Lionheart A Novel - By Sharon Kay Penman Page 0,111

in that moment, she decided she was glad that Joanna would be coming with them. As she entered this new and alien Angevin world, what better guide could she have than Richard’s favorite sister?

CHAPTER 14

MARCH 1191

Messina, Sicily

Eleanor leaned back in her chair, regarding her son with affectionate, faintly suspicious hazel eyes. Richard had explained why he’d—as he put it—switched horses in midgallop, designating his little nephew Arthur as his heir instead of his brother John. He’d been candid about his troubles with the recalcitrant citizens of Messina, and he’d surprised her by speaking well of Tancred, insisting that he’d made sufficient restitution for his ill treatment of Joanna. But so far he’d not said a word about the “news from Rome,” and she was wondering why. Before she could ask him, though, he launched into a scathing account of the French king’s duplicity, and she listened with interest, marveling that Philippe could have been a son of the mild-mannered Louis’s loins.

“So Philippe is the one responsible for making me miss your wedding. I owe him a debt for that, and will look forward to repaying it.”

Richard smiled, thinking that he’d have loved to witness his mother’s retribution. “Alas, it will have to wait, for Philippe is no longer in Messina. He sailed for Outremer this morning at dawn, in such haste I could almost believe he did not want to meet you and my bride, Maman.”

“I am sorry to hear that,” Eleanor said truthfully; she’d wanted to judge for herself the danger that the French king posed to her son. “Meeting Heinrich was quite interesting, for I now know that if he were cut, he’d bleed pure ice. I was hoping to have an opportunity to take Philippe’s measure, too.”

“Philippe is more of an annoyance than a threat,” Richard said derisively. “If he were cut, he’d most likely faint, since I doubt that he’s ever seen blood up close, for certes not on the battlefield.”

“You still have not told me why we must confer in private like this. If I were not the trusting sort, Richard, I’d think that you have something to tell me that I’ll not want to hear.”

A flicker of surprise crossed his face, followed by a fond smile. “You know me far too well, Maman.” Rising, he busied himself in fetching her a cup of wine, such an obvious delaying tactic that she did not bother to point it out. “Last night a messenger arrived from Rome,” he said after he’d resumed his seat. “The Pope has been called home to God—or the Devil, depending upon which master he served. Clement died on March twentieth.”

“And . . . ?” Eleanor prompted. “Have they chosen his successor yet?”

“Not officially, but I have it on good authority that they’ll select one of the Orsini family, Cardinal Giacinto of Santa Maria in Scola Greca. I believe you’ve met him, Maman?”

“I did,” she confirmed, “many years ago. An odd choice, for he must be well into his eighties by now.”

“Eighty-five, I’m told.” Richard leaned forward, his eyes probing hers. “As little as I liked Clement, at least I knew whom I was dealing with. And he was receptive to English needs as long as I made it worth his while. So his death is inconvenient, for I’d recently put several requests before the papal curia, one of them to confirm Longchamp again as his papal legate.”

She raised an eyebrow, for she’d heard in Rome of the growing complaints about Longchamp’s heavy-handed rule. “Is that wise, Richard?”

“I know,” he conceded, “I know. . . . He has been collecting enemies as hungrily as a squirrel hoarding acorns. I’m not happy about it, but his loyalty is not in question. He needs to be reined in ere he goes too far, though, so I am sending the Archbishop of Rouen back to England to do just that. Between the two of you, you ought to be able to keep Longchamp from getting too besotted with his own importance.”

Eleanor thought the Archbishop of Rouen was a good choice. “I still do not see why we could not have discussed this at Bagnara.”

“Because I need you to be in Rome for the new Pope’s consecration, and Joanna will not be happy about that.”

“Neither am I, Richard. I’ve been here less than a day!”

“I know how much I ask of you, Maman. But we must make sure that the new Pope is friendly to English interests, and to do that, we need to get to