Elder Isles - Madouc Part 42

*Saint Uldine's children were Ignaldus, Drathe, Alleia and Bazille. Each sur vived to pursue his or her destiny. The chronicles relating to these events may someday be made public.

Queen Sollace spoke decisively: "No good thing comes with out hards.h.i.+p. That is the lesson of life!"

"How true!" intoned Father Umphred. "Your Highness has succinctly clarified a whole heron's nest of untidy ambiguities!"

Queen Sollace asked: "Was there not some talk of the Grail? I refer to that sacred utensil used by the Saviour at his Last Supper, and which Joseph of Arimathea caught blood from the divine wounds. What are the tidings of this sanctified vessel?"

Father Umphred pursed his lips. "The reports are not exact. We know that it was brought to Glas...o...b..ry Abbey by Joseph of Arimathea, then carried to Ireland and housed in a chapel on the islet Inchagoill in Lough Corrib; thence it was brought to the Elder Isles by a monk named Sisembert through fear of the pagans, and now it is deemed to be in secret custody: in a mysterious place to be dared only by the most gallant or the most foolhardy!"

King Casmir had been listening to the conversation with half an ear. Now he turned, to stand with his back to the window, his face showing cynical amus.e.m.e.nt. Queen Sollace turned him an inquiring look, but King Casmir seemed to have nothing to say. She turned back to Father Umphred.

"If only we could a.s.semble a brotherhood of n.o.ble paladins, devoted to the service of their queen! I would send them forth on a quest of glory, with all honour for him who succeeded in the enterprise!"

"It is an excellent scheme, Your Highness! It fires the imagination!"

"And then, should we secure the Grail, I would feel that my life's effort had been well spent!"

"It is undoubtedly the finest relic of all."

"Surely we must obtain it for our own! The glory of our cathedral would resound across all Christendom."

"Quite true, my dear lady! The vessel is a very good relic, very fine indeed. Pilgrims would come from afar to marvel, to pray, to bless the saintly queen who ordained the great church!"

King Casmir could tolerate no more. He took a step forward. "I have heard enough foolish prattle!" He jerked his thumb toward the priest. "Go! I wish to speak with the queen!"

"Just so, Your Highness!" Father Umphred gathered up his gown and took his portly figure briskly from the parlour. He turned aside at once, into a dressing room adjacent to the parlour. After a quick look over his shoulder, he stepped into a closet and removed a small plug in the wall, which allowed him to hear all that went on.

Casmir's voice came from near at hand. "-the facts, and they cannot be disputed. Madouc is a changeling; her mother a fairy; her father is some nameless rogue of the forest. She flatly refuses a connection with Brezante, and I see no practical way to enforce my wishes."

Sollace spoke with emotion: "That is insolence in the extreme! You have already invited King Milo and his queen to Haidion, and Prince Brezante as well!"

"Unfortunately true. It will do no harm to entertain them; still, it is a vexation."

"I am indignant! The little hussy should not be allowed her victory!"

King Casmir grimaced and shrugged. "Were she of ordinary blood, she would be grieving at this very moment. But her mother is a fairy, and I dare not test her spells. That is simple practicality."

Queen Sollace spoke hopefully: "If she were baptized and instructed in holy matters-"

King Casmir cut her short. "We tried that before. The scheme is inept."

"I suppose that you are right; still-but no matter."

Casmir pounded his fist into the palm of his hand. "I am cursed with problems! They swarm at me in a plague, each more dismal than the others, save only for the most carking of all, which gnaws at me night and day!"

"Which problem is that?"

"Can you not imagine? It is the mystery of Suldrun's child."

Queen Sollace gave Casmir an uncomprehending stare. "Is it such a desperate problem? I have long put the matter from my head."

"Do you not remember the case? Suldrun's first-born son was taken and and we were given a bratling."

"Of course I remember; what of that?"

"The mystery remains! Who is the other child? He is the subject of Persilian's prophecy; still I know neither his name nor where he bides. He will sit rightfully at Cairbra an Meadhan and rule from Evandig. That is Persilian's gist."

"The force by now may have waned."

"The force of such predictions never wane, until they are fulfilled-or circ.u.mvented! If I knew the child's name, I could work some sort of ploy and safeguard the realm."

"There are no clues to the case?"

"None. He was born a boy, and now he will be the same age as Madouc. That is all I know; I would pay dearly to learn the rest!"

"The time is long past," said Sollace. "There is no one now to remember. Why not solicit a more favorable prophecy?"

Casmir gave a sad sick chortle. "It is not so easy to befuddle the Norns." He went to sit on the couch. "Now, despite all, I must entertain King Milo. He will be expecting a betrothal. How shall I explain that Madouc scorns his mooncalf of a son?"

Queen Sollace gave a throaty exclamation. "I have the answer! Madouc can still serve to advantage-perhaps even better than before!"

"How so?"

"You heard us discuss our need for holy relics. Let us proclaim that whoever goes forth on a quest and returns with an authenticated relic, then he can expect a rich reward! Should he bring back the Holy Grail itself, he can demand a great boon from the king, even to the hand of the Princess Madouc herself!"

Casmir started to ridicule the idea, then closed his mouth. There was, so he reflected, nothing inherently wrong with the proposal. If pilgrims brought gold; if relics brought pilgrims; if Madouc-even indirectly-brought relics, then the concept was sound. Casmir rose to his feet. "I have no objections to the plan."

Queen Sollace said dubiously: "We may only be postponing the problem!"

"How so?"

"a.s.sume that some gallant knight brought hither the Holy Grail and asked the boon of the Princess Madouc's hand in marriage, and the boon was granted, but Madouc proved intractable, as well she might. What then?"

"I will give away the little shrew. She may choose either matrimony or servitude; it is all one to me; the problem at this point leaves our hands."

Sollace clapped her hands together. "So are solved all our problems!"

"Not all of them." Casmir rose to his feet and departed the chamber.

The next day, on the landing of the great staircase, King Casmir was accosted by Father Umphred. "Your Highness, I beg the favor of a few words with you, on a matter of importance."

Casmir looked the priest up and down. "What is it now?"

Father Umphred glanced to right and left to make sure that they would not be overheard. "Sire, during my tenure at Haidion as spiritual counsellor to Her Majesty, and what with my other duties, I have become privy to many events of greater or lesser importance. Such is the nature of my position."

Casmir gave a sour grunt. "As to this I have no doubt. You know more about my affairs than I do myself."

Father Umphred laughed politely. "Recently I have been given to understand that you are interested in Suldrun's first-born child."