Arthur

Chapter 16

Arthur, Prince of Wales; Ludlow Castle, Wales, England. Christmas Eve, 1501.

 

I let Catalina rest for the rest of the day; the physician told me she would be alright after a couple of days in a warm room and being well fed, and that night I ordered her a banquet to be served in her rooms. I asked Maria de Salinas what were Catalina’s favourite meals in Spain, and I had arranged that the supper would be as similar as possible of the one from her home land.

As a sign she had forgiven me, she sent an invitation for me to join her for dinner.

My wife was still very pale and weak when I went to visit her; but she greeted me with a smile and kind eyes. I felt a bit uncomfortable to be alone with her, as every other time we did not end up in good terms. But Catalina was in a very peaceful humor.

“Sit with me.” She invited. I obeyed, noticing she had the dinner table arranged in the Spanish way.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, without looking at her.

“I am better now. The physician advised me to rest, but I say I would be better exercising.”

“You should listen to his advice, after all, he is the physician…”

“In Spain, we prevent ourselves from getting too cold by exercising. It kept our bodies warm.”

“That was your medicine?” I laughed, interested.

“Oddly, yes. Our physicians and apothecaries were Moorish, therefore, we had the best in Europe.”

“Your physicians are Moorish? I thought your parents had taken over the land.”

Catalina nodded, with a serious expression.

“The did. They are not really Moorish, they have been converted to Christianity and baptized.”

“But they kept their knowledge, their instruction…”

“As far as the Law of God permits…”

I nodded again, pretending I had understood; my father had warned me that the Spanish had a very peculiar philosophy.

“I am glad you are alright.” I said, trying to change the subject. “I was very worried about you, Catalina.”

“Were you, really?” Catalina gave me a side smile. “Tell me about it, milord.”

I hesitated. “Well… When I saw you in that carriage, and you did not respond to me… I felt very sad.”

She did not blink. “Continue.”

“Well, I… I was very frightened. I felt very guilty as well.”

I looked at her, trying to read her expression, but she simply kept looking at me, expecting me to continue. I did not know what she wanted me to say.

“You don’t record anything?” I asked.

“Oh, no, gladly not.” She shook her head sighing. “I lost conscience after feeling a lot of pain. I was very, very cold; it was a pain beyond imagination. I also started to feel very frightened. For a moment I thought I would die, and I wanted my mother…” Catalina bit her bottom lip. “It was very, very cold…”

As she spoke, I felt the guilt growing inside me; I knew I had made her suffer, I had seen it. But hearing her saying it made me feel worse. She was only a sixteen year old girl, and I had been cruel to her.

“Forgive me, Catalina.” I said, looking down. “Please, forgive me. I was wrong to treat you like that, it was very cruel. Please forgive me…”