Lady of the English - By Elizabeth Chadwick Page 0,117

at Rowland’s Castle, a small keep on the road to Winchester. The lord was not in residence, but his bailiff and steward, forewarned by outriders, had lit fires and prepared chambers. Matilda’s room, set two floors above the main hall, was draughty from the ill-fitting shutters over the window loops, but heat from braziers kept the worst of the chill at bay and her ermine cloak was heavy and warm. She felt as if she had been shaken about in a bag of logs after her day in the cart.

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Her women made up the bed in the chamber with good linen sheets and woollen blankets. When the legate’s usher came to request that she attend on his lord, Matilda was tempted to refuse for the pleasure of putting Winchester’s nose out of joint, but she was intrigued too, and wondered what he was up to. He was not the only one who could spin webs.

When she arrived at the legate’s chamber, he was standing by a brazier reading a piece of parchment but looked up as she entered. A youth was setting out a flagon and cups on a sideboard, and arranging a white cloth containing small stuffed pastries. Patting the lad on the head, the bishop dismissed him with a pastry for each hand and gestured the other servants to leave too.

“Is my lord of Meulan not joining us?” Matilda enquired as the door closed.

“The Earl of Worcester has retired to his chamber with some wine and an accommodating companion,” Henry said with a wave of his hand, making sure the light flashed on the intaglio ring adorning his middle finger. “I see no need to disturb him.”

“You have done well for yourself despite Stephen’s efforts to hold you back,” she said. “It must gall him that you have acquired the position of papal legate.” He gave her an assessing look. “I would not say that. My brother accepts that it is so.”

“But you left it many months before you told him.”

“A man who exposes everything inside his jewel casket is asking to be robbed and deceived,” Winchester said over his shoulder as he went to pour wine for both of them.

“It seems to me your brother is just such a man, and in consequence his jewel casket is almost empty.”

“But I hazard you are not such a woman.” She realised with concealed amusement that he was flirting with her, both in the physical sense and as they danced around 290

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delicate political issues. “No, I am not.” Her gaze hardened.

“But I have been robbed and deceived anyway.”

“That is a matter for debate. Some would say oaths made under duress have neither validity nor value. Some would say being absolved of an oath is reason enough not to retake it.” He handed her a cup so smoothly that the surface of the wine barely rippled.

“Some would also say that the Church should know its place and not involve itself in secular affairs,” she said. “Those who speak of absolution have robbed and deceived me and will continue to feather their own nests at the expense of others.

Your brother’s coffers are woefully light these days and he has had to rob the church to keep himself from penury. In my father’s day, the treasure chests were always full. Now it is the Beaumonts who drip with gold, and the mercenaries who have been paid for their loyalty who wear the jewels and the power.

Who rules your brother’s court, my lord? Not your brother, for certain, and not you.”

Henry’s cheeks reddened above his thick bush of beard. “I admit that my brother has been misled by bad advice, but as papal legate, I have influence to deal with such matters.” He put delicate emphasis on the word “influence.” Now they came to it, she thought. Here was the spider. A man who would be king in all but name. A man who would play both sides to his own best advantage. She took a sip of the wine, noting its quality. The bishop did not believe in stinting himself even when travelling. “So.” She set her cup down.

“You have not asked me here to socialise before retiring. Let us be frank. What do you want?”

He looked slightly pained. “You are my cousin whether we stand on opposite sides of a divide or not. And you are my daughter because of my position as a priest. I am worried about you on all