Daughters of the Dagger 03 - Amber (8 page)

“So I see,” he said, picking up the necklace next.

“Those trunks with the things you’re looking at came with our new novice, Sister Amber as part of her dowry from her father, the earl of Blackpool.”

“I thought you were supposed to give away to the poor the things you took from the nuns and mo
nks when they entered the order.”

“Why?” he asked. “The peasants by law cannot wear the clothes of a noble, nor would they h
ave a need for fine things. The goods are better off just staying here with me for the time being.”

The priest was standing in the open
doorway trying to keep it partially closed when all of a sudden it was pushed out of his hand and swung open. And there, before them stood Amber.

“Father Armand, I am glad I caught you,” she said, “as I wanted to thank you for that light penance you gave me and tell you how generous it was of you to –
”

She stopped in midsentence when she spied Lucas
, and her gaze fell to the jewelry in his hand.

“That’s my mother’s jewelry,” she said, pushing past Father Armand even though he was reaching out to stop her. She walked up to Lucas and looked down at the trunk. “This was my favorite gown.” She picked it up and ran her hand over the soft surface. “What are these
things doing here?”

“Sister Amber, yo
u are not allowed in my chamber, now remove yourself at once,” the priest shouted.

“Yes, this is your dowry
,” explained Lucas, “and the good Father Armand was just telling me that he did not give away your things because he wanted to make sure you’d made the right decision by entering the Order. If you decide to change your mind, he plans on returning everything in your dowry to you before you return to Blackpool.”

“You do?” Amber
looked at the priest with wide eyes. “That is so thoughtful of you, Father, thank you. As these things mean a lot to me and I must say I’ve been thinking about my mother’s jewelry lately, but only because it was my last remembrance of her and I miss her dearly.”

Lucas didn’t miss the evil glare coming from Fathe
r Armand’s eyes and just hoped Amber hadn’t noticed.

She suddenly took a good look at her surround
ings. “Why are all these things in here?” she asked. “I thought priests took the vow of poverty as well.”

There was silence for a second and then the priest cleverly changed the subject. “What did you mean you wanted to thank me for your light penance
, my dear?” he asked, feigning a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Oh,” she said, focusing her attention on him. “I just never heard of any priest assigning one Hail Mary and one Our Father for penance and that’s it.”

“Two,” Lucas corrected her, and when her head snapped around to look at him he knew he’d made a grave mistake.

“Yes, that’s right,” she admitted, “but how did you know?”

“I … I … Father Armand told me.”

“What?” Her head snapped back around to look at the priest. “You told him my penance? I thought what was discussed in a confessional was private.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said the priest, and Lucas knew he had to intervene.

“Sister Amber,” explained Lucas, “he had to tell me that you and I would be going on pilgrimage together, so you see he couldn’t keep your penance a secret.”

“She’s not going on pilgrimage with you,” snapped the priest.

“I’m not?” asked Amber.

“Of course you are,” Lucas interrupted. “As Father Armand thought that some time away from the abbey may be beneficial to your state of mind.” Lucas motioned with his eyes to the wealth around the room so only the priest could see him. “Didn’t you, Father?”

“Oh, yes, that
is correct,” said the priest. “You’ll leave tomorrow.”

Lucas shook his head, trying to tell the man tomorrow was too soon, but he didn’t pay him any attention.

A bell rang from the church tower
, echoing across the courtyard and thankfully interrupting their conversation. Amber dropped the gown back into the trunk. “’Tis time for Compline, and I still need to get my prayer book from my room.” She rushed to the door and was about to leave, but turned back to the men. “Father, though you told me my confession was not a sin I would still like your absolution.”

“Of course, you are absolved from your sins.” He made the sign of the cross in the air. “Now go, Sister Amber, as Sister Dulcina will not be as gracious as I’ve been when you show up late for the last prayer session of the day.”

“Thank you, Father,” she said with a smile. Then her eyes interlocked with Lucas’s for a mere second before she dropped her gaze and hurried out the door.

Father Armand slammed the door behind her. Th
en he turned toward Lucas with fire in his eyes and his arms crossed over his chest though he maintained a cool composure. “So … how gracious was I?” he asked. “And what sins did she confess that I thought to tell her were not sins at all? After all, that’s what you were doing in the confessional wasn’t it? Pretending to be me?”

“She has no sins,” answered Lucas, scratching the side of his neck. He didn’t want to tell the man that he’d kissed Amber. It wouldn’t play well for her and he didn’t want her punished.

“You know that if you gave her absolution you’ll be burned at the stake for such an act,” the priest reminded him.

“I didn’t. You heard her just now ask for it, didn’t you?”

“Well, it’s good to know you learned something with all that training I gave you and that it wasn’t just a waste of my time.”

“I was just trying to get her out of the monastery
, as I know how much she upset you the night I arrived. But we can’t leave tomorrow, as I could use a few more days to heal.”

“Nay
,” he said, his hand going to his chin. “The sooner you leave the better. Now that she’s seen what’s in my room she’ll be dangerous to me. Plus, she heard you talking about the relics the other day. She knows too much. I can’t have her in the monastery anymore.”

“That’s why I’m taking her with me.”

“That’s not what I mean. I’m not talking about just for a sennight or two. I’m speaking about forever.”

“So you don’t think she’ll make a good nun?”

“I don’t think she’ll keep her mouth shut about what she saw and heard. It’s too risky, with the archbishop’s visit so close and all. You’ll have to do something about it.”

“Me?” he asked. “
What do you want me to do? Keep her away longer by taking her on an extended pilgrimage? I hope not. Because I’ll tell you right now I have no desire to do it. I’m going to Canterbury and then I’m never setting foot on another pilgrimage as long as I live.”

“She can’t
be allowed to become a nun, no matter what. If so, my fate is doomed. If she stays out of the monastery it might not be so bad, as even if she does talk, no one will believe her.”

“So what are you suggesting I do? Kill her?”

The priest’s eyebrows arched in question. “Would you even consider it?”

“God’s teeth
, don’t tell me to harm her as I would never do it. And I can’t believe you would order such a thing.”

“I’m not. Calm down.” The priest paced back and forth with his hand to his chin. “There must be another way from keeping her from becoming a nun. Such as
… if she didn’t obey the vows. If that was the case and she came to me to confess it,” he looked up, “which she would, because she is so ever obedient when it comes to rules … then I would not forgive her but tell her she had to leave the Order for good instead.”

“But she is
determined and very structured. There is no way she would ever break her vows of chastity, poverty and obedience willingly.”

“That’s why you’ve got to help her do it.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Take her on the pilgrimage and … bring this along to tempt her.” He picked up the gown and jewels and shoved them into Lucas’
s hands. “These seemed to mean a lot to her. Get her to try them on for you, that should do it.”

“Just because she tries on a nice gown and jewels doesn’t mean she’ll keep wearing them.”

“Then do something to make sure she doesn’t take them off. And also do something to get her to break her other vow.”

Lucas knew what
other vow
he was speaking of, and he couldn’t say it hadn’t entered his mind. “So you’re saying you want me to … defile a nun?”

“Nay, you’re not going to
defile her. And besides, she’s not a nun, she’s only a novice. Just do what it takes to make her come to you of her own free will and instead, she will bed you!”

“The thought excited Lucas beyond measure. But the fact that the idea came from a deceitful
priest with greed in his heart and that he was ordered to do it, made Lucas want to retch. The rebellious part of him now made him want to keep his hands off of her, and that made him more confused than ever.

“Get out of my way,” said Lucas, shoving the gown under his arm and grasping onto the amber jewelry as he pushed past the priest. “Because if I stay here a moment longer, I swear I am going to punch you.”

Amber sat still and focused in the small room of the scriptorium, t
rying to concentrate on illuminating the capital letter A on the script in front of her. Sister Ursula sat behind her on a stool inspecting finished works, and two monks she just met recently named Brothers Walter and Victor kept bent over their pages as they copied script faster than anyone she knew.

She learned much about working in the scriptorium since she’d arrived, from the way the
animal skins were turned into parchment and soaked in lime, to the way they were stretched to dry. The pages for the books were cut to the right shape and size, then smoothed down with a pumice stone before her work even started. She had to rule the lines on the pages by first pricking the pages to indicate the spacing for the lines.

She had h
orns of colored ink on her workbench as well as gold leaf for gilding. She’d used glair, or the sticky substance from the bottom of a bowl of whipped egg whites for her binding element, trailing it out with her quill made of a sharpened goose feather to make the curly intricate designs. Then she’d added a dove to the artwork. It had dried enough now, and she leaned forward to blow her breath on it to make it tacky again and ready for gilding.

She picked up her gilder’s
tip, carefully balancing the very thin sheet of gold leaf and dropping it over the parchment where it almost seemed to jump into place. She used her thumb to press it down with a clean piece of silk, and picked up her burnishing tool which was naught more than a dog’s tooth mounted on a handle. She burnished the edges and top of the gold to make it shine. Then she picked up her soft ermine-haired brush and swept away the excess gold to reveal her work of art.

Amber was trying her hardest to concentrate, but found it difficult
after what she saw earlier today. She knew it wasn’t right for a priest to have such wealth in his chamber, and though Lucas had told her that Father Armand was going to give her dowry back if she decided not to finish her training, she didn’t believe it for a moment.

Something odd was going on here and she didn’t know what to do about it. She wanted to
ask questions to some of the nuns and monks, or mayhap tell Abbess Dulcina, but she knew how angry Father Armand would become if she were to say anything. She was thrilled he’d given her a light penance earlier, even if he seemed not to remember it. She was already being punished by having to go on a pilgrimage with a man who was most likely to distract her in more ways than one, and she didn’t need another penance like this one.

The two monks put away their works
, extinguished their candles, and silently left the scriptorium. She knew it was almost time for Sext, that is, the prayer service that started at noon and was followed immediately by dinner in the refectory.

“Are you coming, Sister Amber?” Sister Ursula stood next to her with a smile on her face.
She was a young nun probably a few years older than Amber’s age of eight and ten years, who had entered into the Order, just having taken her final vows several months ago. She was a noblewoman also, and Amber felt comfortable around her.

“I’d just like to finish
this first,” said Amber, burnishing vigorously with her tool.

“All right,” said Sister Ursula turning to go.

“Wait.”

The nun turned
back to face her. “What is it, Sister Amber?”

“Tell me,” said Amber. “While you were in training did you ever have thoughts that perhaps you didn’t really want to be a nun after all?”

“Why, of course not. Are you having those thoughts?” she asked.

“No,” she said quic
kly. Then put down her tool and looked up. “Yes. I mean … I’m not sure.”

“You sound as if you are perhaps smitten with a man and don’t want to admit it.”

“Me?” Amber’s heart raced just thinking of it. “Why would you say that?”

“I was in love once before I came to the abbey,” she told her. “And I see the way you look at Lucifer while we’re eating in the refectory though you don’t think anyone notices.”

“I’m not in love,” she blurted out, feeling the color rising to her cheeks. “Not with anyone, and especially not Lucas.”

“Your voice trembles when you same his name
, and though the rest of the monastery has always called him Lucifer you are basically the only one to call him Lucas. That alone tells me that you have feelings for him.”

“I don’t,” she spat, embarrassed by even bringing up the subject. But not wanting to lie to another nun whom she considered her friend, she decided to tell her the truth. “Oh, Sister Ursula, can you keep a secret?”

The girl’s eyes lit up and she grabbed on to Amber’s arm. “Yes. Tell me, please. I have been so bored with the conversation since I’ve been here that if this has anything to do with Lucifer, I’d love to hear it.”

“He … kissed me,” she said, biting her lip, not sure what reaction she would get from Ursula.

“Really?” she asked with wide eyes.

“In the infirmary when I was tending his wound. He said I had beautiful eyes and … luscious lips and that I should never be a nun.”

“Oh, Amber, that is so wonderful!” Ursula’s smile was wide and this was the most life she’d seen in the girl’s eyes since Amber arrived here.

“It is?” she asked.

“Yes,” said Ursula. “You may have a chance to find the kind of love I once knew before I lost my husband to the plague.”

“Oh, I am sorry, I didn’t know.”

“Thank you,” she said. “But tell me more. Did you like it?”

“I did,” she admitted and smiled. “And he did something odd –
he entered my -”

“He did?”

“My mouth with his tongue. During the kiss,” she explained. “And just thinking about being so intimate with a man has my body tingling.” Amber hid her face in her hands. “Oh, I am a horrible person for enjoying it. I must pray more and ask for forgiveness for my thoughts alone.”

“
’Twill probably not happen again, since he knows now you are a novice. So do not give it another thought.” Ursula tried to assure her, but Amber knew it wasn’t so.

“But it might,” she said. “As for my penance I am to go on a pilgrimage with the man.”

“Oh, I see.”

“I am frightened,
yet at the same time mesmerized and excited by him. I don’t know what to think.”

“Well
, he does have a temper. After all, I’ve never seen anyone hit a priest before.”

“What?” asked Amber
, taking her hands from her face. “When did he hit a priest? I was in the church when he arrived and he did nothing of the kind.”

“No, n
ot then,” she explained. “I first met him about four months ago, right here at the abbey. With my own eyes, I saw him punch Father Armand in the face. That’s why the Father sent him away on a pilgrimage with his hands and neck in chains. He said he was dangerous and needed to repent.”

“Why was he here
at the abbey in the first place?” Amber asked curiously.

“I’m not sure, but you may want to ask Abbess Dulcina.
After all, she is the oldest one here and has been a nun for as long as anyone can remember. She knows everyone and everything that goes on around here. All I know is that everyone in the double monastery except for the new novices, all seem to know Lucifer very well.”

“That is odd. He didn’t
tell me that. I wonder why that is?”

“Why don’t you ask him?” said Sister Ursula. “Because here he comes now.” She smiled and nod
ded with her head to the door of the scriptorium. To Amber’s surprise, she saw Lucas standing in the doorway, looking even more handsome than he had yesterday. And twice as dangerous.

He was dressed all in black, his long-sleeved gypon hanging down just past his hips, allowing her to see his long legs filling out his hose beautifully. He wore black hose as well as black leather boots the reached up to his calves. His hair was clean and golden, illuminated from the sun at his back
. It hung down to his shoulders. His face looked so regal with the angles of his cheekbones, and it only enhanced his clear, light blue eyes that now stared right at her. He reminded her of a nobleman, and she had to remind herself that he was not. She felt that fluttering sensation in her stomach again, and had to look away.

“Don’t leave me
here alone with him,” whispered Amber, thinking how dangerous it was to be alone with this man in a darkened room. But Sister Ursula just smiled and whispered back.

“No kissing in the scriptorium, Sister.”

“Thanks a lot,” said Amber already regretting that she hadn’t finished her work sooner. If so, she would have left the scriptorium by now and not be facing Lucas alone.

Lucas held the door for
Ursula as she exited, surprising Amber by his small act of chivalry.

“Good seeing you again, Sister Ursula,” he called her by name, proving to Amber that mayhap he did know everyone here after all.

He closed the door, and with it went the sunlight, leaving them alone together in the dark only lit by the one candle that Amber had yet to extinguish.

“You are not allowed in here,” Amber told him frantically as he came closer.

“Why not?” he asked. “Besides, Father Armand sent me to gather up the script you copied for a man who is waiting in the courtyard. Something about the knight’s Code of Conduct.”

“Oh, of course,” she said, g
etting up quickly to get it. She was so nervous that she knocked into the horn of ink atop her worktable and spilled it. Lucas’s hand shot out quickly and he pulled away the book she’d been illuminating. The ink spilled on the flat wooden worktable where the book had been just seconds ago. “Oh my! In my haste I almost spoiled all my hard work. Thank you for saving it. I have never seen anyone move so fast before.”

“Aye, I have a reputation for my fast moves.” He reached for the rag on the table to wipe u
p the spill the same time as she did, and their hands touched. She pulled back quickly as if burned. He smiled, and in the firelight she could see his straight, white teeth, making him seem even more handsome though she didn’t think it was possible. She felt her body heating up, as she hadn’t missed the intention of the double meaning of his words.

“I know I put that knight’s Code of C
onduct here somewhere,” she said, leaving him to wipe the spill, trying to move far away from him. She picked up one scroll after another, unrolling them quickly to find the right one.

“You do beautiful work,” he commented
, putting down the rag and looking at the book in his hand. He cocked his head and scrutinized her artwork. “Most illuminators just do simple designs but I see you’ve added a dove, for the pure little dove you are.”

“Thank you for the compliment, but please – I asked you not to call me a dove.”

“The colors you used around the gold leaf are vibrant and clear. It looks like … vermillion, vine black, saffron, and possibly the most expensive pigment, ultramarine.”

“Yes,” she said, finding the scroll and looking upward curiously. “How do you know that?”

“I know not only that, but the fact that some of these pigments were made from insects, plants, minerals, grapevines, and others from boiling iron nails in vinegar. The ultramarine is made from the lapis lazuli stone.”

“I’m impressed with your knowledge, but I know these things
already, as it is my craft.”

“But did you know
that there are a few things in these pigments that are a secret that you’ll never hear anyone saying out loud?”

“Like what?” she asked.

“Like urine and earwax,” he told her with a straight face.

“You are jesting,” she said, laughing
, and he smiled too.

“I wish I were,” he said with a grin,
“but I know first hand as I, more than once had to make these fine paints. And before you ask, I did not make up the recipe for the vile potion, so I take no credit for that.”

“You made the paints?” she asked. “How could that be?”

Just then the church bell atop the tower rang out calling all to the prayer service.

“Oh, I must go,” she said,
taking the original scroll and rolling it together with the copy she’d made. She handed it to him, taking the book back in the process. She laid it down flat on a clean part of the worktable to finish later. “I mustn’t be late for Sext,” she said.

“Aye, I agree, it’s not a good thing to be late for sex.”

“What did you say?” She stopped in her tracks and looked at him, knowing exactly what he said and the meaning behind it, but she wanted him to admit it.

“I said – don’t be late for Sext, darling. That’s all.”
He reached over and blew out the candle.

He followed her out into the cloistered walkway and all the way to the church.

“So I see you decided to join us in prayer today,” she remarked snidely, knowing he had no intention of doing that.

“Nay. Just following you, as I like to watch you walk.”

She stopped in her tracks and he came barreling into her, dropping the scroll and putting his arms around her to keep her from falling from the impact.