‘Acceptable, no more,’ he said, holding the head of a sweating destrier. Jordan looked crestfallen to receive no more than those three words; that made Roger laugh, which in turn made Jordan angry. ‘Do not seek praise, my boy, for I have learnt that those who give it too freely are rarely sincere.’
‘I want to come with you next year.’
‘With me?’
‘On campaign.’
‘You are sure there will be one?’
‘There is always a campaign,’ Jordan insisted.
Thinking back to his own youth, when, due to Tancred’s determination to stand aside from the turmoil of Duke William’s succession, there had been no such thing as a campaign, only neighbourly quarrels, it caused Roger to wonder at the life he and his kind now led. There was no pessimistic direction to that thought, he had been raised to be a warrior and was happy in the role. Yet there was just a hint of a hankering for a more peaceful life, one in which he could watch his children grow and see to the husbandry of his fiefs that soon followed by the thought that he would go mad in such an existence.
What to say to Jordan, who was, at thirteen summers, really too young for war? He should say no, say that he must wait, but here was a chance to show him how much regard he had, show him that the arrival of Geoffrey, which would deprive him of any chance of inheritance, did nothing to dent his father’s feelings.
‘I had a mind to suggest it, Jordan; after all, the sooner you set about carving out your own patrimony the better.’
‘For which I had looked to you, Father.’
‘Never fear, Jordan. If you are half the de Hauteville my brothers were you will end up a duke.’
‘Is that what you will be?’
‘Perhaps,’ Roger replied, but he did not elaborate, given the question took him back to his relations with Robert. ‘But I have a charge for you. Geoffrey is your brother, he will need your hand to guide him. Swear to me now that in all things you will be his friend and guardian.’
Christmastide was hardly over when he felt that such a piece of advice would have been welcome to Robert, who was, once more, holding back on the monies promised to meet Roger’s responsibilities in Calabria, added to a demand that he remit even more. It was not one that Roger could accept and, added to previous frustrations, it brought about a sharp response.
He reminded his brother of the services he had rendered, of the promises he had received, as yet unfulfilled, as well as the fact that he was now not some bare-arsed bachelor but a married man, a father with a household to support and a wife who deserved to live in a manner befitting her station. The closing words were a warning of the risk of a final breech, that if Robert did not meet his legitimate claims, he would have no recourse but to resort to a decision by arms; the reply was not long in coming.
‘No mention of all those titles and fiefs I was to be granted, plus a threat that should I fail to comply he will come personally to chastise me.’
‘Why are you smiling?’ asked Ralph de Boeuf.
‘What else would you have me do?’ Roger replied, waving the parchment on which Robert had written his demand. ‘I have no intention of giving in to this.’
‘You think he does not mean it?’
‘No, he will mean it, but it is the why that interests me, given I am the only brother Robert treats in this way. Geoffrey he indulges and Mauger he ignores.’
‘He has no fear of either of them.’
‘What has he got to fear from me?’
Roger was being disingenuous, yet Ralph de Boeuf tapped his forehead anyway. ‘You are at least his equal up here. Was it not the Jew who said he saw William in you? Well, Robert may see that too.’
‘I would never challenge him.’
‘You don’t have to, given he is challenging you! You were right at Enna and he was wrong, something known to every lance he leads. The Guiscard wants you to acknowledge he is your superior in every way, he wants you tugging your forelock like some peasant, and he would truly be happy if you did it in front of his entire army.’
‘That I will never do.’
‘Then you must dispute with him.’
‘Should blood be spilt for a brotherly squabble?’
‘There’s not a man you lead, and I am one of them, who would respect you if you did as Robert wants. So I suggest that word be sent out for every lance we command to gather here.’
‘Will that be enough?’
‘Roger, you have no notion of how much you are loved in Calabria since the famine. There is not a town that will open its gates to the Guiscard without he has to use force, unless you command they do so. You may move around at will and our men will be welcomed and fed. You can attack your brother wherever he is and wound him, even if he has superior force; you do not have to do battle with him but to wear him down. His numbers will be a burden to him, not an asset, for he must forage where you have no need.’
De Boeuf sat back from the table at which they sat. ‘I do not know why I am telling you all this, given you already know it better than me.’
‘Knowing it does not make it palatable,’ Roger replied grimly. ‘He will besiege Mileto, for certain.’
‘Then it is best we are not here when he does so.’
‘Robert will not harm me, or our children,’ Judith insisted. ‘He is not some beast.’
‘I know, but I have no idea how far he might go in his jealousies. If he storms Mileto all of you are at risk, not from Robert but the men he leads, who will be drunk with the passion of combat, as well as too much wine. It is a thing I have seen often and it is not pleasant.’
‘You forget I am a Norman.’
Roger grinned. ‘How could I, Judith?’
‘Then as a Norman I will hold our castle of Mileto.’
‘You’re asking me to desert you?’
‘No. I am saying you should do as you intend, stay outside the walls where you are too great a threat to ignore. Is that not what William did at Melfi?’
‘You are the second person to mention William this day, and the same person gave me similar advice regarding not being trapped here.’
‘Then he is a wise judge.’
Roger laughed. ‘Whatever happened to that sweet girl I knew in Normandy?’
Judith came close, stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. ‘She grew up to become an Amazon. I will send the children to my brother at St Eufemia. Robert will respect a foundation he himself funded, but when he comes outside these walls of ours he will be obliged to parley with me, and when he demands surrender, if you leave me enough lances, I will refuse him.’
Deep in his heart, Roger felt it would be impossible for Robert to harm Judith, for all his irascibility he was not like that and, even if he growled about his bloodline he had respect for his siblings and their offspring.
‘Very well, Judith, you will be the Chatelaine of Mileto, and no doubt troubadours will compose songs of praise to you. I must take Jordan with me — I promised.’
‘He is too young, Roger, and he will seek to prove he is not.’
‘I will look after him, never fear.’
‘Can you win against Robert?’
‘No, but I can make him pay too high a price for what is, after all, nothing but his pride.’
‘When will you leave?’ Judith asked.
‘On the morrow. Robert is no fool, he will suspect I will not give in to his demands so he will already be on the way. I doubt his message was sent before he was ready to depart.’
‘One more night, then?’ she said, an unmistakable timbre in her voice.
Roger grinned as he held her close. ‘No warrior should go into combat unshriven, it is seen as impious.’
‘If you are not impious this night, husband, it is not Robert you will have to answer to, but me!’