She would go into complete seclusion. She would remain at Fontevraud with the remains of her husband, and her beloved son and daughter.
‘My work is done,’ she said, ‘and there is nothing for me now but to wait for death.’
John, meanwhile, had arrived in Normandy at the head of a formidable army, and in one or two skirmishes with the French army was victorious, which led to a meeting being arranged between himself and Philip. The French King wanted the Vexin for himself and Anjou, Maine, Poitou and Touraine for Arthur, but with an army behind him John was in a position to snap his fingers at such demands; the result was war. John’s good fortune was that William des Roches, who was leading the Breton army for Constance, Arthur and Guy Thouars, could not agree with Philip and there was dissension between them. So greatly did they fear the King of France and his intentions towards Arthur that in a moment of panic they decided to place him temporarily under the protection of John.
John was delighted. He was in Le Mans at the time and he welcomed William des Roches with open arms.
‘Ah, my good lord,’ he said, ‘it pleases me that there are some wise men in the world. This conflict with my own nephew breaks my heart. I have never ill-wished the boy. I would his mother could be made to understand this.’
‘I am doing my best to make her do so. The King of France is quite perfidious. I never trusted him.’
‘Nor I,’ said John. ‘Where is Arthur?’
‘Not far from here. I will bring him to you, my lord, if you will promise to guard him until such time as he is safe from the King of France.’
‘Bring him to me with all speed. I will guard him with my life.’
John was inwardly exulting. The folly of others was always exciting. They were actually going to put Arthur under his protection! And Constance would be with him. That was highly amusing. He had to be grateful to William des Roches for quarrelling so fiercely with the King of France that he saw Philip was the very essence of villainy beside whom his other enemies seemed like saints.
From the castle tower John saw the party riding towards the castle – young Arthur between his mother and Guy de Thouars. He was Constance’s paramour, of course. That was obvious. John’s eyes narrowed as he thought of the sport he could have with those two if the opportunity arose, but his main concern must be with Arthur, of course, because Arthur was the great threat to his security and he was the very heart of conflict between them.
Rubbing his hands he went to greet them.
‘My dear, dear Constance,’ he cried. ‘It does me good to behold you. And Arthur! How you have grown, nephew! You are indeed a man. And here is the Viscount de Thouars, your very good friend. I thank you, my lord, for taking such good care of my sister-in-law and my beloved nephew.’
She was wary, that woman. It had been against her judgement that they were here, he was sure. She would never trust him. But how frightened she must be of the King of France to have allowed Arthur to be brought to him!
Arthur was too young to hide his resentment. He knew John had been crowned King of England and the arrogant young creature thought that honour should have been his. It was maddening to think that quite a number of people agreed with him. A dangerous boy, this one.
That was why he was going to be very welcoming to him.
Constance said: ‘We wish to shelter here for a short time. Our stay will not be long but if you would give us hospitality for a while we shall be grateful.’
‘I want no gratitude for that which can only give me great pleasure. Come into the castle. A feast is being prepared. I want you to know how happy I am to see you. I have always deplored that there should be conflict between us. Now we can talk as friends of any differences which may have arisen between us.’
Constance exchanged glances with Guy. Any differences! Only the usurpation of a throne! How could she have allowed William des Roches to persuade her to bring Arthur here? She only had to be in John’s company for a few moments for all her suspicions to be aroused. Surely Philip of France would have been the better choice even though there was disagreement between him and William des Roches. She had greatly feared that Philip would imprison Arthur. But what if John did the same? She knew then that she feared the King of England more than she did the King of France.
She was given a magnificent bedchamber and Arthur had the adjoining one. When they were alone together Arthur said: ‘My uncle seems very kind.’
She smiled wryly. ‘It is when he is most kind that I trust him least.’
There was a scratching at the door. Constance went to it and opened it cautiously. She fell back with relief. ‘Guy!’
Guy lifted his finger to his lips. ‘Depend upon it,’ he whispered, ‘there will be those to watch us. I like this not. We should never have allowed William des Roches to bring us here.’
‘But we are here now,’ said Constance, ‘and must needs make the best of it.’
Guy shook his head. ‘I have heard whispers,’ he said. ‘John will never let Arthur leave here. At first he will soothe us with soft words but his intention is to make Arthur his prisoner.’
‘That must never be,’ cried Constance.
‘So think I. God knows what would happen to Arthur if he fell into that monster’s hands.’
Constance clung to his arm.
‘Oh, Guy, what shall we do?’
‘We are not spending a night in this castle. I have given orders to men I can trust. Tonight when the castle is quiet we shall steal out to the stables and horses will be ready. We shall not stop riding until dawn.’
She leaned against him, her eyes half closed. ‘Oh, Guy, how thankful I am that you are with us.’
All through the night they rode towards Brittany where they could feel safe for a while. With dawn they came to rest at the residence of a knight whom they could trust.
Before they continued their journey Constance talked seriously to Guy about the dangerous position which Arthur was in. ‘It is strange,’ she said, ‘that as soon as I see John I sense that which is evil in him, although when I am not with him I can be led to believe that he is not as bad as I really know him to be.’
‘Never forget,’ said Guy, ‘that he fears Arthur will take what he wants, and which many believe by right is Arthur’s. Arthur will never be safe while John lives.’
‘It terrifies me. I would to God someone would kill him as they did his brother.’
‘It may happen, but until it does let us be on our guard.’
‘I know not what I would do without you, Guy.’
‘You know that you will never have to do without me, Constance. Let us marry.’
‘And the Earl of Chester?’
‘That was no marriage. You could surely get a dispensation. Marriage which was never consummated is no marriage at all.’
‘Guy, there is a priest here. He shall marry us. Then I shall know that we shall never be parted.’
‘It is what I hope for,’ he said.
And so immediately after their flight from Le Mans, Guy and Constance went through a ceremony of marriage.
When John heard that Arthur had escaped he fell into such a fury that none dared approach for the rest of the day. He threw himself on to the floor and rolled among the rushes, cramming handfuls of them into his mouth, grinding his teeth in his rage and then shouting to everyone what he would do to Arthur and his mother if ever they fell into his hands again.
Queen Eleanor was feeling her age, which was not surprising considering what it was. Few had lived as long as she had. In two years she would be eighty years old. There had been a time when she had thought she was to be immortal; but since Richard’s death she had lost that driving will and determination to live and some force had gone from her. It had surprised her that she had considered for a while settling down in Fontevraud and leading a semi-pious life of seclusion. How she would have laughed at herself a few years ago; now it seemed a quite desirable way of passing the time left to her.