Maud lays a trap
Days after the star of ill omen had faded from the night sky, Queen Maud – attended only by the Duchess, for Countess Colburga was nearing her time as well – had been delivered of a baby girl. Almost immediately the new mother was out of bed and delighted to be fussing over the little princess and Prince Caedwulf, whom she had scarcely seen in the last month.
Sigefrith meanwhile, though smitten by the new daughter who so closely resembled her beloved mother, was out among the people again, and the very sight of him – so full of happiness that even his horse kicked and danced for joy – seemed to settle the discontent that had arisen during the reign of the strange star. Some people even said that Sigefrith himself had been able to beat back whatever forces were working against him, and they idolized him all the more for it.
There was one thing that troubled Maud, however, and that was the discord between Duke Alred and Githa Selle. They simply avoided each other at any cost. When the Countess had invited her friends to visit the newborn Lady Margarethe, Githa had refused to come when she learned that Alred would be there, and as it happened Alred never came because he feared that Githa would be there.
Maud was eager to involve herself with the lives of her friends again after her long illness, and so she set to work.
First she tried Githa.
“Githa, dearest, won’t you simply talk to him? You will have to speak with him someday, and the sooner it is done, the sooner it is over.”
“Oh, no, no!” poor Githa wailed. “I could never face him now.”
“Are you still angry at him, dear? He’s terribly sorry. You know how men are.”
Faithful Githa thought to herself that Theobald wasn’t like that. “No… I can forgive him. I just can’t look at him.”
“You make it difficult for your friends,” Maud scolded.
“Oh, please don’t,” she pleaded. “I – it was all so – ”
“I know, dear, but no more. We have to live together now. He’s sorry, won’t you let him tell you so?”
But Githa would not.
Maud sighed and sent her up to play with the babies. Luckily she had another plan.
A while later, she saw the Duke riding across the down from Nothelm, as he had promised. She waited for him before the gate.
“Good day, Your Majesty,” he said, bowing gallantly. “You see, you have commanded my presence and I have come, hoping mightily that I may be of some humble service.”
“You might,” Maud told him, “But first tell me how are Matilda and the babies?”
Maud let him talk on a bit about his family to put him in a good mood, and then she sprung her trap. “Now, about that humble service…”
“Ah, I am yours to command.”
“Very good. What I want you to do is make up with Githa Selle.”
“Githa Selle? She’ll spit at me as soon as look at me!”
“Nonsense! She’s sorry about everything and wants nothing more than to smooth things over so we can all be as we were.”
“Maud – be serious! She hates me! Or she ought to. How can I look that poor girl in the eyes after – ”
“Nonsense, my dear. Theobald broke your nose, that already ought to count for something.”
“And well he should have.”
“I suppose he was right. However, that’s done, and all that’s left for you to do is to go up and talk to Githa.”
“Wait – she’s here?”
“She’s upstairs playing with the babies, but I’m certain she will be happy to come down and speak to you.”
“Oh, Maud, no…”
“Ah! But your Queen commands it.”
“Oh, Maud…” he pleaded, but grinned a little at how effectively she had him trapped.
“You wait here and I shall find Githa,” she said to him after she had brought him into the hall.
Alred turned his back to the door and waited.
“Your Grace?” he heard Githa say in her tiniest voice.
Alred closed his eyes and tried to think of something he could say to her.
Githa hesitated near the door, yearning to flee but too shy to dare. Finally she summoned all her courage and, turning to him, asked gently, “Her Majesty the Queen says that you have something to say to me?”
Alred’s eyes snapped open.
“She told you that?” He turned to face her.
“Why – yes, she did. Don’t you?”
“Well, in fact I do. But she told me you wanted to talk to me.”
Githa laughed nervously. “This wasn’t my idea.”
“Nor mine. Why, that’s a fine trick to play on your friends! Maud!”
Githa laughed.
“What shall we do to get back at her?” he whispered.
Githa went off into a fit of giggles. “Oh, let’s pretend we are killing each other down here,” she said.
“Why don’t you start screaming some dreadful names at me, and I’ll pretend to cry?”
“Oh – but I don’t know any!”
“Try!”
“All right… Oh! Oh! You beast! You weasel! You – you – hedgehog!”
He laughed aloud. “Hedgehog? That’s the best you could find? I’ve heard Theobald swear – I can’t believe he never taught you better.” Ah, he reminded himself, there were ladies too gentle for bawdy oaths – and then there was Matilda. “Some day you should ask Matilda to teach you all of the things she called me when I came crawling home to her like the miserable cur I was.”
She blushed.
“I’m sorry, Githa,” he said more seriously. “I never had a chance to tell you so. Nor to thank you for what you did – the sacrifice you made – out of friendship. You give a man a standard against which to measure goodness.”
She shook her head, embarassed.
He would have liked to have told her more, but Maud came in, having heard the part of the exchange dealing with beasts and weasels, but missing the rest. “What does this mean?” she asked, bewildered to see the two of them smiling quietly at one another.
Ignoring her, Githa fought down the last of her shyness and reached out her arms generously to embrace him.
Alred thought back to what Theobald had said about salvation. At that moment, he felt redeemed.
