A Memory of Love

passion?'

'I did, my lord,' Rhonwyn answered. 'Edward had been so unhappy with my coldness that I wanted him to know I had been freed of my irrational fears. That I could love him at last and was eager to give him children. I was too late. Another had taken my place. I accept that. It is my punishment for not being the proper kind of wife. I have always liked the lady Katherine, and I wish her no harm. I am glad that Edward has a son and an heir. But, my lords, what is to happen to me now? I fought with all my might to come home. I might have remained where I was in Cinnebar, beloved of another man. A powerful man, and a great ruler. In my heart, however, was a memory of the love I had for Edward de Beaulieu. I had to come back to England.

'I expected his anger, my lords, and I expected his scorn, to be sure. I did not expect that he should have held me in so little esteem that he had replaced me within a year of my alleged demise. I had hoped that I should be able to win back his love and his trust. I obviously never had it, and that, my lords, is my mistake. But again I ask you for justice. I was a faithful wife, if not with my body, in my heart and my soul. Edward de Beaulieu was not a faithful husband.'

Her testimony concluded, Rhonwyn bowed once more to her judges and stepped back. Glynn ap Llywelyn was then called before the court. He described how he had learned of his sister's disappearance and his shock to discover Edward had written a letter to Rafe de Beaulieu less than two months after Rhonwyn had gone missing. How he had left his studies and traveled with as much haste as possible to Acre to plead with his brother-in-law to wait before remarrying. How Edward had summarily dismissed him…

'Following the example of King Richard's minstrel, Blondell, my lords, I traveled the region singing my songs until, as my sister has told you, I found her.' He bowed to them and then stepped back to his place by Rhonwyn's side.

'The lady Rhonwyn, her party and the de Beaulieus will leave the chamber,' the king said. 'We must discuss this matter in private.'

Accompanied by her brother and the nuns, Rhonwyn glided from the hall. Behind her she could hear the de Beaulieus stamping along. The king's steward came and led them to a small waiting chamber where wine and biscuits had been set out. The men quaffed the wine thirstily. Rhonwyn sat silently, a rosary in her hands.

'How meek and forlorn you appear,' Rafe de Beaulieu said softly as he came to stand by her side.

She ignored him.

He chuckled. 'You say you are no tactician, lady, but I think you would be a dangerous foe in battle. Despite your own behavior your splendid performance will cost poor Edward dearly, I am quite certain.'

Unable to help herself, Rhonwyn looked up. 'You are despicable.'

'Lady, 'tis a compliment I offer you, not a rebuke,' he replied. 'I admire a clever woman, and you are very clever, although perhaps not very wise. You should have remained in Cinnebar. Did you not realize that it would be impossible for Edward to take you back even if he had had no new wife by his side?'

'If he had loved me, nothing would have been impossible!' Rhonwyn burst out angrily. She still found it difficult to accept the haste with which Edward had acted.

'Love? Love is for children, lady. Marriages should be made for more practical reasons. Your marriage to Edward was part of a treaty between Wales and England. How could you have believed there was any love involved in it?'

'Perhaps because I am not very wise,'' Rhonwyn replied mockingly. 'You are wrong, Rafe de Beaulieu. Love can exist between a married couple. I thought it had begun to bloom with Edward. He had, after all, said he loved me. Was I to think he lied?'

'A man will say many things when he is between a woman's legs' was the harsh response.

Rhonwyn's head snapped up, and she glared at him. 'You really are despicable. Go away! Why do you find it necessary to torment me?'

He smiled down at her, and she was startled by the sudden realization that he was very handsome. The silver blue eyes mocked her. 'I don't want to torment you, Rhonwyn,' he said in a voice so low that only she could have heard him. “ I want to make love to you.'

She grew pale. She could have sworn that her heart had stopped beating in her chest. She could not speak for a long moment. Finally she said, 'If you ever approach me again, I will find a way to kill you, I promise.' Then she lowered her head again and began counting her rosary beads.

'You are very bold,' the abbess said to Rafe, and she laughed when he flushed. 'Aye, I heard you, sir. My hearing is acute. It has to be if I am to keep strict order within my abbey's walls.'

'She will be like you when she is old,' he said.

'Probably,' the abbess answered dryly. 'Now go back with your cousin, Rafe de Beaulieu, and leave my niece be.'

They waited. Finally the door to the room opened, and the royal chamberlain stood, beckoning them. Returning to the hall, they saw that the king was gone. The queen and the clergy remained.

'The king,' Queen Eleanor said, 'was exhausted by this morning's events. He has left me to render his judgment. You acted in haste, Edward de Beaulieu, when you remarried without truly knowing if your first wife was dead. However, by having her declared officially dead, your marriage to Lady Katherine is declared legal by the church, and your son, legitimate. It is not believed that you acted with any malice, but rather from the honest conviction that Rhonwyn uerch Llywelyn was really dead. When you learned she was not, though, you acted with total disregard for her honor and her family's honor. For this you shall pay a forfeit, and you shall return her dower portion to her. Is that understood, my lord?'

Edward de Beaulieu bowed and said grudgingly, 'Aye, my lady.'

'As for you, Rhonwyn uerch Llywelyn, you have condemned yourself by your own words. However, you would appear truly repentant of your sins. The church has taken into consideration the absence of God in your life during most of your life. Your future, though, presents us with a difficult problem. Your lascivious behavior makes you, even penitent, unfit for the church. It will also make it difficult to find a husband for you, and you must have a husband, my dear. You are a lady of noble family who is obviously in need of strong husbandly guidance. But under the circumstances of your recent adventures, who will have you?' the queen said, troubled.

' I will have her.'

Rhonwyn turned to stare, surprised, at Rafe de Beaulieu, and then she lost her temper. 'Never!' she shouted at him. 'Never!' She held out her hands in appeal to the queen. 'Madame, surely you will not take this man seriously? Besides, there must be some consanguinity between us because of my marriage to Edward de Beaulieu.'

Queen Eleanor looked to the assembled clergymen. 'My lords?'

The archbishop and bishops put their heads together, and the hum of their voices could be heard murmuring in debate over the question. Finally the archbishop of Canterbury spoke.

'There is no blood tie between Rhonwyn uerch Llywelyn and Rafe de Beaulieu,' he said. 'If the lady had given Edward de Beaulieu a child, then the tie would be there, but it is not. He is free to take her as his wife. It is our opinion that this is the best solution to the matter at hand, my lady.'

'I will not have him!' Rhonwyn said firmly.

'The choice, my dear,' the queen replied, 'is not yours. You must have a husband, and he is willing to have you despite all your faults.'

'No!' Unable to help herself and in utter frustration, Rhonwyn stamped her foot at Eleanor of Provence.

The queen ignored Rhonwyn's protest and turned to her aunt. 'My lady abbess, are you delegated by the prince of the Welsh to act in the matter of your niece?'

'I am,' the abbess replied.

'What say you?' the queen queried.