![lily and the lion lily and the lion](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/JCB8X0/lily-lion-heart-JCB8X0.jpg)
A large, flat rock hid beneath the trees a proud pagan altar, shrouded in clinging bryony. Soaring pines tickled the sky, the thickly interwoven branches overhead dangling the sun’s rays in ribbons of pink and gold.Ī pebbled bank, clustered with meadowsweet, dipped into a stream, tiny waterfalls bubbling along the meandering curves and cascading into a deep pool. Bordered by tall hedgerows of hawthorn, it led to a clearing of immense beauty. With some balance restored to our senses, I found myself being guided from the back of the rose garden, down a winding path no wider than a bridle track. Armand told me there was a woodland nearby that you would enjoy.’ 'Whoremonger!'Īrras - Maison des Fleurs - The 'Sprite Forest' 'Knave! Hypocrite! Licentious scoundrel!' He sidestepped a flying missile that was Madame Duvall's pottery bowl. Resentment for the nights of endless lamentation flared anew and anger uncoiled, as dangerous as any striking serpent. ‘Pusillanimous pig!’ He quickly ducked as a jug, half-filled with barley water, smashed into the wall above him. He stepped tentatively into the room, his expression taut and drawn. H e was clean shaven and neatly groomed, his blue velvet shoulders stiff with resolve, but he had the appearance of a wrung out sheet rather than freshly aired linen. That was when I saw Gillet standing in the doorway. Returning the oven paddle to its corner and poking the freshly baked cakes with satisfaction, I turned with a sigh of simple contentment, wondering if such domestic serenity could be more than just a paragraph in the pages of my life. An army of vegetables, stripped of their coats, lay patiently awaiting execution in a pot. By mid afternoon the aroma of oatcakes permeated the air and the kettle hissed cheerfully from its hook by the fire.
![lily and the lion lily and the lion](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/sOcAAOSwgHxe3WxG/s-l300.jpg)
Cleaning floors and scrubbing tables, scouring pots and pans until they shone the kitchen began to gleam like a newly-minted coin. ‘Whilst the Mesdames secured supplies in the village, I attacked their domain with the ruthlessness of a warrior on a raid. It is wild and untamed.'Īrras - Maison des Fleurs - A Mediæval Kitchen But even with its unkempt appearance, or mayhap because of it, I loved it immediately. There are gardens aplenty, and plenty overgrown! Large sprawling bushes, rambling vines and a veritable carpet of weeds cover the rolling patches of lawn. Shuttered casements are scattered over three floors and though fireplaces are numerous, smoke drifts from only one chimney. If not for this, it would be a most pretty sight.
Lily and the lion cracked#
Sadly its condition is deteriorating, the peeling paint competing with the cracked daub. 'The manor house is respectable in size and draped in dense ivy. No doubt he had supplied the means but the coin for such protection would have been my father’s, surely?'Īrras - Maison des Fleurs - Home of the Mesdames Duvall How many new pots of dye, by way of payment, had recently appeared in the illuminator’s cavern on my behalf? The sunlight glinted on Bellegarde’s shield. The lay brothers were working in an adjoining field, robes tucked into belts, their backs as bent as their scythes, and I sent a prayer of thanks for the admonishing they had delivered to Edward’s horrified soldiers only days before. Armand’s soldiers were to meet us in a village halfway to Compiègne, where we would stay the night. 'Following a single width bridle path from the rear of the monastery, we were led into a nearby copse that would shield our escape. 'I was raised not far from Condom, the seat of power of the Armagnacs, at Larressingle, a grand fortress perched high upon a hill that commands a spectacular view across lush fields of green and gold.' 2)The inner courtyard (Jean le Bossu's house in the background) 3) C écile's chamber on the top floor 4) The stables where Jean d'Armagnac dealt out his punishment! Larressingle - Home of Comte Jean d'Armagnacġ) The entrance to Larressingle, the name meaning a single entrance only. There lay a tiny girl, shrouded in a mantle of golden hair, fast asleep on the palliasse.' With her finger raised in a gesture for silence, she stepped to an alcove and swept aside the curtain. She beckoned me to follow her through the cloister, up a stairwell to a private room. I can still see Mary standing there clutching her cloak against the wind, her lips pressed in a tight smile as plainsong echoed from the chapel. 'We met at the Abbaye de Flaran by Larressingle in the dark of night. BOOK ONE - THE LILY AND THE LION F rance Abbaye de FlaranĪbove: 1) The Abbaye de Flaran and 2) A view of the cloisterĪbove: 3) Stairs that lead up to private rooms and : 4) An actual room that had an alcove and a bed, exactly as had been written nearly two years before visiting the abbey!