Lady of the English - By Elizabeth Chadwick Page 0,179
Teri. The great doors, banded in wrought-iron shapes and curlicues, stood open to reveal a long series of steps, rising under an archway and leading towards a vestibule.
“I wanted to build you a palace,” Will said with anxiety in his eyes. “I hope you approve.”
Her throat tightened with emotion. All the work on the 442
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outside (except perhaps for the rondels) was designed to her taste, not his. “I am overwhelmed,” she said. “Approve is not an adequate word.” She wiped her eyes on the corner of her sleeve.
He held out his arm. Adeliza laid her hand along his wrist and processed with him in courtly fashion through the first door and up the stairs, the children following behind with their nurses. Passing under an arch with decorated columns, she came to a vestibule facing a splendid series of arches curving one over the other, leading into a great hall with a fireplace set on a stone slab in the centre of the room. A hanging bearing the gold Albini lion decorated the end wall, with two carved and painted chairs set on the dais below it.
Adeliza felt as if her eyes were not large enough to take in all the detail. It was like having a serving dish piled high with so many delectable foods that just by looking you could almost lose your appetite.
Beyond the great hall lay the chapel, embellished with ornate arches and more blind arcading. Painting had begun and the main colours were blue and white, for the colours of the Virgin’s cloak and veil. A lamp burned above the altar, which was adorned by a silver cross and candlesticks.
Adeliza could only shake her head. Will opened his arms and she went into them and pressed her head against his breast.
“Why is Mama crying?” Wilkin demanded.
“Because this is a big surprise she was not expecting.” Wilkin frowned. “I like surprises,” he said. “Doesn’t Mama?”
“Yes, she does; her tears are happy ones. Go with Bernice and she will find you something to eat and drink. Your mother will talk to you later.”
The nurses removed the children, and Adeliza knelt to pray.
Knowing her foibles, Will knelt with her, waiting until she was ready.
At length she raised her head and wiped her eyes. “I will 443
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have to explain to him now why sometimes people cry with joy,” she said wryly.
“But not just yet,” he said. “There is something else I want you to see.”
Adeliza shook her head. “I am not sure I can bear any more surprises. My cup is already overflowing.”
“You can bear this one, I promise.” Smiling broadly, he led her by the hand from the chapel, back to the hall, and then through to a well-appointed living chamber with two recessed south-facing windows and between them a large fireplace.
An ample bed stood at the back of the room, made up with mattresses, but as yet no hangings and covers.
Adeliza gazed round. “It is very fine,” she said, relieved that there was nothing here to overwhelm her saturated emotions, but cautious because his grin was brighter than ever.
“And I will show you something finer yet.” He gestured towards two narrow doorways set in the west wall. Her curiosity piqued, Adeliza went to the first one. Along a narrow, skewed passageway, she came to a door, and beyond that, a latrine with a small looped window giving air and light.
There was a recess for a candle and a polished wooden seat.
“You show me a latrine as a thing of wonder?” She eyed him askance.
He shrugged and gestured. “Now look at the other one.” Mystified, she did so, and found an almost identical garderobe, except that this one had a triangular urinal set into the wall.
“You always complain I splash the seat,” he said. “That will no longer be a problem if we have one each.” Adeliza stared and her shoulders began to shake again.
Tears filled her eyes. “Oh Will!” She was laughing so hard she could scarcely breathe and it was his turn to look askance.
Clutching her aching stomach, she stumbled to the bed and collapsed on the mattresses. “You showed me a town and a 444
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hospital,” she said, raising one hand to wipe her eyes. “I was expecting that. You showed me a church and a castle with fine decoration, and I thought you had excelled yourself.
You showed me a chapel that is so beautiful that it hurts me in here.”