Timestruck (28 page)

Charles looked around the hall, from council
to clerics and priests, to the guards and the condemned. His gaze
rested on his queen for a long moment, and Gina saw his shoulders
rise and fall, as if he was heaving a great sigh. Then he spoke to
the conspirators.

“You have heard the sentence. I am disposed
to clemency toward only a few of you, for most of you knew exactly
what you were doing when you deliberately plotted the death of a
ruler to whom you had freely pledged your allegiance. By Frankish
custom and law, your lives are now forfeit to me, as are all the
lands you hold.”

He began the ritual of naming each man, his
sad and heavy voice clearly speaking of his regret at the loss of
men upon whom he had depended, many of whom he had counted among
his friends. When a name was called, that man rose, and Charles
spoke his punishment. Most were to be hanged or beheaded. One by
one the guards led them out of the hall, to be confessed, shriven,
and then to meet their fates with no delay. A few who were elderly
and not likely to live much longer were to be sent into exile.
They, too, were taken out at once, for they were commanded to leave
Regensburg before the sun had set.

The number of men seated on the stools grew
smaller and smaller, and Fastrada’s smile grew wider and wider.

“Hugh of Montraive,” Charles called. One of
the younger nobles who was in the front row near Pepin stood to
face the king. But suddenly there was an alteration in the deadly
routine.

“My lord, I wish to speak!” cried Hugh.

“Your opportunity has passed,” Charles said.
“Your sentence has been decided.”

“It’s not for myself I want to be heard, but
for Pepin, who will not speak for himself. He and I were at the
palace school as boys and have been friends ever since. Pepin loves
you and longs for you to love him.” Before he could say anything
more, Charles cut him off.

“Be silent, Hugh.” Those three words brought
to a quick end the plea of Hugh of Montraive. But instead of
pronouncing the young man’s sentence, Charles spoke to Pepin. “I
have been told repeatedly that you believe I do not love you and
that, in return, you do not bear the affection due to me as your
parent. I tell you now, before these witnesses, that I do love you,
and always have. I grieve for your affliction, but I cannot cure
it, nor am I able to change the way Frankish nobles regard physical
incapacity. Because of that ingrained prejudice, which you have
repeatedly faced throughout your life, I cannot understand why you
believed that a band of lying traitors would permit you to rule
over them for more than a few weeks.

“Pepin, you should have followed the advice I
gave you years ago and taken holy orders,” Charles continued. “I
would have seen you made abbot of whatever religious house you
chose, there to achieve wealth and power beyond the dreams of most
men.”

“I do not want to become a priest!” Pepin
shouted, jumping awkwardly to his feet. “Why can’t you understand
that? Why won’t you listen to what I say?”

“Ah, Pepin, my son, my dear son.” Charles
shook his head sadly. “Why can’t you understand that I have always
had your best interests at heart?”

“Pronounce my sentence,” Pepin said. “Only, I
beg you, spare Hugh, who did no more than carry a few messages for
me. And release Dominick, who was never involved in the conspiracy.
He pleaded with me not to lend myself to it, but I refused to
listen. Both of these men love you almost as much as I do.”

“Pepin,” Charles said, motioning his son to
silence, “out of my great love for you, I will set aside the death
sentence. Instead, you are to be scourged with whips. Forty lashes
will be laid upon your back. As soon as you have recovered, you
will profess your vows as a priest. Afterward, you are to be
returned under guard to Prum, there to live for the rest of your
life.”

“No!” Fastrada was on her feet, fists
clenched in fury. “Pepin deserves to die! Give him to the
headsman’s axe! Order him drawn and quartered, torn apart by wild
horses, for what he has done. Let his blood be spilled. Let his
body parts be fixed upon spears and displayed in every town in
Francia!”

“Sit down, Fastrada.” Charles spoke in a cold
way that made Gina shiver to hear him. “It is my right, and not
yours, to decide Pepin’s fate.

“Hugh of Montraive.” Charles’s voice cut
across Fastrada’s renewed protests. “Based upon the statement just
given by my son Pepin, and the plea made on your behalf by your
mother, who knows you very well, I believe you were not fully aware
of the extent of the plot against me. All the same, you must be
punished for not revealing to me the little you did know. In the
same hour in which Pepin is scourged, and in the same place, you
will receive ten lashes on your back. Thereafter, I grant you two
days for recovery in the custody of your mother. On the third day
you will be escorted by six of my men-at-arms to the nearest
seaport in Francia, where you will be placed aboard a ship bound
for Northumbria.

“From the day you sail,” Charles continued,
“you are forbidden ever to set foot in Francia again, under pain of
instant death. Nor may your body, your bones, or your heart ever be
returned to Francia for burial. Your exile is complete and
permanent. Do you understand the provisions of your sentence?”

“I do, my lord, and I thank you for your
clemency.” The young man bowed his head. He and Pepin were escorted
out of the hall.

“Charles, you must listen to me!” Fastrada
shouted. “All of them must be executed, including Pepin. Only then
can you be safe. Only then can I and my daughters sleep without
fear for our lives.”

“I told you to sit down,” Charles said. “Now
I demand your silence.” He sent his wife a glance so filled with
loathing that Fastrada, seeing it, actually obeyed Charles’s order.
Her mouth agape, Fastrada sank back into her chair and spoke no
more.

Now only Dominick and Bernard were left to be
sentenced. Dominick was on his feet, and Gina held her breath,
hoping he would make an appeal that would move Charles to declare
him not guilty. When he began to speak, Gina groaned, for Dominick
wasn’t pleading for his own life.

“My lord,” Dominick said to Charles, “I ask
your mercy for my brother, Bernard, who was never in any way
involved with the conspiracy. Bernard’s only crime is that, after
years of faithful service to Queen Fastrada, she suddenly and
without cause took an irrational dislike to him. There is no shred
of proof to link Bernard to the traitors.”

“I don’t want help from you!” Bernard snarled
at Dominick.

“Instead of quarreling with your brother, you
ought to thank him,” Charles said. “Bernard of Salins, I sentence
you to perpetual exile, upon the same terms I imposed on Hugh of
Montraive. The lands you inherited from your father are confiscated
and will be distributed elsewhere. I grant your mother one week to
vacate your former lands. You are to be gone from Regensburg before
the sun sets.”

“Yes, my lord.” Bernard stood very straight,
but Gina could see he was shaking with outrage. She suspected that
knowing he owed his life to Dominick was to Bernard a harder
punishment than the loss of his lands or exile.

“Dominick of Feldbruck,” Charles said, “I
will deal with you later, after I have considered several possible
punishments I have in mind.”

“Am I to remain in confinement?” Dominick
asked.

“You are free to return to your house,”
Charles answered. “However, you may not leave Regensburg without my
express permission, and you may not ride a horse. A man-at-arms
will follow you at all times. If you attempt to escape, you will be
brought back and executed immediately.”

“My lord, you have my word that I will not
disobey the restrictions you have set upon me,” Dominick said.

“In that case, when you enter your house, the
man-at-arms will stand guard at the door, thus leaving you your
privacy,” Charles said. “I will summon you when I have decided on
your punishment.”

“Well, Bastard,” said Bernard in a loud
voice, “now you have what you’ve always wanted. Salins will be
yours.”

“I do not know what my punishment will be,”
Dominick responded quietly to his brother’s challenging tone. “But
I do not need, nor do I covet, Salins. Even if it were offered to
me, I would not accept it. I have Feldbruck, which I earned with my
own two hands and my sword.”

“You always were a noble fool,” said Bernard,
a wealth of scorn in his tone.

“Have a care, Bernard,” Charles interrupted,
“lest I change my decision and include you among those to be
executed.” Rising from his chair, he gazed around the hall with a
sad, solemn expression.

“I thank you for rendering a thoughtful
decision in this most difficult matter,” he said to the judges.
“You are dismissed. The trial is ended.”

Charles turned and walked out of the hall
without sparing the slightest glance for Fastrada, who was not
troubling to hide her fulminating anger at the way justice had been
administered.

With only Dominick and Bernard left of all
the prisoners, most of the guards were gone, and the spectators
began to move more freely about the hall. Gina started forward to
where Dominick was standing. Ella dutifully followed at her
heels.

“Where will you go, brother?” Dominick asked
Bernard.

“You are not my brother, Bastard.” Bernard’s
spine had stiffened noticeably at Dominick’s use of the word.
Still, he answered the question. “I will go to Spain, to try my
luck fighting for the Moslems. I, too, have a strong sword arm.
Before I’m done, I’ll win a larger prize than Feldbruck or
Salins.”

“I wish you well.” Dominick would have
embraced him, but Bernard pushed him away.

“Don’t touch me, Bastard. I still have some
standards left.” Turning on his heel, Bernard marched out of the
hall.

“Isn’t he the gracious one?” Gina said,
coming up to Dominick.

“Bernard is angry at having lost his
inheritance as the result of Fastrada’s whim,” Dominick said
mildly.

“You got the better part of your father s
legacy, you know,” Gina said. “He gave you something more valuable
than worldly goods. He taught you how to make your own way in the
world, how to be a decent, honest man. I don’t think Bernard ever
learned those lessons.”

“Perhaps he will now,” Dominick replied, “now
that he is landless, friendless, and forced to make his own
way.”

A swish of silk skirts and the scent of heavy
jasmine perfume alerted them that Fastrada was approaching. Gina
and Dominick turned together to face her.

“Your half brother is more fortunate than you
will be,” Fastrada said to Dominick. “Before this week is over, I
intend to see to it that you are tortured until you scream for
mercy. Then I’ll have you drawn and quartered while I watch. When
you are dead, your precious Gina will be next. After that I’ll see
to Hiltrude, whom you thought to protect by sending her to a secure
convent, and Lady Adalhaid, who betrayed me to Charles at Gina’s
behest. All of them will die in excruciating pain.”

“Will that make you happy?” Gina asked.

“I will writhe in exquisite pleasure while
you are shrieking in agony,” the queen responded with a brilliant
and lovely smile.

“Are you sure you can convince Charles to
allow what you want?” Having heard Ella’s gasp of horror at the
queen’s words and wanting to reassure the girl, Gina spoke with a
flippant humor she did not really feel. Fastrada’s outspoken
fascination with bloodshed and death left Gina feeling queasy.

“Charles adores me,” Fastrada declared with
perfect confidence. “He will do whatever I want.” She turned her
back on them and stalked out of the hall.

“Is she deaf, dumb, and blind?” Gina asked.
“Didn’t she notice the way Charles was looking at her, or hear the
way he spoke to her?”

“Perhaps she sees and hears only what she
wants to see and hear,” Dominick said. “Unfortunately, it is
possible that she’s correct about her influence over Charles. He is
a lusty man.”

“But not a stupid man. I can’t help wondering
if he has been giving Fastrada the rope to hang herself.”

“She would never do that. Suicide is a mortal
sin,” Dominick responded.

“It’s just an expression I learned long ago,”
Gina said. “It sounds different in Frankish. Dominick, shall we go
home now?”

“Yes.” He draped an arm over her shoulders.
“I want a bath, I want to shave, and then I want you.”

“In that order? Well, now I know where I
stand in your list of priorities.” That sentence was also different
in Frankish. She didn’t often make such mistakes these days. When
she heard Dominick’s chuckle and Ella’s giggle, Gina decided her
language errors didn’t matter. But she couldn’t forget Fastrada’s
threats, and she didn’t fool herself into believing that Dominick
had forgotten, either.

Upon seeing Dominick walk into his house as
if he hadn’t a care in the world, a weeping Lady Adalhaid flung
herself into his arms and began to kiss him.

“My prayers have been answered!” she cried.
“I knew Charles would never condemn an innocent man to death!”

“Dominick hasn’t been publicly exonerated
yet,” Gina explained. “He is confined to Regensburg, there is a
guard outside the door to prevent him from running away, and
Charles is going to call him back later to pronounce his
sentence.”

“I don’t understand,” said Lady Adalhaid.

“Neither do I, but the delay means that
Fastrada will now have time to work on Charles, and she won’t be
working for Dominick’s benefit.” Seeing how pale the older woman
had become, Gina decided not to repeat the queen’s threats against
Lady Adalhaid and Hiltrude. Lady Adalhaid looked worn out. Gina
knew she hadn’t slept for days, for she had been worrying over
Dominick’s fate as if her daughter’s life depended on his
well-being. As, perhaps, it did. Fastrada had implied as much with
her taunt that she would have Hiltrude killed once Dominick was
dead.