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

to fear, in truth there's not. My father does not blame you for what Arthur did, would not ever maltreat you.Please believe me, he would not."Eleanor studied the child. "I do believe you, Cousin Joanna," she said, and managed a wan smile, even as her eyes filled with tears. "But what of my brother? What of Arthur?"ljSOUTHAMPTON, ENGLANDApril 1204hisI/OLLOWING a servant into the solar, Will found sister-in-law conferring with her almoner. Isabelle was always""iendly, but now she greeted Will with such unfeigned delight that he

164flushed with startled pleasure. He was not at ease with lovely wome andIsabelle's beauty was particularly intimidating and ethereal to},, Try as he might, he could not imagine her afflicted with such ordinat mundane ailments as chilblains, blisters, or cramps, could not envisj0 her nose red with cold, her eyes swollen with sleep, her hair in ^ combed, early-morning disarrayas he'd so often seen Ela, who w> not glamorous or exotic, but reassuringly real."John and I did break our Lenten fast by eating meat yesterday, 3n. so todayI've instructed our almoner to feed one hundred of the city's poor," Isabelle explained, linking her arm in Will's and drawing hi^ toward the privacy of a window recess. "How glad I am that you've come, Will. Have you seen John yet?""No, I was told he'll be hearing appeals from the shire courts for the rest of the day.""You'll sup with us, of course, and you must stay awhile with the court, Will.John has need of you, and so have 1.1 am relying upon you to cheer his spirits. He's in a right foul temper, has been brooding for more than a fortnight about the fall of that wretched castle.""Well, Castle Gaillard is of great defensive importance, guards the approach to Rouen ..." Will began, quite willing to educate Isabelle in the finer points of military strategy.His efforts were wasted. Isabelle heard him out, but murmured only a tepidly polite, "How very interesting." She glanced about to make sure all others were out of earshot. "Will. . . tell me in honesty. Is Normandy well and truly lost to John?""We still hold Rouen and Falaise, Chinon Castle ..." Will hedged. "But even if the tide continues to run against us, and Normandy, too, falls to Philip, you must not fear, lass. Angouleme, Gascony, and Poitou still hold fast for John."He waited glumly for her to remind him, though, that Maine, Anjou, Brittany, and Touraine had all been lost to Philip within the past twelvemonth. He could recite the reasons why it had happened, a litany of ill luck, blunders, and betrayal. John's chronic and crippling lack of funds. The disloyalty of hisNorman barons, who thought it safer to defy a distant English King than a neighboring French one. John's errors of judgment and his indecision, his unfortunate penchant for turning allies into enemies; William des Roches had ridden away from Mirebeau as a rebel. But to understand why Philip had prevailed was not to accept it, and Will did not want to discuss their disastrous Normandy campaign with anyone, least of all with his brother's wife.Isabelle fidgeted with her rings; John might be short of money to pay his troops, but he still found the means to indulge his young

r165een's love of jewels. "I suppose," she said, "that it was a great mis£ f°rJ°hn *° have ever let Hugh de Lusignan buy his freedom."l^ill winced. When John had decided to set the de Lusignans at ibertV' ne'd encountered opposition from an unexpected source, his Other. Eleanor had been adamantly against the idea, insisting that the .^e to make peace with Hugh deLusignan had been before John's margee to Isabella, that it was now too late.Will had not agreed with her, nwilling to believe it was ever too late to right a wrong; while he cared not a whit for Hugh de Lusignan's sense of injury, he hoped a conciliatory gesture on John's part would favorably impress other Norman lords wavering in their loyalty. Convinced that they could keepHugh in check by demanding hostages for his good faith, Will had added his voice to those arguing for release. Hugh and Geoffrey de Lusignan had been freed five months after their capture at Mirebeau, had at once joined William des Roches and the rebel barons of Brittany and Anjou, leaving Will a legacy of guilt out of all proportion to his small share of the responsibility."The de Lusignans offered up such an extravagant sum for their freedom thatJohn could not afford to turn it down," he said defensively, "not with so pressing a need for money.""I know; John explained it all to me at the time. But shall I tell you what Ithink, Will? That John was goaded as much by his mother's opposition as he was swayed by the money. It's said she can be right clever at getting men to do her bidding, but with John, she's ever been brutally blunt. They had a fearful row about it, and I think that was when John truly made up his mind to setHugh free, to prove to Eleanor that he was in the right."Will stared at her, all at once seeing Isabelle with new insight. John had never been known for constancy, and Will's expectations for his marriage were minimal. Greatly to his surprise, John's passion for his girl-wife had not been slaked by possession; Isabelle was his constant companion and bedmate on his travels around his realm. Will had attributed Isabelle's continuing bewitchment over his brother to her uncommon beauty. Now he suddenly wondered if he'd underestimated her."I think," he said slowly, "that you do content John so well because you do understand him so well," stating the obvious with such a solemn sense of discovery that Isabelle had to stifle a giggle."I doubt that anyone understands John all that well! But I do know when he is troubled. I truly think he'd not long mourn the loss of his continental domains in and of themselves. He has