A TRAP
FOR CATHERINE
#6
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Book
7
Fire
in the
Valley...
1436
|
Although Arnaud de Montsalvy had promised his wife Catherine
to accompany him if he was ordered to return to the war to
free France from the English, he did not seem unhappy when
she caught a cold shortly before his departure. He wanted
her to be safe at Montsalvy... ...and when the king calls, a
true knight must do his duty...! |
The
king
recalls
his
knights
to Paris...
Château
of
Montsalvy
Xaintrailles,
Arnaud
de
Montsalvy
& La
Hire
|
Two
months had passed since Arnaud de Montsalvy had gone
with his entourage to Paris. It was now the turn of
the lady of Montsalvy to make a daily check around their
land. As always, she was accompanied by Josse Rallard,
whom Arnaud had left in Montsalvy because he was the best
warrior of his people and he entrusted Catherine, his
children and all of Montsalvy to him.
But that morning they saw fires in the valley and discovered
that the mercenaries'Apchiers' were in the valley. Among
them they discovered one of the inhabitants of Montsalvy who
must have betrayed them. They returned to the castle as
quickly as possible shouting: "Close the gates, we are being
besieged". |
|
Catherine explained to 'Abbot Bernard Calmont d'Olt', (coseigneur
of Montsalvy) that she had recognised the banner of the
Apchiers. The abbot suspects that the Apchiers, called 'the
wolf of the Gévaudan', must have gotten very jealous after
he had been invited to the baptism of little Isabelle and
thought it a good opportunity to lay siege to the town while
their Master was away and blunder the castle... |
|
But
then the real villain appears, the enemy of the Montsalvy,
the Spanish mercenary 'Rodrigo Villandrando'. When asked
what he was doing here, he complacently replies that Arnaud
is not here and that she needs a protector. Catherine just
stares at him. He tells her that she should not be so
arrogant, that she does not know if the lord of Montsalvy
will ever return home...! But when she wants to know what he
is talking about, he replies that he has 'a 'foreboding'...
Catherine slaps him and chases him out of the Great hall...
During the night, one of the monks, Brother Amable is sent
through a secret passage to get help... |
|
Catherine's young page, 'Bérenger de Roquemaurel,' who is
training to become a knight in Arnaud's household, has
disappeared. While visiting his young cousin with whom the
boy is secretly in love, he had to take a diversion to
return back to Montsalvy because of the siege. It was
Beranger who delivered the terrible news: the messenger had
been hanged...Someone in the castle or the village must be a
traitor...! |
|
While Catherine went to the village, she hears 'Gauberte
Cairou' arguing with 'Azalaïs', the young lace-maker who was
called
«
the belle of the village
».
The young girl thinks that everything is the fault of the
Lady of Montsalvy. All d'Apchier wanted was the gold and the
mistress in his bed...! she had but a few men to protect
her, and in any case, the 'Lord Arnaud' would not return
home!
Catherine was reflecting on what the girl said. She reminded
her of 'Marie Comborn' and 'Princess Zobeïda' the two women
who were madly in love with her husband...
That evening, 'Marie Rallard' promised to set a trap for
Azalaïs... perhaps then they would discover who the traitor
was in Montsalvy. The next day she told Azalaïs that in the
night a new messenger would be sent for help... In agreement
with Josse, Fortunat, Arnaud's faithful squire went to the
underground late at night...! |
|
Josse and his men manage to subdue the young Montsalvyian 'Gervais
Malfrat' and take him straight to the torture chamber, which
had never been used in the new castle so far! It turns out
that Azalaïs is in fact the traitor whose lover Gervais has
become.
Under the threat of torture, he confesses that someone is on
his way to Paris with a forged letter from Azalaïs
and one of Catherine's finest undergarments. The aim is to
convince the master that Catherine has let the Spanish
mercenary 'Rodrigo Villandrado' into the castle to become
his mistress. And not enough, on the way back, this
messenger would poison Arnaud....! Catherine faints from
shock.... |
|
Abbot Bernard implored Catherine to ride as fast as possible
to Paris in order to arrive at Arnaud's in time
before the perfidious trap of Captain Rodrigo Villandrando
was unleashed.
The abbot knew how irascible and jealous the lord of
Montsalvy can be... Sara, Marie and the children would go
secretly to Carlat to countess' Elénore' in order not
to be taken hostages if the town was taken. Only her page
Bérenger de Roquemaurel should accompany her. He gives
her a letter which she must deliver to Arnaud as soon as she
meets him... |
|
Sara wants to go with Catherine, but Catherine wishes her to
stay with her son Michel and her daughter, little Isabelle
in case something were to happen to Catherine...
Catherine has no choice but to disguise herself again as a
man and rushes off to Paris with her page in the hope
of arriving in time... !
On the way, they hear the news that Paris is finally free of
the English and that Constable 'Arthur de Richemont' has
arrived in Paris... . |
|
After many detours, Catherine and her page finally reach
Paris.
As
they enter the city,
she
meets by change 'Tristan L'Hermite' her friend from the time
when 'Georges de la Trémoille' was overthrown in Chinon.
He is happy to see Catherine but seems to avoid her at
first. Yet when she insists on being taken to Arnaud, he
tells her that the 'Count de Montsalvy' has been arrested
and imprisoned in the Bastille. Where death awaits
him...! |
|
Tristan l-Hermite who has become provost (in charge of all
the military police in the King's army). He takes Catherine
and Béranger to the Hôtel de l'Aigle where he wants
to explain everything to her over dinner. As fate would have
it, Catherine finds her former squire 'Gauthier de Chazay',
who had returned to Paris to continue his studies at
the Sorbonne, but who is not very happy. Catherine is
delighted and young Bérenger is totally captivated by the
young man and they become friends. |
The
Prisoner
of the Bastille
|
Tristan explains: When Paris was liberated from the
English, they locked up the people who were on the side of
the English and Burgundians. The Constable of Richemont gave
his word that these prisoners would be given safe conduct.
Anyone who opposed this would be sentenced to death. Arnaud,
who was present at the meeting, became irritated and did not
understand.
... On his way to the Bastille with the other
captains he suddenly saw his brother 'Michel's' assassin
coming out, he lost his self-control, ran to the prisoner'
and avenged his dead brother by stabbing him with a
Montsalvy's dagger. He also wanted to kill the 'bishop of
Beauvais' (formerly Cauchon), who was also responsible for
the death of 'Joan of Arc', but the soldiers dissuaded him
at the last moment and took him to the Bastille...
There was only one thing left for her to do: to go to the
Constable in person and explain why Arnaud had reacted like
that... |
|
Catherine figures that if Arnaud is in the Bastille,
he cannot be contacted with the lies of Rodrigo
Villandrando - the next day just before she is on her
way to the Constable, to her delight, she finds herself
confronted with a personage truly formidable. It is none
other than 'Jean d'Orléans', Comte de Dunois, (the
illegitimate son of Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans) a
'brother in arms of Arnaud and a good friend also to
Catherine. He honored her with his presence to see the
Constable 'Arthur de Richemont', who was also the godfather
of her baby daughter Isabelle. |
|
One is
surprised to see the Countess of Montsalvy in the company of
the Count of Dunois. Instead of bursting into tears, she
approaches the Constable to inform him that her husband has
left his town to fight for France, while Montsalvy was now
under siege and she must fear for her life and that of her
children and her inhabitants! She has come to ask Arnaud to
return home to chase away Captain de Villandrando and his
bandits.
At first, 'Arthur de Richemont' is obstinate. He has given
his word and he will keep it, he replies. Other leading
personalities get involved and the lord of Paris, 'Michel de
Lallier', says that she is a noblewoman and does not
understand what happened in Paris in 1413. To which
Catherine angrily replied: "Before I became Catherine de
Montsalvy, my name was Catherine Legoix, I was born in
Paris, the daughter of a goldsmith, and as a child I saw my
own cousin 'Guillaume Legoix' slaughter 'Michel de
Montsalvy'!" De Lallier had now recognised her. He agreed
that Arnaud should be released, but he wanted it noted, it
was because of Catherine Legoix... The others present also
voted for clemency. The Count of Dunois himself went to the
Bastille.... but.. |
The
desperate
Catherine
|
As
people relaxed and waited for the 'Count of Dunois', who
would surely arrive soon with Arnaud, the next blow was
dealt to Catherine. Arnaud had escaped from the Bastille
and killed some guards...! all was lost... He was now wanted
dead or alive and could not escape execution... to
Catherine's horror she knew that Rodrigo de Villandrando's
plan had worked... the messenger 'Miguel' had reached
Paris before them... Catherine, in despair, went back to
to the Inn.... |
 '
|
A
desperate Catherine is visited by Tristan l'Hermite' in the
evening. He finds her slightly drunk and inconsolable.
«
One
must always be there for Arnaud»
, she
weeps...
During the night, Catherine almost falls victim to an
assassination attempt. Guillaume Legoix's widow, her cousin
'Bertha', has come to kill her with a gang of thugs. At the
last moment, Catherine is saved by Gauthier de Chazay and
Bérenger. Tristan, who arrives with the police, now
discusses Catherine's situation. He insists that there is
only one thing left to do: to ride to Chinon and ask King
Charles VII for clemency for her husband. Gauthier asks take
her into the Montsalvy household. Catherine is moved by his
offer and she takes him on as her new squire... |
|
When they arrive in Chinon, Catherine immediately
goes to the king. 'Charles VII' is not happy to see her,
again asking for mercy for her husband and refuses her
request. But the young woman begs him on her knees and the
king is almost touched by Catherine's misery... but then his
young mistress, 'Agnès Sorel', enters the Hall and
interferes...
«
A king
must not show weakness if he wants to be a great king
»...
Charles VII instantly gets up and forgets Catherine de
Montsalvy and her worries... He shamelessly embraces his
young mistress and tells Catherine, irritated, she should
return to Paris, now only the Constable could pardon
Arnaud... and walks away.
Catherine decides to goes to the little chapel nearby and
meets there the young dauphin 'Louis'. He recognises her and
wants to know why she is crying. He becomes angry when the
name of Agnès Sorel, whom he hates with all his
heart, is mentioned. He tells Catherine to go to Tours
where his wedding to 'Marguerite of Scotland' will soon take
place. There, he could grant a pardon because he is
getting married...
In Tours, Catherine goes to the home of her old
friend 'Jacques Coeur', who welcomes her warmly into his
house, along with Bérenger and Gauthier. |
|
But
the wait for the wedding goes on for weeks, 'Jacques Coeur',
who can no longer hide his feelings for Catherine, leaves
for Bourges and waits for news. Catherine keeps
asking herself:
«
where
is Arnaud? What is happening at Montsalvy
»?
Had Villandrando's henchmen taken over the town?
One evening, Jacques Cœur returns with news from
Montsalvy... It is 'Abbott Bernard' who writes to Catherine.
They had survived the siege. Sire Arnaud's
'brothers-in-arms' came to their rescue and drove out the
henchmen. There was still no trace of Arnaud, but it is
believed that he is hiding in one of the caves in the
Auvergne.. Catherine should go home to her children...
But Catherine's joy is short-lived. There is a second letter
that has arrived in Montsalvy via Burgundy.
The letter is from the Countess 'Ermengarde de
Châteauvillain' who informs her that her mother 'Jacquette'
is in her castle and that she is dying. If she wants to see
her mother alive, she must hurry... For Catherine, it is
obvious that she must fulfill her poor mother's last wish,
who had been driven out of the house in Dijon by her uncle's
mistress... |
|
Jacques informs her that they will both go to the castle
that evening, as 'Queen Yolande' had arrived in the
meantime at the Castle and wished to speak to Catherine....
Once announced, Catherine is taken to the queen who takes
the young kneeling woman into her arms. She shows deep
compassion for her and says that she knows no one who
deserves more to be able to live happily and peacefully at
last... She knows everything because Jacques Cœur wrote her
a long letter. She will see to it that Arnaud gets his
pardon, but he will be made to wait a little - and of course
he will have to go first to the King and kneel before
returning to Montsalvy...
In the meantime, she would talk to her grandson, the dolphin
and explain everything... and starts writing a safe conduct
for Arnaud. Overwhelmed by the Queens grace, she asks how
she can return the favour... The queen smiles and tells her
that she would be grateful, if once in Dijon, to bring a
letter to her son who was held prisoner in a tower by the
'Duke of Burgundy'! Catherine promises the queen that she
will do everything possible to ensure that the letter
reaches her son, 'King René'... |
on the
road to
Châteauvillain...
|
After bidding farewell to Jacques Coeur, Catherine and the
boys set off for Châteauvillain in the hope of
finding Catherine's mother still alive. The road is
dangerous, the countryside is devastated by roadmen,
villages are burnt, corpses lie on the ground. Since there
was supposed to be peace between France and Burgundy, the
soldiers still attack the travelers and continue as before
the war. It is desolation and famine. More than once,
Catherine, her page and squire, manage to escape their
attackers. As a result... the name of a certain 'Captain la
Foudre 'and his band keeps coming up... |
|
Shortly before Châteuvillain, they are discovered and
captured and one of the bandits says that Captain La
Foudre will be happy because he liked beautiful girls!
Indignant, Catherine says that she is the Countess of
Montsalvy and that they must let her go. But they laugh at
her. On the way to the little town of Châteauvillain,
the streets are littered with corpses... women raped... she
has to close her eyes to see nothing more. They head to the
church and enter... a man is being tortured and a woman
abused... Catherine is so horrified and when the rapist
turns around, she sees that Captain La Foudre is none other
than 'Arnaud de Montsalvy'... her husband!
.... when he recognises his wife, he runs to her and insults
her in the worst possible way... it is only when Catherine
faints that he stops strangling her. Bérenger, his page,
looks at his master, whom he worships so much, crying...
when Arnaud wants to know who the other boy is, the latter
replies:
«
Gauthier de Chazay,
esquire in the service of the Countess of Montsalvy, may God
preserve her from all evil and deliver her out of the hands
of base cowards who dare to lay rough hands on her!’
»...
whereupon Arnaud gave him a resounding slap! |
|
Catherine states that Villandrando's treacherous plan has
worked! Arnaud, still angry, is surprised that she knows
about the letter... to which Catherine replies that they
know everything and that he has fallen into a perfidious
trap! He was not sentenced to death! She wishes her vassals
would see their master tnow...! A murder-burner... the truth
is that his town was besieged by the Spaniard Villandrando...
the undergarment was stolen and the letter was forged by the
lace-maker 'Azalaïs'. She shows him the abbot of Montsalvy's
letter...
Arnaud doesn't understand anything anymore and is wringing his
hands. Catherine wants to know why he did not return to
Montsalvy, but joined the 'Damoiseau'. He shouts:
«
Because I believed everything that devious 'Miquel' said»
...
Catherine asks him what has changed him so much... 'where
was the noble knight of Joan of Arc? to which his face
lights up with joy... he says he is still serving her
because Joan was not dead - he could not go home now,
he must join Joan and the other knights... Catherine is
completely irritated and thinks he has gone mad...
But now 'Robert de Saarebrück', known as the Damoiseau, enters the scene.
He says that the Duke of Burgundy has just arrived at the
castle! Arnaud loses his temper ... Catherine tells him that
her mother is dying in the castle and that is why she has
come here in these dangerous times... but Arnaud is furious,
spurred on by the Damoiseau and is convonced that she has
come here to join her former lover Philippe of Burgundy...
|
|
Blinded by jealousy and because he knows deep down that he
is in the wrong, Arnaud de Montsalvy rushes out and rides up
to the castle of Châteavillain. He shouts the name of
Philippe de Bourgogne and insults him... but the guards,
besieged for weeks by Damoiseau's men, lare at first only
watching - but one of them takes his crossbow and wounds
Arnaud badly in the face. The seriously wounded man is
brought in and everyone is surprised that he is not yet
dead.
Catherine forgets her grief and disappointment at Arnaud's
behaviour and asks Gauthier, who has studied medicine, if he
could safe her husband... Reluctantly, the young man starts
to remove the bolt from Arnaud's face... he has his doubts
because the wound is in fact fatal... Robert de Saarebrück
looks on and says that he should be left to die, ... that it
is a waste of time... He sends for a priest to perform the
final anointing...... |
|
The friar turns out to be Catherine's old friend Barnaby,
who had become a monk years ago. When they are alone for a
moment, he says that he and Countess Ermengarde have been
waiting for her for quite some time. Catherine was now too
late, her mother had died peacefully... Catherine bursts
into tears, she would have liked so much to fulfil her
mother's wish. But Robert de Sarrebrück takes her to another
room where he orders her to write a letter to the Countess.
Catherine refuses to betray her friend. But Robert coldly
tells her that if she does not obey, they will put her
page's feet in the fire... Catherine, horrified, has no
other choice if she does not want the young boy to die a
horrible death...Barnaby insists that Catherine, Gauthier
and Bérenger must flee during the night.
Barnaby insists that they must strike him down and tie him
up to avoid suspicion. He is sure they will not harm him and
he will be able to watch over Arnaud. They must flee during
the night...
Catherine does not want to leave Arnaud dying alone, but
Barnaby urges her to leave. The page asks her if she can
still love the lord after all he has done... to which
Catherine replies: she has never loved anyone but him... |
|
Sobbing, Catherine looks again towards the bed, at Arnaud
who is in a deep state of unconsciousness - and they manage
to get out of the window... but what is in store for them... ? ... |
~~~~~~~~~~
|
Jacquette
Legoix,
widow of
'Gaucher
Legoix',
mother
of
Catherine
(in the
book
also of
Loyse)
formerly
of
Burgundy,
sister
of
Mathieu
Gautherin,
who
lived
her last
days in
the
castle
of
Châteauvillain
because
the
mistress
of her
brother,
(for
whom she
had
looked
after
the
household
for
years)
had
driven
her
away... |
Bérenger
de Roquemaurel
|
Catherine
de
Montsalvy's
page who
joined the
Montsalvy household at the age of fourteen. He accompanies his
Lady
to Paris
and
experiences
many
dangerous
adventures
together
with his
lady and
his new
friend
the
Gauthier
de Chazay, |
Gauthier
de
Chazay
|
A young
Aristocrat,
an
orphan
who was
sent by
his
greedy
uncle
(who was
after
his
fortune)
to Paris
to study
at the
University
of
Sorbonne.
Catherine
takes
him into
her
service
and he
will
become
her
faithful
esquire.
Since he
had
studied
medicine,
he will
be able
to save
Catherine's
life, on
their
search
of
Arnaud... |
Le
Damoiseau
|
Patrice
Aleksandre
in the
role of
'Robert
de
Saarebrück'
called
'Le
Damoiseau'
(the
Dandy) ... |
KING
CHARLES
VII
OF
FRANCE
TOP
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