Character Interview: Noor d'Outremer via Anna Belfrage

All this week  I'm interviewing potential new recruits for my imaginary company. I've invited several authors to send along some suitable candidates, chosen from among their fictional characters.

Today's interviewee is Noor d'Outremer, of His Castilian Hawk and The Castilian Pomegranate, nominated by Anna Belfrage:

AW: Firstly, I'd like you, please, by way of introduction, to bring an object for Show and Tell, let us know what the item is and why it is special/important.

Noor: Greetings, Mistress Annie. It is an honour to be here today. Before I show it to you my ‘Show and Tell’ object, allow me to introduce myself: I am Eleanor—Noor to my friends—d’Outremer, and I must admit I find this entire situation daunting. You see, while I can read and write in both Latin and French, I have never before been “interviewed”. My author says I need not worry—she is with me all the way—but as said author so far has had me almost killed by hemlock poisoning, near on murdered on the unfinished ramparts of Caernarfon castle, subjected me to almost drowning in the frigid waters of the north Welsh coast, I imagine you understand why I am somewhat hesitant to fully trust her. (The author would like to point out she has also given Noor the man of her dreams, helped expand her provincial horizons, given her blood-ties to both the Spanish and English royal families, and in general spiced up her life with love, action and adventure).

Anyway: you requested that I show you an object that is significant to me. *Noor opens her hand* This white stone may not look like much, but to me, it is as precious as a jewel. As you can see, it is in the shape of a heart and has been carried all the way from Acre in the Holy Land. My husband, Robert FitzStephan, found it there when he accompanied his lord, our king, on his crusade. He kept it with him for well over ten years until he gave it to me before he set off to fight the Welsh in 1283. He wanted me to know I held his heart in my hands, no matter what might happen, and... *her voice drifts away, one finger rubbing circles over the stone. She clears her throat.* Since then, I have carried it close to my chest in its own little pouch. 

AW: [That's very touching!] Secondly, I'm going to place four items in front of you. Could you please rank them in order of usefulness/value, with a few words about your evaluation?

These items are: a leather-bound notebook, a horse, a bag of coins, a sharp pointy weapon.

Noor: What a lovely horse! Look at the slope of her hind quarters, the elegance of her neck! *Noor claps her hands* A beautiful little filly of Arab descent she is likely fast and agile—valuable as a mount but also as a brood mare. She would be my first choice.

My second choice would be coins. God knows there are times when a handful of coins can make quite the difference to your life. My third choice would be the dagger—a Toledo blade, is it not? No matter that I am a woman and usually travel well-protected by my man *she blushes* I feel safer when I have the wherewithal with which to protect myself. *she crosses herself* It has saved my life before, will likely do so again.  And as to the ‘notebook’, well, I see no use for such. Had I been a learned man, a monk or priest whose head is full of deep thought and priceless knowledge, I would have had something to write in it. As it is, who would want to read the musings of a young mother, an inconsequential woman of no importance? (This is when the author hastens to add that to her—and to Robert FitzStephan—Noor is anything but inconsequential)

AW: [We treat everyone equally in my company, she need have no fear] I have several vacancies in my global corporation. Would you be best suited to the role of CEO, Finance Officer, Head of Human Resources, or Chief Medical Officer? Why?

Noor: CEO??? I have never heard of such. Truth be, I have not heard of any of those roles. Are they perchance like royal officers of sorts? *she listens as her author explains*. Oh. And women can also hold these roles? How intriguing, a woman to order men around! *she giggles and casts Robert a mischievous look* My lord husband would likely say I already do some of the ordering, and it is true that when it comes to the running of our manors it is I who manage and decide. But from there to assume control over our entire family—no, I would not be comfortable with that, and neither would Robert. His men would not like it at all if I were to start ordering them around, so that precludes the role of ‘Human Resources’, I fear, and as to healing, well, I am adequate, no more. *Taps a finger to her mouth while thinking*. No, it would have to be Financial Officer. I am good at numbers, and no one fleeces me when it comes to wool and sheep. 

AW: [Always good to have someone useful in accounts... Time for more general questioning] You're going on a first date. Who has chosen the venue - you, or your date? How are you feeling - nervous, tongue-tied, or have you totally got this? Who's your 'wingman'?

Noor: Ah, Mistress Annie, how you challenge me! A first date, would that perchance be the day of your birth? As to venue, well, I assume most of us see the light of the day in a soiled bed. But I gather from your expression that I have misunderstood, have I not? *Listens intently then laughs* An unwed woman to spend time alone with a man without a chaperone? Dear God, my old nurse Amalia would never recover from the shame! But if we were to assume it was possible, then I would have wanted to spend my first ‘date’ in one of our upper meadows, our hands close enough that he could brush his finger against mine. *She sighs* Robert and I did not meet prior to our wedding day. Truth is, no sooner did he ride into our bailey but we were hastened towards the chapel door, there to wed before the assembled people. None of us had a choice: he’d been ordered to wed me, I could not say no, not when the order came from the king. 

I would have preferred to do it your way, Mistress Annie, to meet and talk and choose freely. Not that I am discontented: while our marriage had a less than auspicious beginning, now I consider myself the most fortunate among women. Most of the time.

As to that odd term ‘wingman’, would that be something akin to a chaperone? Or are you referring to one of those fools that now and then clamber up a church spire, don homemade wings and attempt to fly?

AW: [Forced to wed, and yet does not seem the submissive type. Hmm...] You've been building something - a Lego model, a battleship made of matchsticks, a ship in a bottle, or something similar. Someone you don't get on with smashes it deliberately. How do you react?

Noor: Ha! I can well imagine someone like Queen Eleanor spitefully damaging my embroidery. She, of course, would tell me it was because it wasn’t good enough—not up to the standards of a daughter of the House of Ivrea—and as she is the queen and I am but a minor lady, it would be foolish to retaliate. *She lowers her voice* The Lord may forgive me, but I do not much like our queen, no matter that she is my great-aunt. There is much to admire, but she is avaricious and quick to judge, and I will never—never—forgive her for what she did to me and mine after the death of her precious Alphonso. Aye, a mother’ grief is a terrible, toothy thing, and for all her faults, our queen should have been spared the loss of ten children. Ten! But to lash out against me, to put me and mine at such risk…that was cruel.

I must hasten to add that our queen never has ruined something I have created. No, the one who does that regularly is our foster son, Lionel. What a scamp that lad is! He doesn’t do it on purpose, but when he managed to tear the shirt I’d just made for Robert, I must admit to chasing him round our solar. *she casts a quick look over her shoulder to ensure we’re alone* Mostly, I feel sorry for the lad. All alone in the world, now that his father has been gruesomely executed for treason. Not that we ever speak about it. One whiff—one!—that we are harbouring the child of a traitor, and likely Robert would meet a similar dire death. Dearest God, Sweetest Virgin, keep us safe from such a fate!

AW: [I'm relieved that Noor's author didn't put forward this Queen Eleanor as a candidate!] Thank you Ms Noor, we'll let you know...

~~~~~~~~~~

Noor d’Outremer is the protagonist of His Castilian Hawk. Set in 1282, just as Edward I amasses his forces to crush the Welsh once and for all, it is a story of love and divided loyalties, of a woman who will risk everything to keep one innocent child safe and her husband who must choose between standing with his wife or being loyal to his king.  

The second book about Noor and her husband Robert, The Castilian Pomegranate, was released on October 1st 2021. Accompany Noor and Robert all the way to Spain and the complex political landscape of the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile! 

About the Author: 

Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with two absorbing interests: history and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century England.  

Anna has also published The Wanderer, a fast-paced contemporary romantic suspense trilogy with paranormal and time-slip ingredients. Her September 2020 release, His Castilian Hawk, has her returning to medieval times. Set against the complications of Edward I’s invasion of Wales, His Castilian Hawk is a story of loyalty, integrity—and love. Anna is presently hard at work with the second instalment in her Castilian series. The Castilian Pomegranate will be published in the autumn of 2021 and is set in 13th century Spain. 

Her most recent release, The Whirlpools of Time, is a time travel romance set against the backdrop of brewing rebellion in the Scottish highlands.

All of Anna’s books have been awarded the IndieBRAG Medallion, she has several Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choices, and one of her books won the HNS Indie Award in 2015. She is also the proud recipient of various Reader’s Favorite medals as well as having won various Gold, Silver and Bronze Coffee Pot Book Club awards.

Find out more about Anna, her books and her eclectic historical blog on her website, www.annabelfrage.com or 

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