Dark souls

2

Part one. Chapter first

You understand everything, Jane. This marriage is a deal. We are not given a choice. If your father hadn’t refused the king’s offer, you and your unlucky brother would have bathed in gold, ”the tall, prim lady said to the young serious girl, nervously fiddling with a scarf in her hands. “My dear, understand: twenty-seven years old, no dowry, ordinary appearance and your absurd character make you not a very attractive party. And your brother's debts scare away any girl from him, despite his beauty. Maps and wine are not the best pastime for the only remaining member of the Gladstone family. But your uncle put up with it. And even though it killed him, there was nothing he could do about it. And so he went to his grave disappointed. But cheers , Jane! This is your family namemok! Your generation has lived in it since the time of William the Conqueror! Are you going to let him go to some Harris and Bridges? Yes, they are related, but are they Gladstones? This is some kind of scum, albeit with money. And your brother did not find anything better than to contact some courtesan. Even though she calls herself a marquise. And her marquisate was obtained through the bedroom of the royal bastard. Not even a son. I beg you, Jane, think. Bertrand de Gault's proposal is a gift from heaven. And what if he's French? They say he's handsome, immensely rich, maybe not as famous as you are, but...

Listen, aunt, the girl interrupted the lady. “Ever since Bertrand de Gault first showed interest in me, I began to make inquiries about him. His family is old enough to be of interest to any high-born family. His cellars are full of chests of gold and jewels, he is really handsome - I saw his portrait that he sent me. However… Do you remember his coat of arms?

         The prim lady grimaced when she was interrupted, but regained her composure.

Certainly. He is very unusual. You won't forget it right away. As far as I remember, one of his ancestors combined the coats of arms of his father and mother: a black field with a gold tithiron* and a black amphisbaena** on red. The coat of arms of the de Gau family now consists of these two halves.

What about his family motto?

"To be above everything." So what?

I think it's too provocative. This is first. Secondly, I heard that in his possessions there is not a single monastery, not a single church.

This is an exaggeration. How is it - no church?

And that is not all. I heard a lot about his ancestors, who united the coats of arms, and especially about how they ruined the monastery, on the site of which they built their castle .

Darling, there was a war. And during the war there are no right and wrong.

The war was over by then. Besides, this Bertrand, bearing the name of his sinister ancestor, was born when his mother was in her fifties. And before that, all her children died. And so it has been in this family ever since the first Bertrand de Gos ruined the monastery. I heard about the curse...

My girl, do not invent. What nonsense you are talking! Well, this lady with babies is out of luck, why just talk about the curse? Yes, maybe, like all the French, they are somewhat vulgar and shameless, but they still have an idea about the rules of honor. Otherwise, Bertrand de Gault did not wait so long for an answer then you.

         She rolled her eyes and turned her back on the girl.

And yet ... - The girl stubbornly shook her head. The peasants don't want to serve in his castle. There are rumors in the area that he is a sorcerer, and his sister is a witch. That in his cellars he eats the corpses of ruined servants, and his sister bathes in the blood of virgins in order to preserve her beauty. Even the vagabonds who walk around the cities whisper this castle and the name of its owner. Nobody goes there willingly. Everyone is afraid of vampires and werewolves that live in those places.

Enough! the woman yelled angrily, turning sharply to the girl. - You read too much. And read all sorts of crap. Edward Harris and Tom Bridges, as your guardians, arranged this marriage. I did my best to persuade them to agree - and this is how you answered me! Yes, if it weren’t for me, both you and your fool brother would be on the street, and the family castle would go to a bag of money and an inflated turkey

I am grateful to you, Aunt Eloise, for everything. But you must admit that marriage with such a sinister personality as Bertrand de Gau cannot but frighten me.

Nonsense! You will immediately begin to pack on the road. I have already sent a letter of your arrival.

         The lady turned and strode out of the room. The girl was left alone.

         She went to the window and sat down, staring into the darkness with unseeing eyes. Her thoughts were far away from this place. It's hard to be proud, poor and ugly at twenty-seven. It is hard to have a poor but proud father, a handsome but stupid brother. It's hard to build a fortress out of sand. All efforts are still shattered by stupidity or pride, and everything must be started all over again.

         George and Jane Gladstone are the last representatives of the once mighty noble family. A clan in which each of its representatives was selflessly devoted to the king, the wives all as one loved only their husbands, even the servants were distinguished by rare devotion. And their motto is: “There is no god but Christ. There is no master but the king" spoke for itself. Jane's father paid for this frankness and honesty when the current king offered him to testify about his wife's infidelity: he really wanted to have a son, whom his wife could not give him, but his mistress promised. Howard Gladstone then had a choice - to lose honor or refuse the owner. He chose the second. Jane perfectly understood the king's choice: her father's reputation did not give reason to suspect him of duplicity, and the precarious financial situation could improve significantly if his father agreed. But the direct and proud Howard Gladstone just as directly and proudly refused the king. He believed that his act would command respect. However, the king was furious. The beauty of the father, a family trait of the Gladstone male line, always annoyed the king. His honesty offended the king, who was ready to bend under circumstances or a person for the sake of profit, or force them to bend under him. And then there was the unequivocal refusal, which put the king in a stupid position - all this infuriated the king so much that Howard Gladstone was removed from the court, as the king put it, "because of failing health." He was deprived of all the lands that the king had given him earlier. I would deprive this His honesty offended the king, who was ready to bend under circumstances or a person for the sake of profit, or force them to bend under him. And then there was the unequivocal refusal, which put the king in a stupid position - all this infuriated the king so much that Howard Gladstone was removed from the court, as the king put it, "because of failing health." He was deprived of all the lands that the king had given him earlier. I would deprive this His honesty offended the king, who was ready to bend under circumstances or a person for the sake of profit, or force them to bend under him. And then there was the unequivocal refusal, which put the king in a stupid position - all this infuriated the king so much that Howard Gladstone was removed from the court, as the king put it, "because of failing health." He was deprived of all the lands that the king had given him earlier. I would deprive thisand mka, but the royal power receded before him. At that time, the king had not yet redrawn the laws to his advantage. “Let him crawl into his kennel and die there,” he said when another favorite capriciously demanded to deprive Howard Gladstone and this part of his earthly goods. Z athe mok really looked like a kennel. Its dilapidated walls, collapsed passages, overgrown stairs - everything indicated that he had not known repair for a long time. Dying, the father asked his son to take up his mind, and his daughter to get married as soon as possible. George took his father's advice in a peculiar way. To begin with, he broke with gambling and became interested in Marquise Eggert, who at one time was the mistress of the king's illegitimate son and his mistress. Not the current king, but his predecessor, Henry VII, a man with a memorable face and a difficult fate. The aging beauty, as if from a cornucopia, poured money and jewelry onto her new lover, which smoothly passed through the card table into the pockets of other players. For, believing that the golden rain would not end, and its beauty would not fade for a long time, George returned to his former habits. However, the power of favorites also has its end. When the Marquise Eggert was resigned, she completely switched to George. Now jealousy, reinforced by stinginess, for the older the Marquise became, the more she was afraid of poverty, brought George to white heat. The game also ceased to bring him profit.