Here Be Dragons - 1 by Sharon Penman (best inspirational books txt) 📕

Pope?""The Church will never accept such a stricture. It was naive of F»z Walter to think otherwise. However sympathetic Langton is to the con cept of a charter, he cannot in conscience agree to foreclose a papal ap peal. To do so would be to put the charter above the Church. I've talk6 to Langton and to Pandulf. The price the barons will have to pay for tn great charter of theirs is to omit any mention of the Pope."John sat down suddenly in the nearest chair. "Shall I foretell

453future for you, Richard? It does not take a Peter of Wakefield to predict what is to come. I shall give them their accursed charter, for I have no choice.But they will not keep faith, with it or with me. The Pope will intervene on my behalf, invalidate the charter as an act of naked extortion."John paused, glanced over at his son, and Richard saw that for once he was being utterly honest. "And then," he concluded bleakly, "we will have what none of us truly wantedwar. War to the death, no quarter given, and God pityEngland."37DOLWYDDELAN, NORTH WALES}unt 1215WH, V VHEN Llewelyn rose to fetch Gwladys, Joanna experienced a moment of near panic. Ever since his arrival at Dolwyddelan, she'd been dreading the time when she would find herself alone with Reginald de Braose. Taking a bracing swallow of wine, she cast about frantically for a neutral topic of conversation, for a way to keep Maude's ghost at bay."I know your son Will. He once stayed at my husband's court. How does he? Will he be attending your wedding?""Not likely, Madame. As far as I know, he's still in France. Will's ever had a mind of his own, and now that he's nineteen . . .""His mother's death must have been hard on him," Joanna sympathized, trying all the while not to think of the deaths that must have truly devastated Will.Had Reginald been the one to tell him? How could y°u tell a fourteen-year-old boy that his grandmother and uncle had ken starved to death?In truth, Madame, they were not that close." Reginald signaled for servant to refill his cup; he did not seem to share Joanna's unease. "My aughter Matilda is a good lass, does what she's told. But Will and I...

454well, we always seem to be at odds. Part of the trouble, I think, is that he was my mother's favorite, and she Jesii! Madame, are you all right?"Joanna stared down at her broken cup, at the wine soaking the rushes. When she raised her eyes to Reginald's, they were blinded by tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "so sorry . . ."Reginald was suddenly as flustered as she. "How stupid of me," he said at last. "I was thinking of you as Lord Llewelyn's wife, had all but forgotten you are John's daughter.""I do not know what to say to you. I pray for Maude's soul, and for your brother's, but""Madame, do not distress yourself so. I do not blame you. We are none of us answerable for the sins of our fathers."That was not the creed of his House; few Marcher families had so bloody a history as the de Braose clan. But Reginald sounded sincere, and even if he was speaking only out of his need to gain Llewelyn as ally, Joanna was grateful for his assurance, was willing to take absolution upon any terms she could get.She was spared the need to respond, for Llewelyn had just reentered the hall, was escorting his daughter toward them. Gwladys showed no embarrassment at being the object of all eyes. A| seventeen, she had poise a much older woman might envy, a sure sense of her own worth as a Prince's daughter. We must get her a wedding gown of purest emerald silk, Joanna thought, a color vivid enough to set off those dark gypsy looks. Gwladys would make a very handsome bride and, thank God, a willing one. Joanna knew the girl would have preferred to wed a Cymro, one of her own people. But even the independent Gwladys would never have claimed the right to choose her own husband, and she seemed content enough with Llewelyn's choice.Joanna, however, had yet to be reconciled to the match. She could see the shrewd political logic in such an alliance. She could even see why the union was advantageous for Gwladys. Reginald de Braose was an attractive man, not yet forty, with polished manners and a reputation for being more moderate and reasonable than most of his tumultuous kindred. And the bulk of the de Braose lands were situated in Wales or the Marches, so Gwladys would be spared the fate that had so daunted Joanna, the prospect of a life in exile. But toJoanna, all else was overshadowed by a bond of blood.Llewelyn had sympathized with her reluctance to see her stepdaughter wed toMaude de Braose's son. But he had not been deterred from making the alliance.Joanna knew he had balanced her discomfort against the good of Gwynedd, and she'd come up short."What are you thinking of, breilal" Llewelyn was smiling at "e ' She linked her arm in his, let him lead her aside.

455"I was thinking," she said, "how thankful I am that we have years yet ere we must give our Elen away in marriage ""WHAT is this7" Joanna looked up as Llewelyn dropped a parchment scroll into her lap"I thought you might be curious about the Runnymede charter ""Indeed I am, but I do not read Latin " Unrolling the parchment sheets, Joanna stared in wonder at what she held, a French translation of her father's charter "Llewelyn, you did this for me7""Well, one of my scribes did " Llewelyn pretended to stagger backward asJoanna jumped to her feet, flung her arms around his neck "Had I only known Icould gladden you so cheaply with a few pages of parchment, I might have saved a small fortune over the years, need not have given