Here Be Dragons - 1 by Sharon Penman (best ebook reader android TXT) 📗

the very next day Philip disavowed the marriage, refused to recognize Ingeborg as his Queen. When she balked at being shipped back to Denmark like defective goods, Philip convened a council of French bishops at Compiegne, got them to declare the marriage null and void, then confined Ingeborg to a nunnery. But the Danish King did not take kindly to this, and he appealed to the Pope on his sister's behalf. I expect His Holiness will order Philip to take Ingeborg back, but Philip is nothing if not stubborn, and I'm not sure he'll yield even if the Pope does lay France under Interdict."

68"Jesii, the idiot, the utter idiot!" Richard shook his head in amused amazement. "Mayhap I ought to ask him if he wants to send Ingeborg t0 me atRouen. We could pen her up with Alais, split the cost of their upkeep!"He laughed again. In the shadows behind him, Archdeacon Alenc.on could not hide his disapproval. After a moment, his eyes shifted from Richard to the woman at his side. Eleanor was watching her son, a faint smile curving her mouth. It was not a smile to give Alenc.on cornfort, reminding him what an implacable enemy this woman made. Upon gaining her own freedom, one of her first acts had been to declare an amnesty for those imprisoned in English jails, declaring that she knew from personal experience "how irksome it was to be a prisoner." And yet she'd shown no pity at all for the woman confined for five years now at her son's command, the unfortunate Alais, who'd been raised at her court, had come to womanhood in her husband's bed.But it was too late to worry about Eleanor's enmity. He'd chosen to gamble, could only hope he'd not made a fool's wager. Moving closer, he murmured, "Madame, might I have a few moments alone with you? I've a matter most urgent to discuss."Eleanor felt no surprise. She had a sharp eye for the unease of others, andAlenc.on's overly hearty welcome put her in mind of a man whistling his way past a graveyard. She asked no questions, came unobtrusively to her feet and followed Alen$on from the hall.The Archdeacon's manor was a substantial structure of stone and timber, rising up two stories on the bank of the River Touques. It was to an upper chamber that Alenc.on led Eleanor, stepping aside so she could enter first. As she did, he closed the door quietly behind her. Eleanor stood very still, staring at the man by the unshuttered window, silhouetted against a twilight sky of soft, shadowed lavender."Mother," he said at last, so low she could not be sure he'd spoken at all.There was an oil lamp sputtering on a trestle table. She reached for it, took several strides forward into the room, held it up so that the smoky light fell across his face.John blinked, flinched away from the sudden illuminating glare. His mother's face was impassive, but her eyes pinned him to the wall, amber ice in which he could read the reflection of his every sin, could read accusation and indictment, but no hint of absolution.He forgot entirely his carefully rehearsed plea of explanation and atonement.When the silence had become more than he could endure, he blurted out, "You know why I'm here. I need you to speak for me. You're the one person Richard would be likely to heed.""I daresay you're right. But whatever makes you think I would?"

69Eleanor set the lamp on the table, turned back to her silent son "At I st you've shown you're not the utter coward Richard thinks you to , he was sure you'd not dare leave the sanctuary of the French court Although how you'd have the nerve to face him after all you've done Hying yourself with your brother's sworn enemy against your own House, promising to wed your father's harlot and to cede the Vexm back to Philipin return for his support, hiring Welsh mercenanes and seeking to stir up a rising in England, doing your damnedest to sabotage the collection of Richard's ransom And when all else failed, joining with Philip m offering to better Richard's ransom if the German Emperor would but hold Richard for another year Have I left anything out7""No," he said shortly, unwillingly"Well, then, suppose you tell me why I should want to help you escape the punishment you so deserve, why I should raise even a finger on your behalf And do spare me any maudlin pleas about you being flesh of my flesh, you'll have to do better than that, John much better "John drew an uneven breath "Nothing has changed since that night we talked inSouthampton Your hopes for an Angevin dynasty are not going to take root withRichard's seed He's not laid eyes upon his wife in nigh on two years, did not even bother to summon her to England upon his return Unless you are counting upon another Virgin Birth, Madame, I suggest that leads us right back toArthur or me, a child of seven or a man grown of twenty-six ""Yes," she said icily "But the child is as yet unformed clay, who knows what manner of man he may become7 Whereas we already know the man you are, John "John was not as impervious to insult as he'd have her think, he betrayed himself with rising color "Yes, you doa man who knows what he wants and will fight to keep what is his Can you say as much for Arthur7 I might make use ofPhilip's help if it serves my need, but we'll see the Second Coming ere I'd trust him out of my sight But Arthur7 His advisers wax fat on French gold, look to Pans for guidance the way infidels do look to Mecca He'd be Philip's puppet and you well know it, Madame Just as you know I would not ""What I want to know," she said, "is how you can be shrewd enough to see all