‘It is well enough,’ said the Dowager Duchess Margaret who was with them. ‘They will be cultivated; but we must not forget that they must learn other things besides an appreciation of the arts.’
Margaret was fond of her son-in-law but she was now and then exasperated with his attitude. He was a considerable artist it was true; his poetry and music gave pleasure to the entire household and even the youngest pages would listen entranced when René sang his own compositions in the great hall after dinner.
‘But what of this ransom?’ demanded the Dowager Duchess of her daughter. ‘Fine poetry and paintings are not going to pay that, are they? And will Burgundy wait much longer?’
There was an additional disaster. The Maréchal de Toulongeon had added his claims to those of his master Burgundy.
He was the one who had actually captured René. He was therefore claiming a further eighteen thousand crowns as his share of the ransom.
‘There you are,’ said the Dowager Duchess. ‘Time is passing and nothing is being done.’
‘I don’t think René gives it a thought,’ said Isabelle. ‘He is so happy to be here with his family and to pursue those pleasures which are such a delight to him.’
‘In that way he is merely putting off the evil day. It is more than two years since he returned and nothing has been done except to send Yolande to the Vaudémonts. Believe me, Burgundy will not wait much longer and now that Toulongeon is adding his demands René will find himself in great difficulties. Something must be done.’
‘I will speak to René,’ said Isabelle.
Margaret shook her head. ‘That is no use. I will speak to the Emperor of Germany.’
‘Sigismund?’
‘Why not. He has great power. He might be able to persuade Burgundy to be more moderate. There is just a possibility that Burgundy would listen to him.’
‘It is worth trying,’ said Isabelle. ‘No harm can be done.’
The more the Dowager Duchess considered this the more pleased she was with the idea. She would send messages to the Emperor who, as he was her brother-in-law, could scarcely refuse to help her. She was getting old, she said, but thank God she could still make decisions.
‘On the day I could not do that,’ she told her daughter, ‘I would wish to depart this life.’
‘My dearest mother,’ said Isabelle, ‘you have always been a woman of power. Sometimes I think the women of our family should have been the ones to govern. Everywhere we are cursed by this ridiculous Salic Law.’
‘It is an added obstacle for us to overcome, my dear. Now we will see what Sigismund can do for us with Burgundy.’
It was some time before she discovered. The messengers had to reach Sigismund and he had to decide how to act. He wanted to help and sent messengers to the great Duke to tell him that he considered the terms he had arranged with René were too harsh. They must in the name of reason be modified. He knew the state of René’s affairs and that he was not in a position to meet demands such as the Duke had made.
A few months passed. The pleasant life continued. René asked nothing more than to be with his sons and Little daughter; and his only regret was that Little Yolande had had to go away. He could blissfully forget that he must find the ransom and that Burgundy’s patience might be getting exhausted.
The Dowager Duchess was feeling very pleased with herself. She had received a message from Sigismund to say that he would do all he could to make Burgundy see reason and had already approached him. She was congratulating herself on her ability to solve her son-in-law’s problems far better than he could himself when she had an unpleasant shock. Emissaries from the Duke of Burgundy arrived at Nancy.
Their message was that the Duke was incensed that René should have had the temerity to appeal to Sigismund. As for the Emperor, he would do well to mind his business. As a result of this meddling, Burgundy would negotiate no longer. René must return to captivity and this time bring his two sons with him as hostages.
René was astounded. He did not know what Burgundy meant.
He expressed his bewilderment to his wife and mother-in-law. I do not understand what Burgundy is talking about,’ he said. ‘Sigismund! What has he to do with it?’
The Dowager Duchess had turned pale. She put her hand to her heart. Isabelle laid an arm about her shoulders and whispered: ‘You must not upset yourself It is bad for you. You were only trying to help. René will understand.’
Margaret shook her head. ‘It is my fault,’ she said. ‘Oh René, how can you forgive me? I could not bear to see you doing nothing and it was I who asked Sigismund to help.’
‘Ah,’ said René slowly. ‘I see now what has maddened Burgundy.’ He shrugged. ‘You must not reproach yourself, my lady. I know all you did, you did for me and Isabelle. Well, it is an end to our life here at Nancy but only for a while. All will be well in time.’
‘René,’ said Isabelle, ‘stay and fight. Let us see if we can defeat this arrogant Duke.’
‘With what?’ asked René. ‘We cannot pit ourselves against him. I must perforce go and take the boys with me.’
‘René...stay. Let us find some means...’
But he shook his head. ‘The laws of chivalry demand that I honour my commitments. I was taken in fair battle; I must therefore pay the ransom demanded or remain a prisoner.’
They could see that it was impossible—he being René—for him to take any course but the honourable one.
‘When you take the boys with you,’ said Isabelle, ‘there will only be little Margaret left to me.’
René took her face in his hands and kissed her.
‘She is a beautiful child. You will find great comfort in her.’
Within a few days Isabelle, with little Margaret on one side and the Dowager Duchess on the other, waved goodbye to René as he rode off into captivity.
It was a sorrowful household. The Dowager Duchess was wrapped in gloom. She could not forget that she had brought this about and she could not forgive herself.
‘Sometimes I think,’ she told her daughter, ‘it is better to be as René. He reviews his captivity with calm and without shame. If they will supply him with paints he will be happy.’
‘Dear Mother,’ replied Isabelle, ‘you must stop grieving. You are making yourself ill. You were right to do all you could. Who would have believed that Burgundy would be so angry that he takes his revenge in this way?’
‘I think Sigismund must have approached him without tact. I should have thought of that. But for me René would be here now and although you are poor and without the means to extricate him from this humiliating position, at least you were together.’
There was nothing Isabelle could do to comfort her mother. Each day the Dowager Duchess grew more pale, wan and listless. Her appetite had deserted her and she could not sleep at night thinking about the havoc her interference had caused.
When August came it was stiflingly hot and she was obliged to take to her bed. Within a few days Isabelle had grown really anxious. The old lady had lost that tremendous verve which had made her seem immortal and because she had lost it, Isabelle knew that she was very ill indeed.
As the month progressed she grew steadily worse and on the morning of the twenty-seventh when her women came into her bedchamber they thought she was sleeping peacefully and did not disturb her, but before the morning was out it was realized that she was dead.
Isabelle knelt at her bedside and thought of all this vital woman had done for her. She could not believe that she would never see her again. Devoted mother, great ruler, affectionate, clever...how fortunate she had been to have been born to such a woman!
I must be like her, thought Isabelle. I must be strong and particularly so since I am married to a man who is scarcely that.