That night, Lucía went to the palace chapel and said a special prayer for the kind and gentle person that Doña Teresa had been and the mother she had never known.
Chapter VI
Several weeks had passed since Isabella arrived home from Portugal, and she continued to spend time with Lucía in Segoia. This proved to be good therapy for Isabella, as she started to accept her loss around people she loved and trusted and who had become an important part of her life.
One day, a priest entered the city, riding a donkey, with two saddlebags draped over its back. The man was simply dressed in a brown robe tied with a hemp belt and sandals and wore a wooden cross around his neck. The guards at the gate laughed at the sight of a tall man riding a donkey. His legs were practically touching the ground, but the priest smiled and kept on riding to the fountain in the city square. Such a sight created interest among the small crowd who had gathered to watch the priest reach into the fountain with his cupped hands to give the donkey a drink of water. With each handful of water, the donkey made a typical braying noise with many hee-haws, which attracted the attention of the children in the crowd. The priest spent time with each child. He asked them their names and allowed them to pet the donkey and then gave each a blessing.
The priest took the reins of the donkey and walked to the palace gates. He told the guards he had urgent business with Don Fernando. Once through the gates, he was led to the anteroom of the great hall, where Don Fernando was at his table on the dais, busily reviewing some documents.
“A Father Baldwin to see you, mi señor,” announced a servant.
Don Fernando paused from his reading and rose from his chair to examine the priest who entered the anteroom, carrying his leather saddlebags. His eyes, although gray, sparkled with a smile. His face was smooth and wrinkled and gave the appearance of intellect and wisdom. His mane, which protruded from his tonsure, was a mop of gray thinning hair, and his robe was more gray than brown from the dusty road traveled.
“Do I know you, Padre?” asked Don Fernando.
“No,” said Father Baldwin.
“Please have a seat, Padre. Perhaps some refreshments?”
“No, thank you. I assure you, I’m fine,” said Father Baldwin with a smile.
“What can I do for you then?” asked Don Fernando, quite interested in the priest who sat before him.
“It’s what I can do for you. Let me explain,” said the priest with a smile and a voice that put Don Fernando at ease. “My name is Hugh Baldwin, and I have been sent from Rome in answer to your letter to His Holiness, which concerned a tutor for your daughter, Doña Lucía. Here are my credentials and a letter of introduction sent by His Holiness.”
Don Fernando rose from his chair and walked off the dais to examine the documents handed to him. Don Fernando noticed the official lead seal of the pope, the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul, with a cross, which separated the two saintly heads attached to the letter with a white cord at the bottom of the document. He read the rather lengthy verbose introduction written in Latin and then turned to Father Baldwin.
“This is a rather grandiloquent introduction, more like a sermon than a letter.”
“Sí, His Holiness does tend to get carried away in his use of the Latin language,” said Father Baldwin with a subtle laugh. Don Fernando could not help but laugh along with his guest, caught in his infectious humor.
Don Fernando took a seat next to Father Baldwin below the dais, and he listened with interest to his conversation regarding his background. Don Fernando discovered that his guest was a mixture of Norman and English noble stock. In his early years, he was trained as a warrior by his father, but becoming a knight was not in his nature. He also realized that being the youngest of four children, he would also become a poor knight, so he turned his attention to the church and felt very comfortable with his choice of profession. Father Baldwin went on to indicate with humility that he received a classical and advanced education at St. Albans, thanks to his father’s support, and was considered a scholar of his day. After further study, he was ordained a priest.
Don Fernando also learned his new tutor could also be quite loquacious in his own right, as he babbled on about being chosen by the English Pope Adrian in his late teens due to his acute intellect and quick-wittedness. The new pope at the time had made him an offer to come to Rome to serve the papacy, which he did in various capacities over the years through succeeding popes.
Don Fernando started to yawn as his new friend continued the conversation by also mentioning his enjoyment of having traveled the world to garner knowledge, especially in the Arab world. Here, he spent time learning and reading original Greek texts about the ancient sciences of medicine, biology, physics, and advanced mathematics.
Finally, Don Fernando had had enough, and he interrupted the conversation, “Well, Padre, I am very impressed with your background and find it to be a good match for my daughter. As you are probably aware, Padre, from my letter to His Holiness, you will be taking over the teaching responsibilities from Yamina, Lucía’s nurse and tutor. She is advancing in age and wishes to stay on as nurse only. Oh, by the way, you will also be tutoring my daughter’s good friend, Doña Isabella, as well. I hope you will not mind, Padre,” said Don Fernando, who returned his papal letter of introduction.
“Not at all,” responded Father Baldwin. “And I do hope I have not bored you, Don Fernando. I really do hate talking about myself, but I felt that I had to convince you of my qualifications in order to seek your approval. I owe my entire success from the hand of God and give thanks each day for his many blessings.”
“Well, Padre, you have impressed me with your qualifications, and I find you more a university scholar than a simple tutor, for sure. You are a very humble man with a pleasant, outgoing manner and a well-educated man of God. Now, Padre, what about payment?”
“I do not require payment, only simple lodging.”
“That I will see to immediately,” responded Don Fernando, and he rose from his chair. “Follow me, Padre, and I will show you to your room and introduce you to your new students.” Father Baldwin picked up his saddlebags and followed behind his new employer.
While Don Fernando and Father Baldwin were meeting in the antechamber of the great hall, Lucía and Isabella were in their shared boudoir, dancing and whirling around to imaginary music, laughing and giggling to their missteps. The girls were about to have an archery lesson when Don Fernando and Father Baldwin entered the boudoir and found both Lucía and Isabella completely oblivious to their entrance. The girls had left the dance floor and moved to the dressing table, where they were preening and making faces in the oval mirror, which sat on a heavy silver base.
Don Fernando cleared his throat, and the two girls abruptly turned around to see Don Fernando and a cleric standing in the doorway.
“Now that I have your attention, I would like to introduce you to your new tutor,” said Don Fernando as he walked over to the girls along with Father Baldwin. “Lucía and Isabella, this is your new tutor, Father Baldwin. He has come all the way from Rome to tutor you.”
The girls were wide-eyed as they examined their new sage. “From Rome, where the pope lives?” asked Lucía.
“The very same,” responded Father Baldwin.
“Do you know the pope?” asked Isabella.
“As a matter of fact, I do,” said Father Baldwin with his kind smile.
The two girls were impressed that they were in the midst of a cleric who actually knew the pope and had traveled so far.
“What are you going to teach us?” inquired Lucía.
With a smile and a twinkle in his eye, Father Baldwin opened his saddle bags and pulled out two heavy thick leather-bound books and placed them on a side table. The girls curious opened them and only found blank parchment.
Lucía laughed along with Isabella.