Lady of the English - By Elizabeth Chadwick Page 0,108

hot wine and a platter of wafers and pastries. “What does Stephen say?” Will shrugged. “Stephen says maybe so, but that the castles held by Salisbury and the wealth within them is a matter for the Crown, not the Cross.”

She made her voice casual. “Is it a serious rift then?”

“Difficult to say. If Henry of Winchester can keep his appointment as papal legate secret for four months, then what else does he have up his sleeve? His nose has been put out of 267

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joint by the Beaumont brothers. They are becoming a danger to Stephen because their power games are dividing the court.”

“Are they a danger to you?” she asked with concern.

Will took a pastry and bit into it. Honey oozed out and he licked the golden stickiness off his fingers and took the napkin Adeliza handed to him. “They have no interest in me because I keep my distance and I have no desire to seek power by whispering in the king’s ear. The Beaumonts have their eyes upon others who are far greater rivals than I will ever be—men who support the archbishop, and men who would follow Robert of Gloucester if he were in the country. The Beaumonts think I do not have the wit to cause upheaval. That you are my wife amuses them—as if a pet dog has stolen a juicy marrow bone off a butcher’s stall. I am nothing to them. All that matters is that I am loyal and steady and wag my tail like a good hound.” He looked at her. “If the Beaumonts ignore me, it is because I make sure I am no threat to them. But others are in deep danger and that is a pity, because they are strong men whom Stephen should retain in his service rather than cause by his inaction to take their swords elsewhere. FitzCount at Wallingford has as good as declared for the empress and now it looks as if John the marshal will turn rebel too. The Beaumonts begrudge him Marlborough and Ludgershall, and think that Stephen values him too highly.

If they push him further he will rebel and cause great damage.

They are doing the same to Miles FitzWalter, because, again, he is a threat to their power. In the end, they will ruin all.” Adeliza allowed the food and drink to mellow his humour; he was never out of sorts for long. Then she sat on his knee and played with his hair and stroked his face. “After what you have said, I hardly dare speak, but I have something we must talk about.”

“Surely it cannot be anything that bad,” he replied, his tone indulgently amused as he settled her more comfortably in his lap.

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Adeliza drew a deep breath. “Matilda has written to congrat-ulate us on the birth of our son. She wants to visit us and asks us to welcome her to Arundel.”

His body had been loose and relaxed, but now she felt him tense. “Have you given her an answer?” She wrapped a curl of his hair around her index finger. “It would not be fitting without consulting you first.”

“I doubt she wants to pay us a visit for the sake of love alone,” he growled. “All the south coast ports are on alert against assault from Normandy.”

“But she is hardly going to arrive wearing a hauberk.” He snorted down his nose. “You think not?” She curved her arm around his neck. “She has never been able to mourn at her father’s tomb. She should be granted permission to visit Reading at least. That is only Christian and decent.”

“But it is not the reason she wants to come to England, and you know it. Do not play me for a fool.”

“I would never play you for a fool!” she said vehemently.

“What harm can she do if she comes to Arundel? You are Stephen’s man and not about to change that stance. What better surety could there be?”

He shook his head. “It would be dangerous and foolish to agree to her request. The best surety is keeping her the other side of the Narrow Sea.”

“But she will be under our eye and Stephen can watch her movements.” She gave him a pleading look. “Now I am settled with a husband and a baby son, I want her to see that life can still be good. I have a duty to her, one I took on when I wed Henry, and