Lady of the English - By Elizabeth Chadwick Page 0,107
son and praised God that she and the child were well. She added that her own sons were growing apace and she was much pleased by their progress, especially Henry’s. He was so clever and astute. The next words bore signs of having been erased many times, for the surface of the vellum was thin and rough, which was out of character for the usually decisive Matilda, but as Adeliza read, she began to understand why, and her hand went to her mouth. Matilda wrote that it was a long time since she had seen her beloved stepmother and she would like to visit her at Arundel if Adeliza would bid her welcome. She also wanted to enter into discussions with Stephen concerning the future of the crown of England and the ducal coronet of Normandy.
“Dear God,” Adeliza whispered. The letter was like a burning brand between her fingers. What was Will going to say from his position as a staunch supporter of King Stephen? If she agreed, she would be welcoming the king’s mortal enemy into her household. Yet it was a queen’s duty to be a peacemaker, and Matilda was her kin, her daughter by marriage. And Stephen was a usurper, whether Will served him or not.
265
LadyofEnglish.indd 265
6/9/11 5:35 PM
Elizabeth Chadwick
Hearing Will’s voice on the stairs, Adeliza swiftly folded the parchment and stuffed it into her writing coffer. She needed time to consider what to say.
Will was breathing strongly from his climb, but not out of breath. He went to his son, kissed him, and chucked his chin, making him crow, then turned to Adeliza and took her in his arms. “The men are ready,” he said. “Will you come down and bid us farewell?” Then, with a frown, he stepped back and touched her face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She forced a smile.
“Look, we’ll be back in a few days and you are well protected here. There is no need for concern.” Adeliza felt terrible, knowing he had misconstrued her guilt as worry. “I know I am safe. Have a care to yourself, my husband.” She gave the whiskery side of his face an affectionate pat and kissed him.
When she had seen the men on their way like a good and dutiful wife, she returned to her chamber, took out Matilda’s letter, and pored over it for a long, long time. And then she put it in the fire and watched it burn until she was certain that it had all turned to ash.
ttt
It was teeming with rain when Will returned from court four days later. “It has been like riding through pottage these last few miles,” he told Adeliza as he shook himself like a wet dog.
“A good thing we didn’t take a baggage cart or it would have bogged down.”
She chivvied the servants and hastened him out of his wet garments and into dry replacements. Sitting him down before the fire, she brought a towel to rub his hair.
Will leaned back and closed his eyes. “You will never guess what the bishop of Winchester has been hiding up his sleeve,” he said.
266
LadyofEnglish.indd 266
6/9/11 5:35 PM
Lady of the English
“I do not suppose I will,” she replied. “Henry of Blois is a man of great cunning and knows how to hide things he does not wish people to see.”
“Indeed,” Will said grimly. “You know how angry he was about being passed over for the see of Canterbury in favour of the Beaumonts’ candidate?”
“Yes.” She finished drying his hair and fetched a comb to tidy his curls.
“We all sat down to discussion and suddenly he produced a papal bull he’d been sitting on since April, if you please, to say that Innocent has granted him the position of legate, which effectively puts him over and above Theobald of Bec.” Adeliza lowered the comb, her gaze wide and astonished.
“Since April?”
He nodded. “For four months the king’s own brother has been biding his time, and now flourishes this thing like a tumbler producing fire in his hands. There is no one above the king but God, and who is God’s representative on earth but the pope, and directly beneath him are the cardinals and the legates. If Stephen is a secular king, then his brother has set out to match him, and not in a harmonious way. Winchester says Stephen must make reparations for arresting the bishops and that he had no right to do what he did to Salisbury, Lincoln, and Ely.”