Return to Camelot - Jeffrey Allen White (thriller books to read .TXT) 📗
- Author: Jeffrey Allen White
Book online «Return to Camelot - Jeffrey Allen White (thriller books to read .TXT) 📗». Author Jeffrey Allen White
There was a time when she wore silk and satins in colors of the rainbow.
A hem had torn from the bottom. Guinevere thought she should mend it now as everyone would be waking soon and it would not look proper for the Mother Abbess to have a tattered habit.
Searching through her small clothing chest, she came across a small basket with her needles and thread in it. This was the only thing that she had kept after entering the convent. Lady Anne, the wife of Sir Dinadan, gave it to her. She had been one of her Ladies in waiting.
Lady Anne had traveled with Guinevere and Lancelot to Wales. She had come to be with her. If it were not for Lady Anne, Guinevere would have no one. Lancelot would not speak to her or even look directly at her.
Lady Anne helped her with her choice to go to the convent. After fleeing Camelot, she sent word to Lady Anne. Being her trusted lady in waiting, of course, she would come.
Sir Dinadan knew of his wife’s plans to travel with Guinevere. He had told Arthur so to relieve him as his heart was broken and it was killing him. He knew that Arthur would rather his wife enter a convent in exile than to be burned at the stake. Arthur never asked where the convent was located. He was happy to know she was safe at least.
Lady Anne stayed with Guinevere for several months. Sir Dinadan would send word to her of the kings declining health and of the decay and ruin of Camelot. Guinevere would always look forward to Lady Anne’s visits during her adjustment to convent life. It was her only link to the outside world.
When Guinevere realized she was to have a child.
Of course, Lady Anne was there to comfort her. The then Mother Abbess of the convent also knew and one of the young visiting priest. No one else would ever know.
There were long discussions between them as to the fate of the child. There was not any possibility for Guinevere to keep the child and become a nun. Guinevere had understood this. However, she was to give up her child and to whom.
The decision was that the child traveling with Lady Anne back to England. There, a family who lost one of their own children to illness would take on the child. The baby’s identity, a secret, would erase his real parentage from the world.
The following months passed and then the day the child came into the world. Lady Anne was present at the birth. All went well. Guinevere was relieved as she thought she and the child would die as a punishment from God.
Once the baby was born and Guinevere drifted off to sleep, would have her child taken away. The past months had been hard for her and she was exhausted. She slept for several days.
Guinevere remembers hearing the baby cry. Someone said it was a boy. She began to cry. She cried herself to sleep that night and again every night for the next several months.
In spite of Guinevere’s health, the baby was a robust boy. Fair haired and blue eyed. He had an angelic face and striking blue eyes.
Guinevere would ask Lady Anne daily of his progress and wanted to know everything. She had named the baby Tolemac. It had come to her in a dream. When it was time for Lady Anne and the baby to leave for England, Guinevere begged her to take the child as her own and Sir Dinadan’s.
Sir Dinadan arrived to escort his wife and the baby home. After seeing Tolemac, Sir Dinadan accepted the baby and from that point on, they were to raise it as their own child. They would explain the child as abandoned and that they would raise it, as they had not had children of their own, due to stillbirths.
Guinevere understood that it would be too dangerous to return with news of the child, so they said their good-byes. When it came the time for them to leave, Guinevere took to her room. She remained there for many months praying and learning the ways of the convent life. Thoughts of the baby soon diminished but they never totally left. Her every prayer included the boy and his adoptive parents.
The Mother Abbess died several years later along with Guinevere’s secret. The priest, although young, vowed to keep his silence. She trusted Sir Dinadan and Lady Anne. After all, she had given them her only child.
Lady Anne had given Guinevere this basket of threads and needles. She had used it many times to make adjustments on the queen’s many gowns.
Guinevere could remember her exact words to her when she presented the gift. “Know in your heart that this child will always be loved and well taken care of. We will love and care for him and teach him all that is good and fair.” Lady Anne had placed a piece of the cloth from the baby’s first gown in it. She had sewn it as the lining on the bottom. Underneath the lining was a lock of the child’s golden hair.
Guinevere had never seen the lock of hair. She always knew it of its presence but was always afraid to see it, less her secret revealed.
Carefully she pulled back the material breaking the small stitches that held it firmly in place all these years. There among stray strands of thread was a tiny lock of silky flaxen hair. Not many strands but it was spun gold to Guinevere.
She picked up the lock of hair and brought it to her face letting it touch her cheek. The softness made her smile. She thought of the child. She wondered how he was.
Guinevere had not heard from Lady Anne since the day they left. War had broken out and Guinevere prayed everyday for their safety and well-being. She accepted this and knew Tolemac would have a family and loved and this made Guinevere start to cry. She longed for her child. She wanted to hold him, to comfort him and to watch him grow.
The morning bells started to ring as they did everyday for the last ten years. Guinevere placed the lock of hair back into the sewing basket and pulled the cloth over it. She would secure it with thread tonight.
Several nuns had passed by her room. She could hear the sound their shoes made on the wooden floors. She had finished dressing and secured her wimple. As she brushed her hair back into the cap, she felt her hair, still soft and she started to cry again. It had reminded her of her baby.
Closing the door behind her, she went out to start her day. There was much to do in the convent today. She closed the door behind her, leaving the sewing basket on the bed. She had forgotten to put it away in her dressing chest.
236 pages
21 Chapters
Imprint
A hem had torn from the bottom. Guinevere thought she should mend it now as everyone would be waking soon and it would not look proper for the Mother Abbess to have a tattered habit.
Searching through her small clothing chest, she came across a small basket with her needles and thread in it. This was the only thing that she had kept after entering the convent. Lady Anne, the wife of Sir Dinadan, gave it to her. She had been one of her Ladies in waiting.
Lady Anne had traveled with Guinevere and Lancelot to Wales. She had come to be with her. If it were not for Lady Anne, Guinevere would have no one. Lancelot would not speak to her or even look directly at her.
Lady Anne helped her with her choice to go to the convent. After fleeing Camelot, she sent word to Lady Anne. Being her trusted lady in waiting, of course, she would come.
Sir Dinadan knew of his wife’s plans to travel with Guinevere. He had told Arthur so to relieve him as his heart was broken and it was killing him. He knew that Arthur would rather his wife enter a convent in exile than to be burned at the stake. Arthur never asked where the convent was located. He was happy to know she was safe at least.
Lady Anne stayed with Guinevere for several months. Sir Dinadan would send word to her of the kings declining health and of the decay and ruin of Camelot. Guinevere would always look forward to Lady Anne’s visits during her adjustment to convent life. It was her only link to the outside world.
When Guinevere realized she was to have a child.
Of course, Lady Anne was there to comfort her. The then Mother Abbess of the convent also knew and one of the young visiting priest. No one else would ever know.
There were long discussions between them as to the fate of the child. There was not any possibility for Guinevere to keep the child and become a nun. Guinevere had understood this. However, she was to give up her child and to whom.
The decision was that the child traveling with Lady Anne back to England. There, a family who lost one of their own children to illness would take on the child. The baby’s identity, a secret, would erase his real parentage from the world.
The following months passed and then the day the child came into the world. Lady Anne was present at the birth. All went well. Guinevere was relieved as she thought she and the child would die as a punishment from God.
Once the baby was born and Guinevere drifted off to sleep, would have her child taken away. The past months had been hard for her and she was exhausted. She slept for several days.
Guinevere remembers hearing the baby cry. Someone said it was a boy. She began to cry. She cried herself to sleep that night and again every night for the next several months.
In spite of Guinevere’s health, the baby was a robust boy. Fair haired and blue eyed. He had an angelic face and striking blue eyes.
Guinevere would ask Lady Anne daily of his progress and wanted to know everything. She had named the baby Tolemac. It had come to her in a dream. When it was time for Lady Anne and the baby to leave for England, Guinevere begged her to take the child as her own and Sir Dinadan’s.
Sir Dinadan arrived to escort his wife and the baby home. After seeing Tolemac, Sir Dinadan accepted the baby and from that point on, they were to raise it as their own child. They would explain the child as abandoned and that they would raise it, as they had not had children of their own, due to stillbirths.
Guinevere understood that it would be too dangerous to return with news of the child, so they said their good-byes. When it came the time for them to leave, Guinevere took to her room. She remained there for many months praying and learning the ways of the convent life. Thoughts of the baby soon diminished but they never totally left. Her every prayer included the boy and his adoptive parents.
The Mother Abbess died several years later along with Guinevere’s secret. The priest, although young, vowed to keep his silence. She trusted Sir Dinadan and Lady Anne. After all, she had given them her only child.
Lady Anne had given Guinevere this basket of threads and needles. She had used it many times to make adjustments on the queen’s many gowns.
Guinevere could remember her exact words to her when she presented the gift. “Know in your heart that this child will always be loved and well taken care of. We will love and care for him and teach him all that is good and fair.” Lady Anne had placed a piece of the cloth from the baby’s first gown in it. She had sewn it as the lining on the bottom. Underneath the lining was a lock of the child’s golden hair.
Guinevere had never seen the lock of hair. She always knew it of its presence but was always afraid to see it, less her secret revealed.
Carefully she pulled back the material breaking the small stitches that held it firmly in place all these years. There among stray strands of thread was a tiny lock of silky flaxen hair. Not many strands but it was spun gold to Guinevere.
She picked up the lock of hair and brought it to her face letting it touch her cheek. The softness made her smile. She thought of the child. She wondered how he was.
Guinevere had not heard from Lady Anne since the day they left. War had broken out and Guinevere prayed everyday for their safety and well-being. She accepted this and knew Tolemac would have a family and loved and this made Guinevere start to cry. She longed for her child. She wanted to hold him, to comfort him and to watch him grow.
The morning bells started to ring as they did everyday for the last ten years. Guinevere placed the lock of hair back into the sewing basket and pulled the cloth over it. She would secure it with thread tonight.
Several nuns had passed by her room. She could hear the sound their shoes made on the wooden floors. She had finished dressing and secured her wimple. As she brushed her hair back into the cap, she felt her hair, still soft and she started to cry again. It had reminded her of her baby.
Closing the door behind her, she went out to start her day. There was much to do in the convent today. She closed the door behind her, leaving the sewing basket on the bed. She had forgotten to put it away in her dressing chest.
236 pages
21 Chapters
Imprint
Publication Date: 01-15-2011
All Rights Reserved
Dedication:
to my grandsons, Alexander, Hunter, Noah, Ryan, Chase and Legend
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