His brothers the Dukes of Gloucester and Bedford stood firmly beside him; so did his uncle the Duke of Exeter and his cousin the Duke of York.
The leading nobles were assembled too with the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Poor old Arundel, he looked as though he was not long for this world. He had lived through many hazards, had suffered exile and seen his brother the Earl executed as traitor to King Richard. A long life during which the King believed the Archbishop had tried to live by his principles. He ioved extravagance of course; and he whole-heartedly supported the pomp and grandeur of the Church and was therefore naturally an arch enemy of the Lollards.
And now here he w^as to give his assurance that Henry's claim to the throne of France was no false one.
*We have already made our feelings on that matter clear to the French,* said Henry/
*And, my lord/ his uncle Exeter reminded him, 'they laugh at us/
*Let them laugh while they may. I promise you all that we shall be the ones who are laughing when the crown is set upon my head/
'There will be many a battle before that happy day,' pointed out his uncle.
Henry laid his hand on his shoulder. 'You think this the dream of a wild youth,' he said. 'I know your mind. Uncle. But think, my great-grandfather had this dream too and he was not a wild youth. He was a warrior before whom all men bent the knee.*
'It is said, my lord, that he was urged into the endeavour by a rash vow he took on a heron.*
'But heron or no heron, he made every effort to seize the crown of France.*
'And did not succeed, my lord.'
'He had ill luck. He grew old and his great son, the Black Prince, was stricken by ill health. I am young. I shall not cease until I have succeeded.*
'Charles the Sixth will never willingly give up his crown.'
'Well, that is something we understand. Poor mad old man. He is beset on all sides. Burgundy would be with us.*
'It is not likely that a King of France will give up his crown without a struggle. Moreover there is the Dauphin.*
The King snapped his fingers. 'Louis is a braggart and a very pretty one, I believe. He will make sure his linen is well scented before he goes into battle. He would be wise to accept our latest terms: Charles to remain in nominal possession of the throne until his death. That is very fair, very reasonable. England to be no longer the vassal of France for the provinces of Normandy, Maine, Anjou and Aquitaine. The ransom for King John who was captured by the Black Prince and kept prisoner here in London for a while has never been paid. Is it asking much that this should now be honoured? The King of France shall give his youngest daughter Katherine to be my Queen and she shall bring with her a dowry of two million crowns.*
'They will never agree to those terms,* said Exeter.
'But they fear us,' insisted the King. 'Yes, they fear us. It is
the crown I want and by God's help I will attain it.. .*
The purpose of this meeting was to receive the French ambassadors and these were brought in that Henry might tell them his will before all assembled.
He spoke clearly and witheringly: *I little esteem your French money/ he said, 'and less so your power and strength. I know full well my rights to the crown which has been usurped. The usurper, your master, may have loving subjects who will rally to his cause. I thank God I am not unstored with the same. And I tell you this, before a year has passed I shall make the highest crown of your country stoop before me and the proudest mitre to have his humiliation. In the meantime tell this to the usurper your master, that within three months I shall enter France as into mine own true and lawful patrimony, acquiring the same not with bray of words but with deeds of men and dint of sword by the aid of God in whom I put my trust and confidence. You may depart safely to your own country where I trust sooner to visit you than you shall have cause to bid me welcome.*
The Frenchmen looked astounded by this speech; but they bowed and took their leave.
When they had gone all eyes were on the King.
'Bold words, my lord,' said Bedford.
'Bold deeds should be preceded by bold words, brother. You will see that I meant every one of them. We shall now make our preparations.'
'Charles will be shivering in his shoes,' said Exeter. *I wonder what the Dauphin will have to say.'
The Dauphin's reply came within a few weeks.
The King was in his ante-chamber with his brothers and counsellors when the ambassadors from France arrived. They brought with them a barrel which was carried in and placed at the King's feet.
'What is this?' asked the King.
'The Dauphin's gift to you, my lord.'
The King laughed. Did the foolish fop think he could placate the King of England with gifts!
'He has sent these treasures to you, my lord, with the assurance that they will please you mightily. He knows your nature and he applied this knowledge when selecting a treasure which would be considered most suited to your taste.'
'We should not be affected by it were it ever so much to our
liking/ said the King. 'But let us see what my lord Dauphin knows of my tastes/
He was smiling when the barrel was opened. There was a gasp of astonishment when the King put in his hand and brought out a tennis ball.
'God's truth,' he cried. 'The barrel is full of them.*
The ambassadors lowered their heads to hide their smiles.
'Our master believed these would please you, my lord,' said one. 'His message is that he is sure you will use them with more skill than you could bring to sword and lance.'
Henry was silent for a few moments. His face was a deeper shade of pink than usual.
Then he said in a loud clear voice: 'Go tell your master that when I have set my rackets against these balls I shall drive them so hard that they will batter open the gates of Paris.'
'So be it,' cried those standing by; and the ambassadors retired discomfited.
'My lord Dauphin has spoken,' said the King. 'Now we shall lose no more time. Let us prepare to carry the war into France.'
Henry threw himself fervently into making ready to leave. The people were with him. He was popular. He was young; he was handsome; he had shown in his youth that he was no saint; he was a man of the people.
'We'll go with Harry,' they said.
The rich men of the country rallied round. They brought him gifts which could be converted into money; the poor could only bring themselves which they did to join his army. They were all excited by the expedition into France. They had no doubt of its success and they talked of the spoils that would come their way. France was a rich country. It was not like making war on Wales or Scotland or Ireland. There would be rich profits for those who went foraging with Harry of England.
All the greatest nobles in the land pledged themselves to serve with their followers for a year. Henry announced that for their services they would be paid, for a Duke thirteen shillings and fourpence a day; for an Earl six shillings and eightpence; for a baron or baronet three shillings and four-pence, a knight two shillings, an esquire one shilling, and an
archer sixpence. Any prisoners taken were to belong to their captors and to them would go the ransom demanded when it was paid. There were clearly pickings to be had.
With the expedition the King was taking his physician, Nicholas Colnet, and his surgeon, Thomas Morstede, and they were to be paid twelve pence a day and be given a guard of three archers.
The army was growing in strength; there were six thousand men at arms and twenty-four thousand archers.