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The changeless routine of the convent was soothing in itself, for Celiese found the choices as to how she would spend her days had already been made for her. The sisters were either in the chapel or working at their assigned tasks. An introspective group, they were silent during meals, but their food was plentiful, providing a variety of vegetables and grains, butter and cheese, if little meat. She had her own room, a tiny one, so the nausea that continued to plague her mornings went unnoticed, but it worried her greatly. For the rest of the day she found her appetite voracious and was embarrassed to think she might be eating more than her share, but the sisters were generous and did not seem to mind, if in fact they had even noticed.
They complimented her upon her delicate touch with needle and thread and provided her with a large basket of garments needing repair. Far from being insulted by the humble task, Celiese found sewing as pleasurable as it had been when she had been with Olgrethe. With her hands occupied in useful work, she was able to contemplate her future without being rushed to make any decisions for the present. But it was Mylan who occupied all her thoughts.
She soon realized she had been a poor wife to him, for she had failed to make him understand how dearly he was loved. Something else had always taken precedence: winning her freedom, coming home, regaining her estate, all important quests, but empty victories when he was not there to share them. More often than not she found herself in tears, upset at the slightest obstacle, even if it was no more than a broken thread, or the fact that she was late to chapel. Her thinking was becoming clearer each day, but, sadly, her emotional turmoil had not lessened. She missed Mylan too greatly to concentrate on any task fully without his handsome face filling her thoughts. The memories of his smile and his kiss were most precious, but they brought an agony, as well, for they were a contin
uous reminder of what she had lost.
Finding her daughter seated beneath a window to take advantage of the sunlight while she did her mending, Marie sat down upon the bench beside her. After remarking upon the fineness of her work, she came to the true reason for their conversation. “You are happy here, aren’t you? Content with the life we live?”
Attempting to be as tactful as possible, Celiese hesitantly agreed. “Yes, your hospitality is most gracious, and I am more than content.” As content as possible without Mylan, she did not add, but it was the truth of her situation.
Clearing her throat nervously, Marie hoped to avoid an argument and continued quickly. “Mylan is a Dane, Celiese, his conversion quite recent, and from the way in which he deserted you I’d say it was most insincere. When you are certain you are not carrying his child, I think we should seek an annulment of your marriage so that you might join our order.”
At the mention of a child, Celiese blushed deeply. “It is too soon for me to be positive, Mama, but each day I grow more certain, and an annulment would be most inappropriate if I am to bear Mylan’s child.”
Devastated by that possibility, Marie was near tears as she rose to her feet. “We must pray such a travesty does not come to pass, for now that you are free of the man, the last thing you need is the responsibility of rearing his son.”
“He would be my son as well, or perhaps I will have a daughter, Mama, your grandchild. Can you not think of a babe in those terms?” Celiese hardly dared hope she was pregnant, but if she were, she would love Mylan’s baby as dearly as she had loved him. With a smile she thought how shocked he would be to hear he had an heir; it was an even better surprise than she had hoped to give him by completing her house without his help.
Before Marie could respond, the stone walls of the ancient convent reverberated with a din as deafening as thunder, growing in intensity as the small wooden door at the entrance creaked and groaned under repeated blows from a battering ram. Celiese lay her mending aside as she leapt to her feet. With her mother’s help, she managed to wrench open the narrow leaded glass window so they could look down upon the scene below.
Marie was terrified at the sight of the six muscular Danes who were moving back with carefully measured steps, preparing to strike the splintered door another fearsome blow. Celiese, however, called down to the tall blond man standing to one side who had been shouting directions. This time she remembered to use his Christian name. “Michael, if you wished to see me, you needed to do no more than ring the bell, and I would have come to the door.”
“That is your husband?” Marie gasped in horror, her fair skin growing deathly pale. The young man had not only height and obvious strength, but the beauty of a god, as well. The sun sparkled upon his tawny curls, and his light eyes glowed with the golden gleam of a wildcat’s as he looked up at her. He was the most attractive of men, but that did not diminish her fear, and she gripped her daughter’s arm tightly, “Do not let him break down the door! Send him away at once, he must not be allowed to enter!”
The terror in her expression was too real for Celiese not to readily comprehend its cause, and she hugged her mother warmly as she reassured her there was nothing to fear. “Mylan has come to speak with me, Mama, not to harm you or any of the other dear sisters. You will see, please have faith in me if you cannot as yet have any in him.”
Looking out again, Celiese saw the young men had dropped the log they had carried and had moved back to stare up at her. Waving, she called to her husband, “I will be but a moment, please wait for me.” Stopping to be certain her mother had recovered from her initial shock at finding so threatening a group of young men at her door, she ran from the room and with flying steps hurried down the winding staircase to reach the first floor. Several of the younger sisters were working together to push heavy pieces of furniture behind the battered door in an attempt to keep the men outside from forcing the entrance, and Celiese had first to convince them to move the makeshift barricade aside before she could leave.
Once unlocked, the old door dangled precariously on its hinges, but with the assistance of the sisters she was able to open it wide enough to slip through. She smiled at the men she recognized from the Surf Falcon, and they grinned sheepishly in return, obviously embarrassed to have been involved in so unnecessary an assault. Mylan, on the other hand, seemed merely astonished, and none of the pretty speeches she had been rehearsing in her mind to greet him seemed appropriate when he had arrived bent on storming the walls rather than politely requesting a chance to talk with her. Thinking she should hear the explanation for the violence of his action first, she held her tongue and waited for him to speak.
Mylan could not believe the ease with which Celiese had simply walked out to meet him as if he had knocked in a gentlemanly fashion upon the convent door, and he felt utterly ridiculous for having behaved in so outrageous a manner. She looked even more beautiful than he had remembered, which he had not thought possible. Her smile was enchanting, her fair complexion glowing with the bloom of health, her shimmering curls falling loose about her shoulders, and as always the desire she inspired overwhelmed him and he blurted out the first thought that came to his mind.
“They allow you to wear your own clothing rather than insist you dress as the others do?”
Celiese glanced down at the pretty silk gown, pleased by his admiring glance. He apparently still thought her attractive. “Why yes, of course, for I am no more than a visitor here.” Suddenly realizing the nature of his concern, she inquired softly, “Is that what you thought, that I’d entered the convent?”
Mylan glanced up at the frightened faces peeking out of the narrow windows of the upper stories of the large stone edifice. He gave the ladies a reassuring smile, but none of their expressions changed to more friendly ones, which did not surprise him. He had undoubtedly scared them all nearly witless, and he could think of no suitable way to apologize for mounting such a senseless attack upon their home.
“I had expected to find you at your house. André was there with some other men who were gathering stones. He said only the name of the convent, and I remembered your telling me that when women entered the order they remained inside forever.” While his mistake was an understandable one, he was appalled by the enormity of his error.
Celiese wanted only to throw her arms around him and cover his face with lavish kisses, but she waited patiently for a more appropriate time to display the affection filling her heart to overflowing. “I can see how you misunderstood his message, and I am certain if you and your men would be so kind as to repair the door, you will be forgiven for the rashness of your actions. I will explain to the sisters that you did not realize my stay here was only temporary, and they will understand why your reaction was such a desperate and reckless one.”
At least she hoped they would be sympathetic, but she would have to use her most forceful arguments to convince them her handsome Danish husband had only the purest of motives when he had mounted such a furious assault upon their sacred residence.
Blushing with embarrassment, Mylan pointed to the damaged door. “What is left of that door is beyond repair; we will have to make a new one.”
“That will be even better. I am certain they will appreciate it,” Celiese offered agreeably. “Now would you care to walk a few paces into the woods with me where we can discuss the reason for your visit without attracting so much attention?” Taking his arm, she gestured toward the forest that surrounded the convent walls, and he readily accepted her suggestion. But once they could no longer be observed, he seemed unable to find any explanation for what he had done, so she prompted him.
“You frightened my mother, as well as all the others, quite badly. Perhaps after she has had time to regain her composure, I can convince her to come to the entrance so I may introduce you.”
“I doubt she’ll want to bother after that ridiculous display of stupidity!” Mylan was furious with himself, but he had thought her lost to him forever, and he had go
ne after her in the only way he had known how. However, his deed had not been the heroic one he had imagined, but merely foolish, and the accompanying shame appalled him.
Seeing a fallen log, Celiese sat down upon it as she continued to give her husband her full attention. “I am not angry with you, please don’t be so mad at yourself. We are quite alone here; now what was it you wished to say to me that was so urgent? I will be happy to listen for as long as it takes you to explain.”
Her expression held only concern and not ridicule, and he went to her side, but he sat down upon the carpet of fallen leaves and leaned back against the log, hoping his task would be an easier one if he did not have to contend with her distracting beauty. “You told me once that I should be patient, that even as man and wife you and I were strangers still, and that misunderstandings were bound to occur between us. Do you recall that conversation?”
