I read this story in a book called Shropshire Hill Country by Vincent Waite – I certainly can’t vouch for it - but there’s a novel, or screenplay, or early Saturday evening TV series here for anyone who wants it.
It’s the 12th Century – maybe – Joce de Dinan is in possession of Ludlow Castle and has imprisoned two young knights, Walter de Lacy and Arnold de Lisle. Imprisoned them but seems to have treated them rather well, allowing them visits from the ladies of the garrison and so it is that a certain Marion de la Bruere falls in love with the handsome Arnold de Lisle. (Come on, who isn’t already casting the characters in their mind’s eye?)
Marion, beguiled, helps the two knights to escape from a tower in the castle, by means of – wait for it - a makeshift rope made out of sheets and towels. But tune in next week for her far greater act of treachery, presumably accidental. The castle’s garrison is, for some unlikely and dodgy plot manoeuvre, reduced to a mere handful of knights for le weekend. Marion sees this as an opportunity for some hot lurve and sends Arnie a letter suggesting he pays a late night visit to her boudoir, by means of a ladder up the same tower he’s just escaped from. (There’s a lot of sub-Freudian stuff going on obviously)*.
Arnie "comes, but not alone". In fact, one thousand men come with him – and whilst he climbs into the tower and into Marion’s bed, a hundred of his men clamber after him. And whilst Marion climbs his tower, Arnie’s men slaughter everyone else in the garrison as they sleep. Indeed, so successful is this raid, none of the invaders die.
A sated Marion, sucking on a post-coital clay pipe, suddenly realises what has happened, finally understands the perfidy of Sir Arnold, and stabs him to death with his own sword (*see) before throwing herself to her fate out of her bedroom window.
(Note – you might need to amend the finale if the early numbers are good and you get green-lighted for a second series)
It’s the 12th Century – maybe – Joce de Dinan is in possession of Ludlow Castle and has imprisoned two young knights, Walter de Lacy and Arnold de Lisle. Imprisoned them but seems to have treated them rather well, allowing them visits from the ladies of the garrison and so it is that a certain Marion de la Bruere falls in love with the handsome Arnold de Lisle. (Come on, who isn’t already casting the characters in their mind’s eye?)
Marion, beguiled, helps the two knights to escape from a tower in the castle, by means of – wait for it - a makeshift rope made out of sheets and towels. But tune in next week for her far greater act of treachery, presumably accidental. The castle’s garrison is, for some unlikely and dodgy plot manoeuvre, reduced to a mere handful of knights for le weekend. Marion sees this as an opportunity for some hot lurve and sends Arnie a letter suggesting he pays a late night visit to her boudoir, by means of a ladder up the same tower he’s just escaped from. (There’s a lot of sub-Freudian stuff going on obviously)*.
Arnie "comes, but not alone". In fact, one thousand men come with him – and whilst he climbs into the tower and into Marion’s bed, a hundred of his men clamber after him. And whilst Marion climbs his tower, Arnie’s men slaughter everyone else in the garrison as they sleep. Indeed, so successful is this raid, none of the invaders die.
A sated Marion, sucking on a post-coital clay pipe, suddenly realises what has happened, finally understands the perfidy of Sir Arnold, and stabs him to death with his own sword (*see) before throwing herself to her fate out of her bedroom window.
(Note – you might need to amend the finale if the early numbers are good and you get green-lighted for a second series)
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