Free The Marsh King's Daughter by Elizabeth Chadwick Page A

Abbess is right. Mayhap as time progresses you will find it easier to fit in.' He knew that he was mouthing platitudes. Listening to the vehemence in her voice, looking at her, the long braid shining in the candle-light and her head held high, it was difficult to imagine her spending the rest of her life on her knees to God.
    'If I do,' she said, 'it will be because the best part of my life has withered away.'
    Without warning, the curtain across the small alcove was jerked aside and a nun even more enormous than Sister Margaret filled the entrance, her arms akimbo.
    'Sister Miriel, what indecency is this?' Both expression and voice were incredulous and the flashing dark eyes held a glint of triumphant malice.
    'Nothing, Sister Euphemia,' Miriel said swiftly. 'My wimple was loose. I took it off so that I could arrange it properly.'
    'You must think I was born this morning!' The nun drew herself up, towering over the younger woman like an enormous black thundercloud. 'How dare you play the whore in God's house! Cover your hair immediately!'
    'Sister Miriel has behaved with the utmost discretion in my presence,' Nicholas interrupted as he saw the panic flare in the girl's eyes. 'Indeed, it shocks me to hear you use such harsh words against one of your own.'
    'Your opinion of discretion is scarcely the convent's,' snapped the nun. She bestowed a basilisk glare on him, then swivelled again to Miriel. 'It's straight to the Abbess for you, you hoyden.' Seizing Miriel by the arm, she began dragging her away.
    Miriel cast a frantic glance over her shoulder at Nicholas. He threw the bedclothes aside and started to rise, but he was dizzy and weak from his illness. The breath he gathered to argue with the older nun was squandered in a bout of coughing. By the time he recovered from the spasm and eased himself up against the bolsters, he was alone and the curtain had been very firmly drawn across. Plainly Sister Euphemia would rather he choked to death than interfere with her purpose.
    Swearing to himself, he reached for the clothes, but the effort of putting them on was too much for his weakened condition and, in mid-struggle, he fell asleep.
    An hour later he woke with a start. The curtain was still drawn across, but now another nun stood at his bedside. In contrast to the quivering, furious bulk of Sister Euphemia, this one was small, composed and elegant. The cross on her breast, although starkly simple, was of intricately worked silver and her air was one of authority, not menace.
    Nicholas realised that he was lying half-across the bed, wearing only his shirt and braies. Quickly he drew the sheet across his loins and reached for the tunic.
    'I am the Abbess here,' the nun said without preamble, her tone clear and cold. 'I do not know what went forth in here before vespers this evening, but from what I have heard, I can make an educated guess.'
    'And I do not know what you heard but—'
    'Please.' The Abbess stopped him with a raised hand. Her skin had the slick, transparent sheen of old age and hard work. 'Sister Miriel is our concern, not yours. Perhaps it is only natural that you should wish to defend her, but you can best help her cause by leaving this place as soon as you are able.' Her blue eyes were as clear and cold as her voice. 'It is wise, I think, if you do not see Sister Miriel again.'
    Nicholas met the wintry displeasure of her stare. 'Nothing happened between us,' he said with dignity.
    'I believe you.' The nun inclined her head. 'If I did not, you would be on the road even now and fortunate to escape imprisonment. I need not tell you that the punishment for seducing a nun is severe.' She pursed her lips. 'It may seem to you that Sister Miriel has little vocation, but I have great hope for her in the future if she can only be brought to our ways. The very strength of her will is the life blood our house needs to survive. It is my duty to channel it, to ensure that it works for the good of all and is not wasted in