Pawns and Queens--A 15th Century Gwynedd Story--Chapter Twenty-One

[Evie]

Previous chapter: https://www.rhemuthcastle.com/index.php/topic,3238.0.html


Chapter Twenty-One

June 30, 1464
The Old Caerrorie war camp
Eastern Region
Kingdom of Gwynedd

Prince Nicholas was delighted to see his old friend once again, but dismayed to hear the news that Devyn McLain had brought with him.

"I decided to take the road north along the Eirian from Rhemuth up to Candor Rhea and then cross over to Ramos and Valoret on my way here, because I wanted to get a better sense of how conditions are in the heartland right now," Master Devyn said as he began to unpack his saddle bags, setting aside the medications he had brought with him for the camp medics to add to their stores. "Judging from the kingdom map in the King's Map Room, I had thought the northern front was a fair bit further north of where the Eirian River veers eastward, but as I was riding between Ramos and Valoret, I saw signs that at least a few raiding parties have managed to cross the river here and there. I hate to say it, but think it's only a matter of time before they begin to move further southwards."

The prince sighed. "I suspected that might be the case by now. We have denied them our bridges, of course, and there are chains and checkpoints along several key points along the Cleyde and the Eirian, so they can't simply sail downriver without engaging with our men, but like any decently equipped army, they are able to create their own improvised bridges as well." He glanced at his old friend, his eyes filled with worry. "How were conditions near Candor Rhea?"

"Still quiet, so far. Mellie and your girls are doing well. I urged her to go ahead and bring them to Rhemuth now while the journey is still relatively safe, but she seemed more concerned about what might face them at Court than in a remote lodge. Khadasa, I thought you were the stubborn sort, Colin, but your woman can outstubborn circles around you!"

"Believe me, I know. I made the same attempt last month, equally in vain." Colin's lips tightened in frustration. "I could use my royal prerogative to command her to go, and if conditions get any worse, I will, but God help me if I do! If the gossips and penny broadsheets are cruel to our daughters, I would never hear the end of it, but I'd far rather they face mere words and hurtful slurs than what the Jouvians and Eistenmarckers are capable of." He took a deep breath. "I installed a Transfer Portal there and gave her a means for calling for rescue. It was the best solution that I could think of, but now I'm wondering if having that recourse only makes her more determined to stay put for now rather than seeking the safety of the City and castle sooner."

"Would your new wife make difficulties for her? She didn't strike me as the spiteful sort when I visited the Court at Rhanamé last year, but granted, it's not like King Mikhail offered me a personal introduction."

"She's not." Colin gave a humorless chuckle. "Hell, she's the one who told me to go fetch them back to Rhemuth with assurances she'd figure out some way that she and Mellie could stay out of each other's way. Catalina is generous almost to a fault; I'd be more worried about Maman's reaction! Though given that she's accepted Balian's arrival to the Court, I suppose miracles still happen and my mother might roll out the red carpet. God alone knows. I don't pretend to understand women."

"They're a sweet mystery indeed, and like the best constructed cyphers, quite likely to drive you mad in the attempt to solve them," Devyn agreed.

"Speaking of cyphers," the Prince said, "My squire Sebastian intercepted one last week that seems harder to crack than most. I'd like you to take a look at it and see if it makes any more sense for you."

#

July 1, 1464
The Camberian Council chamber
Lendour, Kingdom of Gwynedd

"I can't stay for long," Lord Geoffrey told his fellow members of the Camberian Council. "Prince Nicholas will notice my absence if I do, so I'll be quick. Ramos is under siege and Valoret has fallen."

"Valoret?" Lord Alexei Petrovich's voice was hushed with shock. "How? My eyes on the ground were there just last week!"

Geoffrey raised a dark eyebrow at that. "I thought your 'eyes on the ground' were deployed with the rest of the Beldourian troops in Corwyn?"

Alexei shrugged, his expression impassive. "The situation there is a little more stable now. Your Prince asked Prince Alarikos to move some of our Beldourian troops further westward to help protect your kingdom's heartland."

Geoffrey snorted, inwardly mildly amused. Most kingdoms had their own paid informants in other kingdoms' back gardens. Most danced around this unspoken fact when confronted about it. The Gwyneddan King's Chief Intelligencer knew exactly where Prince Nicholas had sent the Beldourian troops. If a Beldourian scout had ended up in Valoret, he was quite lost.

"I must admit I've been very pleasantly surprised by young Alarikos," said King Mikhail. "Perhaps I should have given his offer for Catalina closer consideration, though she seems to be settling in quite contentedly with your Prince Nicholas despite starting off her married life under less than ideal conditions."

"She will make a formidable Queen, I believe," said Geoffrey, "although I regret to say that may happen all too soon. King Cinhil's condition has worsened markedly over the past month."

"I'm truly sorry to hear that," the Banoidhre Aoife said, "and not just because of the added instability that will cause within the region. The House of Haldane have been true and loyal friends as well as allies to the House of Shiele for three centuries, since the days of King Brion. Hopefully I will have a chance to pay my respects before the end. How is his Queen situated? I had heard there might be some danger of her being returned to her father in Joux once she is widowed."

"Not any longer," Geoffrey said. "Now that she is bearing Cinhil's child, even though that child won't be his heir, she has met the terms set out by her betrothal contract."

"And you are certain the child is indeed Cinhil's?" Lady Emmanuelle de la Flamme asked. "No dishonor meant to the lady, but a sudden pregnancy after seven years of barrenness just as her husband lies dying does seem awfully convenient, you must admit."

"It is rather difficult to imagine how you might speculate such a thing with no dishonor meant to my Queen," Lord Geoffrey said tartly, "but I am quite certain the child is his. No one who has seen them together would be able to deny they have a genuine marriage of the heart, not merely an arrangement of convenience."

"So you say. But King Renier will say otherwise, I can almost promise you. It is not to his advantage that Queen Alixa should suddenly discover she is fertile at this late date, especially if anything should happen to Prince Rémy," Lady Emmanuelle warned. "He will hint, he will insinuate, he will outright lie if he must, and her reputation will be of little concern to him, but he will want his spare heirs back at all costs. Yes, in theory he could remarry and breed another, but unlike when he courted his first wife, you're not going to find a long queue of royal fathers these days willing to hand their daughters over to wed such a man as Renier, now that it's better known what manner of man he is."

"A Deryni princess whose psychic signature is an echo of her sire's should serve as adequate proof of her paternity, I would think," said Gräfin Violette de Rhupen, attempting to smooth the waters between the Gwyneddan courtier and the council member from Fallon.

"Proof that a Haldane male was her father, I agree." Lady Emmanuelle raised a delicate auburn brow. "If only King Cinhil were the only one of those in Rhemuth, with no other close male kindred living conveniently nearby."

"Bloody hell." Lord Geoffrey looked shaken, a rare deviation from his normally enigmatic expression. "I don't believe the insinuation for a moment, but you're right, King Renier will almost certainly try to cast doubt on the child's parentage if he can, if there is any chance of getting around the contract that way."

"For what it's worth, I think the child is probably Cinhil's also," said Lady Emmanuelle, "even despite his health issues, which are of no recent origin. But your Queen should be warned that Renier is likely to try that tactic. Being Truth-Read, or better yet, Mind-Seen before witnesses might be one way she could prove her child's paternity, though admittedly that would be humiliating under any circumstances, but especially for a grieving young widow. Perhaps she can think of some less intrusive way to defend herself against a charge of adultery. However, forewarned is forearmed."

"Of course, if Renier attempts to lay a charge of adultery at his daughter's feet in hopes of proving her child is not Cinhil's so he can have her returned to him, that will only rebound in his face," Mikhail observed. "Adultery committed by a Queen is an act of treason. In order to enforce the law, the Crown would need to execute her, not return her to her homeland. Granted, given what Renier's Court is like, poor Alixa might consider execution to be more merciful, but fortunately if there is no clear proof of paternity, there is also no clear proof of adultery."

"While that is true," Lady Emmanuelle pointed out, "that wouldn't necessarily be a bad outcome as far as Renier is concerned. If Alixa were to be executed for treason, the next Jouvian heiress in the succession would be Cécile, who is younger and more malleable, not to mention at least technically married to the sort of man Renier would consider a strong and powerful ruler. Despite Haakon of Eistenmarcke's attempt to kill his young bride, King Renier might still consider King Haakon a more worthy successor to the Jouvian Crown than any of his female children, should anything happen to Prince Rémy."

#

July 4, 1464
The King's Bedchamber
Rhemuth Castle

"How are you feeling today?" Prince Camber asked as he sat by his brother the King's bedside after delivering the latest batch of dispatches from the war camps.

"I've had better days," Cinhil said. "Lord Geoffrey has just been by to see me. You just missed him."

Camber winced. "The enemy have taken Ramos, then?"

"No, thank Jesú. It was about something concerning Alixa, actually."

The king's brother looked startled. "Alixa?!" Looking around, he asked, "Where is the Queen?"

"Visiting Catalina. She should be back in a few hours." Cinhil leaned back into his pillows. "Lord Geoffrey has heard some rumors and speculations about Alixa's pregnancy. It seems there are those who think that the timing, coming after years of apparent barrenness, is not entirely coincidental, especially since it seems King Renier has apparently made it known to others that he expects his daughter back soon per the terms of her betrothal contract, which stipulated she had to bear a child in order to fulfill its terms or else be returned to Joux upon her widowhood. His concern is that Renier might seize on such rumors to press his grievance anyway, either demanding evidence that the child is mine, or if that can't be proven, possibly going so far as to make allegations that Alixa has been unfaithful to me."

"What?!" Camber stared at his brother in shock. "Putain de bordel de merde! That sort of accusation wouldn't even make sense, Cinhil! Does Renier think you deliberately avoided siring a child for nearly seven years and then just decided one day, 'Oh, what the hell, darling, let's spite your father, shall we give it a go'? And as for Alixa being unfaithful, does he even know his daughter?'"

"Evidently not," Cinhil said. "I know the speculation is ridiculous, even almost laughable, if it weren't for the fact that an allegation of adultery against a Queen would by necessity have to be investigated, were it to ever be brought up, because that would be tantamount to high treason against the Crown. Except I can pretty much guarantee that if Renier does decide to bring it up, mine won't be the head that crown sits on anymore. If the notion occurs to him, he would be certain to wait until Alixa is most vulnerable before striking. So while I hope the question never comes up, I want to be sure she has a plan in place for responding in the event that it does. I have no doubt of her innocence, but it would be a humiliating ordeal for her to have to go through, so if it should come to that, I'd want the matter handled as discreetly and competently as possible." He regarded his brother thoughtfully. "You told me a few months ago that Alixa had confided in you that she was afraid of being sent back to Joux, and that you had looked up our copy of the betrothal contract to check the exact wording."

"Yes. That's before you learned there was a child on the way, so the question is moot now."

"It might not be. What was the exact stipulation?"

Camber searched his memories, closing his eyes and focusing until he managed to call up a mental image of the document. "I think the relevant clause was 'For the marriage, the said Renier of Joux gives as a dowry five thousand livres and the annual income of Farnaise and Béarny in exchange for proof of consummation, to be returned along with the said Alixa of Joux upon her widowhood if she fails to bear a child for the House of Haldane before the death of her husband, the said Cinhil of Gwynedd.' I take it that 'Farnaise' and 'Béarny' are Jouvian towns? Will they produce sufficient income for her needs, or will that need to be supplemented?"

Cinhil gave a derisive snort. "We assumed they were towns or at least villages at the time the contract was agreed on, but they're manors. Oh, reasonably productive ones, but still, let it never be said that I married my darling bride for the vast wealth that she brought me."

"Bloody hell, Cin! It's like the man was looking for ways to screw you. Did he even kiss you first?"

"No, but he could have us over a barrel now. I'm wondering if that clause 'if she fails to bear a child for the House of Haldane before the death of her husband' means she's still in danger of needing to be sent back if our daughter is born after my death, or if 'bear a child' includes the fact that she is certainly bearing one inside her at present? I can see that argument going either way."

"Surely merely bearing the child inside her would count! The phrase specifically says "bear a child,' not 'birth a child.'"

Cinhil nodded, somewhat relieved. "A fine distinction, but hopefully that would hold up if this matter ever goes before a tribunal."

Camber sat stunned, the full impact of the danger to Alixa if Renier were to make a public allegation against her cutting through his anger and rendering him numb. "You truly think he will publicly allege her child isn't yours, then? Surely he must know that wouldn't result in her being sent back to him; Colin would have to execute her for High Treason if the ruling went in Renier's favor!"

"I don't know what he will actually do, Cam, just what he is capable of. If the idea occurs to him, he would do anything to try to exert his power and authority over her just because he thinks he can. And I know if he does make the allegation, he will wait until I'm no longer here to defend her."

"Colin will know the charges are entirely spurious. He will defend her, as will I!"

"Oh, I know you'll both want to, though Colin would be required to be impartial, being the King, and judge according to the evidence presented before him." He gave a grim smile. "So tell me, what's your plan?"

Camber sensed a trap in the question, but he couldn't determine what it was. "Well...I would produce the betrothal contract and show that the terms have been fulfilled, making sure to point out the distinction between 'to bear' and 'to birth'...."

Cinhil nodded "So far, so good. Go on."

The prince felt his frustration rising up again. "And then any idiot who knows you and who has even half a glimmer of Deryni powers will be able to sense that your daughter is a Haldane! End of tribunal."

"Yes!  Yes, they will!  Congratulations, you've managed to rule out all but two other possible contenders for paternity who would have had a means of access to my Queen!  Well, I suppose three, counting Balian, but since he's only eight and was in Candor Rhea at the time my child was conceived, I don't think he'd fall under too much suspicion."

Camber stared at his brother in shock. "You cannot be serious."

Cinhil pinned his brother with his steely gaze. "Think like Renier."

"Must I? That would be like wading through a midden." Camber frowned, thinking furiously. Cinhil's child was due sometime in September. When would she have been conceived? Likely in December, then. Realization dawned.

Camber looked back up at his brother, his face pale. "Colin was still at Candor Rhea at the time too. Renier would accuse me."

"Damn straight. Which is why I don't want you anywhere near Alixa's defense if this happens. I'll ask Joss to handle it, should the matter come up. As King's Champion, he'll likely insist anyway, and if there is any way for you to avoid being involved at all, I don't even want you in Rhemuth if this matter is brought up. Assuming the war is over by then, Grecotha will need rebuilding. That might be a good place for you to return to."

The prince was somewhere beyond mere numbness now. "Assuming we've won the war, otherwise this will all be a moot point anyhow. But Cinhil, I swear I've never touched Alixa. Certainly not that way!"

"Oh, I know that, my dear brother; if I had reason to think you had, you'd be dead. I am trying to protect you as much as I'm trying to protect her. If a tribunal has an objective Deryni Truth-Read or Mind-See Alixa to determine the truth, what do you think they will find?"

"They'll find the child is yours and that there is no possibility of her having been fathered by anyone else. I would swear my life on that."

"So would I," said Cinhil. "What matters just as much is that I don't think they would even find evidence for reasonable doubt if they merely comb through Alixa's mind. You, on the other hand, have been in love with my wife for, what, the past three years? Maybe longer? I can't very well fault your taste in women, but your timing leaves a lot to be desired. You could have at least waited until her official year of mourning was over before offering to–what was it again?--give her 'a bloody consummation and a child'?"

Camber turned scarlet, the memory of that brisk February afternoon at the top of Queen's Tower, consoling his brother's sobbing wife, flashing through his mind. "She told you about that?" As for Cinhil's other observation, there was little point in trying to deny it. Camber didn't know how Cinhil had learned of his feelings. He'd certainly done his best to bury them. But there was no sense in trying to conceal them now from a man who could Truth-Read.

"No, of course not. Alixa wouldn't dream of exposing your momentary fit of idiocy. But there are certain moments when I choose to share Rapport with my wife. If you do marry, you'll find that has certain advantages, but one drawback if one's wife is human–which at the time Alixa might as well have been, since her powers were Blocked–is that there are very few secrets in a mostly unshielded mind aside from the ones I have deliberately shielded for her own protection. So yes, I am absolutely convinced of my wife's innocence. I am also quite convinced that, with the exception of that one horrific lapse in judgment, you have been as close to a saint as I can reasonably expect under the circumstances. But what do you think a Mind-Seer would make of that cock-up of a...proposal? Proposition? What in the ever flaming hell would you even call that appalling offer, you bloody dimwit?" Cinhil let out a deep, exasperated sigh. "And yes, I have buried that memory as deeply as I can alongside the state secrets Alixa has been privy to over the years. I expect you to do the same with yours; maybe you can tuck it in with your secrets of the confessional. The fact remains, I can trust Alixa to pass a Truth-Reading. She thinks your feelings for her are brotherly, and I haven't informed her otherwise. I can't be absolutely certain that you would pass one, if anyone were to ask certain incriminating questions, or God help us all, attempt to Truth-Say you."

"Sweet Jesú," Camber whispered. "The last thing I ever meant to do was put Alixa in more danger!"

"I know that," said Cinhil. "That's the other reason you are still alive."

Next chapter: https://www.rhemuthcastle.com/index.php/topic,3243.0.html

[revanne]

Poor Camber. I mean Cinhil is quite reasonable given the circumstances but having to have that sort of conversation with your eldest brother who is also your King, and the man whose soon to be widow you are in love with.

No words for Rénier.

[DerynifanK]

Dear lord, can't you find a way to eliminate Renier ASAP? Drawing and quartering would be too easy for him. Please GET RID of him.
Poor Camber. What a quandary to be in. I feel so bad for him.

[Evie]

Dear lord, can't you find a way to eliminate Renier ASAP? Drawing and quartering would be too easy for him. Please GET RID of him.
Poor Camber. What a quandary to be in. I feel so bad for him.

On what legal grounds could Renier be drawn and quartered? You can't execute someone simply for being a horrible person. That's called murder.   

Certainly if the Hort of Orsal is able to find the needed evidence to prove Renier's treasonous intentions, then that would be grounds for execution by drawing and quartering, but simply being a dictatorial ruler and an appalling father is, sadly, not considered treason, at least not in the 15th Century. Right now there is certainly a lot of suspicion that Renier means eventually to try to overthrow the Hort's suzerainty, but suspicion is not the same thing as provable fact, and if the Hort tries to remove one of his vassals from his throne without evidence in hand to show why that was necessary, that isn't going to sit too well with his other vassals.

All of Renier's neighbors recognize that he's a greedy tyrant who would love to gobble them all up, but until he shows more signs of actually trying to do so, Renier still has some plausible deniability. Oh, so he married his middle daughter to a heathen king? Well, a man has a right to marry his daughters off to strong leaders if an alliance might be beneficial. His son is rampaging through Gwynedd right now, wreaking havoc? Well, Remy is his own person, and that's a matter of concern only between him and Gwynedd, not anyone else's business. By now the Hort certainly has ample reason to want to try to put the brakes on Renier's behavior and rein him back in, but not quite enough to outright depose and kill him.

Yeah, Camber is in a hard place right now. He loves Alixa, but knows that even if she weren't utterly devoted to Cinhil, she would still be very much off limits. He is truly devoted to Cinhil, so even if Alixa was willing to betray his brother, Camber is far too honorable to consider that either, no matter how tempted he might be. (Plus I can't imagine him being seriously attracted to any woman who would be that fickle.) Not to mention that he is genuinely devout, even if he did choose the priesthood more out of practical necessity than heartfelt vocation. And even once Cinhil dies, if Alixa is even willing to consider remarriage to him, there's no certainty he would be able to get the necessary dispensation to be allowed to marry her, though under those circumstances he would certainly try.

[Evie]

Also, bear in mind that Renier has not actually threatened to do any of this to poor Alixa yet! Lady Emmanuelle has simply pointed out that it's an accusation that Renier, given  his previous track record, would not hesitate to make and that precautions should be taken against it if it should occur to him to do so in future. Cinhil, having been made aware of the potential threat, is actively taking steps against it, but he is also well aware that it might or might not ever happen. But you can't pre-emptively execute someone because they might decide to do a horrible thing in future if it happens to occur to them to do so.

[revanne]

Appealing though it might be to imagine Rénier being drawn and quartered, he would be beheaded. However angry the Hort might be, and even if there was sufficient evidence of treason I doubt very much that a ruler would allow such a penalty for another ruler. It would breach the privilege of nobility and royalty to die with dignity.

[Evie]

Appealing though it might be to imagine Rénier being drawn and quartered, he would be beheaded. However angry the Hort might be, and even if there was sufficient evidence of treason I doubt very much that a ruler would allow such a penalty for another ruler. It would breach the privilege of nobility and royalty to die with dignity.

True. The much more likely means of execution would be a very sharp sword in the hands of a (hopefully) skillful executioner. Though executioners occasionally botched the job and ended up needing more than one try to get it right.

[DerynifanK]

You have a truly Machievelian mind to put them in this dilemma. The drawing and quartering was just wishful thinking because Renier is so AWFUL!! I hope Renier and Remy will both pay the price for their deeds, hopefully soon. I do hope this doesn't damage the relationship between the two brothers. Camber has always been devoted to Cinhil and I am sure is genuinely happy about the child.

[Evie]

You have a truly Machievelian mind to put them in this dilemma. The drawing and quartering was just wishful thinking because Renier is so AWFUL!! I hope Renier and Remy will both pay the price for their deeds, hopefully soon. I do hope this doesn't damage the relationship between the two brothers. Camber has always been devoted to Cinhil and I am sure is genuinely happy about the child.

I'm sure they will eventually reap what they have sown, but remember, we're just barely over halfway through the story at this point, so I would hate to wrap everything up neatly so prematurely. The best things come to those who wait. 

I'm pretty sure Camber would be (and already is) very devoted to his nieces and nephews. At the moment he has the luxury of being the "fun uncle." I don't think it would take more than a millisecond for him to be just as devoted to Cinhil and Alixa's child.

[DerynifanK]

I do hope his relationship with Cinhil survives this. One can't control feelings but one can control whether and how to act on them. I am sure he would never do anything to hurt either his brother nor Alixa. I hope Cinhilvwin't do anything to hurt his brother

[Evie]

I do hope his relationship with Cinhil survives this. One can't control feelings but one can control whether and how to act on them. I am sure he would never do anything to hurt either his brother nor Alixa. I hope Cinhilvwin't do anything to hurt his brother

Cinhil did say he can't fault Camber's taste in women, and also that he knows Camber has been as close to a saint as can be reasonably expected under the circumstances, so that doesn't sound too much like a man holding a grudge to me. He is quite reasonably angry at Camber for his one momentary lapse in self-control that is now potentially putting Alixa in greater danger, but he is well aware that Camber hasn't given him any just cause to execute him.

It would utterly break his heart if he did have to execute Camber, not just because he loves his brother, but also because in order to merit that, Camber would either need to commit consensual adultery with the Queen or rape her. The latter would result in Cinhil having to execute Camber no matter how much he loves him; the former would require him to execute both. He loves his baby brother. He's just justifiably extremely annoyed with him at the moment.

[DerynifanK]

I'm beginning too be afraid to read the next chapter because it is just one problem after another for the good guys and none for the baddies.

[revanne]

I'm beginning too be afraid to read the next chapter because it is just one problem after another for the good guys and none for the baddies.

Oh I don't know Haakon lost a body.

[Evie]

I'm beginning too be afraid to read the next chapter because it is just one problem after another for the good guys and none for the baddies.

Oh, I wouldn't say there are none for the baddies. Remember, they've got those deep fractures between them that are eventually likely to grow into rifts. The girl they believe to be the "Bride of Fire" who was meant to seal the bond between them has mysteriously vanished. Thanks to the Haldanes having her in their custody, now our good guys are aware there is a captive Blocker to be located in Joux. Cecile has been spared having to remain a dutiful bride to Haakon or having a future as Torval's mistress. (At least Torval would be kind and caring, but I think she deserves better.) No, our guys haven't defeated them yet, but if they did that now, the story would end up being much shorter and less satisfying in the long run.

[Evie]

I'm beginning too be afraid to read the next chapter because it is just one problem after another for the good guys and none for the baddies.

Oh I don't know Haakon lost a body.

LOL, so true! I think DFK is just disappointed he hasn't lost his own yet.  But just because things seem to be going somewhat decently for them at the moment doesn't mean they will continue to do so forever.