The Falcon and the Flower Part 12

"Jasmine, I want to be unseemly with you ... I want you to be unseemly with me. Just think of al the lovers who have sat here in this garden before us," he murmured.

"We are not lovers!" she pointed out.

"We could be, sweetheart. Yield to me, Ja.s.sy," he whispered urgently.

She tried for a light note to escape his intense purpose. "Ah, milord, a year wil pa.s.s so quickly and then you wil have your way and drag me off to your Mountain Ash and I wil yield to you."

"A year?" A look of thunder descended upon his brow and his voice was like a whiplash. "Three months, mistress. Make no mistake, you wil be wed to me in three months unless I'm in Hel fire!"

She watched him stalk off, his cloak swinging to his heels. He had delivered his ultimatum, as usual giving her no room to argue her case. He went directly to her father and told Wil iam he would let Jasmine play lady-in-waiting until the autumn and then they would wed. Final y he sought out Dame Winwood and issued her a list of dos and don'ts concerning Jasmine and her safety, which almost made the old woman's head spin.

Wil iam of Salisbury escorted his daughter to the City of London where King John and his child-bride, Isabel a of Angouleme, had arrived and taken up residence at Westminster Palace. At first sight, Jasmine was awed by its size, but she noted Dame Estel e calmly took it in stride and so she tried to do likewise. She reasoned that if she felt intimidated, how much more so must the little Isabel a feel?

Jasmine and Estel e were given rooms on different floors at Westminster since Jasmine had been chosen to be a lady of the bedchamber and Estel e's status had not yet been established.

Wil iam went off to closet himself with John while Estel e unpacked and Jasmine tried to make Feather and Quil accustomed to their new home. She met the two attendants Isabel a had brought with her from Angouleme and felt sorry for the two little mites. They were hardly more than children and both had tear-swol en faces from homesickness. A few motherly women had been appointed to guide and advise Isabel a at Westminster Palace in everything from dress to religion, but rumor had it that the little queen had taken one look at them and dismissed them immediately, likening them to a flight of bats.

Jasmine was slightly shocked that such a young girl was not heavily chaperoned, especial y since she was in the delicate position of being married but not yet old enough for the marriage to be consummated. She felt protective toward the young girl before she had even met her.

Isabel a occupied a large suite of rooms that adjoined the sumptuous suite chosen by King John. Jasmine tried to close her ears to the gossip concerning the king, which flew fast and furious about the royal hal s of Westminster Palace. She had been warned that court was a cesspool of venomous gossip and discounted every lurid thing she heard. Such things couldn't possibly have any truth in them anyway. Jasmine was about to experience a severe shock.

The first morning she was on duty, she arose at dawn. She sang happily as she bathed and dressed in a white silk underdress over which Estel e helped her don a tunic embroidered al over with pink and golden thread. She had been given strict instructions that the queen liked to sleep late and did not want to arise before ten o'clock. At that precise hour Jasmine took the queen's breakfast tray from a servant, knocked lightly, and entered the bedchamber. She set the tray on a side table and drew back the heavy drapes from the tal windows. Light flooded in, revealing the untidiest room Jasmine had ever beheld. Clothes were strewn about everywhere and the bed was in tumbled chaos. A smal , dark head emerged from the disarray to demand, "Who are you?"

Jasmine stared at the vivid beauty of the child-woman. Her eyes were large, black, with great fringed lashes, her head was a ma.s.s of tousled black silk curls, and her luscious mouth was red as a strawberry.

Jasmine curtsied graceful y before the young girl. "Queen Isabel a, I am Jasmine, daughter of King John's brother, Wil iam of Salisbury."

The little girl clapped her hands. "Good! I like to have royalty about me." She sat up and stretched like a cat. She threw off the bedclothes, total y unmindful of her nakedness, licked her fingers, and thrust them between her legs, manipulating herself furiously.

Jasmine was so horrified at the self-abuse she cried, "Queen Isabel a, you must not do that!" as if she were addressing a naughty child rather than the Queen of England.

Isabel a's fingers slowed in surprise. She was torn between anger and amus.e.m.e.nt. Final y her sultry laughter bubbled out.

"Why not? It feels delicious! I do it every morning. Aha, it must be true what they say about English girls being frigid as icicles." She stroked herself again and said, "Don't you do this, English?" "No!" Jasmine gasped. The girl laughed again.

"Why not?" Jasmine's face was crimson with her embarra.s.sment. How could she explain to the little queen that she would damage her maidenhead; that when she matured to womanhood and the king consummated the union he would think her unchaste if she did not bleed. Final y with Isabel a's dark, amused eyes upon her, she said simply, "It is bad!"

Isabel a was off gasping and rol ing about the bed, doubled over with laughter. "I love bad things. That is why John is insatiable for me!"

Jasmine ceased to think. A veiled curtain was drawn across her mind as stiffly she took the tray, laid it upon the rumpled bed, curtsied low, and walked from the chamber.

She walked rapidly, not caring where she went. Al she knew was that she must get outside for some fresh air.

Gradual y in the courtyard amid the bustle of castle life she became aware of her surroundings. The place was alive with merchants, servants, clergy, guards, dogs, horses, carts, and wagons. She walked on to seek a more secluded place to rearrange her thoughts and came to a herb garden with apple and quince trees. The color in her cheeks subsided and she reached up to pick an apple. Suddenly a hand was there before hers. It deftly plucked the fruit and held it out to her.

"Oh!" she said breathlessly.

"My lady, I did not mean to startle you," said the polite young man. "You are Jasmine of Salisbury, I know your father Wil iam. Permit me to introduce myself. I am Wil Marshal. As is yours, my father is rather important," he said with a faint, deprecating smile.

"I am lady-in-waiting to the new queen," she said quietly.

"Poor lady," murmured Wil . "I am one of King John's squires.

I've served him since I was a smal boy and he was stil Prince John. I take sanctuary in this garden also." Their eyes met.

Each knew the other had been besmirched by the one they served. She wanted to ask him so many questions, but of course propriety forbade her. He wanted to warn her of the corruption she must witness, but found it impossible to defile her ears with even a hint. Final y he touched her hand comfortingly, they smiled at each other, and departed.

Her father sought her out before he left London. Already the realm was in an uproar and he was deeply concerned, but he tried to look carefree as he bade the two women farewel .

Dame Winwood was too shrewd by half and soon had him voicing his concerns. "The King of France is ambitious to extend his power over the whole of that country and is natural y taking ful advantage of the hostility to John of the barons of Normandy, Anjou, and Poitou."

"The barons who wanted Arthur for their king?" asked Estel e.

He nodded. "King Louis has summoned King John to attend a feudal court made up of the dukes and counts of France.

Natural y John has refused. I go now to recruit the northern barons of England for war."

Jasmine asked, "Does de Burgh go north with you?"

"Yes, thank G.o.d. He's the best leader of men I ever saw."

"Does John go with you?" asked Estel e.

"No," said Wil iam. "He needs money and he wil go about the business of getting it." He looked grim. "He's the best usurer I ever knew. G.o.d help us al ," he murmured.

The vast dining hal at Westminster Palace was hot and overcrowded. Estel e and Jasmine joined the throng of diners and got their first glimpse of the new king. Jasmine was startled by her uncle's appearance. Her father was a big, bluff man with fair hair who bore a slight resemblance to his late brother Richard, who had been a large man with red hair. John was under medium height and extremely dark. He was so handsome that his face was almost beautiful, but he was vain to a fault, strutting and posturing in an exaggerated manner.

He was flamboyantly dressed in bril iant colors with many jewels and even wore his crown to dine. His voice was loud, his laughter bordered on manic, and his language was most profane.

He had surrounded himself by sycophants who laughed every time he said a filthy word. He taunted the servants with his power and enjoyed their cringing. Isabel a sat beside him, mimicking him in everything. It was plain to see she was a vain, self-indulgent, precocious enfant terrible who had fal en in love with herself at an early age and would never get over the infatuation. She carried a hand mirror on a long chain and glanced into it constantly.

Apparently both king and queen cared only for pleasure, as dozens of minstrels, jugglers, acrobats, and dancing girls performed continuously among the diners. Ribaldry and coa.r.s.eness were the order of the day at the royal court of King John and Queen Isabel a.

Suddenly King John stood and raised his goblet. "My father used to offer this toast to my mother after he had imprisoned her: "The pox, blue bal s, and lice, I've had 'em al , by Jesus Christ. But there's no soap this side of Hel to wash away that fishy smel . Gentlemen ... the queen!"

Jasmine and Estel e exchanged glances of distaste. Estel e murmured, "I must find a vulnerability in him that I can exploit to give me some measure of control. It is certain we don't want to be in his power. Remember, Jasmine, one of the tenets of witchcraft in any encounter between two people, one is dominant, one submits. The difference is fear!"

Tonight the heads of al the great London guilds were being entertained, but the reason for King John's hospitality became clear midway through the meal when he revealed that he expected a huge contribution from the guilds to the crown. The men became highly indignant at the sum suggested, and one even went so far as to voice his opinion that there was a difference between gifts or contributions and outright bribes.

Easily angered and always on a short fuse, King John gave vent to the infamous Plantagenet temper, which quickly rose to fury and rapidly escalated to violence. It was a performance that outdid any juggler or acrobat. He went red in the face, shouted and gesticulated wildly, made insane threats, then fel to the floor and bit the rushes. His closest adherents closed ranks about him, though not too close, as those who were accustomed to King John's rages knew there was nothing to do but wait them out.

Estel e clutched Jasmine's wrist and whispered, "My G.o.d, the Plantagenet temper brings on fits. He has a form of epilepsy and doesn't even know it." She smiled with satisfaction. "Here is John's vulnerability handed me on a silver platter!"

"A distil ation of lily-of-the-val ey taken in wine wil control it,"

said Jasmine, as if reading from her herbal.

"Exactly," said Estel e. "Run quickly and fetch some from my medicine case, but tel no one the magic potion we use on him."

Dame Winwood elbowed her way through the circle of attendants. Acting with supreme authority, with great confidence she took up a silver spoon from the table, knelt at the king's side, and slipped the handle of the spoon crosswise in his mouth. The people crowding about were in awe of her for having the courage to touch John when he was in one of his rages. The whispers began that this was the witch with such strong magic powers they'd heard about.

Jasmine returned and emptied the distil ate of lily-of-the-val ey into the king's wine cup and handed it to Estel e. After only one mouthful she noticed that John's heels ceased to drum upon the floor and after the second his color receded from an alarming purple to a flushed pink. Suddenly John was on his feet as if nothing had happened. The London guildsmen hastily agreed to pay their tributes and the servants rushed in to clear the tables.

Though no words were exchanged, Estel e caught John's gaze and held it for a ful minute. A smal part of his mind was now hypnotical y under her spel . Before he retired for the night, Estel e was summoned to his private apartments.

When they were entirely alone he said, "My brother Wil iam has told me of you, Dame Winwood, and how you predicted that I would become the next king. You have the sight, and you have the knowledge and power that go with it."

Estel e sent Wil iam a silent thanks and offered her services to the king. She dwel ed at great length upon his favorite subject, himself. With the shrewdness of one who has lived a thousand lives and experienced everything al down through the ages, she held John's attention. "I know your secret," she said simply. This covered the gamut of sins he had committed since boyhood. She stripped him to the core of his black soul with those four words, and she did so with such total conviction he was left speechless. Having reduced him to less than nothing, she began to build his ego again. "Many great leaders and rulers of the world have been afflicted as you are.

Alexander the Great Julius Caesar Charlemagne."

He was riveted to her words now. She had her hook wel into him, now al she had to do was make herself total y indispensable. "Your seizures set you apart . . . make you unique. There is, however, the danger of death everpresent with this royal affliction, so it is imperative you always have the with this royal affliction, so it is imperative you always have the distil ate and someone who knows how to administer it."

"Dame Winwood, you have wisdom that goes beyond the ordinary. I make you privy to my person at al times of the day and night, and of course you wil always be part of my entourage when I travel."

Estel e was satisfied she had convinced him that he could not do without her.

Chapter 13.

Jasmine made sure that she was not the one to awaken the young queen in the mornings. She arrived in time to aid with her toilet, help her to dress and to put the queen's elaborate clothes away in an orderly fas.h.i.+on.

When she heard the little queen squeal, she came out of Isabel a's closet and once again received a great shock.

Apparently King John had come to visit the queen's bedchamber, The moment he had come through the door Isabel a jumped upon him, squealing. She wrapped her legs about his back and he swung her about the room laughing until they were both breathless. They fel upon the great bed and Jasmine was stunned to see Isabel a reach out to ma.s.sage the bulge between John's legs. "Mmm, is that big, hard weapon for me, your Highness?" teased Isabel a.

John's face was tight with l.u.s.t as he pul ed the little girl atop of him and said, "Come and fel ate me, Bel a."

Jasmine left the room quickly and quietly. In her haste she almost b.u.mped into young Wil Marshal who was just quitting King John's private apartment.

"Are you al right, Lady Jasmine?" he asked, concerned.

"Yes, no, I ... oh Wil , I had no idea they cohabited."

He said quietly, "You are shocked because he is thirty-two and she is only fourteen, but real y, my lady, age has little to do with it. They are voluptuaries; two of a kind. They are like two peas from the same disgusting pod." He led her away from the royal apartments. "Let's take a walk under the quince trees.

There is little that is evil in a garden."

"Wil , what does 'fel ate' mean?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head. "I would not soil your ears with an explanation, my lady. But I am happy when he sleeps with Isabel a for she cannot be corrupted. She is wiser than Eve in the ways of men. He likes young girls, virgins; he enjoys the fear on their faces. Their cringing and pitiful cries excite his l.u.s.t."

"He does these things with you as witness?" she asked, shocked again.

"That part he real y enjoys. I was brought up so respectably.

My father and mother set such store in strict moral conduct.

The king enjoys my discomfort. It is his only way of getting at the great Marshal of England, even though he does it vicariously through me, his son."

"Your father would run mad if he knew what you were exposed to," she said.

"As would yours. Never be alone with King John, my lady."

As Jasmine took leave of young Wil , her mind was fil ed with Falcon de Burgh. He would be outraged when he discovered what this court was like. He would physical y remove her from the place. The whole court was contaminated. The evil lurked in the col ective consciousness, threatening, insinuating.

There were subterranean undercurrents, the vibrations tangible enough to smel and almost taste. Al seemed shrouded in shadowy mists of dread.

That night she visited Estel e in her chamber and final y summoned enough courage to ask, "What does 'fel ate'

mean?"

Estel e looked long and hard into her eyes, then sighed.

"Come and sit down while I explain these things. You know of the s.e.x act that takes place between a man and a woman. I told you of it when you had your first flux. I did not tel you of other things men like. Probably the most erotic act a woman can practice on a man is fel atio.

You go down upon his shaft with your mouth and bring him to climax by sucking him and licking him with your tongue. It is a wh.o.r.e's trick. Most men must pay a wh.o.r.e for this service because they wouldn't ask it of their wives. Peasants and men-at-arms prefer their s.e.x straight, it is only the n.o.bility who indulge in these practices. There are many other perversions.

I suppose I had better educate you for your own protection."

As Jasmine listened to Estel e's lurid accounts of men's s.e.xual appet.i.tes and the lengths to which they would go to appease them, she became quiet and subdued.

She shrank from being Isabel a's lady-of-the-bedcham-ber and resolved to do something about it. As Estel e had used her wits to make herself indispensable to the king, so would she, Jasmine, make herself indispensable to the queen in a way that would remove her from the intimacy of the bedchamber. She discussed her plan with her grandmother and listened to her shrewd advice.

"Now that I have been endorsed by the king, I can make myself a smal fortune at this court. When I am too old and tired to practice my craft I wil be able to afford to live out the rest of my days in luxurious comfort. I shal charge a high price for my spel s, potions, charms, and predictions. If I sold only aphrodisiacs, abortificants, and cures for impotence I would be a rich woman, and I need only give exactly the same as I gave the vil agers at Winwood Keep."

Jasmine said, "Isabel a is so total y absorbed with thoughts of herself that I can make a ful -time job for myself simply reading the tarot cards for her, or gazing into the crystal bal and predicting her future. I think I should have another talent that wil amuse her, such as palm reading or astrology."

"Astrology is very involved and convoluted, and I believe I heard that the king has his own astronomer from the days when he was prince. Palm reading, on the other hand, would be very simple for one with your perception. Here, let me show you."

The two women sat up until the smal hours, honing their magic skil s layer by layer, knowing instinctively that the al ure of the unknown and mysterious added a forbidden yet irresistible desire to indulge in the occult. Isabel a would easily fal for the witch's trick Jasmine would get her hook in to capture her interest immediately, then she could tel her any yarn. People, especial y queens, never tired of hearing about themselves.

King John went from rage to rage at the news he was receiving from the Continent, so Estel e had her hands ful .

Since the king had refused to attend the feudal court to which the King of France had summoned him, Louis now declared King John's territories were forfeited by feudal law. He had already marched into Normandy, An-jou, Maine, and Poitou and taken them immediately into his own hands. John had not the guts to sweep across the channel and chal enge him.

Instead he sought money with which to pay mercenaries to do the job for him.

King John had a backlog of thousands of cases of law to be settled by the king's court. He gave his new justices orders that people could buy their way out of punishment by paying large fines. Every dispute over land was settled in favor of large fines. Every dispute over land was settled in favor of whoever gave the king the biggest present of money. He decreed that al heiresses needed his permission to marry and sold them as he had Avisa, to the highest bidder. If he heard a widow had no wish to marry, he dug up a husband for her so she would pay him to leave her in peace. Even cities were expected to give bribes. Final y, his baseness knowing no bounds, he ordered that al Jews be arrested and imprisoned; they would be freed again only if they paid the huge sum of ten thousand marks apiece.

John was making a mockery out of the fine system of law his father had spent a lifetime establis.h.i.+ng. The barons were already outraged and, it was rumored, were holding secret meetings. Their worst fears had been confirmed. King John was untruthful, dishonest, and treacherous. He was also profane, tyrannical, and violent.