He asks about Erik

"Tell me truly, Lady Gerard, are you an obedient daughter of the Church, or has the Devil corrupted your heart and turned you away from the Son of God?" It was hard to think clearly as Bishop Anthryl's fingers continued to probe deep inside her, but Christine did her utmost to make this ordeal end swiftly.

"No, Your Reverence, I am pure in heart as well as body." Christine again started to use her arms to cover her shame, but Anthryl would have none of it.

"Place your hands behind your head, Lady Christine." Then his tone softened into what under different circumstances might be considered parental. She could feel her small nipples tighten in the cool morning air and the early morning sunlight streaming in from the Eastern window illuminated every inch of her bare flesh to the bishop's intense scrutiny. At last, he seemed to reach a decision; his hands thankfully withdrew to the arms of the chair, and he nodded his head slowly making the folds under his chin wobble. "Perhaps you are a faithful servant of the Lord, child." He announced, "answer my questions truthfully, and all will be well." Christine should have been relieved by the pronouncement and that the bishop's hands were no longer touching her, but she detected a cunningness in the cleric's voice that made her warry.

"Where is your brother, my Dear?" Bishop Anthryl asked in a tone that was too casual after the intensity of her intimate examination, "The Church will take the lad in and see that he is safe." The words were exactly what Christine had hoped to hear when she first entered this holy cathedral and sought out the Bishop of Oldchester, but every instinct told her that she could not trust this false cleric. Her eyes remained fixed at the bishop's feet and for the first time in her young life she lied to a representative of the Church.

"We were separated in the dark, I do not know where he is." The bishop's sympathetic sigh could be one of shared concern but could just as well be a sign of his disappointment.

"My report says that your father's baronial ring is missing along with his son." Now Christine's alarm was fully aroused, and it took every ounce of strength to keep her face expressionless. "Do you know where the ring is?"

"No, your Eminence." She kept her answer as brief as possible, fully aware that the bishop's gaze must be scrutinizing her for any sign of deceit. Perhaps in spite of her best efforts the man picked up on the slight hesitation in her voice because his voice took on a far more menacing tone.

"Are your sure about that, Lady Gerard?" As if to punctuate the seriousness of the situation his fingers returned to her left nipple, and he twisted it hard enough to make her whimper. "Prince Henry believes that you and your brother stole the ring from your father. His crows are scouring high and low for any sign of you." He pinched her nipple again, this time even harder making her cry out again. "If the Church is going to offer you sanctuary, my daughter, you must be completely open with me." Christine could not believe how sensitive her puckered tips could be, but now more than ever she knew that she did not dare say anything to this man.

"Please, your Eminence." She gasped out, "I cannot tell you what I do not know." Some small part of her took consolation in the fact that that at least was a truthful statement. I her heart she knew it was too much to hope that Bishop Anthryl would believe her and let her go.