‘Before that,’ she said. ‘I remembered how you had deserted the King and for that reason would not have you at the coronation of his son.’
‘I warned him. I had served my time. I was a loyal servant of the King but I had no love for him. That was impossible.’
She ignored the implication.
‘And now what have you to say? What threats have you come to offer against the King?’
‘Now that I have seen you, my lady, I could do nothing but serve you with my life.’
‘Even though that meant serving your King to whom you owe allegiance?’ she asked cynically.
‘If that were your command.’
‘It is.’
‘Then it shall be.’
‘You change sides quickly.’
‘I was never on any side but yours, my lady. I suffered momentary pique. I had planned to offer myself to you completely. To be your humblest slave if you so wished. And then I was turned away …’
‘I see that I acted unwisely in that. I ask your pardon for it.’
His face was illumined with a joy which almost made him handsome.
‘My lady, I swear I shall serve you with my life.’
‘At this time all I ask is that we make some agreement with the King’s enemies.’
‘They are powerful, my lady. Peter Mauclerc is bent on mischief. Hugh de Lusignan is in leading strings to his wife. Her son, Richard of Cornwall, is now in France; these rebels are planning to join with him.’
‘I know it well. And you are one of them?’
He said quickly: ‘No longer so, my lady.’
‘Are they bent on war?’
‘They could be. Mauclerc’s daughter is betrothed to the King of England. He must need support here badly to have agreed to that. But ’tis my belief that before that marriage becomes a fact the King of England will find reasons why the marriage shall not take place.’
‘But at this time Mauclerc believes it will.’
‘Mauclerc is not with our camp in Thouars at this time. It would be well to make a treaty before he joins it.’
‘Would that be possible?’
‘My lady, we could make it possible.’
‘How so?’
‘You have good bargaining counters, my lady. Ah, forgive me. It is not meet to speak thus of the children of France. There is nothing like a betrothal, an alliance, between families to bring them together.’
‘You believe this would be acceptable?’
‘If my lady would try, she would see. And no harm done if it failed. If it succeeded time would be won … time to let the young King become not so young … time to prepare for any conflict that might follow later …’
‘You give good advice, Count.’
‘I would give everything I possessed to you, my lady, and ask nothing more than that you allow me to your presence.’
‘Thank you,’ she said.
‘I will return to my camp now,’ he said. ‘And you will see that I shall serve you with all my heart.’
When he had gone she sat brooding for some time. Her thoughts were in a turmoil. He disturbed her. He really was enamoured of her – this strange plump poet who did not look in the least romantic yet wrote such beautiful verses.
In some ways she hated to make use of him. Her impulse was to dismiss him, to tell him that she wished to hear nothing of him.
But that would be folly. She had seen how her actions at Rheims had been disastrous.
She must use the devotion of the Count of Champagne as well as she could. It was most important to make a truce with the rebel barons in order to strengthen her son’s hold on the crown.
Isabella came to Thouars where Hugh had asked her to join him. She knew that something important had happened and that he was afraid to make a decision without her.
The rebels were conferring with the Queen of France and her advisers. Blanche must be alarmed to condescend to do so. She must be learning that she could not flout the mighty knights and barons of France, Queen though she might be.
‘What news?’ she demanded imperiously when she was alone with Hugh.
He looked at her longingly and wonderingly. ‘You are even more beautiful than I have been remembering,’ he said.
She laughed, pleased but impatient.
‘That is good hearing,’ she replied, ‘but it would please me even more to hear that we had got the better of our enemy.’
‘We have been negotiating.’
‘Ah, and I trust have good terms. You must have realised the strength of your position since mighty Blanche herself has come to see you.’
‘I think the terms are excellent … for us. Blanche has offered her son Alphonse for our Isabella and our Hugh for hers.’
‘Our daughter is a child yet!’
‘But she will grow up. The King’s brother for our little Isabella and Hugh for the King’s sister. What think you of that?’
Isabella nodded slowly. ‘Fair enough,’ she said.
‘Mauclerc’s daughter Yolanda is for the King’s brother John.’
‘She was betrothed to my son Henry of England.’
‘Blanche fears us. That much is clear. Since she is ready to take Yolanda for her son to save her from an English alliance.’
‘And these are the terms of the treaty?’
‘They are, my dearest, and I think we have come well out of them.’
‘It is a good match for our Hugh,’ she admitted.
‘And for Isabella.’
‘These matches have a way of never being made.’
‘We shall see that they are.’
‘Will you, my strong warrior?’
‘I swear it.’
‘You see what she has done, do you not? She is making it impossible for us to side with my son. She is winning us to her side with these alliances.’
‘My dear, this is our home. Henry is far away. Do you not think we have more to gain from France than from England?’
‘That we shall discover. For the moment, it amuses me to see the Queen of France begging our favours. How was she when you spoke with her?’
‘I did not. It was not I who was the mediator.’
She turned on him fiercely. ‘It should have been you.’
‘We thought it better that it should be the Count of Champagne.’
Isabella stared at him; then she broke into loud laughter.
‘The fat troubadour! The Queen’s lover!’
‘You must realise that he is not that, Isabella. Blanche is a virtuous woman. She has always been.’
‘You believe that … like the rest. And you sent him to her.’
‘It was well. He made good terms.’
‘How I should love to have seen them together. How she must have laughed when he arrived. Mayhap it was a ruse on their parts … to be together. It may be that they sweetened their parley with other matters.’
‘You are quite wrong about the Queen.’
She turned a cold malicious glance on him. ‘So you think I am a fool.’
‘Never that … but … the Queen you know is …’
‘Let me tell you this, Hugh. I know the Queen’s sort. They are no different from the rest of us. Thibaud of Champagne has told us of their love affair, has he not? What if he murdered Louis to rid her of him?’
Hugh was clearly aghast.
‘Oh, she could not be involved in that, could she?’ went on Isabella. ‘She is too good … this pure white Queen.’
Hugh could not answer, nor could he completely hide his horror; but there must be no disagreement with Isabella. He did not want the time they could be together spent in quarrelling.
Blanche considered what she had done. The trouble had been thrust aside and there was peace temporarily.