Текст книги "The Red Rose of Anjou"
Автор книги: Jean Plaidy
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‘Then I will bid him come to you.’
Vaguely she saw a slight young man, simply dressed, with a self-effacing manner. She scarcely looked at him as he knelt before her and presented her with a letter. She took it while he watched her as she read it.
‘Is there an answer, my lady?’ he asked.
She shook her head. ‘I will write to the King when I feel a little better,’ she said.
When the squire had gone she lay back in her chair and Alice came in to her.
‘I understand,’ said Alice, ‘that a squire brought a letter to you. What did you think of him?’
‘The squire?’ cried Margaret. ‘I scarcely noticed him.’
Alice began to laugh. ‘You have no idea then who that squire was?’
Margaret continued to stare at her.
Alice went on: ‘It was the King. He was so eager to see you and he did not want to disturb you by a formal visit so he came as a squire.’
‘The King!’ cried Margaret aghast. ‘My husband. But I allowed him to stay on his knees!’
‘Serve him right,’ said Alice. ‘If he comes as a squire he must expect to be treated as one.’
‘Oh Alice,’ cried Margaret, ‘you ask what I thought of him. I wonder what he thought of me!’
Henry was meanwhile writing to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He had seen the Queen in private and he was delighted with her. She was all that he had believed her to be but it was clear to him that she was still very weak and forsooth they must wait awhile before the marriage could be celebrated.
###
The marriage was to take place on the 22nd day of April in the Abbey of Titchfield and the Bishop of Salisbury would perform the ceremony. Margaret was quickly recovering from her malady; she was young and healthy and the fact that her indisposition had not been that dreaded one which at first had been feared was a sign, said those about her, that she would be fortunate in her new land. Alice could not help commenting that it would have been even more fortunate if there had been no illness at all, but she did not say so to Margaret who in her weak state of health was happy to be assured of good omens.
She thought a great deal about the humble young squire who had knelt before her; she greatly wished that she had taken more notice of him; but she did know that he had a gentle face and that made her feel reassured.
Henry was thinking a great deal of Margaret. She had seemed so young and frail wrapped in her rugs and he had been overwhelmed by tenderness. She was also very pretty in spite of being pale but that somehow made her vulnerable. He was delighted with what he had seen and he was looking forward to their marriage with an enthusiasm of which he would not have believed himself capable before he had seen her.
He prayed earnestly that the marriage would be a happy one. He was, as ever, desperately in need of funds for a wedding was necessarily an expensive matter and he had been forced to raise money on the crown jewels to pay for it. He had had the wedding ring made from one of gold and rubies which had been given to him by his uncle Cardinal Beaufort. It was his coronation ring. His uncle had so often during his reign come to his aid with the money he would need. The Cardinal seemed to have inexhaustible coffers into which he could plunge in an emergency, and Henry often wondered how, without this uncle, he would have survived all the difficulties which beset him. Now he was going to use the Cardinal’s ring for Margaret.
Presents were arriving for the Queen—one of them was rather extraordinary and rather difficult to handle. 11 was a lion, which after it had been duly admired had to be sent to the menagerie at the Tower.
So the wedding took place. It was not as grand as the proxy wedding in France had been but as the bride and bridegroom held hands they ceased to be afraid of each other and they realized that affection was already beginning to grow.
Solemnly they made their vows and as they listened to the Bishop’s address they both inwardly vowed they would do their duty.
‘Blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.
For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands; happy shalt thou be and it shall be well with thee
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house; thy children like olive plants round thy table.’
They were young; there were many years before them. It was their duty to produce heirs to the crown. They both vowed they would not be found lacking.
For Margaret Henry was the perfect husband. Gentle, courteous, eager to be loved and to give her the utmost devotion. She recognized his weakness and that endeared him to her. She wanted someone to lead, to guide, to take care of. And she sensed that Henry was just the man for that.
And Henry saw in Margaret the young girl who was lovelier every time he looked at her and he could not forget the small fragile-looking creature he had first seen wrapped in rugs. He had begun to fall in love with her then.
Thus the marriage appeared to have a successful beginning.
###
For the first few days after the ceremony the royal pair were lodged at the Abbey. They had an exhausting programme ahead of them and Henry felt that after her short convalescence and all the ceremonies of the wedding Margaret needed a rest.
They were pleasant days getting to know each other, Henry revealing his feelings slowly, Margaret becoming more sure of herself as the hours passed.
They would have to go to London for her coronation, Henry explained, and that was to take place at the end of May.
‘But first,’ Henry told her, ‘we must make our progress through the country. Everyone will want to see you. I am anxious to show them what a beautiful bride I have.’
Feeling stronger every day Margaret was growing excited at the prospect of her life as Queen of England. She was realizing how dull it had been until now when she had been a background figure—a younger daughter of a King who was not quite a King and was always trying to find some way of avoiding creditors.
She had developed a taste for attention when she had become important in the marriage business and the King of France had seen her as a means of recovering Maine and Anjou. Now she had a country of her own. She had a husband who was already beginning to adore her, to respect her, to talk to her and listen to her opinions. The King ruled the country and the Queen would rule the King. It was a very pleasant prospect.
Alice brought her down to earth sharply.
She had been looking through her wardrobe. I had no idea,’ said Alice, ‘that you had so little with you. What of the clothes you will need for your ride to London? The people expect a show of splendour from a Princess now a Queen.’
‘But I have no more than those you see.’
‘Those with which you travelled through France. You can’t mean that you plan to wear those again. Besides...they are not fine enough. Where is the wardrobe your father must have provided for your arrival in England?’
‘He provided none.’
Alice sat down on a stool and covered her face with her hands. After a few seconds she stood up. ‘I must see my husband at once and he must see the King,’ she said.
‘But Alice, what a fuss to make about a few clothes!’
‘A fuss? By no means. You must make a good impression on the people. They are not very fond of the French you know and they must not have a chance to criticize. They will welcome you because you represent peace. But you must look like a Queen.’
Alice remembered ceremony enough to ask leave to depart. She went at once to her husband who immediately saw the
Consternation reigned when the situation was explained, but within a few hours Suffolk’s valet John Pole was riding as fast as he could to London and he was commanded to bring back with him—with all speed—a certain Margaret Chamberlayne who was one of the finest dressmakers in the City.
Within a very short time Mistress Chamberlayne arrived and with her were bales of very fine materials. Several women were immediately found to work to Mistress Chamberlayne’s instructions and gowns were made which would be considered suitable for the Queen’s progress to London.
Henry, who never cared very much about his own clothes, was delighted to see Margaret splendidly arrayed. Margaret herself was delighted. She was liking England more and more every day.
So the journey to London began. It was a triumph. Margaret was beautiful in her magnificent new garments, her abundant golden hair glowing reddish in the sunshine, streaming about her shoulders; a circlet of gems was on her head, and her blue eyes were alight with excitement; a faint colour glowed in her cheeks, and she looked every bit the fairy Queen as she rode through the countryside with her husband. The fact that she was small and rather fragilely built added to her charm for the people. She looked so dainty. Everywhere she went the daisy was displayed and people who came to see her pass all carried the flower—most of them fabricated, waving them ecstatically.
‘The war is over,’ they said. ‘This marriage means peace.’
So they cheered and the cheers were for peace as well as for Margaret; and when they shouted ‘Long Live the Queen’ they meant also ‘Prosperity is coming’.
It was a warm welcome and it was for her. They made that clear. It was time their King married and gave them an heir and here was the bride—a bride from France to settle the war. Now there would be a coronation and then a royal birth. And no more war. Good times were coming.
At length they arrived at Eltham Palace and there stayed for a few days to prepare themselves for the journey into London. Margaret knew that now the important ceremonies were about to begin. But Henry’s devotion to her was growing every day and she felt complete confidence in her power to charm his people as she had their King. She had not met anyone so far who had not expressed delight in the marriage; but she did know that there were some who were opposed to it. The powerful Duke of Gloucester was one and she must be ready for him when he appeared, as he most certainly would.
From Eltham the royal party set out for Blackheath and there coming towards them was a procession consisting of all the high dignitaries of London. The mayor, the aldermen and the sheriffs of the city made a colourful spectacle in their scarlet gowns while the craftsmen who accompanied them were in vivid blue with embroidery on their sleeves and hoods of vivid red. They had come hither, the mayor told her in his welcoming speech, to conduct her into the City of London.
Margaret responded graciously and was exceedingly glad that Alice had noticed how ill equipped she would have been to face such a brilliant assembly. She could never be grateful enough for Alice’s care—nor for that of the Marquess. I shall insist that they are duly rewarded, she promised herself Henry will be willing to do anything that I ask him to.
Another party had arrived at Blackheath. This was led by a man of great importance. She could not help but be aware of that. It was apparent in the looks of almost near reverence in the faces of those about her. They were astonished too. He was old but handsome in a raddled way; he was most splendidly attired and the livery of his attendants was dazzling.
He rode up to the Queen, bowed low and made a fulsome speech of welcome.
Margaret was responding with her usual grace when the King said: ‘My lady, I should present you to my uncle the Duke of Gloucester.’
The Duke of Gloucester! The enemy! She could see the wise old face of her uncle Charles; she could hear his voice: ‘You will have to beware of the Duke of Gloucester.’
She was too young to have learned to hide her feelings. This was the man who had done everything to oppose her marriage. He was going to try to undermine her. His wife was in captivity because she had made a waxen image of Henry with the purpose of destroying him. The enemy indeed.
‘I thank you, my lord, for coming to welcome me,’ she said coldly and turned away.
Everyone about her was aware of the snub to mighty Gloucester and knowing he had inherited his share of the famous Plantagenet temper, they awaited developments in an awed silence.
Gloucester however did not appear to notice the slight. He was very gracious and when he wished to be, in spite of his ravaged looks, he could he charming.
‘What a pleasure,’ he said, ‘to find our Queen so beautiful. The King is a man to be envied for more than his dominions.’
‘There are always those to envy kings,’ said Margaret. ‘It is to be expected, and accepted as long as they do not attempt to replace them.’
Margaret had always had a ready tongue and it was something she had never learned to control, in her grandmother’s household she had never been seriously provoked; but she had heard so much about Gloucester’s opposition to her marriage and she was too young to hide her resentment.
‘Ah,’ said Gloucester, ‘that is wisdom indeed. But who, my lady, would not wish to be in the King’s place now that he possesses such a blooming bride?’
‘You are gracious.’
‘My lady, I would welcome you to the country, which I am sure you will rule well...with the King.’
He had turned so that his magnificently caparisoned horse was side by side with hers.
‘It would give me great pleasure,’ he said, ‘if you would rest at my Palace of Greenwich for some refreshment before proceeding into London. The people are going to love you so much that they may impede your progress with their cheers and their pageants. They all wish to show you how delighted they are that you have come to us.’
Margaret was about to say that she was in no need of refreshment and had no intention of resting at his Palace of Greenwich when the King said: ‘That is gracious of you, uncle. The Queen will enjoy seeing Greenwich.’
There was nothing .she could say after that but she did not glance at the Duke riding beside her and she wondered that Henry could be so affable to one who, everyone said, was his enemy.
The Duke riding beside her was smiling gaily. He talked to her about Greenwich and how fond of the place he had become since it had passed to him through his Beaufort uncle. Not the Cardinal whom she had met but his brother Thomas, Duke of Exeter.
‘I was granted a further two hundred acres in which to make a park. I have done this so we have some good hunting there. You like the chase, my lady?’
‘I do.’
‘Then you will find great pleasure in some of our forests. I always say we have the best in the world. When I was granted the land I had to agree to embattle the manor, and make a tower and a ditch...and all this I have done. So I shall proudly welcome you to Greenwich.’
She rode along in silence, her colour heightened, her head held high.
So they paused at Greenwich and afterwards made their way through Southwark and into the City of London. The pageants so astonished and delighted her that she forgot the unpleasant encounter with Gloucester. London had surpassed itself. The citizens revelled in pageantry and this show they were putting on to welcome the Queen was a prelude to all the rejoicing that would take place at the coronation.
All the tableaux and scenes which were enacted were for the union of Henry and Margaret and the theme was that for which they had all been longing. Peace. It was true they had all believed that peace would come with the conquest of France. There had been a time some twenty years before when that dream had seemed to be at hand. And then Henry the Fifth had died suddenly, cut down in his prime, and since then the scene had changed.
Well, if this was not great victory, it was peace and peace would mean an end to the exorbitant taxation which had been crippling trade and making them all poor.
At the bridge at Southwark the pageant represented Peace and Plenty. There was one puppet display with Justice and Peace as the figures. These approached each other and after much juggling met in the kiss of peace. Then Saint Margaret appeared; and there were dancers and children reciting and in the hair of every girl was a daisy.
It was a great triumph. Henry was delighted with the impression she had made on the people and refused to have his spirits lowered by the knowledge that they were cheering a peace which had not yet been made. The marriage had taken place, yes... but the only concession which had been agreed on was a truce. We must have peace, Cardinal Beaufort had said; and Henry agreed with him.
‘My brother would rise up and curse you if he could,’ was Gloucester’s comment. ‘Peace. Never. We are going to fight on until we put the French crown where it belongs: on the head of the King of England.’
Gloucester was hot-headed. He always had been. But why had he come to Blackheath and been so affable? And Margaret had shown her contempt for him. He must explain to her.
He did.
‘I could not understand,’ she told him, ‘how you could have been so gracious to him. He is no friend of yours.’
‘That I know well. I don’t trust him. I always double the guards when he is near. I am sure he would do me some harm if he could.’
‘And yet you behaved as though he were your very dear uncle!’
‘He was playing a part, Margaret. I had to play one too.’
‘I could not hide what I felt.’
He smiled at her tenderly. ‘You are so good, so honest. But, my dearest, Gloucester is a dangerous man. He has his followers. He has always been a favourite with the Londoners.’
‘Then the Londoners are false to you.’
‘Indeed not. You saw their welcome. They are powerful, you know. They stand on their own at times...If they express their disapproval we have to be wary.’
‘And you...a King.’
Henry laughed. ‘Dear Margaret, you are wise and clever. But you have something to learn.’
She did not answer but she thought: ‘I will never accept those who are my enemies. I will not pretend to love them.’
Meanwhile Gloucester was discussing the Queen with the Duke of York. There was a bond between them. They both believed they had a claim to the throne. Gloucester would have to wait for his nephew to die; but York descending on both sides of the family from Edward the Third and through his mother from the Duke of Clarence who had been older than John of Gaunt, secretly believed he had a higher claim than Henry himself. So Gloucester felt he could be sure of York’s agreement.
‘She slighted me,’ said Gloucester. ‘I wonder I did not ride off right away. The impulse to do so was there. But I restrained myself
‘You restrained yourself admirably. We were all astounded. You seemed as though you positively admired the girl.’
‘She is pretty enough, I grant you. But there is a strong will there. I can see our Henry will be as wax in her hands.’
‘Then it will be the Queen with whom we have to deal.’
Gloucester clenched his fist. ‘I will think twice before I submit to the will of a woman...and a French one at that. This is a disastrous marriage. We have given away so much and gained what? A French Queen! Mark my words, we shall be called upon to give away more. We should be waging war on France, not making a marriage with her.’
‘We have gained little, it is true. Minorca, Majorca! Empty titles! And they are after Maine...?’
‘I tell you this,’ said the Duke of Gloucester, ‘I shall not allow the daughter of so-called King René to insult me with impunity.’
‘The little girl will have to learn her place,’ agreed York, ‘and that means that although she is allowed to sit on a throne and wear a crown on her pretty head she will have to take account of her noble subjects.’
‘Ah yes, our dainty little Queen has much to learn.’
At the end of May the coronation took place. It was a splendid occasion and the people crowded to Westminster to have a share in it. There was rejoicing throughout the capital and in spite of the fact that the royal exchequer had to be drained to its dregs to provide for it, all seemed very satisfied.
Wine flowed from the conduits in the streets of London; the people danced and sang.
‘This marriage means peace,’ they declared. ‘Peace at last. Long live King Henry and his pretty little Queen.’
They would not remain for long in this state of euphoria.
MYSTERIOUS DEATH
Margaret was happy. Henry was all she could have wished and he was devoted to her. He had had her emblem of the daisy shown in every possible place; it had even been enameled and engraved on his plate.
‘The young fool is besotted by the French wench,’ commented Gloucester.
He would have his revenge, though. He would be equal with them all. He had never managed to outwit that wily old bird the Cardinal, nor Suffolk; but he would have done but for that unfortunate matter over Eleanor and the waxen image. He often wondered not how such a clever woman could have become involved in such practices but how she could have been so careless as to have been caught. She had been working for his advancement, of course. She had wanted to see him on the throne.
He would have been there but for people like the Cardinal and Suffolk. They thought they were clever arranging this French marriage but they had not seen the end of that yet. All they had was a temporary truce, and the French would soon be making further demands. He could see it coming.
Meanwhile, Margaret reveled in her role as Queen. She dazzled Henry with her prettiness and her quick wit. She visited the Cardinal at his mansion of Waltham and there she was received with great pleasure.
The old man delighted in her youthful charm. She was such a dainty creature and he was amused to think that such a delicate-seeming person could conceal a woman of strong will which she undoubtedly was.
But she was willing to submit that will to him.
‘I know,’ she told him, ‘that there is so much I have to learn and I want you to teach me.’
This seemed the utmost wisdom to the Cardinal for in spite of the adulation she was receiving she realized her shortcomings and she could not have sought a better teacher.
His old eyes misted over as he watched the beautiful young creature and she raised her blue eyes to his and said: I shall never forget our first meeting. I knew then that you would be my friend.’
‘You are so young and yet from the first I saw your latent wisdom,’ said the Cardinal. ‘There is no one on earth I would rather see than you beside the King on the throne.’
‘I hope I may come and see you often now that you do not always find it easy to come to Court.’
‘What a plague old age is when a beautiful Queen invites a man to Court and he is too infirm to take advantage of the honour. My dearest lady, whenever you come to see me I shall deem it the greatest honour that could befall me.’
Margaret enjoyed such compliments, particularly coming from this old man of the Church who was, she had quickly sensed even now, the most important man in England.
He talked to her of affairs in England. He said that what England needed was peace and he was sure the King realized this. She was heartily in agreement with that because it was exactly what her uncle the King of France wanted. The trouble, she knew, was that he wanted it on certain terms which the English might not be prepared to give.
He talked of Gloucester. His hatred for the Duke was in every inflection of his voice, every gesture, every expression which flitted across the old face.
‘Gloucester has been at the root of all our trouble. In his first marriage he offended Burgundy when Burgundy’s friendship was of vital importance to us. He was a menace to his brother Bedford, as fine a man as ever came out of England and almost as great a soldier as his brother the late King. T’was a pity Gloucester was not strangled at birth. He has caused nothing but trouble in this realm.’
I hate him,’ said Margaret vehemently. ‘So does Henry. He doubles the guards when he is around.’
‘You must be wary of him. He hates your marriage. He wanted the King to have one of the daughters of the Count of Armagnac. He does not want peace. He wants to continue the war.’
‘Did his wife plot against the King?’
‘Yes, she made waxen images with a witch and some soothsayers. They got their just deserts. She has been a captive ever since.’
‘Why was Gloucester allowed to go free?’
‘He was not suspected of plotting against the King’s life.’
‘I feel sure he was involved. Henry thinks so.’
‘Well, that is Gloucester. Be careful of him. He will harm you if he can. You have a good friend in the Marquess of Suffolk.’
‘I have, and the Marchioness is my dearest friend.’
‘Cling to them. And the Shrewsburys. Kings and Queens have many enemies.’
‘They will not get the better of me,’ said Margaret.
When she next came to Waltham the Cardinal showed her a chamber he had had prepared for her. He called it the Queen’s Chamber and the Cardinal had gone to great expense to furnish it elaborately with hangings of cloth and of gold from Damascus.
Margaret was delighted with it. She felt that with such friends as the Cardinal and the Suffolks she cared nothing for her enemies. And she was not going to put up any pretence of liking them. She would make it very clear to the Duke of Gloucester that she regarded him as an enemy.
###
Margaret was delighted with the friends who rallied round her. With such as them what had she to fear from a few enemies? She was already assembling what was known as the Court Party, and she insisted on Alice’s being in constant attendance.
Alice was delighted, but she was wise enough to know that the joyous feeling which at the time prevailed throughout the country could not last. Her husband was worried, too.
‘It is only a truce, that’s what they don’t realize,’ he said. ‘There has to be a reckoning soon and then the question of Maine and Anjou will arise again. When the people know what price we have had to pay for peace they will blame me.’
‘They must not do so,’ cried Alice. ‘What have you done but what you consider best for England?’
‘My dear, one’s intentions get little consideration. If one is successful one is a noble hero; if one fails, a villain.’
‘Oh come, William,’ said Alice. ‘You are strong enough to stand against them.’
‘I fear Gloucester.’
‘He has not the same power these days.’
‘He could always make trouble and now his friendship with York is growing.’
‘York. What is his grievance?’
‘That he doesn’t wear the crown.’
‘Why this is a nonsense.’
‘It would seem so. But he reckons he comes nearer through Clarence than Lancaster does through John of Gaunt.’
‘That is going back a good way.’
‘That matters not. There is a certain reason in it.’
‘Oh, no, it is too far back.’
‘As you say, it is far back and there are closer matters with which to concern myself. I have to face the Parliament. Well, I can tell them that the delegation will be coming to England to discuss the truce and that in the meantime I am advising the strengthening of the frontiers round Maine.’
‘That should please them.’
‘For the time being. But the reckoning is coming. I want them to know that whatever is arranged it is none of my doing.’
Alice looked at him a little dubiously. She did not remind him that when a man set out to guide a country’s policy, to be the most important minister in the land, he would surely be blamed if anything went wrong.
‘The Queen settles in happily, it seems,’ she said to change the subject.
‘Is she really beginning to lead the King?’
‘I can see it coming. She was born to lead and he to be led so the outcome is inevitable.’
‘Alice, try to restrain her a little.’
‘It is difficult. She is honest by nature. She finds it hard not to speak her mind. She lets it be known that she regards Gloucester with something like venom. She is sure that he is plotting to destroy the King.’
‘She is probably right but she should not say these things. Gloucester will show his hand if she goes much farther. At the moment he is pretending to support the marriage—which we know full well he did everything he could to prevent. I distrust him in this mood.’
‘Margaret does not yet understand the devious ways of statesmen.’
‘She must learn to, Alice.’
Alice lifted her shoulders. ‘She is a lady of very strong views. She will go her own way, I think.’
‘If anyone can influence her, you can.’
‘She is fiercely loyal. She is affectionate. But she will not prevaricate. No matter what one tried to make her she would always be Margaret of Anjou.’
‘And the King?’
‘He thinks that the words which fall from her lips are pure wisdom.’
‘She has managed to enchant him.’
‘He loves her strength. It appeals to his weakness. And she is very pretty but small and that seems to make her especially attractive to a man like Henry. He feels protective when he looks at her, knowing all the time that he will rely on her to protect him.’
‘Well, Alice, we must pray that we can extricate ourselves from this situation with skill so that we are not blamed for any of the demands which will have to be made.’
It seemed that he might do so, for when in the Parliament he explained that although there was no real peace with France, only a truce, that the frontiers of Maine and Anjou were being strengthened and that a delegation was coming to England, he was applauded.
The Commons congratulated him on the manner in which he had conducted affairs, and when the Duke of Gloucester moved a motion to the same effect in the Lords, he felt he had come through very well indeed.
But very quickly he became more uneasy than ever. When Gloucester complimented him he ought to be very wary indeed.
It was, he knew, only a respite.
###
The French Embassy had arrived in England.
From the City they came by barge to Westminster where Henry, with Margaret, was waiting to receive them. With them were the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Buckingham and the Earl of Warwick. Margaret was very interested to meet this last nobleman for Henry had told her a great deal about his tutor, the Earl of Warwick, and he appeared to have had a great affection for that stern old man. This was not that Earl of Warwick, however, but a very ambitious young man of about seventeen or eighteen, a certain Richard Neville who had come to the title through his marriage with old Warwick’s daughter Anne Beauchamp. Also present were the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. The French Embassy was headed by the Counts of Vendôme and Laval and the Archbishop of Rheims.
