Locations

Abbaye de Flaran

The cloister

Staircase leading to private rooms

Bed chamber

'We met at the Abbaye de Flaran by Larressingle in the dark of night. I can still see Mary standing there clutching her cloak against the wind, her lips pressed in a tight smile as plainsong echoed from the chapel. She beckoned me to follow her through the cloister, up a stairwell to a private room. With her finger raised in a gesture for silence, she stepped to an alcove and swept aside the curtain. There lay a tiny girl, shrouded in a mantle of golden hair, fast asleep on the palliasse.'
(Jean d'Armagnac talking with Cécile - The Lily and the Lion)

The main entrance

The inner courtyard

Cécile's chamber
(top floor)

The stables where
Jean d'Armagnac dealt out
his punishment!

'I was raised not far from Condom, the seat of power of the Armagnacs, at Larressingle, a grand fortress perched high upon a hill that commands a spectacular view across lush fields of green and gold.'
(Extract from Cécile's letter - The Lily and the Lion)

'Following a single width bridle path from the rear of the monastery, we were led into a nearby copse that would shield our escape. Armand’s soldiers were to meet us in a village halfway to Compiègne, where we would stay the night. The lay brothers were working in an adjoining field, robes tucked into belts, their backs as bent as their scythes, and I sent a prayer of thanks for the admonishing they had delivered to Edward’s horrified soldiers only days before. How many new pots of dye, by way of payment, had recently appeared in the illuminator’s cavern on my behalf? The sunlight glinted on Bellegarde’s shield. No doubt he had supplied the means but the coin for such protection would have been my father’s, surely?'
(Extract from Cécile's letter - The Lily and the Lion)

'The manor house is respectable in size and draped in dense ivy. Sadly its condition is deteriorating, the peeling paint competing with the cracked daub. If not for this, it would be a most pretty sight. Shuttered casements are scattered over three floors and though fireplaces are numerous, smoke drifts from only one chimney. There are gardens aplenty, and plenty overgrown! Large sprawling bushes, rambling vines and a veritable carpet of weeds cover the rolling patches of lawn. But even with its unkempt appearance, or mayhap because of it, I loved it immediately. It is wild and untamed.'
(Extract from Cécile - The Lily and the Lion)

Bench with arches - (far left) is a cooking top with fires lit beneath

Firebox type oven - food placed inside with long paddle

‘I need some air. Drink up. Armand told me there was a woodland nearby that you would enjoy.’

With some balance restored to our senses, I found myself being guided from the back of the rose garden, down a winding path no wider than a bridle track. Bordered by tall hedgerows of hawthorn, it led to a clearing of immense beauty. Soaring pines tickled the sky, the thickly interwoven branches overhead dangling the sun’s rays in ribbons of pink and gold. A pebbled bank, clustered with meadowsweet, dipped into a stream, tiny waterfalls bubbling along the meandering curves and cascading into a deep pool. A large, flat rock hid beneath the trees; a proud pagan altar, shrouded in clinging bryony. On both sides moss and lichen-embossed logs sprawled like carelessly placed church pews on a thick carpet of leaves dusted by wild strawberry flowers.

‘Armand discovered it and thought it would please you. He made me promise to bring you here.’ Gillet smirked indulgently as I gaped, my hands clasped childlike beneath my chin.

‘C’est magnifique!’

‘Oui, a perfect home for a sprite.’

(Gillet talking to Cécile – Extract from The Lily and the Lion)

'I was, in God's good grace, a novice at Denny Abbey, awaiting my time to take Holy Orders, having not yet been able to prove my worthiness. Left at the mercy of my benefactress, Lady Mary St Pol, Countess of Pembroke, and the Poor Sisters of Clare when I was only a babe, I had been led to believe that I was a waif with no family; poverty and piety my hand fast friends.'

(Extract from Catherine's letter - The Lily and the Lion)

'As I peer from my window over the green meadows, I imagine you looking back at me, my dearest, and this brings me great joy.'
(Extract from Catherine's letter- The Lily and the Lion)

'We were making our way onto the downs, and I could see the manor house in the distance, spreading out like a pretty gown in a well formed curtsey. The large hall of Broughton manor sat between two wings, the timbered peaks of these later additions, jutting high into the sky. The sombre grey stone wall of the middle section was slowly disappearing under a blanket of thick, clinging ivy, and the whole structure sat majestically in magnificent gardens.'
(Extract from Cécile's letter- The Order of the Lily)

‘My room, the likes of which takes my breath away, faces west towards the lake and each morning I watch as the groundsmen row to the shore, having collected the many fowl fallen prey to their well laid traps.’
(Extract from Catherine –The Lily and the Lion)

‘I looked out over the great blue lake, shimmering in the last of the evening light.  A flock of plovers flew over, dipping into the water and I envied their freedom; their carefree, light manner.’ 
(Extract from Cécile –The Order of the Lily)