Serpent & Dove

After their marriage, Lou and Reid return to the cathedral, where Reid must identify her as his wife. Lou notices a bewitched body being brought into the church, and she asks Reid where they are taking the victim; he tells her to mind her own business. As they head to Reid’s quarters, Lou smells magic as they pass a staircase, but Reid tells her the floor upstairs is restricted. Above the entryway of the Chasseurs’ Tower, Lou notes the motto—“Thou shall not suffer a witch to live” (114)—and is troubled.

Reid’s room is drab, with no personal effects and a window too high to reach. Lou feels like she’s in prison. When Reid takes off his coat, Lou panics, but Reid assures her that he won’t force himself upon her. To show him she can take care of herself, she steals his dagger and holds it to his throat, telling him, “If a man touches me in any way without my permission, I’ll cut him open” (115). Reid worries about proving the marriage has been consummated, but Lou cuts open her arm and lets the blood drip onto the sheets to solve the problem. When Reid briefly leaves, Lou searches his desk and finds a Bible and a leather journal stuffed with his love letters to Célie.