He does it lovingly, as if the weapon were his friend. The man turns away and begins cleaning his sword.
If I have to come back, I shall increase my fee.’ ‘ Alors, perhaps better luck this time,’ the Frenchman says. Even as she mounted the steps she was looking over her shoulder, did you see?’ ‘But perhaps they were, Maître Cremuel.’ (No Frenchman can ever pronounce his name.) ‘Perhaps they were, for I believe the lady herself thought the king would send a messenger to stop it. No coffin, when they had days to prepare? They knew she was going to die. These people are incredible, he says to the Frenchman. One of Constable Kingston’s men proffers linen towels-too late to be of use. Then they step back, their hands held away from them so as not to soil their garments. The hands of the bystanders move in imitation, and his own hand moves but then he checks himself, and draws it into a loose fist. As there is no other space, she fits it by the corpse’s feet. The woman who holds the head genuflects with her soaking parcel. The officers of the Tower have found, in lieu of a coffin, an arrow chest. Trust Francis, he thinks: he is a cousin of the dead queen, but he has remembered he is also a cousin of the queen to come.
It is Francis Bryan, a nimble courtier, gone to tell Henry he is a free man. From the corner of his eye he sees a presence flit away, a fugitive lean man in a leather jerkin. Each of them sidesteps the cushion on which she knelt, now sodden with her blood. He hears their indrawn breath as they lift what is left of her, holding her by her clothes they are afraid the cloth will rip and their fingers touch her cooling flesh. They slide in the gore and stoop over the narrow carcass. They will not let any man touch her palms out, they force back those who try to help them. Having been on a battlefield, he knows this from experience too. She held it fast though, and a head is heavier than you expect. He saw how, as she received the bundle, the woman shuddered from the nape of her neck to her feet. The Frenchman-they had sent for the Calais executioner-had picked up the head, swaddled it in linen, then handed it to one of the veiled women who had attended Anne in her last moments. The small body lies on the scaffold where it has fallen: belly down, hands outstretched, it swims in a pool of crimson, the blood seeping between the planks.
Having once been a poor man, he knows this from experience. The man has performed his office with style and though the king is paying him well, it is important to reward good service with encouragement, as well as a purse. Under the hats, their faces are stunned.īut then he turns back, to say a word of thanks to the executioner. The witnesses, who have knelt for the passing of the soul, stand up and put on their hats. The morning’s circumstances are new and there are no rules to guide us. A sharp pang of appetite reminds him that it is time for a second breakfast, or perhaps an early dinner.
Reikon (13 works), Zensunni42 (11), JohnBobMead (10), usageunit (10), Taytaydhouser (10), mooninautumn (10), iNerV (10), Lowlife_Senpai (10), ZinnKid (10), TeaPunk (10), valsaven (10), 2dgirlsrule (8), Echotape (8), Benibeni (7), Tenome (7), kahm (7), Genjiro (6), ZeroCore (6), saidahgilbert (4), ConnieJo (4), j4ckstraw (4), destinyasura (3), willelektrix (3), BitsAndBytes (2), sabodobe (2), asgard241 (2), Tomasz.Struczynski (2), shina_luna (1), YukiBooks (1), quantum.Once the queen’s head is severed, he walks away. 3 by Yuyuko Takemiya 2 copiesĢ018 (1) 2019 (1) acquired-bought-new (1) comedy (1) dengeki bunko (7) English translation (1) fiction (4) format-print (1) gave-up-on (1) Japan (1) Japanese (21) Japanese novels (1) Kindle (1) length-book (1) light novel (46) light-novels (2) ln (1) loc-lrm-tall-bookcase (1) new-Book Depository (1) novel (1) novels-in-japanese (1) own (4) owned-not-read-yet (1) physical-copy (1) read (2) read 2013 (1) read 2020 (1) read in 2014 (1) read in 2018 (1) read in 2019 (1) romance (2) room-livingroom (2) shelf-manga-A-2 (2) the-long-list (1) to-read (11) Toradora (7) unit-manga-A (2) unread (3) want-to-read-ln (1) Yuyuko Takemiya (1) Top Members Toradora! Volume 10 by Yuyuko Takemiya 13 copies Toradora! Volume 9 by Yuyuko Takemiya 15 copies Toradora! Volume 8 by Yuyuko Takemiya 14 copies Toradora! Volume 7 by Yuyuko Takemiya 13 copies Toradora! Volume 6 by Yuyuko Takemiya 15 copies Toradora! Volume 5 by Yuyuko Takemiya 17 copies Toradora! Volume 4 by Yuyuko Takemiya 24 copies Toradora! Volume 3 by Yuyuko Takemiya 21 copies Toradora! Volume 2 by Yuyuko Takemiya 27 copies Toradora! Volume 1 by Yuyuko Takemiya 44 copies