‘I will prepare at once,’ said Ralph.
‘I shall take the children with me,’ she went on. ‘My father dotes on the little girls and he will see that no harm comes to them, which means that he cannot send their mother away from them. I shall win him round eventually, but it will take time.’
‘You would always win anyone round,’ replied Ralph admiringly.
She smiled in agreement and in a very short time they were setting out for Goodrich Castle, the home of the Pembrokes, in Herefordshire.
The Countess had always been a friend of Joanna’s although considerably older and she had been recently widowed. Joanna had often confided in her and had complete trust in her. The Countess’s daughter Isabella, wife of Hastings, who was one of the claimants to the Scottish throne, was now with her mother at the castle, and they endeavoured to show Joanna how delighted they were that she should visit them.
Joanna sought an early opportunity to be alone with the Countess. The rumours had already reached her, but she did not know, of course, that the marriage had already taken place. When she was told this she was overcome with horror.
‘But, my dear Joanna,’ she said, ‘the King will be enraged!’
‘I know, and I want to talk over with you what I must do.’
‘Could you not have asked his permission?’
‘No, because it would have been refused.’
‘And it was so important to you?’
‘My dear friend, you have seen Ralph. Is he not a king among men?’
‘He is very attractive, I agree.’
‘I married an old man to please my father. I believe I now have a right to please myself.’
‘But not to marry without the King’s consent.’
‘I have married without his consent, and nothing can change that. What I want to talk about now is not what I should have or should not have done, but what I am going to do now. There is something else, which only Ralph knows. I will tell you …’
The Countess looked at her incredulously.
‘Yes,’ went on Joanna, ‘you may stare. It’s true. I am with child.’ Joanna began to laugh. ‘You see there is nothing he can do now … nothing.’
‘He can imprison your husband and confiscate your lands.’
‘The latter he has already done. Tell me, Countess, what can I do?’
The Countess was thoughtful. ‘There is only one thing,’ she said at length. ‘Go to him. Ask his pardon. Tell him how much you love your husband. Tell him you are to have a child.’
‘He will know that before long. He is angry because I persuaded him to give Ralph a knighthood and told him it was in payment for services to my husband.’
The Countess shook her head. ‘I am sure the storm will pass. The King loves his family dearly as we all know, and I am sure he will not allow more than a passing conflict. He will be angry for a while so perhaps it would be better for you to keep away from him until he is calmer.’
‘I think you are right. But I shall be sent for and I cannot disobey the summons. I think I will send the little girls on ahead of me. He loves them so much as he does all children, and particularly little girls. They will soften his heart. He will never bring himself to be unkind to their mother.’
‘That,’ agreed the Countess, ‘might be a good idea.’
She sent the little girls to St Albans where the King was at that time and news came to her that the King had received them with as much affection as he ever had, that they had been allowed to scramble over him and pull his hair and he had been delighted when they kissed him unasked.
A good augury! thought Joanna.
It was a shock therefore when the King’s guards arrived at Goodrich with orders to arrest Ralph de Monthermer and imprison him in Bristol Castle, where he was to be kept as the King’s prisoner. Joanna – he referred to her as the Countess of Gloucester – was to pay immediately the outstanding debts of the Earl of Gloucester which previously she had persuaded the King to forgo.
It was a sign that Edward was in an unforgiving mood, and more angry with a member of his family than she had ever known him before.
For a month or so the King refused to see his daughter, and she remained as though in haughty indifference to his coolness towards her. But meanwhile Ralph was imprisoned in Bristol and she could not allow that to go on.
Continually she discussed the matter with the Countess of Pembroke and her daughter Isabella.
‘I must do something,’ she declared. ‘I cannot let Ralph stay in Bristol. My father knows that this is the greatest revenge he can take on me … to rob me of my husband. I am going to see him and plead with him.’
The Countess shook her head and Isabella reminded her of the King’s great anger against her. He had been made to look foolish because he had been arranging a marriage for her when she was already married. It was difficult for a proud King to stomach that, said the Countess.
‘But he always has been soft with his daughters. We have always been able to overcome his annoyance with us.’
‘That might have been in matters of little significance. This is different.’
‘I must make him understand. He loves his grandchildren. He ought to be delighted that this child will have Ralph as a father. Come, confess, did you ever see a man more handsome?’
The Countess smiled and Isabella said with a certain amount of fervour, ‘He is indeed handsome. One rarely sees a man so well set up.’
‘Ah,’ said Joanna quickly. ‘I see you have a fancy for him.’
‘My lady,’ said the Countess, ‘Isabella has a husband and is devoted to him.’
Joanna laughed. ‘I know that well. I should have been annoyed if you had not admired Ralph. Well, now you see why I cannot have him languishing in prison. There is only one thing to do and that is to see my father, talk to him myself.’
‘Will he see you?’ asked Isabella.
‘He will if I present myself. I know him well. He loves us all too dearly not to long for a reconciliation. My dear friends, I shall leave tomorrow for the Court. No, do not try to dissuade me.’
‘We would not attempt to,’ replied the Countess with a smile. ‘We have always known that when you have made up your mind it would be useless to ask you to change it.’
‘I shall plead with him and you will see that he will relent.’
‘I pray that it may be so,’ said the Countess.
Joanna rode into St Albans on a hot July day.
She was received with some dismay for those in attendance on the King were uncertain. She was in disgrace, but she was the King’s daughter and they dared not offend her; yet on the other hand how would the King behave if they treated her as they had before the trouble?
She was now quite noticeably pregnant and she said that she was weary from the journey. She trusted she would not be denied a bed.
They were subdued before her imperious manner. No one would ever doubt Joanna’s royalty. There was an implicit demand in her behaviour to be treated with respect.
She sent a message to the King.
‘Your daughter is here. It is the first time in her life that she has been forced to crave an audience but she does so now and she hopes she will be graciously received.’
The King had heard that she was pregnant and he could not help being concerned for her health. He gave orders that she was to be well looked after and he would see her the following day.
Joanna was triumphant. He had acted as she had known he would. A show of affection, a little cajolery and she would win him over.
But when she stood before him she was a little appalled by the coolness of his expression. Never before had he looked at her in that way. It was as though he disliked her. She did not quail. She was fully confident of her powers.