Several months passed. Absence only made Clemence Niel of Sainte Marie Kerque more lovely and enchanting in Adam’s memory. He longed to be in her presence and adore her. He moped about dreaming of her to the amusement of his friends and family. In short, he was in love. Finally, he decided he must see her again. By then it was October. He decided that he would travel to the village and drop by, since he ‘was just passing through, you know’. He arranged for a short absence from family and work and with their good cheer ringing in his ears set off. It was a cold, blustery day, so different from his last journey on the highroad to Sainte Marie Kerque. When he arrived, he checked in at the inn and then casually went around to the shoemaker’s house. They seemed pleased to see him and to accept his story of ‘just passing by”, although Monsieur Niel gave him a sharp, appraising glance. Madame Niel seemed happy to see him, too happy, he thought, as she clung to him and while stroking his arm, called him ‘her son’, as if in her mind the marriage had already been arranged. Clemence disentangled them, brought him outside, explaining that her mother occasionally drank too much fortified wine, and acted inappropriately. They had a delightful afternoon together, roaming the village, meeting her friends, holding hands in the fields and talking about their lives and families. It was the most magical day of Adam’s life, thus far. Evening was coming on and they were before the village Church of Notre Dame. He wished to declare his love and lay that adoration at her feet but she read it in his eyes and forestalled him, a finger on his lips, such a finger, his lips burned. She said she liked him; they were friends, but no more. Between them, a shoemaker’s daughter and a common day laborer, there could be nothing more than fond regard. The chasm between them was not to be crossed. Maybe Adam Valluy was a bit of a romantic or perhaps he loved the idea of unrequited love. He did not hesitate. He dropped to one knee and took her hand. He said that he loved her too much to let her go; that if he could not marry her then he would serve and protect her like one of those chivalrous knights of olden days. Startled, she laughed, but then she realized that there might be some advantage to having a chivalrous knight in her service. She bid him rise and be her devoted servant. She would accept him on those terms. He returned to Calais the next day but knew he would return to Sainte Marie Kerque.
See source note 3 for more on the Church of Notre Dame at Sainte Marie Kerque
A contemporary view of the church of Notre Dame at Sainte Marie Kerque courtesy of France-Voyage. https://www.france-voyage.com/cities-towns/sainte-marie-kerque-24501.htm
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