Unwilling to give up, Justin paced the floor in front of Gilda, searching for an argument to convince her to come with him. “Your instincts are good, Gilda, and I need your talent in reading people. You were right about Philip. I was sure of his guilt, but he was completely innocent all along.”
“I must admit I was worried when Mariel insisted that she was married to Philip and Cedric had not come to her bedchamber. It was the abbess who continued the questioning and arrived at the truth.”
“The abbess is a wise woman.”
Gilda nodded. “When Cedric realizes what happened, he will know that Philip did not seduce Mariel. But will Philip be safe?”
Justin suddenly stopped his pacing and stared down at Gilda. “Not at all. Once Cedric is free of Mariel, he will seek to wed Lady Emma. Philip will be safe only as long as he accepts that marriage. He is sure to try to sabotage the union and land in the dungeon again.”
Gilda frowned, and Justin pressed forward with what he hoped would be the situation that would make her want to join him. “I think Philip is going to be in even greater danger than before. If Cedric learns Philip and Emma were intimate, he might even put his young stepbrother to death. It’s important that we protect him.”
“Good lord, you’re right. We have to make sure that Lord Metcalf allows Lady Emma to marry Philip.”
Amazed at the leap she had taken, Justin shook his head. “That’s going a bit far, Gilda. I think the best Philip can hope for is to escape with his life. We have to persuade him to flee Mainz.”
“Nonsense. There has to be a way to make Lord Metcalf see that Count Cedric is not a proper match for Lady Emma. The count is an old man who has survived two wives and is now putting aside a third.”
Justin knew her expectations were too high. “And how is that to be accomplished?”
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “But there has to be a way. I’ll come to Mainz with you.”
Justin had hoped to persuade Gilda to come along and help protect Philip, but it was clear her purpose was much more ambitious. Although her goal did not seem realistic to him, Justin was quite happy with her decision to accompany him. He hoped he could reason with her later about how to protect Philip from harm. “Will the abbess agree with your plan?”
“She did say it was my decision,” Gilda answered.
But later when Gilda sought out the abbess, her superior asked some difficult questions. “Is it really necessary that you go with Lord Justin, or does your decision have to do with how you feel about the man?”
“I want to see the matter to completion, Mother Superior. My fear is that once Count Cedric is free of Mariel, he will seek to marry Lady Emma. Philip will attempt to stop him, and the conflict will lead to tragedy. If I go to Mainz, I may be able to convince Lord Metcalf to allow his daughter to marry Philip.”
“Sister Gilda, I’m sure you know that your plan has nothing to do with the task the king has given you.”
Gilda was silent for a few minutes. “What you say is true. But there are connections. Mariel’s father forced her, against her will, to marry Count Cedric. Now Lord Metcalf plans to see Emma married to the count, again against her will. Since I was asked to investigate the first case, it seems only right that I keep the same injustice from happening again.”
The abbess shook her head, but there was an indulgent smile on her lips. “You are exaggerating the connection, Gilda. You know that fathers can marry their daughters to whomever they wish. The king will not see that as an injustice.”
“It’s so unfair. I’m sure some fathers must be more considerate of their daughters. Perhaps Lord Metcalf is one of those.”
“I understand your desire to do all that you can to avert tragedy. But you haven’t answered my question about Lord Justin. I assumed that you would have made up your mind about him by now. I suspect he wants you to marry him, Gilda.”
“I know. I have to make up my mind. Sister Freda urged me to do that, but to tell you the truth, I do not wish to give up my vocation. Being a nun is important to me. On the other hand, the thought of not seeing Lord Justin again is painful to imagine.”
The abbess sighed. “You wish to keep both options open for a little longer.”
Gilda jumped up from her bench. “I swear to you it’s not just my inability to make up my mind, Mother Superior. Philip is headed for disaster. I have to do something to help.”
“I fear the task is more than even you can manage, Sister Gilda. I’m reluctant to see you go off on a wild errand.”
“I’ll be able to do something. I know it. Lord Metcalf was one of the king’s most talented knights. Sister Freda knew of him when she was at court. My brother Chetwynd had also heard of him and visited with him when he came to Mainz while we were there.
“For years Lady Emma managed her father’s manor and he never encouraged her to marry, but now that he is not well perhaps he worries that his estate will revert to the king when he dies. Metcalf knows Philip and even encouraged him in his desire to be a warrior. I must try to convince Metcalf that allowing Emma to marry Philip is best for everyone concerned.”
There was a long pause, and Gilda wondered what other objections her superior would present. “You will need Sister Freda to go with you,” the abbess said. “I will speak to her.”
It took Gilda a minute to realize that Ermguerrd had been convinced by her words; then, all she
