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St Brendan’s Monastery, Clonfert, Ireland
Captive
Bishop Earl Odo of Bayeux occupied a seat in his opulent chambers at St Brendan’s. They spared no expense in the monastery's building with its Romanesque design, stone edifice, and central sandstone doorways. Celtic designs of carved heads continued to keep watch over the inhabits as they went about their daily lives.
Odo wore his long luxurious designed robe with encrusted jewels sewn into the seams. Underneath, he wore a knee-length embroidered tunic over a pair of hose. He sported a tattoo on the left side of his shoulder. It was an emblem of his order. It displayed a war club crossed over a mace. These were his personal weapons of choice. As a man of the cloth, he could not partake in activities that caused excessive bloodshed. Odo reasoned that caving a man’s head in with a club produced minimal bloodshed and, therefore, it was allowed.
He patiently waited for news whilst picking at a platter of fruit when a monk entered the chambers.
“Your Grace, we have found her.”
“Well then, bring her to me.”
“We chained her up in the prisons below ground.”
A flash of irritation crossed Odo’s features. He took a deep breath and said, “Then I suggest you release her and give her more comfortable quarters.”
“But Your Grace, we thought—”
“Do not argue with me Silas, I will not ask again.”
The monk bowed and went to do his bishop’s bidding.
Yesenda was dragged out of the prison cell she occupied, still with chains around her wrists. She was still groggy. She hoped Iain was alive, but she doubted he survived the attack. Before she passed out, she saw him collapse onto the ground and her heart broke. Yesenda clenched her fists and willed herself not to think about it or she was likely to burst into tears with a grief that threatened to consume her.
“Where are you taking me? Where am I?” she asked moments later. But the monk ignored her.
He took her to a large, richly decorated chamber. A warm bath and a platter of food and wine awaited her.
“Once you are presentable, the bishop will see you,” the monk said.
She was starving, but she dared not eat anything.
The bath looked so inviting; Yesenda felt gritty and clammy. She decided she would have a quick wash and then await her fate.
Moving about the bath shackled with iron was difficult, but she could wash away the dirt and grime. There was a long tunic and feminine robe set out for her, so she donned them as best she could. When she was ready, she was escorted by guards down a long hallway and then seated inside another large chamber. It was there she waited.
The warmth of the fire lulled her to sleep just as the doors opened.
She shook her head and sat upright, and her mouth dropped when she viewed the man walking towards her.
He stretched out his arms and said, “Miriam Ferguson, finally we meet. I am Bishop Odo, glad to make your acquaintance.”
Bishop?Yesenda thought if there was any man who could cause a woman to sin, it was him. She was unprepared for such a man. He was young, but there was something otherworldly about him. His dark, seductive eyes reflected every form of vice one could imagine. It was extremely disconcerting the look he gave her. It bored right into her soul and whilst it caused her to shiver, she willed herself to remain calm.
Then she saw it. A spark of interest. A slight softening of his eyes and a leisurely perusal of her body. His eyes rested on her bloodied wrists, the iron shackles, and her swollen split lip, and his face instantly changed and burned with fury. Yesenda flinched and braced herself in the event he would take it out on her.
“Why is she bleeding?” he yelled at a monk hovering a few feet away.
“She did not come quietly, and it took two of us to capture her.”
The monk did not see the hit coming. It was so fast. The bishop turned and punched him in the lip until it bled. Then his face was serene when he said, release her bindings and bring water and a bowl of vinegar.
“Bishop, it would not be wise. She could attack—”
“Do as I say, or the next cut you receive will be fatal,” he ordered.
The monk rushed away to do the bishop earl’s bidding whilst keeping a wide berth.
