THE RETURN OF THE LORD
Once upon a time there was a lord, devout like a priest, strong and bold like Samson, shrewd like no one else. This lord often made large alms, on the door of his castle. He defended the poor against the rich who wronged them. For three years he had married the most beautiful and honest woman in the country. The two loved each other more than one can say. Unfortunately, they had no children. Everyone pitied them, and the woman was so confused about her condition that she no longer dared to go out.
Then, the lord left for the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Betharram. Arriving in the church, he knelt down in front of the high altar and said:
“Blessed Virgin, if my wife gives me a child, I swear to go to the Holy Land for seven years, to fight the enemies of God. »
That said, the lord returned to his castle. Nine months later, his wife bore him a handsome boy.
After the baptism and the renewals, the lord said to his wife:
“Woman, I swore to the Blessed Virgin of Betharram that, if we had a child, I would go to the Holy Land for seven years, to fight the enemies of God. It is a great sadness for me to leave you all alone like this. Certainly, there will be no shortage of gallants to come and tell you that I died in the Holy Land, and to ask you in marriage. Don't believe them. They would poison our son, and they would take our property. When I come back, I'm the one who takes care of settling their account. Then you might not recognize me. Take this. It's our marriage contract cut in half. I keep half. Take the other, and do not part with it day or night. When I show you what I carry, you will be sure that you only have to deal with me.
"My husband, you will be obeyed."
The lord therefore left for the Holy Land. For a year, he fought there like a Caesar. But one day, he fell off his horse, and was taken by the enemies of God, who locked him up, a prisoner in a tower.
From then on, there was no news of him in the country. So three brothers, strong as bulls, and wicked as hell, three brothers took counsel.
“One of us must marry the wife of the lord who has gone to the Holy Land."
That said, they went to find his wife.
"Good morning, my lady."
“Hello, gentlemen. What's in it for your service?"
"My lady, they say your husband was killed in the Holy Land. If that's true, you must marry one of us three."
“Gentlemen, I have no proof that my husband was killed in the Holy Land. So you see that I cannot marry one of you three."
"Well ! until the proof arrives, we will live as masters in this castle."
The three brothers did as they had said, without the lady and her son finding either a relative or a friend to defend them. Night and day, these beggars feasted at the castle, and sold the crops, to gamble.
When it was just five years since the departure of the lord, the three brothers said to his wife:
"My lady, it's been five years since your husband left for the Holy Land. Certainly, he is dead. If you want to live, you and your son, you must marry one of us three."
“Gentlemen, since my husband is dead, I will dress in black. For a whole year, I will wear mourning for my poor friend, and I will pray to God for his soul. That done, I will choose my husband between you three."
The Devil was hidden in the lady's room. A hundred times faster than lightning, he went to find the lord, prisoner in his tower, in the Holy Land.
" Listen. Three brothers, strong as bulls, and wicked as hell, three brothers have made themselves masters in your house, without your wife or your son having found either a relative or a friend to defend them. Night and day, these beggars feast at the castle, and sell the crops, to gamble. Your wife said to them, three days ago: “In a year, I will choose my husband between you three. This is what is happening with you. Give me a drop of your blood, and I'll carry you, in three days, a hundred paces from your castle."
"Damn, you're asking too much of me."
The Devil left, and the lord remained alone, a prisoner in his tower, in the Holy Land.
Previous Tale: The King of the Ravens