Chapter 37

In a stroll through the castle, Andrew found the church treasury. As he suspected it was filled to the rafters with good stuff. Immediately, men were detailed to both take indexes and commence packing the stuff to take home. He trusted nobody and so had a lot of men watching everyone else.

Next, he stumbled upon the female area of the castle. His men had attained the entrance without embarking inside. They knew the ways of their Duke well! Andrew nudged open the doors and wandered in. There was the traditional variety of female servants now huddled together in anxious assembly. He scouted an ornately etched oak wooden door that he suspected led to Matilda's rooms. Nosiness made him push it open and enter.

In a vast dark-lit chamber, he found her. Or rather her, the fake Matilda. She was crouched by the side of a bed on which lay sleeping. She was swaddled in a widow's black covering, the free end of which entirely wrapped her face. In a vulnerable fair hand, she held a vast copper po