To his private office

Brother Quentin led Christine through a small door covered by a hanging tapestry of the Blessed Virgin meeting with a very pregnant Elizabeth. Very soon though, Christine sensed that something was not right. The hallways became narrower darker, and instead of climbing higher, the stairs led downward. "Where are we going?" She asked, "I need to speak to Bishop Anthryl."

"No, Lady Gerard." The monk stopped abruptly in his tracks and Christine was so surprised to be addressed by her name that she almost bumped into the man's broad back. "The Bishop of Oldchester is the last man you want to be speaking with." He took her arm in his strong hand and hurried her along the narrow passageway. "The esteemed leader of this holy see would be more than happy to get his hands on a pretty young woman like you, especially because the Black Prince has made it clear that the man who brings you to him will be richly rewarded."

"His Eminence would turn me over to Henry?" Christine's voice rose in near panic. The best hope for her and Erik lay in the church, and now this somber Brother was telling her that she might be betrayed by the very man she hoped would offer sanctuary.

"Quiet, girl." Brother Quentine hushed her, "we can talk once we get to my office." Too stunned to protest, Christine allowed the hooded man to guide her through a narrow doorway into a cluttered chamber whose only source of light was a tiny window over twenty feet high on the far wall. The solid 'clunk' of the heavy door closing behind her followed by a click of a lock made Christine realize just how precarious her position was.

"Brother Quentin, please I don't understand. My father was a devout servant of the Holy Church, he always tithed to Oldchester generously..." Her words trailed into an awkward silence as she realized she sounded even younger and less sophisticated than she was. 'Fools speak when they don't understand, Christine,' her father told her more than once, 'wisemen listen.'

"All true, my daughter, but our Bishop has more Earthly interests." Christine tried to keep her mouth closed as she listened to this monk speak so bluntly about his superior while he lit two lanterns and hung them from iron hooks. "Had I taken you to his Eminence, Lady Gerard, he would have undoubtably turned you over to Prince Henry, but I expect first he would have spread your legs and enjoyed your pure body in a most unwholesome manner."

"What?!" Somehow, hearing that this holy Father would want her that way, to Christine's innocent ears, sounded even more shocking than learning that he would turn her and Erik over to the Black Prince.

"Oh yes, my dear." Brother Quentin, softened his cold tone a little, "My guess is that he would have had you out of your pretty dress faster than he can recite a Monday morning mass."

"No Brother Quentin, I could never do anything so wicked." Christine felt her heart tighten painfully, "I would never have debased my virtue like that."

"In that case, Lady Gerard, you would have found yourself in one of his special holding cells and subject to a most unpleasant and intimate interrogation." The Brother of Kewellyn nodded his head as he came to a somber decision. "Speaking of your dress, milady; kindly remove it and any other clothing or jewelry you have as well."