Chester joined the King and Falkes realised that he alone was to bear the responsibility of the rebels, for Peter des Roches had become very silent and was also content to wait for a later opportunity to oust Hubert de Burgh from his position.
The castle could not hold out indefinitely and on a hot August day Falkes was forced to surrender. Eighty of the garrison were hanged, but Falkes was held for trial.
He asked for an audience with the King which Henry granted. Then Falkes threw himself at Henry’s feet.
‘I have done wrong,’ he told him. ‘But you are a just king, my lord, and you will remember that there was a time when I fought side by side with your father. I served him well, and because you are a wise king you will remember that a man’s good deeds should be taken into consideration when he is being tried for his bad ones.’
That appealed to Henry and he sent Falkes to the Bishop of London where he was to remain until it was decided what should be done with him.
He was imprisoned for some time before it was agreed that he should be exiled. Then he was sent to France.
‘Let us hope,’ said Hubert, ‘that that is the end of this troublemaker.’
Then he told the King that he had shown himself fit to govern without a regent; and with his permission he would send to the Pope and ask for his blessing, support and permission that the King from henceforth be the ruler of his people.
The King was savouring his triumph – for all agreed that he had shown himself to have the making of a strong ruler by the manner in which he had dealt with the rebellious Falkes de Breauté and his friends – when Hubert de Burgh came to him with news which he believed to be of the utmost importance to England and to the King.
‘Messengers have arrived from France, my lord,’ he announced. ‘The King of France is dead.’
‘So Louis is now King,’ Henry’s face hardened. He would never forget that for a short time Louis had been in England and was on the point of being proclaimed ruler of his country. If John had not died so opportunely, who could say what might have happened. Henry went on: ‘Perhaps now he will have enough to occupy him in France and will no longer look to England – for I believe that he has never failed to do that since we turned him out.’
‘There has always been conflict between France and England, my lord. It seems hardly likely that the death of Philip will change that.’
‘I am aware that my ancestors knew little peace. They had few opportunities of governing here because there was always trouble in Normandy. It almost proved the undoing of my father.’
‘Your father proved his own undoing,’ said Hubert soberly. ‘You, my lord, will I doubt not regain much that he lost, and not only your possessions overseas but the dignity of the crown through honour and justice.’
‘I pray God this may be so.’
‘That is good, my lord. Now let us look at this matter overseas and consider what it can mean to England.’
‘I can see only good in it. I do not have a great opinion of Louis.’
‘Louis is an honourable man – a good husband and father. Such men do not always make the best kings.’
‘He quickly relinquished his hold on England and went slinking back home.’
‘He knew the country was against him and he took the wise though not the bold action.’
‘Methinks, Hubert, he will want to stay within his own realms.’
Hubert was thoughtful. ‘I was not thinking so much of the King as the Queen. I believe that Blanche, now Queen of France, is the one we have to reckon with.’
‘A woman!’
‘You are too wise, my lord, not to know that they should never be lightly dismissed. There are some – and many of them, thanks be to God – who are content to administer to a husband’s needs, to work beautiful embroideries and decorate his house with their presence. But there have been some who have not been content so to remain. One of these I believe to be the Queen of France.’
‘She is a kinswoman of mine. It was because of her that Louis laid claim to the throne.’
‘She is your first cousin, being the daughter of your Aunt Eleanor who married Alphonso of Castile; her grandparents were therefore yours. It is difficult to imagine a granddaughter of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine as being without spirit.’
‘So you think we must be watchful of Blanche, though she is married to a weak husband.’
‘I am sure you know, my lord, that it is a mistake to confuse a quiet demeanour with a lack of strength. Louis is not warlike. He does not wish to fight where it is not necessary and that could be called wisdom.’
Henry smiled to himself. He noticed how Hubert always prefaced his homilies nowadays with ‘I am sure you know’. Before his defence of him when he had been confronted by the rebellious barons and the Bishop of Winchester, he had delivered them in the form of lessons.
Henry said: ‘So you think we must be watchful of Blanche?’
‘You will agree that the English must always be watchful of the French, and what is happening in France will always be of the utmost importance to us here. We can never forget that. So, now Philip Augustus is dead and Louis and Blanche are on the throne. Let us consider what this will mean to us.’
‘What will it mean, Hubert?’
‘We must wait and see how events develop.’
‘And in the meantime,’ added Henry, ‘remember they are enemies, for that is what they must be. Louis and Blanche … and in particular Blanche.’
FRANCE
1200–1223
Chapter V
A CHANGE OF BRIDES
It was the first year of the new century; King John had been on the throne of England a year and Philip Augustus reigned in France. The affairs of these Kings seemed of little concern to the three girls who chatted together in their father’s court of Castile where the sun shone throughout the long summer days and the greatest excitement was the arrival of a troubadour who would enchant them with new songs which in a short time they would all be singing.
Their father, King Alfonso VIII, and their mother Eleanor, daughter of Henry II of England, were a well-matched pair. They loved the sun and music, and delighted in their court which under their influence was becoming one of the most cultivated in Europe. They enjoyed the company of their daughters, Berengaria, Urraca and Blanca, and took a great interest in their education. All the girls were handsome and intelligent; they were graceful, elegant and because music was of the greatest importance at the Court of Castile they were well versed in that art.
Contrary to the custom of the times Alphonso and Eleanor spent as much time as they could with their children; and they liked to pass their days in merriment and singing, dancing and the telling of tales.
Eleanor had much to tell and she was determined that her children should not be brought up in the manner she herself had. Life in the nursery of Westminster, Winchester and Windsor had been fraught with tension and it had been no different in Normandy or Poitiers. Wherever she had been her life had been overshadowed by the conflict between her parents and she had quickly learned that this was due to her father’s infidelities and her mother’s forceful nature which would not allow her to accept these with equanimity. When her father had brought his bastard into the nursery that had really been the end of harmony between him and her mother.