When they pounded on the abbey gates in the middle of the night, Abbess Talcott asked no questions and calmly ordered a guest room to be made ready. This morning, she sat patiently while the three ate their breakfast. As soon as they finished, however, she sent Jamie off with a young novice to feed the animals. One look from the abbess and Jacob made his own exit.
Catherine sat across from the abbess now in her personal parlor. It was clear the older woman would be put off no longer. The abbess poured sweetened wine and let the silence between them grow as she waited for Catherine’s explanation.
Abbess Talcott had been a close friend of Catherine’s mother. Like her mother, the abbess had come from one wealthy family and married into another. When her husband died leaving her with no children, she announced her intention to take vows and lead the quiet life of a nun. She backed up her intention with the gift of a substantial portion of her lands to the church. That gift was how she came to be the head of this fine abbey straddling the Welsh-English border.
After recounting the events of the past two weeks, Catherine told her of FitzAlan’s drunken attack on her the night before.
“So you see,” Catherine finished, tilting her chin up, “I had no choice but to flee.”
If she expected words of sympathy from the abbess, she was to be disappointed.
“Let me review what you’ve told me, Mary Catherine,” the abbess said, fixing Catherine with direct eyes. “This FitzAlan agreed to marry you to save you from imprisonment—or worse. He did this knowing little about you, except that you spied on your first husband and helped bring about his death.”
The abbess pursed her lips and tapped a forefinger against her cheek. “He is either a brave man or a foolish one.
“The king granted your lands to FitzAlan, whether or not he married you,” the abbess continued. “As I see it, the man gained nothing from this marriage, save for the honor of rescuing an innocent woman—or rather, a possibly innocent woman—from the Tower.”
The abbess took a sip of her wine. “A chivalrous gesture, I must say. And all he expected from you was that you share his bed and provide him an heir—what any wife is expected to give her husband.”
As the abbess put it, her behavior did not seem as justified as she knew it to be.
“But, m’lady Abbess—” she began, but stopped when Abbess Talcott put her hand up, commanding silence.
“You entered into the marriage contract and yet you have refused the man your bed. You are not an underage girl, my dear. When you did not willingly submit, he would have been within his rights to force you. Instead, he was kind and patient with you, beyond all reasonable expectation.”
This time, Catherine could not help interrupting to defend herself. “But he was senseless with drink when he came to me last night!”
The abbess arched one eyebrow. “Few new husbands would wait so long without turning to drink.”
Catherine looked down at her hands, twisted in the skirt of her gown. “When he came to me like that, I could only think of Rayburn.”
She stilled her hands and lifted her head to meet the abbess’s eyes. “I cannot live like that again. I will not. I’ve come to ask your permission to take vows and remain here at the abbey.”
The abbess patted Catherine’s knee. In a kinder tone, she asked, “Did FitzAlan harm you, my dear?”
Catherine shook her head. “But I feared he would.”
The abbess sighed. “Mary Catherine, you cannot punish FitzAlan for the sins of your first husband.” Under her breath, she added, “May God punish him throughout eternity.
“Do you understand what FitzAlan has done for you?” the abbess pressed. “What would happen to your son if you went to the Tower?”
“Must you remind me?” Catherine asked.
“Jamie would be taken from you. As you have no close male relative, he would be placed under the guardianship of someone unknown to him—someone likely to feel burdened by the care of a traitor’s son.”
Catherine did not want to hear this.
“FitzAlan could have sent your son away. Instead, you say he is kind and affectionate to the boy.” The abbess’s tone had a sharp edge of exasperation now. “You are foolish if you do not recognize this for the great gift it is.
“You know what you must do,” the abbess concluded. It was not a question. “Return to your husband, ask his forgiveness, and fulfill the vows you made before God.”
The abbess poured them both more wine and gave Catherine time to mull over what she had said. When the chapel bell rang to call the nuns for Terce, Catherine expected to be dismissed. But the abbess was not finished with her yet.
“Since your good mother is not here to advise you…” The abbess hesitated, as if unsure how to put her thoughts into words. “I will tell you, most men are not like Rayburn.”
The abbess cleared her throat and began again. “It may be hard for you to believe now, but many women find happiness in the marriage bed. It can be… joyful.” Her eyes were moist as she patted Catherine’s hand. “You must let yourself be open to it.”
The quiet of the abbey was suddenly broken by the clatter of horses’ hooves and the discordant sound of men’s voices. The two women rushed to the window overlooking the courtyard to see what was causing the commotion below.