Earl Hubert's Daughter: The Polishing of the Pearl - A Tale of the 13th CenturyHolt, Emily Sarah
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Earl Hubert's Daughter: The Polishing of the Pearl - A Tale of the 13th Century
Holt, Emily Sarah
England -- Social life and customs -- 1066-1485 -- Fiction; Historical fiction
"I shall repeat no mistakes, I warrant thee."
The conversation ceased rather suddenly, except for one mournful
exclamation from Abraham,--"Poor Anegay!"
Anegay! where had Belasez heard that name before? It belonged to no
friend or relative, so far as she knew. Yet that she had heard it
before, and that in interesting connection with something, she was
absolutely certain.
Belasez dropped asleep while she was thinking. It seemed to her that
hardly a minute passed before she woke again, to hear her mother moving
in the next room, and to see full daylight streaming in at the window.
And suddenly, just as she awoke, it rushed upon her when and how she had
heard of Anegay.
She saw herself, a little child, standing by the side of Licorice. With
them was old Belya, the mother of Hamon, and before them stood an
enormous illuminated volume at which they were looking. Belasez found
it impossible to remember what had been said by Belya; but her mother's
response was as vivid in her mind as if the whole scene were of
yesterday.
"Hush! The child must not know. Yes, Belya, thou art right. That was
taken from Anegay's face."
What was it that was taken? And dimly before Belasez's mental eyes a
picture seemed to grow, in which a king upon his throne, and a woman
fainting, were the principal figures. Esther before Ahasuerus!
That was it, of course. And Belasez sprang up, with a determination to
search through her father's books, and to find the picture which had
been taken from Anegay's face.
But, after all, who was Anegay?
Licorice was in full tide of business and porridge-making, in her little
kitchen, when Belasez presented herself with an apology for being late.
"Nay, folks that go to bed at nine may well not rise till five," said
Licorice, graciously. "Throw more salt in here, child, and fetch the
porringers whilst I stir it. Call thy father and Delecresse,--breakfast
will be ready by the time they are."
Breakfast was half over when Licorice inquired of her daughter whom she
had seen at Bury Castle.
"Oh! to speak to, only the Countess and her daughter, Damsel Margaret,
and the other young damsels, Doucebelle, Eva, and Marie; and Levina, the
Lady's dresser. They showed me some others through the window, so that
I knew their names and faces."
Belasez quietly left out the priests.
"And what knights didst thou see there?"
"Through the window? Sir Hubert the Earl, and Sir Richard of
Gloucester, and Sir John the Earl's son, and Sir John de Averenches.
Oh! I forgot Dame Hawise, Sir John's wife; but I never saw much of
her."
"There was no such there as one named Bruno de Malpas, I suppose?" asked
Licorice, with assumed carelessness. "No, there was no knight of that
name." But in her heart Belasez felt that the name belonged to the
priest, Father Bruno.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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