The Burning Stone (Crown of Stars #3)

The Burning Stone (Crown of Stars #3) Page 141

“Does that not prove my point? By her own testimony she states that she knows of the book because she stole it out of a chest my own servant guarded! Ai, God, that she should come to this! And did she steal for herself, because she loves evil? No, indeed. She returned it to the very sorceress who had wrapped her spells around her!”

The biscops murmured among themselves.

“Did this Liathano bespell Princess Theophanu as well?” Constance looked skeptical. “She must have been very busy, if she had. Otherwise why would the princess make such accusations against you?”

He bowed his head, refusing to answer. It was his mother who called forward a number of servants who had, in the way of servingfolk, noticed every small and out-of-the-way interaction. Princess Theophanu had been jealous of her sister, and they had seen certain signs that she had formed an unnatural passion for Hugh, which he had delicately attempted to turn aside. Assigned to Sapientia, the aforesaid Liathano had made no secret of how much she had disliked her royal mistress; she seemed to hold herself as high as the royal sisters; she had odd habits and a way of being secretive; she looked different; she could read and write and had a strange and troubling treasury of knowledge. Sister Rosvita had made overtures to her, and seemed interested in her well-being. Prince Sanglant was obsessed with her. Most men who saw her desired her, as if she had cast some kind of spell on herself to make men helpless before her.

Through it all the king watched and said nothing.

“What of the incident in the forest?” demanded the haughty presbyter. “No one questions that arrows were shot at Princess Theophanu.”

Some who had witnessed the incident came forward. All noted how strange it was that the Eagle had cried out a warning when no one else had seen anything amiss, how she had been first to reach the fallen princess. Was it a sign of her innocence? Or of a plot gone awry?

“What possible reason would an Eagle have to murder Theophanu?” asked Constance.

“What possible reason would she have to burn down the palace at Augensburg?” asked Hugh softly.

The king stirred. “What do you mean?” he asked sharply.

“It is so terrible a story that I hesitate to speak. But I must.” Hugh glanced at his mother, who stood silent and severe next to Helmut Viliam and certain other of Henry’s favored companions. She nodded curtly. “I confess that I have at times been tempted by the flesh. I am not a saint, to battle temptation and win every time. My soul is stained with darkness, and there have been times when worldly lusts have overpowered the will of my soul. When Princess Sapientia on her heir’s progress rode by Firsebarg and spent a night at the abbey’s guesthouse, I admit freely and with shame that that night became a week and that week a fortnight. It would be a lie to say that I was never tempted by the thought of worldly gain in the matter, as well as her—” He chose his words very carefully, considering that her father sat near by. “Princess Sapientia is impulsive and charming. Perhaps I was proud to be the one she chose, even if I ought not to have succumbed. But it was done, and I returned with her to the king’s progress. I believed myself free, then, of the spell that had imprisoned me in Heart’s Rest, but I was mistaken. She was there. And her anger was like a spear, for that is the way she had, that once you had been spelled by her you were to love no one else. But when she saw that my respect and affection for the princess could not be shaken, she took more drastic measures.”

The king rose from his throne. “Go on.”

“She wished to rid herself of Sapientia and of the child that was the mark of my affection for the princess. At Augensburg, she spelled the inhabitants of the palace into a sleep and although I struggled with her, although I tried desperately to stop her, I was still in this matter a slave to her power over me. I could not stop her. She brought fire. Ah, terrible! Terrible!” He faltered and the entire hall stirred and rustled like the distant murmur of flame. With a palpable effort, he went on. “It was enough that we saved the princess and most of those in the palace, although I regret bitterly the lives that were lost. Yet I can never stop thinking of this: what if the entire court had been there that day? What if the king himself had been in residence in that terrible hour? What then?”

An exhalation hit the crowd, many people shocked and too stunned even to whisper to their neighbors. Henry walked right out into the middle of the hall and stood looking down at Hugh, his expression sharp and furious. “Why did you not testify before me at Augensburg? Why was this kept a secret?”

Hugh buried his face in his hands. “I could not,” he cried. “I could not! You can’t understand the power she held over me!”