CHAPTER 1

Charles Arrives

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Stepping into the darkness of the stairwell, Sunni inhaled themusty scent of aging stone and stretched out her hand as a guide.Although the stairs were steep, she climbed with ease, havingmade this journey to watch for Charles every night since her husbandleft for Narbonne.

She did this more out of duty than necessity. When the army'sbanners were sighted, news of their arrival would be shouted from therampart and echoed throughout the town. The fate of the entire courtwas tied up in Charles's success, and everyone from the lowest servantto Bishop Boniface would storm the staircase to see who had returnedfrom campaign and who had not.

The banners would appear above the horizon along the eastern road,advancing in successive waves of color. The ranks of cavalry and footsoldiers would follow. In time, the sounds of their march would reach thewalls, and the court would strain to see the knights' standards.

Because the absence of a standard from the ranks foretold a knight'sdeath, those who could see would call out to those who could not, and astrange dichotomy would take over the assembled crowd. Cheers wouldgreet the names announced while shouts for those unnamed were calledforward. "Where is Stephen D'Anjou? Can you see Stephen?" and "Whatabout Wilfred? Oh my God, not Wilfred!"

Sunni had seen families collapse in grief beside others who dancedin celebration. Sobs and laughter would blend on the rampart in adiscordant release until the hands of the celebrants stretched out tothose who mourned, and the court would grieve its loss.

Arriving at the top of the stairs, Sunni discovered she would not bealone. A dozen steps away, Charles's daughter Trudi stared out at thehorizon. They watched as the sun dipped low, casting a reddish glow tothe underside of the cloud cover. A cold blast of wind made the girl shiver.Without thinking, Sunni kissed the locket she wore around her neck toward off the night spirits.

"God help me," Trudi said. There was pain in her lament, but Sunniwas reluctant to intrude. Stepmothers, she knew, are not always welcome.She found her own place on the rampart to watch the eastern road.

Trudi had her own reasons to await Charles's return. She waseighteen, old for a maiden. Charles had declared that, upon his return,he would decide whom the girl would marry. Although Trudi had neverspoken to Sunni of this decision, her distaste was visible to any that knewher. Her body was coiled tight, her face a stew of emotions.

Sunni had argued for the girl, hoping to stop Charles from usinghis daughter as an instrument of his diplomacy, but he had insisted.Trudi would wed someone of noble blood. Charles would send her awayto marry a noble on the Roman peninsula, or in Alemannia or Frisia,wherever there was an alliance to solidify, a political gain to be made. Hermarriage would seal a bargain she knew nothing about.

She would be forced from the people she loved, away from the lifeshe knew. She would be alone. Sunni's eyes welled. It was not so manyyears ago that she had shared a similar fate. It was, perhaps, the onlything they had in common.

Trudi had her father's face, which, although a man's face, was stillhandsome on her. Unfortunately, it was not the only trait she hadinherited from him. She was tall for a woman, with broad shouldersand uncommon strength. Thank God, the girl had breasts and hips, Sunnithought, or she might be mistaken for a man. Trudi's hair was by far herbest feature. It cascaded past her shoulders in waves of brown curls thatSunni envied for their thickness.

To Sunni's frustration, Trudi rarely did anything to enhance herbeauty. Most girls her age were using the latest creams and powders.Trudi wore none. She refused to wear a dress, preferring pantaloons andvestments more suited to boys. Sunni had never seen her flirt. She hadnever seen her blush. The girl talked to boys her age the way they talkedto each other.

Sunni had, over the years, tried to involve Trudi with the other girlsat court. Such efforts, however, never kept Trudi's attention.

"They spend their time spinning thread and mooning over knights,"Trudi would say, her eyes rolling. "They talk about each of the boys asif he was a prized horse. `Look at his legs,' or `I just love his shoulders.'"Trudi preferred to find her friends among the boys her age.

Making matters worse, Charles had indulged the girl's fantasy ofbecoming a warrior. Against Sunni's objections, he let Trudi train withthe boys who would become his knights. Trudi strutted about courtin armor and dismissed Sunni's advice. Sunni gently persisted, only tosuffer the girl's continued rebuff. The one time Sunni's advice had beenwelcomed was when the girl's menses had set in. Even then, Trudi haddeclared it nothing more than "a nuisance."

"How do you stand it?" Trudi demanded, without turning to lookat her. Sunni jumped in surprise. She hadn't thought the girl was awareof her.

"Your pardon?"

"How do you stand being married to someone you don't love?"

"I do love your father."

Trudi turned to confront her. "It wasn't even an arranged marriage.He just took you."

"That's not true."

"Of course, it's true." Trudi turned back again to the horizon, recitingthe history. "When Charles stormed Bavaria, he deposed the crazedpagan duc—"

"Grimoald isn't crazed."

"Grimoald married his own brother's widow, flogged a priest, andperformed pagan rituals over his own son."

"His son was dying. The doctors couldn't save him," Sunni said.

"So Charles got rid of Grimoald, put your uncle Odilo in his place,and married you, a Bavarian princess, to bear his third son. Am I missinganything?"

Sunni's face flushed. She looked down at her hands.

"So how do you stand it?" Trudi repeated.

How dare the girl? Of course, Sunni knew the stories. She had helpedspread most of them. She was the "price" for making young Odilo ducde Bavaria in place of Grimoald. She had been "tamed" by Charles, whosubdued her pagan upbringing through his iron will and firm hand.

The truth was that Sunni had seduced Charles from the start. Shehad seen the reality of their situation. The Bavarian royal family was indisarray, and Charles's army was too large to resist. Poor Grimoald wouldnever be acceptable to Charles or his alter ego, Bishop Boniface. And analliance between her family and the Franks offered not only a solution,but a tremendous advantage to both families.

The day she met Charles, Sunni knew she would have him. Tall,strong, fearless, Charles had been forty-two and a widower for a yearwhen he came to Bavaria. He had a light in his eyes that made everyoneelse's seem dull. He was magnificent.

And he looked at her in that way that a man does when he needs tobury himself between the legs of a woman. In less than a week, she hadbound him to her. He was bound to her still.

Now at thirty-two, she played the part of the "tamed" Sunnichildfor Boniface and the court. She said all the Christian words, performedtheir rites so that she could have Charles. But she was no Christian. Shestill had her cache of herbs. She still prayed to the morning sun and thephasing moon. She still communed in secret with her brethren. She evenshared some of their rites with Charles. Wedding Charles Martel hadbeen her choice. She hadn't lied to Trudi. She did love the...