The Devil in the Details

3. The Mother

The woman's words took Deirdre completely by surprise, but the youngster had learned during the last year how to shroud her feelings well. She gave the nun her best smile.

"He's my guardian," she said. "Are the two of you friends?"

"Sir Alexis? No. I've come from my homeland to seek a boon of him."

"Granted," said Deirdre. She had no idea why she'd blurted out that word. For but a faint moment after she said it, she had a sudden suspicion that the woman had magicked on her in some way. But how ridiculous was that notion? Deirdre simply had become far too comfortable doing as she liked. The Fiend wouldn't be reproving of her making a promise in his name, but it wasn't something a child ordinarily would do. Others might judge her differently. And she scolded herself for acting out of her place. Always act normal.

She realized the nun was smiling down at her in the sweetest and most indulgent way.

"You haven't even heard the petition," she said to Deirdre.

"It doesn't matter. Sir Alexis is a pushover." She found herself taking the startled nun by the hand. "Let's go find him and let him know how he's to help you."

"If you insist."

"Oh ... um. What was the name of the family who carries the bull crest? The clan from the Frisian lands?"

The woman gave Deirdre's hand a squeeze as they walked. "They were called de Silva. It's strange that someone might carry that sigil after so much time."

"I'm certain I saw it right," said Deirdre. "But it's a simple design. Maybe someone just adopted it at random."

"That's possible," said the woman. "Or perhaps there's a cadet branch of the family of which I'm unaware. Heraldry hardly is an exact science."

By that time, the two had departed the great pavilion, and Deirdre gave a look around. The Fiend still might be where she had left him, but had he not said something about the tilting fields?

It took but a moment to spy her friend Lady Isabel near the yards, at about a furlong distant. With the foreign beauty was her self-appointed protector, Sir Armand de Bois-Gilbert, a great bulk of a Gheet knight. To her surprise, Sir Armand was talking to none other than the Fiend, who still sported the disguise of Sir Alexis.

"There he is," said Deirdre, pulling the tall nun after her.

The woman made no protest, but neither did she allow herself to be dragged along. The nun's long legs soon had her apace of Deirdre. Before they reached their destination, the faux knight called out to them.

"Tuppence, are you taking holy orders?"

"No," she said. "Mother Ignatia has come all the way from the Frisian lands seeking a favor from you. So, I granted it."

A humorous glint lit the eyes of the creature. When it did, he bowed slightly as the Gheet often did and offered the nun his hand, which she accepted.

"Mother, I apologize for the jest. I'm Alexis de Vere. Tell me how I might serve you."

The nun didn't quite curtsy, but she made a slight genuflection as the clergy sometimes did. Deirdre couldn't make heads or tails of most things religious, but she suspected religious folks were forbidden from truly bowing to the nobility. A slight tilt of her head was the happy compromise.

"Sir Alexis, it's a great boon I seek."

"Already granted," said the faux knight. "Tuppence speaks in my name on such things."

A look of surprise flashed across the face of the lovely cleric. "You do hold a fee near the village of Westering in your cousin's name, I think."

"I am so blessed," said Sir Alexis mildly. "A part of the land once was a priory, the Priory of Saint Elsbeth, if I'm not mistaken."