cleaning up in companionable silence,
he decided to refresh himself with a walk in the woods. He never tired of the
mild spring air, and strolled for his usual ramble under his favorite grove of
maples, so ruby-red in the autumn, but now emerald green in the full foliage of
late May. He was not to be left alone for long, however, and the intruder of
his privacy was the last person in the world he wished to invade it
“Hello,
brother,” a husky voice called out to him.
Cort groaned,
and turning, saw Melisande approaching him with long measured strides that sent
her cloak flowing in graceful draperies about her body.
“Yes,” he
huffed with an impatience he did not bother to conceal.
“Why so
unfriendly, Cort? Surely you have a kind word to say for your grieving
sister-in-law?” Melisande purred in a low velvety voice.
She dropped
her eyes, and then looked up at him from demurely lowered lids. This gesture
merely served to enrage him: since when was modesty an attribute to Melisande’s
character!
Noting his
anger, Melisande merely laughed at him.
“Poor Cort!
How easy you are to read. You truly hide nothing of yourself from the world, do
you?”
“I have
nothing to
hide
from the world, Melisande,” he snapped. “It is a shame
that I can not say the same of you!”
Melisande now
bent over in gales of giggles. For a moment Cort fought the temptation to slap
her, but managed to resist it. He had never hit a woman, and he knew it would
displease Dominio, but his sister-in-law tested the limits of his self-control.
“True,” she
nodded her head as she mocked him with pursed red lips and a cold smile that
did not reach her eyes.
“But I have
news to share now, that I shall be telling
all
of my family,” she said
in slow measured syllables that sent off the alarm bells in Cort.
“Family?” he
queried. “What family? Do you mean your family you left in Gaudereaux? For if I
were you, Melisande, I would make all haste to leave for there at once. That
would be the best plan for your future, as there is nothing to detain you in
Eirinia now that your husband is dead.”
This
suggestion only served to fuel her mockery into a higher and hotter flame. She
burst into laughter that doubled her over and brought tears to her eyes. She
wiped them and laughed again, this time drawing close to him and laughing
directly into his face.
“Oh, I do not
think I will be going back to Gaudereaux, Cort,” she purred, but in the manner
of a lioness who is stalking her prey, knowing that she will ultimately feast
on its flesh. “No, indeed I will not.”
“I would
advise you to do so,” Cort said stiffly, refusing to take her bait. “For surely
you must realize that no one in the family truly wants you to stay in Eirinia.
Not in view of the trouble you caused between Brenus and me.”
Now
Melisande’s green eyes glittered with the savagery of a wild cat waiting for
the opportunity to lunge at her victim to tear it to pieces. Cort felt a
momentary chill of fear: how savage she looked when the mask of civility
dropped from her pretty face!
“Oh, I think
they shall want me to stay when I give them my news,” Melisande snarled through
teeth so tightly clenched that her jaw muscles suddenly stood out.
She paused for
a moment and gazed at Cort until he had her full attention. When satisfied that
his eyes were riveted on her face, she proceeded to impart the news that would
impact his family for years to come.
“It has broken
my heart to witness Judoc’s grief at losing her eldest son,” Melisande stated
in a voice so sweet it would have lulled Cort had he not known her true nature.
She paused to
watch his reaction: he said nothing, but waited for her to continue.
“So you can
imagine how it gladdens my heart to be able to give comfort to hers,” she continued.
“Just think how delighted Judoc will be when I tell her that I shall soon give
her a grandchild, the child of her eldest son. I think that news will bring her
tremendous comfort. Don’t you think so, Cort?”
The family
received Melisande’s news with various reactions. Judoc could scarce believe it
and she clasped her daughter-in-law to her with tears of joy. Melisande
appeared to revel in the embrace and shed happy tears.
“Oh, I am so
happy that you are pleased!” Melisande cried. “For I did so long for it, and
wished to comfort you by giving you a child of Brenus’. It will be as though a
part of him lives on.”
“Yes,” Judoc
murmured softly. “It will seem like he is with us still. And what a comfort
that shall be, to be sure.”
Dag received
the news in silence, only the frown that creased his brow any indication of
inner turmoil. Cort puzzled over this, and wondered if it had already occurred
to Dag that the best medicine for the family was for Melisande to return to
from whence she came. Except that Dag did no know from whence she came…
Nolwenn
embraced her sister-in-law rapturously and immediately began to assist in the
selection of a name. Melisande giggled as happily as a young girl, but to
Cort’s surprise Maelys watched her silently, her lips twisting sardonically.
Could it be, he wondered, that his sister shared his doubts of their brother’s
widow?
Cort looked at
Maelys with new eyes. Heretofore she had always been a child, albeit the eldest
daughter. She had frolicked with the other maidens of the village, and now
flirted with the young men, and had not shown any deep devotion to Dominio,
being content merely to attend the weekly meetings and never sharing her faith.
Since his return, however, she had surprised him with remarkably astute
comments about Alexandros and the providence of Dominio.
She had
remarked on his courtship with Siv and how Dominio had brought them together.
“How wonderful
that Dominio led you to Siv, Cort. And just when you needed comfort the most!
For I’ll swear that you were in low spirits when you were driven away from home
last autumn: how delightful that you found Siv. And your mother as well!”
“Yes, it was
truly the hand of Dominio that led me back to Trekur Lende,” Cort agreed. “For I
never expected to return there, thinking that all I left behind was lost to me
forever.”
And tears
sprang to his eyes, as he recalled again his reunion with his mother, and how
she had longed for her only son.
Maelys saw the
tears, and compassion softened her eyes as a gentle smile lit her face.
“How wonderful
it is to see you with Brit,” she cooed. “And what a good friend she is to
Mother already. Why, they are like two sisters who have been parted for a long
time and reunited, and not like strangers at all!”
And Cort
rejoiced with her as he shared again his journey back to his homeland. Maelys
listened attentively and stroked his arm affectionately when he had finished.
“Ah, how good
it is to have you back, brother,” she whispered as tears misted her blue eyes,
giving them the appearance of a lake misted with a morning fog.
Her tone
changed suddenly as she shot a venomous look in the direction of Melisande.
“But how awful
that you were driven away; driven by one who came here with no good purpose,
I’ll be bound! You mark my words: the day will come when we shall all regret
this folly our brother committed when he took Melisande as a wife.”
And Maelys
shook her coppery cascade of curls in the manner of one who knows that evil is
impending, but knows not how to prevent it.
Cort reflected
back on this conversation, and silently observed his sister watching Melisande
with the tension of a guard stationed on the watch. Strangely, it did not
reassure him that another member of the family shared his doubts, but only
increased his apprehension. A double witness, he thought: confirmation that all
is not as it appears with this strange woman whom our brother rushed into such
a foolish marriage.
And the child
born of their union: would any good come out of that?
In the months
that followed the announcement of the coming child, Cort found increasing cause
for concern. For Nolwenn, who had always admired her sister-in-law, seemed to
come under the thumb of her domination. She developed a new and disconcerting
habit of looking to Melisande before answering a question when in company with
the family.
Cort
remembered how often his brother had done the same, and wondered what it was
about this woman that intimidated first her husband, and now her sister-in-law
so greatly that they feared to speak lest they incur her disapproval? He
watched Melisande with renewed vigilance and mentioned the puzzling matter to
his wife.
“I have
noticed that also, Cort,” Siv concurred, nodding her head so vigorously that
her braids swung wildly on her shoulders. “There is something almost
frightening about Melisande, something that cows those who wish to keep her
favor. I have never seen anyone quite like her; she appears to inspire a
ferocious desire and a deadly fear, all at the same time!”
“Yes! That is
what has eluded me,” Cort concurred. “She seems almost mystical in some way,
and those who wish for her favor learn they had best not incur her wrath!”
And what the
consequences of her continued stay in Eirinia would bring upon the family and
the village was a matter upon which Cort did not like to ponder.