To Wear The White Cloak: A Catherine LeVendeur Mystery by Sharan Newman Page A

place quiet to become whole again,” she finished.
    “Well, I think she needs to be with those who love her most,” Solomon said.
    “You certainly don’t believe that anyone would find peace at Vielleteneuse,” Edgar argued. “The children alone make the place as chaotic as a battlefield. And with preparations for the count’s son to go with the king to the Holy Land, the court of Champagne is no better. You saw for yourself that Thibault and Mahaut are constantly involved in adjudicating some dispute or other. A court is no place for my sister.”
    Catherine rooted among the rushes with her toe for a moment. Both men had reasonable rejoinders to her proposition, but she still sensed that it was imperative that Margaret not be around Solomon until she was calmer and better able to understand the impossibility of her desires. She remembered how, at fourteen, she had fancied herself terribly fond of her uncle Roger. Three years at the convent of the Paraclete had given her time to realize how foolish that was.
    “Of course!” she exclaimed. “What better place for Margaret to compose her mind, as well as be educated for whatever position she’ll have in her life. Mother Heloise will take her in, just as she did me.”
    “What?” Solomon rose to protest. “No, not a convent! Not even that one.”
    “I’m not suggesting she take the veil,” Catherine said. “She’s too young, in any case. Mother Heloise won’t let any woman make final vows before she’s eighteen. Margaret could join the students there. You must admit there’s no better place for her to improve her Latin.”
    “Why should she?” Edgar wasn’t convinced. “She reads both French and English well enough. There’s no call for her to study Latin unless she wishes to enter the Church.”
    Solomon was standing, too. “That I would never tolerate,” he said. “I promised her mother to care for her, not …”
    He was abruptly interrupted.
    “I don’t suppose any of you have considered that I might have an opinion in this.”
    All three jumped as if lightning had struck the room.
    “Margaret!” Catherine cried. “We thought you were asleep.”
    “Obviously,” Margaret answered. Her lip trembled, and she bit it to steady herself. “I know that my worry for Solomon may have seemed excessive to you.” She took a deep breath. “Perhaps it caused my melancholic humor to influence my behavior. But that is no excuse for you deciding my future without consulting me.”
    “Margaret, we would never …” Edgar started.
    “I was only thinking of your welfare,” Catherine said.
    “It’s my duty …” Solomon tried to explain.
    Margaret just looked at them sadly.
    “I do love you, Solomon,” she said. “Perhaps, as you say, my devotion is only as that of a daughter. I don’t know. I haven’t much knowledge of filial affection. You always seemed to care for me more than my own father ever did. Do you wonder that I return your kindness?”
    Edgar had to agree with that. His father and Margaret’s had seen his children only as possessions. He was generally indifferent to them unless they opposed him. Edgar had vowed when James was born that he would never treat his son as Waldeve had treated him.
    “None of us has denied Solomon the right your mother entrusted to him. Your welfare matters to all of us,” Edgar explained. “But, Margaret, you aren’t a child anymore, and you must understand why we’re concerned.”
    Margaret’s hand went to the scar on her cheek. “Yes, I do. Catherine reminded me not long ago. But when we’re all home together, I forget that Solomon is an ‘infidel who must be shunned.”’
    Solomon smiled tenderly at her. “I am grateful for that, my dear. I sometimes forget that you all are ‘idolators to be scorned.’”
    He sighed and held out his hand. “Come sit with us, then. Do you want some wine? I know that you’re of an age to be consulted. But you’re still weak from all you’ve suffered.