Lady of the English - By Elizabeth Chadwick Page 0,128

do the same with my own sons. I want to build things and know that they will last beyond our lifetime. I want to enfold and protect what I have, and I will fight tooth and nail to do so.”

“I know,” Adeliza said, and shivered, because his words were both a comfort and a reflection of the times.

Immediately he was all concern, folding his arm tenderly around her shoulders. “You have been out in the cold too long.

Come, we should go within.”

She was glad of his support, but insisted on completing her duty of doling out the silver to the poor, who she knew had been standing in the cold for much longer than she had, and with less protection.

In the Prior’s lodging, Father Ralph, eager to please his patrons, had laid a fine table. The surplus pigs had recently been slaughtered and the main dish was pork garnished with apples from the priory orchard. Servings of stew, barley pottage, and blood sausages were sent out to the poor.

“We hear grave news from further south.” Prior Ralph dabbed his lips with his napkin. “The sacking of Worcester and the siege of Hereford are shocking. These are godless times when men desecrate graveyards to better position their siege machines and turn churches into fortifications when they are not burning them to the ground.”

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“It is indeed appalling,” Will agreed diplomatically. “Be assured, no harm shall come to the Church by my hand, on my honour. I will so vow at the altar before I leave.”

“I am glad to hear it. You are a good man, my lord.”

“I am not,” Will said gruffly, “but should I tear a cross from an altar or defile a grave, I would be dishonouring God, and I would never be able to look my wife in the eyes again or be at peace with myself.” He reached for Adeliza’s hand and squeezed it.

A young monk approached the table to announce that a messenger had arrived with urgent news for the Earl of Lincoln.

Adeliza exchanged a worried glance with her husband. Urgent news these days was seldom good. Will stood up with an apology to the prior for the interrupted meal. “I will see him in the guest house,” he said as he assisted Adeliza to rise.

The messenger was waiting for them and, kneeling, removed his cap. “Sire, madam, grave tidings. The Earl of Chester and his half-brother have seized Lincoln Castle and declared ownership.”

Adeliza stifled a gasp. Lincoln Castle was Stephen’s property but Will was Earl of Lincoln with administrative rights and privileges.

“Go on,” Will said.

“The earl and the sire de Roumare sent their wives into the castle to visit the constable’s wife and talk as women do. Then the earl and his brother returned with just a few men to escort the ladies home; but, once inside the castle, they overpowered the soldiers on the gate and threw the doors open to their own troops.”

Will absorbed the news with a set jaw. He dismissed the messenger, telling him to find sustenance and a fresh horse ready to set out again within the hour. Then he entered the guest house and breathed out hard. “Well, this makes my earldom a complete laughing stock, does it not?” 319

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Adeliza shook her head. To her, it was just another sign of Stephen’s unfitness for kingship. Men walked all over him because he had no authority.

“Stephen will have to nip this in the bud,” Will said. “He cannot allow Chester and de Roumare to do this to him—or to me.”

“It looks full blown already to me,” Adeliza replied. “As you say, this makes a mockery of your power in the shire.” Her exasperation overflowed. “None of this would have happened when Henry was king. He would have dealt with Chester and de Roumare long before now.”

“And well he might, but he left enough of a mess that we are all suffering for it,” Will snapped. “He was no saint for all you are forever making him out to be one. He should have left Matilda in Germany or married her to a Lotharingian prince and left England to Stephen. If there is war now, then Henry’s decisions and selfishness are the root causes of it.” Adeliza recoiled as if he had struck her. “He was my husband and he was a great king.” She tried to steady her voice. “I will not be disloyal to him or to his memory, and