The Lady Agnes Mystery, Volume 1 Read Free

she lamented.
    What a relief it would be if he lost his way in the forest and never came out! Agnès thought, and declared:
    ‘Indeed, what a tiring journey, and how kind of him to undertake it in order to pay us a visit.’
    Mabile gave a little nod of approval at her new mistress’s observation, adding:
    ‘How true. You have an admirable brother, Madame.’
    Agnès’s eyes met Clément’s and the boy quickly turned away, concentrating his gaze on the glowing embers in the huge hearth.Whole stags had been roasted there when Hugues was still of this world.
    Agnès had never loved her husband while he was alive; the idea of forming an emotional bond with this man to whom she was being given in matrimony had never crossed her mind. At just thirteen, she was of age, 2 and was obliged to wed the pious, courteous gentleman. He showed her the same respect as he would if her true mother had been the Baroness de Larnay rather than her lady-in-waiting. In any event, he had been gracious enough never to remind her that she was the last illegitimate child of noble birth sired by Eudes’s father Robert, the late Baron de Larnay. Robert, in a fit of remorse that coincided with a tardy devoutness, had demanded that his daughter be recognised, and even Eudes, who would not gain from such an official recognition of parenthood, had complied. And so the old Baron Robert de Larnay had quickly married the adolescent girl off to his old drinking, feasting and fighting companion Hugues de Souarcy, a childless widower, but, above all, his most loyal vassal. He had settled a small dowry on Agnès, but her astonishing beauty and extreme youth had been enough to conquer the heart of her future spouse. For her part she had accepted with good grace this marriage that conferred upon her a certain status, but more importantly placed her beyond her half-brother’s reach. But Hugues had died without producing a son and now, at twenty-five, the position in which she found herself was hardly better than when she had lived in her father’s house. Naturally, she received a dower 3 from her husband’s estate, though it was barely enough for her to run her household. It represented only a third of the few remaining properties Hugues had not squandered, comprising the Manoir de Souarcy and its adjoining land, as well as an expanse of arid grey terrain known as La Haute-Gravière where only thistlesand nettles grew. However, her dower was far from safe, for if, as she feared, Eudes was able to show that her conduct as a widow was inappropriate, she would be dispossessed in accordance with an old Normandy custom stipulating: ‘A loose-living woman forfeits her dower.’ At the cost of interminable wars, the province of Normandy had remained in the realm for the past hundred years, but it conserved its customs and fiercely asserted the right to a ‘Norman Charter’ that enshrined its traditional privileges. These did not favour women, and if Agnès’s half-brother achieved his ends, there would be only three ways for her to escape destitution: the convent – which would mean leaving her daughter in Eudes’s predatory hands; remarriage, if he gave his consent – which he could withhold; and death – for she would never yield to him.
    Mabile’s sighs brought her back to reality.
    ‘What a pity it is Wednesday, a fast day. 4 Were my master to stay until tomorrow he could enjoy our fine pheasants. Tonight he will have to make do with plain vegetable soup, no pork, spiced mushrooms and a dried fruit pudding.’
    ‘There is no place for regrets of this kind in my house, Mabile. As for my brother, I am sure that, like the rest of us, he finds great solace in penitence,’ Agnès retorted, her thoughts elsewhere.
    ‘Oh yes, like the rest of us, Madame,’ repeated the other woman, fearful her remark might be deemed sacrilegious.
    A loud commotion emanating from the main courtyard put an end to Mabile’s discomposure. Eudes had arrived. She hurried over