Aside from Heaven

Chapter 4K

Among the Pure

After Sunday Mass, Vivienne stood before the church doors, searching the open area in front. The child she was looking for soon came running by.

"'Lo, Lay-dee Viv'ene!" The little blonde looked up and grinned.

"Hello, Annora! Are you feeling better?"

A salve-coated arm came out from under the child's cloak and raked itself across her nose. "M' nose is still a little drippy, but better!" Her smile dropped a bit. "D''you have more of the Ah...ah...ah run jah jam?" Now her voice dropped. "Malle got into it."

Vivienne smiled. "I'll see what I can do. Are you drinking the tea?"

"Bleh!"

"Well, drink it anyway! I'll see you tomorrow. Now, go on with you." Vivienne waved her by. "Your mother is waiting."

Annora waved and ran to her family.

"Ahem!"

Vivienne's smile became fixed before she turned around. "Good day, Maud. 'Tis good to see that Annora is much improved!"

"Aye, thanks to your strange witchcraft!"

Vivienne held on to her expression, not wanting the woman to realize that she rankled her. "Maud, you know I use no witchcraft."

"Herbs that are out of season, a bad season that no one has done well with, least of all, you! A strange fruit, no one has seen or heard of before, I call it witchcraft."

Vivienne shrugged. "The tree grows in Lord William's greenhouse. He- what?"

Maud stepped up against her and glared down at her. "Aye, yes, Lord William." It was a hiss, a conversation between the two women and no one else. People stepped wide around them, giving them privacy. Maud was a mean woman and no one wished to be on the lash side of her tongue. None of the parishioners would come to Vivienne's rescue, for fear the old woman would turn her spite on them. "We notice you sit with him in his family pew as if you are a FitzGisborne! In his wife's spot! All knows that the black beast you now ride, came from his stable, sired by his demon steed! What favors do you do for him, a married man, a wicked man, to receive such gifts?"

Vivienne turned red, angry, and opened her mouth to respond, however she felt a sudden warmth at her back, and a heavy hand on her shoulder, her body pinned between two dark forces. "My lady, is all aright?"

Vivienne felt an immediate peace, comfort. "Yes, my lord. We were discussing Agatha's granddaughter. The one that has been so ill."

"She is better?" William stepped closer, the heat from his body and cloak heating Vivienne to an extreme.

"Yes. She was the little girl I was speaking with. She is much better, thanks to your generosity."

"Maud?" He addressed the elderly woman. "Isn't it wonderful Agatha's granddaughter is on the mend?"

The woman's tone was surly. "Aye."

"Good." He smiled at the woman, a smile that didn't reach his eyes and it made the old woman shrink back. "I am glad Lady Vivienne felt comfortable enough to come to me to plead for aid. She confided to me some time back, that the growing season was less than adequate and she was concerned for the villages during the winter. My Locksley estate has a greenhouse, over-run with weeds and growth, but Lady Vivienne found what she needed, praise Jesu. The lady has convinced me to build a second one on my own, smaller estate, in order to have better access to her healing herbs closer to where she resides." He leaned over Vivienne's shoulder and whispered. "Have you seen the beast she was riding? I was terrified, her riding her father's old war destrier all over Nottinghamshire. According to her father's dying wishes, I was obliged to find her safer, swifter transportation to see to her patients, my people."

"Her... father?" Maud visibly deflated.

"Yes. He bid me to watch and care for her..." William let the thought wander off. "The FitzGisbornes consider her family."

Maud drew herself up. "I see."

"I'm glad you do." He squeezed Vivienne's shoulders. "Come, Lady Vivienne. My cook says we have too much pheasant and it must be consumed today, or it will spoil. I love my hounds, but not so much to give them all of the pheasant." He took Vivienne's hand and tucked it into his elbow. "Porcpoilue eats too fast and will choke on the bones." He turned and moved away Vivienne away from the old woman, whose jaw was hanging like an unhinged door.

"I cannot believe you call that sweet, lovable dog 'Hairy Pig!"

"I could call him Chattepoilue!"

A knight was holding the reins of both William's and Vivienne's horses. Vivienne pulled up her hood and drew on her gloves. "That's horrid."

William cupped his hands to give Vivienne a leg up. "He is useless on the hunt and has been known to allow the house mice to hide under him so the cats will not feed on them. I do not know why I keep him!"

Vivienne put her foot in the man's hands and lifted up, throwing a leg over and resettling her skirts once her feet were firmly in the stirrups. "Because he is loyal to you and you alone and he's obvious in his singular affection."

William snorted, before nodding to the knight, who handed Vivienne her reins. After tucking her red velvet cape around her and her stirrups, William rose up on his charger and pulled up next to the young woman. "There are those who are loyal to you and are obvious in their own singular affection." With that, he winked at her and moved forward, nudging her own horse at the shoulder. "I am not talking just about me."

~~~...~~~

With the thawing of winter and the coming of spring, Hugh's wife began to show and the shire rejoiced with the coming of a new FitzGisborne. If anyone watched and listened for signs of a second pregnancy from the younger FitzGisborne's household, they were disappointed and were wise enough to say nothing. While still cold, it wasn't as cold and the gentle promise of thaw was praised.

But with the arrival of early spring, an unwelcome guest returned.

One of the kitchen maids from Locksley disappeared and was found a week later in the rubbish pile. She might had been found sooner, however, there was a late snow and she was found as it melted several days later.

She had been strangled with a thin garrote and her clothing ripped, her body beaten and bruised. There was torn flesh caused by bites around her breasts, buttocks, and ears. The snow had kept the bruising fresh.

Her father stared into space, furious in his grief. "She were a good girl, my Gwen."

Her mother sobbed and Vivienne sent heavily drugged teas to sedate the woman.

The Lord of FitzGisborne, his heir, and the Lord of Harridston sat in a tight circle in front of William's fire, alone save for the family hounds.

"I thought he had moved on, gone to terrorize someone else." Hugh's half-filled goblet dangled precariously from his fingertips. He cradled his forehead between his thumb and index finger in the other hand. "I had prayed it."

"No female moves from the manse in Harridston without an escort." Fulks was staring into the fire, a scowl on his young face. His drink was tightly gripped in his fist, the other hand, slowly stroking the head of a large dog sitting next to him. He tipped his head and squinted. "So far, we have boasted of five marriages."

This statement caused Hugh to jolt and William to bark. It was a rusty sound, something he did not do often. When he settled back down, Hugh made his way to leave. All this ugliness and his wife was so very emotional right now. Like his younger brother, he had doubled the number of guards keeping watch. No woman went anywhere without an armed escort. Fulks waited until Hugh had left.

"I do not like Vivienne being alone."

"Neither do I." William rose to stir the fire. He thought to refill his glass, but decided not to. He needed a clear head; he needed to talk to his youngest son. "She is stubborn and I would prefer to woo her gently; however I might soon not have much choice." For some minutes, the two men listened to the popping within the fireplace.

"I have spoken to the sheriff." William spoke of Adamus de Boneventure, a man who had been William's friend since they were children, a descendant of Much, the Miller's son. The family had long been servants, if not to the crown, then to Guy's descendants. Long ago, Much had been granted a small estate with a ridiculously minute pension and his heir and heirs kept a firm grip on it, caring for it as if it were a palace, which it was not. William's mother made the mistake of mocking the family one time in front of William's father, and learned quickly that insulting the Boneventure's would gain her animosity and a smaller allowance. They were good people, good friends and knew what loyalty meant. William very much appreciated his friendship and his ties to not only the de Boneventures, but the de Millers, as well.

"What does he think?"

William steepled his fingers beneath his chin, staring deeply into the fire. "He is watching for a stranger; a stranger with an overbite and bad teeth."

"And what do you think?"

With this, William smiled and not kindly. "I think this is personal, not some random brute who likes to bite." Fulks nodded in agreement. "This is someone with a vendetta against the FitzGisborne's. He wants my attention. He has it."

William's youngest began to chuckle and it sounded eerily of Guy of Gisborne. "Do you have a plan?"

"Oh, aye, I have spoken to Adamus. If he finds the villain, then he will try him as the King's law states."

"And if you find him, first?"

William continued to stare into the fire. After a minute, he leaned back and grabbing the bottle of wine on the table next to him, he filled his goblet and began to drink. "Pray the sheriff finds him first."

William's youngest was leaning so far over the arm of the chair, William feared he would tip it over. "Please, I beg you, if you capture him, you will allow me to aid you in his killing. He started with me and mine. It would be a privilege to remove his tongue."

William's nose did not leave his chalice. "I was hoping you would ask."

"Why? So you could tell me 'no'?"

"No, so I could say 'aye'. His death will be a loathsome thing, something your brother could not stomach."

Fulks scooted his chair next to his father's so he was whispering in his ear. "Father, I heard a rumor when I was young."

William's nose did not rise from the goblet. "What rumor was that?" His voice echoed in the chamber of the chalice.

"That you hid old Edward at Aignes-Mortes as a favor to the king."

William never batted an eye. "And who told you this rumor?"

"From your own lips, when you argued with Uncle Gui when you brought that mad old monk with you when you picked up me and Hugh."

For the first time in his life, Fulks felt the need to shrink back when his father looked at him. "Don't you ever repeat that. It would break my heart to kill you."

"Would you?"

"No." William returned to his drink. "I would kill myself first." It was silent for a long time, nothing but the sound of the fire between the two men. "Sometimes," William finally spoke, "your mother told you the truth."

"That I was spawned by a demon?"

"No. I sired you and I am no demon, but I have done horrible, horrible things to keep you and your brother safe."

Fulks settled back in his seat, tucking his feet under him, much as he had as a small child. "Ah, so you are an evil man." He toasted his father with his goblet. "I'm proud of you, just so you know!"

William almost smiled.

"And you were Edward's assassin."

Fulks' goblet was knocked from his hand, the metal thudding across the carpet. "S'lud! Do not ever repeat that aloud! Love you, I do, but I will beat you until you are unconscious if you repeat it!" The air was strained, electrified between them, father standing over son. "I killed no one without Douma's permission! And I would kill more if necessary to keep the likes of the Despencers out of your lives!"

"That's why you sent us to Uncle Gui."

"Aye. That is why." William relaxed and sat back down. "Hugh was terrified of me. He had nothing to hold over me; my loyalty was always to the king and Edward allowed my family safety in return for my favor. Deadly favor.

"But there came a time when Edward no longer used common sense and the Despencers were denied nothing. It sickened me to send you and your brother away. I would have gladly given them your mother.

"Edward gave his daughters to that monster. He allowed Hugh the Younger to rape his own wife." William started to empty the rest of the wine into his goblet, but thought better of it, drinking directly from the bottle. "This is a good year. I will have to ask Gui for more and remember not to send any to the king. The best decision I ever made was making sure you and Hugh were with the French de Gisbornes. God knows, he demanded your guardianship enough." He upended the bottle, now feeling the lovely fuzziness of his nerves and around his vision. "Edward would have given in, eventually. He was completely in Hugh's thrall."

Fulks got up and retrieved his discarded goblet,. "Why did you save the man at all?" He inspected the bowl of the cup, and finding a few precious drops still within, turned it up to finish the last dregs. "As usual, you are correct. This is an excellent vintage." He set it down next to his father's. "Why did-"

"I save Edward? The king asked me to."

"But-"

"The king asked me too. "

And Douma said to save him. It was not his time. There is something yet...

"The king would not have known had you thrown him over the railing, into The Great Sea."

William's grin was sour. "No, he wouldn't have. I could have told him Edward passed on the voyage, that he was weak. But I didn't." He turned to his youngest. "And now, the King of England owes me, owes the FitzGisbournes, a great favor. One I will wait to call in." He turned back to the fireplace. "To have a king in your hand is a powerful thing. 'Tis not something to waste."

Fulks stood and went to the wine rack, perusing the bottles before selecting one. He twisted the wax seal, cracking it, before pulling the cork from the bottle. He poured himself a glass and reached for his father's chalice.

"I think perhaps I have had enough."

"I think perhaps, you have a right to drink your fill this eve." He filled it and set it next to his sire, before settling heavily into his own chair. "Jesu knows when you finally bring Vivienne into your home, you will have no desire to drink of wine, but will be drunk on the wine of love."

William reached for the goblet. "Dear God, that sounds something like Henriette would say."

"Aye, she has. We wish to see you happy, and we fear for her safety while this monster runs loose."

William took too large a gulp, choosing to hold it in his mouth, while trying to swallow smaller portions of it. "She is a stubborn wench."

Fulks was studying the depths of his goblet. "Perhaps, if we talked her to going to Hugh's or living with us for a time?"

"She would never leave and I would die old and alone in a cold bed." This caused Fulks to bark with laughter. "There is a faire next week in Nottingham. If she is not in my home by then, I will make her come and reside with me."

"Still-"

"There are guards watching her home and her at all hours. She does not know it, but they are there at this very moment."

This seem to placate the young man and for a time, the two men spoke of mundane things. They spoke of Cecilia, a babe Fulks did not remember, simply remembered talk of her and was not disturbed by his father's maudlin memories. It became obvious to Fulks that even two decades after her death, his father still grieved this little baby girl.

Eventually, Fulks decided he had had too much wine and his wife was more than likely asleep or worse, awake and waiting in their chambers here at Locksley, naked, expecting satisfaction. He shakily stood up, patting William on the knee. "Tell you what. When you finally get Vivienne in your bed, sire all the daughters you wish. But no sons."

"No sons?"

"No. No sons!" He wagged his finger. "Hugh has Locksley, I have Harridston. Daughters can have old Gisborne and your mother's dower house, which quite honestly Father, is in dire need of repair. I would not have a younger brother jealous of either Hugh or myself."

William scowled. Rising, he drunkenly made his way to the fireplace, grabbing a poker to pester it. Fulks was correct. The old Torksey manse was derelict and ramshackle. He hadn't thought about it in years and it irked him that as greedy as he was, he had neglected a prime piece of property. Perhaps, when this awfulness was over, he would go with several knights and an architect and see what needed to be done to put the place to rights.

"Father, who is 'Douma'?" His youngest son shattered William's inner thoughts.

It was quiet for a long time, so long Fulks thought William either hadn't heard, or decided not to answer. He set his goblet down and was heading out the door when his father's voice whispered to the dying fire.

"One I hope you do not meet until you are old and ready to leave this earthly plain."

There was silence, a silence so long and so old, it settled comfortably on William's shoulders.

"I know this demon."

Yes, you do.

One side of William's mouth lifted. "I will kill him when I find him, whether you say it is his time or no."

Yes, you will.

"Why do you not do it?" William spat over his shoulder. "Why do you allow him to feast on the innocents?"

Because, it would be too easy a passing for justice to be served.

This caused William to laugh. "I forget. It is your job to simply take the soul, not to cleave and rip it from the body."

The air became frigid and William dug his fingers into the mantle, white knuckled digits clinging to the wood. Grant him such agony, agony you are a master of. Drag his death out. Prolong it. I grant you this boon for suffering Melissande and Edward to live.

The promise hung in the air like icicles and William wrapped himself in it like polar fur. The question came, digging itself from the drunken frost slowing his mind. "Will he come for Vivienne?"

But by then, Douma was gone.

tbc

Chatte Poilue – Hairy Pussy