A Vision of Light (64 page)

“I—I don’t think you’d like Hugo very much,” Gregory began.

“Hugo’s a nasty piece of work, if I ever saw one.”

Exactly what Brother Gregory had thought of him for years. He felt better. Margaret was very perceptive for a woman.

“I—we—” he started to say. Margaret looked up at him expectantly. He looked dreadful. His battered old gown was slashed and splattered with blood. He had tucked his light helmet under his elbow, and his cowl was thrown back. She could see the dark circles under his eyes and a nasty-looking old bruise across one side of his face, where she supposed that horrid old man had probably clouted him. Over months Margaret had gotten to know him better than he thought she did, and she knew without speaking what he was trying to say. She also knew how much it cost him. So she waited. The grooms in the door shifted with boredom.

“Margaret—I haven’t done very well. The things I’ve tried, they haven’t worked out. Writing, teaching, and now contemplation too. Then, you see, I tried to help you, and that didn’t work out either. Now look at all the mess I’ve made of things. That’s how everything turns out for me—”

“The mess was there before. Kendall’s sons were part of his mess, not part of yours. You did help, you know. You couldn’t know your father was going to do this.”

“I’ve watched him for years. I should have guessed. He always takes what he wants, and doesn’t care who gets hurt. And now he’ll hurt you, Margaret, and it’s my fault.”

“He’ll hurt you, too, I’m afraid,” she answered.

“Yes, but that’s no different than it ever was. It’s always been that way for me. It’s something I intended to take up with God, but I guess I can’t now.” Margaret looked at his troubled face, and put her hand on his sleeve.

“You think God can’t see? God is everywhere.”

Gregory brightened.

“You know, I had a thought like that, too, not so long ago. Do you think God would mind if we got married?”

Margaret started to laugh.

“Gregory, you madman! Is that a proposal?”

Gregory looked surprised, then he looked all about the room, as if he didn’t know where the idea had come from, and perhaps he might see some invisible hole in the air above his head out of which it might have dropped.

“Why, yes, I suppose it is—I didn’t think I could say it.”

“I didn’t think so either.”

“But you know, Margaret, I’m really not Gregory anymore—just plain Gilbert. I was saving the name, for when—when I went back.”

“Gilbert? That doesn’t suit you very well—can’t you just keep the other name a bit longer?”

“I’m afraid I already kept it longer than was proper.”

“Honestly, Gregory, you’re worse than Brother Malachi.”

“But, Margaret, we’re still in a fix, you know. You heard father. We’ll have to live with him awhile, and he’ll be bothering us day and night. It will drive me crazy. Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to boost you out the window so you can run to the neighbors?”

“I think that’s why your father sent those two men along,” said Margaret, pointing to them. “Besides, horrid as he is, he’s right. It would only put off the problem, and who knows what would happen next time?”

“Then you wouldn’t mind—?”

“No, you’re very kind to ask. At least you’re asking, and not telling. Besides, I think—I think I’d like it, Gregory.”

“All settled in there?” boomed Sir Hubert’s voice. “Or do I have to make my own arrangements?”

“It’s settled,” said Brother Gregory, emerging with Margaret and followed by the armed grooms.

“Partly settled,” said his father, eyeing him grimly up and down. “Now, I want to know if you’ve taken any vows with that wretched order of holy imbeciles you were hanging about with.”

“Nothing final, father.” Brother Gregory was curt. Father was already making him angry again.

“Good—saves me a peck of money buying you off, right there. Who would have thought you had the sense?” He paced up and down, inspecting his addle-brained second son while he thought further. “What about before? When you ran off abroad?”

“Minor orders, father, are a part of taking a university degree,” said Brother Gregory in the tone he would use to instruct a simpleton of the obvious. He could feel his rage rising, despite every effort at self-control.

“Just—what?” spluttered the old man, his face staining with crimson. “Why, you prize idiot! Marry a widow? You know damned well a man in minor orders isn’t allowed to marry a widow! I’ll have to buy you off charges! It would be a damned sight cheaper to marry a widow to Hugo, I’ll tell you. You wouldn’t see Hugo playing the fool like that!”

Brother Gregory’s face turned red in its turn, and his temples throbbed. He shouted, “Well, in that case, you can just—”

At this very point something like a voice in the old man’s mind suddenly said, Careful, careful! When have you ever got so close to your heart’s desire? Have you ever yet caught a horse in pasture by letting him see the bridle? Don’t let him bolt now—show him the oat bucket, not the whip. And suddenly Sir Hubert interrupted his son in midsentence with an unusually cheerful and conciliatory voice.

“Now, now, Gilbert, a thought has struck me. Cool down—there’s not a problem in the world. I’ll borrow against her inheritance and settle with you later. Our bishop’s an accommodating fellow—did you know he’s a cousin too? Third degree on your mother’s side. I’ll throw in a shrine if you like—something in your mother’s name might be appropriate, don’t you think?”

Caught off guard that way Brother Gregory was briefly speechless, and the blood settled back down his neck again.

“So? It’s all agreeable to you now? Good! We’ll head for home and the chapel,” said his father.

They walked to the front door together, with Margaret between them, where the little girls, cloaked and mittened, found their mother and hid behind her skirts.

“We’re taking the infants,” said Sir Hubert, waving a gloved hand in their direction. “Women mope about without them. Though doubtless she’ll mope about even with them; it’s the way women are,” he added.

There was a flurry of last-minute arrangements, as Sir Hubert gave orders to his men and to Margaret’s steward, who waited for Margaret’s silent nod to leave. The street was empty as they mounted, but Margaret could see faces looking out from behind the half-closed shutters of the neighbors’ houses. A single cry would bring them, armed, out into the street. Brother Gregory put her up behind the saddle of his brown mare, and Margaret turned for a last look at her own front door. She could feel the tears starting in her eyes, when a raucous shout interrupted her grief.

“Thieves! Thieves!” echoed from the rooftop. She looked up and smiled, in spite of herself. Sometimes birds see things more clearly than people do.

“What’s that?” cried Sir Hubert, and turned in the saddle to put his hand on his sword hilt.

High up on the eaves Cook’s magpie had ceased preening itself and was bobbing about, looking at the riders below.

“Only Cook’s bird,” said Brother Gregory.

A woman’s wheedling voice could be heard from the back of the house.

“Come back, little darling. Mama’s sweetie. Look, look what I’ve put out on the windowsill for you….” Sir Hubert relaxed his guard.

“Preposterous,” the old knight said, and gave the signal to ride off. And as they rode from the door, still listening to Cook’s pleading, he announced, “There’s absolutely no end to the silliness of women.”

“That’s for certain,” laughed Hugo.

“True, true.” The grooms nodded in agreement.

But Gregory was silent.

READER’S GROUP GUIDE

1. From the very beginning of Margaret’s story, it is apparent that she is not like other women. What was your first impression of her, and what events in her childhood do you think were seminal in the formation of her ideas and her resolve?

2. Meeting the prostitute Belotte and delivering her baby has a great impact on the life of young Margaret. What lasting lessons does she learn from her dealings with the woman? What is she inspired to do after this experience, and how does it affect her faith and the way she interacts with the world?

3. Throughout the story of Margaret’s life, we are shown the complexity of the relationships between women in the Middle Ages. There are those who band together and help each other through the difficult times in their lives. From Margaret’s childhood friend, Mary, to her stepmother, to Berthe, her only friend in the house of her first husband, to Hilde and many others, there are those who are good friends to Margaret in small ways and large, even in the face of unspeakable hardship. But there are also those women who pit themselves against one another. Why do you think this is? What examples do you see in the book of this complex balance between kinship and the strength of sticking together and competition and jealousy in the feminine world? Do you think aspects of this dichotomy exist today? Are relationships between women still so interdependent and complex? What was at stake in the fourteenth century, and to what degree does it differ from what women need from each other now?

4. Compare and contrast the faith of Margaret with the faith of Brother Gregory. What do they each gain from the way that they approach God and their relationship with Him? What does religion mean in each of their lives?

5. Consider the relationships between men and women in this book. Many are dysfunctional, or even abusive, but not all. In the cases where characters find themselves in loving relationships, what do you see as the defining characteristics of the couple? Specifically look at Hilde and Sebastian/Malachi and Margaret and Kendall. What is it that makes these people happy together? How are they different from all the couples who are so unhappy?

6. Hilde tells Margaret that God’s main characteristic is a sense of irony. What examples of this do you see in
A Vision of Light
? Can you think of anything from your own life that would support this theory?

7. Do you see Margaret as innocent and sheltered, or worldly and wise? In what ways is she both? Which do you think she would rather be, if she were given the choice? Which would you rather be?

8. Brother Sebastian states that “the other side of disaster is opportunity…. Understand this principle, and you will never grieve and always prosper. It is the way the world works. Everything always has two sides, even disaster.” Do you think he is right about this? Are there examples of this principle in the novel? Do you think Margaret takes this statement to heart? Does it ring true in general or only in the context of the way he personally lives his life?

9. Discuss the relationship between Margaret and Brother Gregory. How do they interact when they first meet, and how does this change as they get to know each other? What judgments do they make that are proven wrong, and are any of their early thoughts about each other proven true? Why do they so enjoy pushing each other’s buttons, going out of their way to irritate each other? And what effect do they have on each other in the long run?

10. What is it about Margaret that makes her receptive to the Vision of Light and the healing power it provides to her? Do you think she handles her newfound talent and power as well as can be expected? Are there any instances when you thought she was using it incorrectly or unwisely?

11. Where do you see Judith Merkle Riley using humor in this book? What character traits or situations did you find humorous? Did the use of humor give you a deeper understanding of the characters or situations, or relieve tension in a particularly intense passage? Why do you think the author uses it where she does?

12. Why is it so important to Margaret to learn to read? What power does this knowledge hold in her world? What danger?

13. Do you think Margaret is guilty of any of the crimes against God she is accused of? Refer back to the recantation she is forced to sign. What do you think of the bishop’s interpretation of the Bible? In what ways has the story of original sin been used similarly throughout history? Why do you think Margaret’s view of the will of God differs so drastically from the popular view at the time?

14. What do you think of Margaret’s (and Kendall’s) assertion that “money fixes everything”? Or of Brother Gregory’s opinion that it is actually money allied to the sword that is the true seat of power? In what ways is each proven true or false throughout the novel?

15. How does Margaret’s childhood and first marriage affect the choices she makes once she’s settled down and happy with Kendall, raising a family of her own? To what degree is she living a better life and in what ways is she just sidestepping her own demons?

16. Do you think David is correct in his opinion that even if there were an island in the sea where Margaret could go to do and think as she likes “people would make it just the same as here”? Is it human nature to discourage true individuality and change?

17. From what you’ve seen in this novel, what do you think of the role of the church in fourteenth-century England? What does the institution do for the people and in what ways does it fall short of fulfilling their needs? Do the people we see in this book have their spiritual needs provided for by the church? Why or why not? What does the church stand for? What is the driving force behind its existence as portrayed in
A Vision of Light
?