In The Shadow
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The old servants laughed with joy and clutched at their hearts: the master's son had returned from the war! Oh, how he had grown up! Ah, alive and well! Not a cripple! Arms and legs in place! The young maids, who were seeing Philip Norton for the first time, abandoned their work and looked at him with rapt attention. This castle had never seen such a handsome man! Those long white curls, that somewhat oblong but handsome face, those impossibly dazzling eyes, blue as the summer sky! He is tall, his chest is so broad, and his left palm rests menacingly on the hilt of a large sword hidden in a metal scabbard! Who is he? Where does he come from?
– He looks like our Miss Alienor! Could he be her brother? – One of the girls guessed as the richly dressed nobleman disappeared around the corner of a wide stone corridor decorated with expensive tapestries, among which a huge dark green tapestry with the Norton tree was a special place.
The girls whispered and agreed that the handsome man was indeed Miss Alienor's brother, and therefore the son of Sir and Lady Norton, and they hurried to find an older servant to ask the poor fellow what he knew of the handsome young Norton.
But Philip was completely oblivious to the lustful and admiring glances of the maids: he was looking at Brigid, his copper-haired bride, so modest, so shy… How sweet it would be to undress her himself on their wedding night! Of course, he will not be allowed to take off her wedding dress, but still he will get the most tasty piece of the bride's garment: her white, long, night gown. He takes it off slowly, so as not to frighten the chaste Brigid, and when the dress is on the floor, he will cover the bride's body with soft, tender kisses…
Entering, without knocking, into his father's chamber, young Norton was displeased to find that he was not in the room. But Philip did not have to wander round the castle and garden: as he opened the door to leave the chambers, he almost knocked his own father down.
With a short sigh of surprise, his father rushed to embrace his son.
– You're back… You're back! – Sir Norton whispered fervently, not letting Philip out of his loving embrace.
– I told you I would come back, father! And here I am! – Philip said in a trembling voice, full of tenderness and joy.
– Six months! Not a word! – Sir Norton sobbed, pulling away from his son. Then he put his palms round Philip's smooth-shaven face, and, as if he could not believe that it was not a dream, pressed it so tightly that the young warrior had to laughingly withdraw his father's large, warm hands from him.
– How can there be none? I sent two letters! – Philip was surprised, but then laughed ringingly. – But the Devil with them! How glad I am to see you, dear father! What a fine beard you have grown! It's time for braids! Have you not heard that the King's court nowadays imitates Henry and his short beard? You're part of this court, it's time you got rid of those cosms!
– Enough, my son, enough! Let the young spoil their beards, but we old men will remain true to the old days," said Sir Norton, smiling good-naturedly and patting his son on the shoulder. – What an outfit! It is as if you had not come back from the war, but to a wedding!
– How cleverly you've got me, Father! I am going to marry! – Philip said in a more serious tone, and a happy smile lit up his handsome face. – I have dreamed of this girl for five years, and now she has given her consent!
– She has?
– And her father, of course.
– When did you have time? Must be some Spanish passion rose?
– Only one girl could win me over. Only one rose. A rose born in my beloved Mother England.
– And the name of this beauty…
– Brigid Guise.
The happy light in Sir Norton's blue eyes faded, the corners of his lips drooped.
– Come into my chambers, my son," he began.
– What is wrong, father? – Philip interrupted, as he recognised the shadow that had suddenly darkened his father's countenance.
– Come in, come in. We can't stand here in the middle of the corridor! – Sir Norton pushed his son into his chambers, then quickly went in himself and closed the door tightly behind him.
Chapter 7
– Philip! You're back!
In a moment, Alienor was hanging around her older brother's neck, and he laughed and twirled her around, just as he had done before he went to war. That loving sisterly embrace, that favourite ringing voice, that exuberance of feeling, that angelic smile… How he missed it all! Although there was a difference of four years between brother and sister, she never let Philip be bored, and he, like their father, indulged all her whims. Long years of European wars, drenched in the blood of enemies and friends, toughened the character of young Norton, but for his "little sister" he remained the same Philip.
– How you have grown… Yesterday you were running up and down the stairs after your father's dogs, and now you're going to walk down the aisle! – Philip said, looking admiringly at his sister and admiring her native features. – All the local lords, single and married, must be wild about you!
– Oh, do you even doubt it? – replied Alienor in a sweet voice. – The other day a handsome young man, whose father is almost as rich as ours, asked for my hand.
– I have just come from father, and he has not even mentioned that he is giving you away in marriage! – Philip laughed heartily. – Poor father! Well, who else is going to ravage him when you come under your husband's care?
– Marriage, dear brother, is not my destiny! – Alienor snorted contemptuously and twirled her brother in a dance. – I will be the Queen's lady in waiting!
– But, what of the suitor? – Philip wondered, obeying Alienor's whim.
They danced in the middle of a garden decorated with brightly coloured flowers, to the loud singing of birds, as if they were in a huge dance hall, and their feet glided over the grass as deftly as over cold flat stones.
– The suitor had to pick up the shards of his heart trampled by my shoes! Father was upset, mother even cried, secretly from me, but you know, Philip: my will cannot be broken! – sang the blonde beauty Alienor. – But this castle will still see the wedding!