Lionheart A Novel - By Sharon Kay Penman Page 0,69

hope that you’d be willing to accompany me to Outremer. I think your presence would be a comfort to Berengaria.”

He was asking a great deal, for life was not easy for women in the Holy Land, not even for queens. Just getting there would mean severe hardships and danger—and a daunting sea voyage. But Joanna did not hesitate, for how could she refuse him? If not for Richard, she’d have had no future at all. And she found it rather touching that he’d realized Berengaria would be in need of comfort; she would not have expected that of him.

“Yes,” she said, “of course I am willing, Richard. I owe you so much, welcome a chance to do something for you in return. Besides, it will be a great adventure!”

“Yes, it will,” he said, pleased that she understood that. “You are indeed a sister to be proud of, Joanna. And who knows,” he added with a grin, “mayhap we’ll find you a husband in the Holy Land!”

“So you think Saladin may be in need of another wife?” she riposted and they both laughed, for they were finding in each other what had often been lacking for the Angevins: a sense of family solidarity.

THE FOLLOWING DAY, Richard crossed the Faro, took possession of the town of Bagnara, and installed Joanna and her household in the Augustinian priory of St Mary, with a strong guard of knights and men-at-arms to see to her safety. Returning to Messina the next morning, he then seized the Greek Orthodox monastery of the Holy Saviour, located on a strategic spit of land outside the harbor; summarily evicting the monks, he turned the abbey into a storage facility for his siege engines, provisions, and horses. The citizens of Messina were enraged by his high-handed action, but alarmed, too, for now that he held both Bagnara and the monastery, he controlled the straits, and they began to wonder what his intentions were. So did Tancred.

CHAPTER 10

OCTOBER 1190

Messina, Sicily

It began innocently enough, with a dispute between one of Richard’s soldiers and a woman selling loaves of bread. When he accused her of cheating him, she became enraged, and he was set upon by her friends and neighbors, badly beaten by citizens very resentful of these insolent foreigners in their midst. They then shut the gates of Messina to the English and put up chains to bar the inner harbor to their ships. Infuriated that crusaders should be treated so shabbily, the English were all for forcing their way into the city. Only Richard’s appearance upon the scene prevented a riot. After dispersing his angry men with some difficulty, he summoned the French king and the Sicilian officials to an urgent meeting the next day at his lodgings, in hopes of resolving these grievances through diplomacy.

THE MESSINIANS WERE REPRESENTED by their governor, Jordan Lapin, Admiral Margaritis, and the archbishops of Messina, Monreale, and Reggio. The French king was accompanied by the Duke of Burgundy, the counts of Nevers and Louvain, Jaufre of Perche, and the bishops of Chartres and Langres. Richard’s companions included the archbishops of Rouen and Auch, and the bishops of Bayonne and Evreux. But before the conference began, he drew the French king aside for a private word.

“We cannot sail for Outremer until the favorable winds return in the spring. Since we’re going to be stuck here all winter, we cannot allow these stupid squabbles to continue. It will help immeasurably if you and I present a united front, Philippe. I assume I can count upon your support in these negotiations.”

“My men have encountered no troubles with the Messinians. The strife did not begin until your army arrived, so I’d look to them as the source of contention, not the local people.”

“How many men do you have with you—less than a thousand? I doubt that the French would be such welcome guests if they numbered as many as mine.”

“Or mayhap it is simpler than that, Richard. Mayhap your men are not as well disciplined as mine.”

“Need I remind you that Saladin is the enemy, not me?”

“And need I remind you that your men took the cross to fight the Saracens, not the Sicilians?”

And on that sour note, the peace conference began.

THE DISCUSSIONS WERE going better than Richard had expected, solely due to the diplomatic efforts of one man, the Archbishop of Monreale. Jordan Lapin and Admiral Margaritis were openly hostile, complaining angrily about the bad behavior of the English. Philippe declared that the French were impartial and offered