" Rebecca?" " Perished." "I am not afraid." "I am!" "For you!" "God's blood, lady..." "I love you." "This is beyond belief." "Record that the witch denies the authority of a holy inquisition." "I know this man and believe me if you were to champion her and win," "Beaumanoir would simply say the devil guides your actions and burn her anyway." "May I suggest we allow Bois Guilbert to prove his innocence once and for all by standing as the court's champion?" " No." "Athelstane is dead." "Dead?" "We have come to take you to Rotherwood for the funeral feast." "I will not be welcome." "They..." "They think me a traitor." "Speak to your father." "Reclaim your honour." " He will not listen." " He will." "You have until noon tomorrow to find a worthy champion." "I can find her a champion." "We know who, don't we?" "Unless Isaac is stopped, he will ride straight for Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe." "If none is forthcoming you will burn at the stake." "Madam!" "You are in mourning!" "Lord Cedric, we have come to honour Prince Athelstane, the Saxon." "Then welcome to Rotherwood." "I thank you for the respect you show Lord Athelstane." "Do I go or stay?" "You're a free man now." "You choose." "I am not an unjust man." "But I have treated you unfairly." "I'll pursue you no further." "My Lord." "Am I welcome?" "... mane misericordia tua..." "We've sung three Masses for his soul already." " Do you think he's in heaven yet?" " How wicked was he?" " He was a terrible sinner." " Then he'll still be in purgatory." " Another five Masses, would you say?" " At least." "Leave us." " More secrets." " My love for Rowena has never been secret." "Your love?" "Prince Athelstane, he of Royal blood, betrothed to this lady, is dead!" "You twitter on like a sparrow about your love." "No, stay." "Stay and hear him out." "This jackanapes." "My Lord." "Still you defy me." "You turned your back on me, left this house." "And in all these years, you've learned nothing but insolence, boy!" "There's no boy here, my Lord." "Because of my love for Rowena, you would never see any good in me." "Because there was none!" "Nothing but impudence!" "Bent on going his own way!" "Even now, I see your mother's rebellious look in your eye!" "The same..." "The same courage and strength and skill in arms as my father." "You, my Lord, are blind!" " Seeing naught but what you choose." " You fool!" "In Palestine, would King Richard have endured a boy at his side?" "Would he?" "In Austria, I was beaten to the point of death." "Did a disloyal jackanapes betray his king?" "No, my Lord, he did not!" "It was for love of you, my own father, and of Rowena, that I overcame Prince John's champions." "Yes!" "I seek her hand in marriage." "In all these years of exile, have I given a poorer account of myself than Athelstane?" "So heaven help me." "If there's anything more I can do to prove my manhood and my love, I'll do it!" "Am I not worthy, Father?" "Then I am done with fighting." "I have no wish to do anything without your blessing." "My blessing?" "You have it with all my heart..." "Oh, son!" "Rowena!" "Mourn Athelstane, mind." "I will, my Lord." "Now, go on." "Let me mourn my friend in peace." "I, alas, may not be seen to have any part in this." "But you understand what must be done." "My Lord." "Preceptor Malvoisin." "Prince John's forest warden." " Wilfred of Ivanhoe." " I know the man." "On his way here." "Here's gold." "The same again if lvanhoe does not reach Templestowe." "My Lord." "We've been going round in circles!" "Can't we rest for a bit?" "No." "We must reach lvanhoe tonight." "You can rest, if you like." "Oh, no, I've got my reward to collect." "Come on." "Jesu quem velatum nunc aspicio, oro fiat illud quod tam sitio." "Ut te revelata cernens facie, visu sim beatus tuae gloriae." "Amen." "From the mother he sprang, to the mother he returns." "In the name of the mother..." "Et in nomine patris et filii et spiritui sancti." " Wassail!" "Wassail!" "Suckling pig... rabbits, even." "We'll give you a grand send-off, my lad." "Believe me." "Let go of his soul!" "Domine omnipotens, aeterne Deus, qui tam benigne nos pascere hoc tempore dignatus es." "Largire nobis, ut tibi semper pro tua in nos bonitate ex animo gratias agamus." "Vitam honeste et pie transigamus, et studia..." "There's a ghost!" "Kyrie eleison." "Christe eleison." "Kyrie eleison..." "Donna nobis pacem." "Mother!" "Get away from me, you fiend from hell!" " I saw you killed!" " No." "No broadsword is a match for my skull, Lord Cedric, see?" "It holds as much jelly as it ever did!" "The King of England has come back to claim his throne." "You know me as the Black Knight." "I am Richard Plantagenet." "Then does my oath to you cancel my lifelong pledge to Athelstane?" "My Lord, we have all seen what happens when two men strive for the same throne." "Let us have no more of it." "If I swear to Richard, your two oaths become one." "We Saxons... must renounce... all claims... to the English crown." " Athelstane!" " And take Richard as our liege Lord if... and only if he pledges, in this house, and before all these lords to rule fairly over Norman and Saxon alike..." "My life on it, Lord Athelstane." "Nobly done, my Lord." "Open the gate!" "Open... the gate!" "Lord Athelstane..." "I too believed you were dead... and begged the hand of Lady Rowena in marriage." "Madam, I would rather you rejoice at my survival..." " than wish me dead once more." " Sir..." "Marry your true love with my blessing." "Sir, I would have done my duty..." "Good man." "Well..." "You have a feast before you." "And enough to celebrate." "So what are you waiting for?" "And get my blasted horse out of here!" "Go on!" "Open the gate!" "All right." "Isaac!" "My Lord!" "Isaac!" "Easy now." "My daughter, sir." "My Rebecca." "Lord lvanhoe, she is in mortal danger." " You told me she was dead." "I thought she was." "Beaumanoir has chosen Bois Guilbert as the court's champion." "If I cannot find a champion for her by noon, she burns at the stake." " Gurth, now, now!" " Leave at first light." "You have time." "Listen to your father, Lord lvanhoe." "Rebecca... there are two men in the courtyard." "That's all." "No." "I will not go with you." "Then go on your own." "Just go." "They will find me." "But..." "I thank you nonetheless." "Rebecca..." "I have always found strength in the psalms of David." "And to thee, oh Lord, do I lift up my soul." "My God, I trust in thee." "Let me not be ashamed." "There is no end to my shame." "No atonement." "No salvation." "Despair is the one sin God cannot forgive." "Offer me hope." "You can offer that to yourself." "There is only one pure thing left unspoiled in me." "One vow that I have never broken." "To use my complete strength and skill in combat." "Demand that I be vanquished and I will even now for your safety." "No." "I cannot demand that." "Then what?" "Yes, yes, you shall have your reward." "Lord lvanhoe..." " I shall come with you." " No." "You best stay here." "God be with you, then, Lord lvanhoe." "I have pledged all I have for my Rebecca's life." "And my betrothed shall risk his own for it." "She must be an extraordinary woman." "Ivanhoe..." "I will come back." "And I stand in peril of my life." "Twofold peril." "Even if your assassins fail to find lvanhoe..." " My assassins?" " This one's for you to sign." "And Bois Guilbert is defeated." "You begged for the use of two servants." "I know nothing of assassination." "It will avail nothing." "Rebecca will die and I with her." "The grand master's rage knows no bounds." "Which just goes to show the importance of choosing one's master more carefully." "And your second peril?" "Speak freely." "We're all friends here." "The money that I secretly furnished you with." "Yes?" " Gold and silver from my preceptory." " Yes, yes, yes." "Your second peril?" "Your own brother." "Known to be a protector of Ivanhoe and who, on account of these same monies put into your purse, will surely number me among his enemies." "My dear brother loves you well." "Your Grace, I fear his wrath, more than I do Lucas de Beaumanoir." " Please, rest easy." " I seek..." "I must have your protection." "I must!" "You already have my protection." "Mm?" "Think of me as your guardian angel." "What if Bois Guilbert is the victor?" "It matters not either way." "You and I will be in Kent with Queen Eleanor." "There..." "Have we thought of everything?" "More work." "It is dry birch brush, Rebecca." "No smoke, no fumes to lull you to sleep before the flames reach your body." "The pain is the purifier, you see." "Leave us." "Pain so intense that the demons which inhabit your flesh can abide it no longer and are driven out." "Demons are cowards." "Yes." "They are." "Your shift will burn first, of course." "And all men will gaze upon that fleshly shape that Lucifer has given you for their seduction." "And then..." "And then your hair." "Every part of your body will be stripped of this unholy pelt as your skin too begins to blister and burn away." "You will be able to watch for some minutes before those lustrous eyes melt." "And then you will be truly naked." "And men will look upon your roasting flesh and realise the corrupt nature of your body." "Or there is this." "Confess your crime, purify yourself, and there need be no pain." "See?" "I will make sure it does not even tear your skin." "Sign your confession, Rebecca." "The Lord is my shepherd... therefore will I fear no evil." "He makes me lie down in green fields, and with his staff and sword he will protect me." "This is no shortcut, Gurth." "Calm yourself, Master Wilfred." "More than two hours till noon." "And I don't want you going into combat all fretted up and your horse tired." "Best sword is a clean heart." "Best shield is a clear head." " Haven't said that for a long time." " Haven't had to." "The sacrament of penance may be received but once in a lifetime." "Are you certain you wish to receive it now?" "It is for mortal sins, wilfully committed." "I have confessed my sins." "Very well." "I do not know if I am worthy." "That is for your own conscience." "Do you repent before Christ the sins you have confessed?" "I do repent before Christ." "Blood of Christ." "Body of Christ." "My penance?" "To live with yourself after this day." "As we all must." "She even had the impertinence to quote our own psalms to me." "To be fair, my Lord, they were her psalms ere they were ours." "No psalm belongs in the mouth of the devil." "Rebecca of York... do you have a champion for your cause?" " It is not yet noon." "In one hour, it will be." "Where have you been?" "No word from our friends." "Argh!" "Aaaaargh!" "Argh!" "Deus vult, my Lord." "Aaargh!" "Bind her to the stake." "Let the justice of the Lord be..." "Deus vult!" "Yaahhr!" "In Austria I was not brave enough to die for Richard." "But for her..." "Do it." "Kill him!" "Well?" "So this is what you have become." "An oaf who remains seated in front of his mother." "It's in case he doesn't like what you're going to say." " Eh, Richard?" " Silence." "I trust I find Your Grace in good health." "You find Your Grace in a state of fury that would shake the foundations of hell and send the devil himself running for shelter." "How many know of our meeting?" "None, madam." "No-one." "Did you wish it kept a secret?" "No, of course not, John." "It matters not to me at all if all the nations of Christendom know that Queen Eleanor's sons are curdle-brained ninnies, so incapable of settling their differences that they have to send for their mother to do it for them." "I did not send for thee." "I only wished to appeal to your sense of justice." "Justice?" "Justice?" "Do not imagine that because I have silver hairs that I am in my dotage, boy." "You came running to me as ever you did in your childhood when Richard bested you at sport or at the hunt or wherever else your mean little spirit felt itself inadequate." "Was it just to assume the throne of England when your brother had expressly forbidden you to set foot in the country in his absence?" "Was it just to withhold the ransom extorted from the people?" "To keep your brother rotting in prison?" "Oh, yes." "I may not act on my knowledge but never think I don't know how your devious, spiteful mind works, my son." "You were always fair, Mother." "Your father may have been won by your smile, Richard, but your father is dead." "Which, as you helped slay him, you know full well." "And I am not your father!" "I have no patience with weak, vainglorious, self-indulgent men... however much they clothe themselves in boyish charm." "Why are you so surprised?" "Did you expect me to punish John?" "To force him to leave the country, leaving it a rudderless ship?" "For that is what it is." "How long have you spent in England since you took the throne?" "Three months?" "Four?" "John may be a miserable little runt, but at least he's been here." "He kept the country from bankruptcy and he dragged it from the chaos in which you left it." "You are two sides of the same flawed coin." "Weak, stupid and selfish." "But I forgive you, for you both sprang from my womb and I must, in part, bear the responsibility." "Embrace... and forgive each other." "Now!" "Or by the fires of hell, I'll see the pair of you beneath the ground and put the King of Egypt in Westminster." "My life, sire." "He swore he would come back." "If he so swore... then he will." "But when?" "I don't know." "He sent for Isaac." "Why not me?" "He fought beside me in the heat of Palestine." "And he left you to die in Austria." "Battle forges a bond between men like no other." "And now he's dead." "The greatest knight in Christendom and I wish with all my heart it were not so." "He hated you." "Maybe." "Because he knew in his heart of hearts that he was weak and you were strong." "Bois Guilbert hated himself more than anyone." "I learnt so much from him." " What can one so corrupt teach one so pure?" " But I am not pure." "Nor am I brave, nor noble." "Nor even very strong." "It is easy to appear so when untested." "He would've had us believe we are all weak and corrupt." " Perhaps we are." " No!" "You must defeat him finally... by forgiving him." "As you have done." "As I have done." "And do you forgive me?" " For what?" " Leaving you." "I left you for dead." "But you came back in the end." "You risked everything for me." "As you did for me." "Then honour is served... my Lord." "And all the debts between us are cancelled." "Owing each other nothing, Rebecca..." "What now?" " Rebecca..." " Father!" "Oh, my dearest daughter!" "This is a debt I can never repay." "Who dares to sully this monastery?" "Who dares to arrest a knight of the Temple of Sion, within his own preceptory," "and in sight of the grand master?" "I, Henry Bohun, Earl of Essex and Lord High Constable of England... do make arrest of Albert de Malvoisin." "By order of Richard Plantagenet, here present... you are guilty of treason and will die within the week." "Conrad Montfitchet..." "It is well you are no subject of mine, else you would suffer the same fate." "As it is, you are banished from all my realms for the remainder of your life, returning only under pain of death." "Luca de Beaumanoir..." "Grand Master of the Temple of Sion." "I will resist your power." "Proud Templar, you cannot." "The standard of England flies over this place instead of your Templar banner." "Be wise, Beaumanoir." "Make no idle threats." "You dare to usurp the privileges and the immunities of my order?" "I will appeal to His Holiness." "Appeal to whom you choose, once you're out of this country." "Or would you prefer to share our English hospitality or suffer our English justice?" "Dissolve your chapter and move your followers to another preceptory, if there is one that is not a seat of treason against the King of England." "Sire..." "I beg you, mercy." "I've been confounded." "Led astray." "Betrayed." "Spare my life and I will serve you well." "And faithfully." "No." "Go in peace... as man and wife." " Hubert!" " Sire." "Days turn chill, do they not, Hubert?" "Time of year." "Forest must be a... damp, unpleasant place to spend your time." "Sometimes, yeah." "Would you like to spend the rest of your life by my side?" "Yes, sire." "Come closer." "Think of this as a little reward for all the services you've done me." "The days turn chill, do they not, Winkelbrand?" "Come on." "It's the last ornament for the gown." "See?" " I am not with child." " But you will be, my darling." "I know you will." "It takes an act of love to be with child." "Give it time, lady." "He's been wounded." "Hunted." "I cannot let him near me." "My body is warm and my heart is full of love." "I see his face and I think of him in the arms of that... witch." "And my flesh turns to ice." "There..." " What are these?" " Plough days." "East of the stream." "No, they're the grazing tithes, aren't they?" "Aye, probably." "Isaac of York!" "Welcome!" "Lady..." "Let me offer you food and wine in honest friendship." "We only come to take our farewells." " Where do you go?" " To Spain." "My fortunes are all in ruins." "I must set about repairing them as best I can." "You said you'd lost all you had." "Here, yes, but there are small amounts elsewhere." "I must take stock." "My son is travelling." "But the Lady Rowena is here and in poor spirits for his absence." " I would like to see her." " Aye." "Well, follow me." "This matter of repairing your fortunes." "You understand the ways of accounting, do you not?" "See, look..." "Leave us." "I'm glad to see you're fully recovered, madam." " My husband has given me a full account." " And understated his own part." " I have no doubt." " Oh, there are things he has not told me." " How do you know?" " I see it in his eyes." "And what do they tell you?" "Will you leave me no pride, madam?" "I do not wish to take anything from you." "I spent all my hours at Torquilstone in the company of Lord lvanhoe." "Ask me what you will and I will answer truthfully." "Is that why you're here, lady?" "To taunt me?" "Every moment of every year that I have spent apart from Ivanhoe has been a torment to me." "Have you come here to remind me that so many of those moments were spent with you?" "Neither of us chose our imprisonment." "And what creature made of flesh and blood would not have taken advantage of it?" "Will you tell me what you spoke of?" "We spoke of you, Lady Rowena." "Of your birth and rearing." "Of your childhood." "Of your love for each other." "Of his anguish at your betrothal." "Even when he thought he might die, his sole concern was for your welfare." "Is this the truth?" "Before God." "I thought..." "My own love is such that I... could not imagine any woman feeling otherwise." "Our visit here is only to bid you farewell." "I've been promised to a healing order." "I go to commit myself to it now." "I never loved your husband." "Nor he me." "I have done you a grave injustice, madam, and I beg your forgiveness." "I saw treachery where there was constancy." "Malice where there was only benevolence." "How may I make amends?" "By trusting... and loving your husband..." "as he does you." "May God go with you." "Fare thee well." " End of this valley, you'll meet the road south." " Remember, two lists." "One for comings in, the other for goings out." " I'll do it." " Do it every quarter day, not every three years." " Farewell." " Farewell." "My home is yours, Isaac of York." "It soon will be if you don't mind your accounts!" "Safe journey, Isaac." "I thank you, Lord lvanhoe." "Find happiness in your chosen life, Rebecca." "And you in yours my Lord." " May I come in?" " Of course." "My Lord..." " Is the King made back for France?" " He is." "He'll come back to be crowned again and appoint John to the regency." "You look tired." "A long journey." "Welcome home." "There is much to be said for the Christian custom of confession and absolution." "Do you have something to confess?" "Rebecca?" "I have lied before God." "Was it in a good cause?" "In the noblest of causes." "God himself will absolve you."