“
Oh, Chandra, I couldn’t let you
--
”
“
I assure you, I shall roust Laine from her prayers and put her to work. A better emissary to Father Michael I cannot imagine.”
Edwina laughed at that.
“
You are so good to me, Chandra dear.”
“
I would rather be working than sitting to sew with the women,” she said with a shrug.
“
But I will not lift a finger unless you promise to rest until the evening meal.”
“
That will not be easy, knowing you are working so hard for my wedding day,” Edwina said sweetly, embracing Chan
dra and holding her near.
Chandra was caught off guard by the action and returned her sister’s embrace almost fiercely.
I love them both!
she thought miserably, tears springing to her eyes. While she had hoped they would not be man and wife, neither did she want them to be unhappy.
Edwina was aware of the tears and held Chandra away from her, looking quizzically at her younger sister’s face.
“
Chandra, why do you weep?”
Chandra wiped impatiently at her tears and tried to smile, but it was a lame attempt.
“
I will miss you so much,” she told Edwina, her voice catching as she realized she would, indeed, be very lonely without her sister.
Edwina’s long, slender fingers gently brushed Chandra’s cheeks. Chandra looked with fondness at Edwina’s face. Her eyes were a pale blue, small and soft, and her complexion was fair, not rosy. But when she smiled and comforted, there was a beauty that was nearly regal. Edwina was good and kind. There was much about her to love, even the weaknesses that could be exasperating made Chandra love her, for it made her feel stronger and more capable. Perhaps Conan would feel the same. Perhaps it would be as it had been with her parents, and they would be devoted to each other.
“
Now you must dry your eyes and smile prettily,” Edwina said.
“
You are so beautiful when you smile. You are more beautiful than any
--
so bright and wonderful. But when you weep, my dearest, your nose is very red!”
Chandra laughed suddenly.
“
There! That is what I lo
ve best about you! When you laugh you are so very beautiful!”
Chandra kissed Edwina’s cheek.
“
Rest easy,” she reas
sured her.
“
I will see the chores done.”
Each of Medwin’s daughters had stirrings that were difficult for the others to understand. Laine’s calling to the faith was something that Edwina and Chandra did not share. Edwina’s soft, retiring manner was a thing that her more robust and lively sisters were impatient with. And as for Chandra, her obsessiveness over managing a large keep and many people with such an intensive regard for every detail was something that confused and bewildered Laine and Edwina, who did not share that appetite for hard work.
Despite their different interests, a deep and unquestioned devotion for one another sustained them. So while Chandra went about making preparations for the wedding, she did it with a glad heart. She had never been very good at sitting still, and these many tasks made her feel more confident, for she knew no other in her father’s house could manage with like perfection.
She judged the stock of available birds and chose four round peacocks to be skinned, cooked and then glided back into their colorful feathered skins with the tail feathers spread to make the main dish. She sent maids to gather roses, violets and primroses to be dried and chopped and stirred into the sweet pastry that would make the dessert. She selected the
w
ines to be served at the wedding feas
t: vernage, a red wine from Tu
scany; capric, a special possession of Medwin’s from Cyprus; and a Rhenish wine. She worried over the fact that there were no raw apples to set out in case of a disagreeable wine.
For the common folk a boar would be roasted
--
or should she make that two? With roast goose and piglet and plenty of bragot, a drink made from ale, honey and spices, one boar should be enough. And spiced cakes and cheese would complete their fare.
She gathered together all those who had been selected to serve the prestigious guests in the hall and gardens. She explained carefully, at least a dozen times, how to serve. The goblets must be held so that no unsightly finger marks showed on the side. Wine must be poured with two hands. The meat must be carved before the master of each table after carefully pulling off the wings. Wh
en she was convinced they under
stood, she inspected the clothes they would wear and sent several off to have their tunics cleaned or stitched, warning them of grave consequences if they entered the hall looking shabby.
The minstrel finally arrived with acrobats to aid in the entertainment, and she hurriedly found them lodging within the castle, though that was a difficult task, so full was the keep. Some poor castle woman would have to find a pallet in the town, for her room was given away.
She then, as an afterthought, had a drink prepared with diaciminum and sweet wine for Edwina, to ward off possible indigestion. She sent diaprune along to make her immune to fever. She hoped no other affliction would catch Edwina unawares
--
she was so susceptible, it seemed, to illness.
So that some of the festive colors would adorn the breads and gravies, saffron, leeks and certain floral buds were gathered. Strings soaked in honey were ordered hung about the hall so that the flies would not bother the food. For this great occasion the silver, brass and pewter were polished, inspected by Chandra, and polished again. Wooden mazers and cups made of tin were procured, for there was never enough of the finer metal, but all must be given an implement to drink from.
Laine had settled with the priest on a sum for the wedding tithe, and as the evening meal was just beginning, Chandra
w
ent with her father’s helpmate to his counting room to draw out the sum. Though the monk attending her was older than she, he seemed to be in awe of her. He couldn’t quite accept a woman’s handling of sums. And Chandra, already tired and eager to finish these undone chores, was quick and decisive, and impatient with the man’s slow and tedious counting. More than once she jerked the coins from his hand to count them herself and, claiming possession of the quill, scribbled the amounts on the parchment for Medwin’s records.
When that was done, Chandra assured herself that Edwina would already be in the hall, and in near exhaustion she leaned her forehead against the cool stone wall just outside the chamber she and Laine shared.
With a sigh she opened the door to her bedroom, only to find that the room was no longer her own. Her presence was stripped from the room she had shared with her sisters since birth. The large oaken frame that would belong to the bridal couple replaced the three smaller beds that previously occu
pied the room.
The transition had been discussed. It was not a complete surprise to her. At least it should not have been. A special chamber for the bedding of the bridal couple needed to be set aside. And for their business of that first night together it would not do to be without a bed that could accommodate them both. For their short stay at Phalen, Edwina and Conan must have a privileged chamber.
But seeing the women preparing the room, hanging bed curtains, sprinkling herbs on the sheets in a fertility ritual, caused Chandra to lean against the open door in near despair. She was in awe of the business before her. The reality of it left her breathless. Their lives would be intimately entwined. The wedding was a formal exchange that would prepare them for this, and the picture was clear. It was the image in her fantasy
--
but the woman pressed passionately against Conan’s body would be Edwina.
“
Knowin’ you was so busy, milady, we took your things to
--
”
“
I know which room is to be mine,” she replied meekly. Giving a last look about the chamber, she smiled sheepishly at the serving woman and quit the room.
Her things were neatly stacked in a room on the other side
o
f the keep, thankfully far from where the bridal couple would sleep. She was sticky with perspiration and grimy from supervising the cooking. Her hair was limp and dirty, but there was no time to wash it. There was no servant free to aid her in dressing, and with a numb acceptance she moved through her grooming with a general malaise. When she scrubbed her face with a cold cloth she realized with a start that Conan would be downstairs now. Now! He and his family were due to arrive this afternoon, but her chores had kept her far from the guests.
Her hands began to tremble as she pulled her ivory comb through her hair. She donned her dress hurriedly, a pale gold kirtle and a darker gold gunna to cover it. She fastened an anklet about her slender ankle and slipped on her one good pair of slippers. Her gold girdle was the last thing to be applied, and since there was no one to help her, she left her hair to trail loosely down her back.
She paused only a moment to catch her breath and then hurried to the party below. Medwin was the first to notice her and greeted her warmly, not questioning her on her lateness or her appearance. She had missed the meal, and just looking at the trenchers of bones and gristle from the pork caused her stomach to cry out with a loud gurgle, a sound never heard in this noisy hall. Medwin pulled her into a tight circle of friends, his closest friends: Alaric and Theodoric.
“
Each spring she blossoms more beautiful than the spring before,” T
h
eodoric attested loudly.
“
And she is still free to roam among these swains and set their hearts to flutter,” Alaric said.
“
You are unfair, Medwin, to leave her unbidden for so long.”
“
She is the youngest born and not easy to give away to any eager young buck. I grow cranky with the thought. She is a great help to me here.”
Chandra looked at her father with a twinkle in her eye. It was such a bright spot in her otherwise bleak day to hear someone attesting to her good qualities.
“
You are kind, Father, to flatter me so, but speak the truth to your friends. He is often angry with me and complains that I nag him overmuch on household matters. I think he will be glad when I am no longer his burden.”
“
I pray for such burdens,” Theodoric roared.
Sir Tedric joined their circle, bowing elaborately over Chandra’s hand, making quite a show of his courtly manners. He, too, made several remarks about how lovely she was and offered his escort for any time during the days of celebrating. Even though she did not much like Tedric, even his compli
ments were easy to bear.
The next to make their way toward her were two knights she barely knew, but recognized with an eager smile. Sir Mallory and Sir Thurwell she knew to be close friends to Conan, and for that reason alone she smiled more gaily than before.
Following was Lady Udele, smiling brightly and showing her most gracious manners. She embraced Chandra warmly.
“
Dear child
--
nay! Child no more, but woman! You are exquisite, but then I knew you would be. You grow more beautiful every time I see you.” She cast Medwin a simpering look.
“
My lord, you have the most beautiful daughters in the land. Lady Chandra,” she sighed, taking Chandra’s hand in her own.
“
You are a vision.”
Chandra smiled, thanking the lady rather awkwardly. She could not help but believe that had Udele kept silent, Conan might not have been persuaded to ask for Edwina’s hand.
“
You are overkind, my lady,” Chandra demurred.
“
I am not kind!” Udele protested.
“
I speak only the truth! Sir Medwin, you must catch a fine husband for this lass, and soon. Her face and body beckon a man’s touch!” The men laughed loudly at Udele’s compliment and Chandra felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“
Come, dear,” Udele urged.
“
Come and greet my son and soon-to-be daughter.”
Chandra let Lady Udele pull her toward the bridal couple, and all those compliments that only moments earlier made her confidence soar seemed long ago and far away. Now she felt her stomach jump and her heart race at the thought of facing Conan.
Edwina was glowingly lovely at Conan’s side, her pale, soft beauty radiating her high spirits. Her gown was the same soft blue that she had worn to the tournament feast, a gold girdle that had belonged to Millicent fitting snugly about her narrow hips. A sheer length of pale blue cloth fell from her circlet, a gold band that was perfectly fitted about her head. The cloth
d
id not hide her beautiful hair, but rather drew attention to it, for the golden locks fell luxuriously down her back to far below the sheer blue.
Chandra had wanted Edwina to look her prettiest for the wedding, but this sight of her only made her feel dowdy. Her composure was teetering on a brittle edge, nearly ready to tumble.