The Courts of Love - Jean Plaidy [129]
“I thought I was right in what I did.”
“And because he is not prepared to agree with you, you will do your duty and swear allegiance to your King?”
“I am assured from His Holiness that I must make this concession because you, as the King of this realm, cannot have your wishes openly disregarded and that you have given your word that you will not go against the laws of the Church.”
“You swear to obey me, Thomas?”
“I do, my lord.”
Henry’s face was tinged with purple. I could see the love fighting with the hatred. He so desperately wanted this man to tell him that he would serve him, forsaking all other; he wanted not so much complete obedience from Thomas as love; he wanted Thomas to break down that cold reserve, that dedication to his Church, to be as he had been in the old days when they had roamed the streets of London together, sharing interesting conversation, private jokes, enjoying the fun which two people, close in spirit, can find in each other. But between them stood the Church. Thomas was a strange man. Perhaps therein lay his fascination.
Remembering the past was angering Henry. Why had it changed? And all because he had bestowed on this man high office in the Church. He had been a fool to do it. He had been warned . . . outspokenly by his mother, obliquely by me . . . and by Thomas himself. Henry hated to think himself a fool and it was typical of him that when the blame rested on himself he sought to shift it onto others.
His face hardened. “I am glad of your allegiance, Thomas,” he said, “grudgingly given though it is and on the orders of one whom you serve before you serve me.”
“My lord, then I trust all is well between us,” said Thomas.
“You opposed me in public,” said Henry, his lips tightening, so I knew he was controlling his rage. “It is not fitting that you should give me your apology in private. I shall need you to make your oath of allegiance to me before the Great Council.”
Becket looked stunned and Henry laughed harshly.
“It will soon be Christmas,” said Henry, “and, knowing your pleasure as well as your pride in the place, I, with the Queen and the Court, am spending it at Berkhampsted.”
That was not a very happy Christmas. I could not find much pleasure in spending it among what was some of Becket’s splendor. I was glad when it was over.
The Great Council was to assemble on January 25, and it was to be held in the hunting lodge at Clarendon, not far from Salisbury. We arrived on the thirteenth. The children were with us.
Young Henry was very thoughtful and I noticed that he avoided his father. The King could never understand children; he underrated their intelligence and treated them as little children, not realizing how quickly they become adults; and I think there is nothing children resent so much as this attitude.
Young Henry was aware of a great deal more than his father gave him credit for.
I said: “Your father has had a difference of opinion with the Archbishop because the Archbishop stands for the Church and your father for the State.”
“But the Church is part of the State, is it not?” asked Henry.
“Yes, but the Church is under the rule of the Pope and the State under that of the King and sometimes it makes for differences.”
I explained about the King’s desire that all criminals should be judged by the State and that there should not be special privileges for members of the Church.
“And Thomas wants those privileges?”
“Well, he would, you see, being the head of the Church in England.”
Henry pondered this. He was on Thomas’s side not because he believed that Thomas was right but because he loved Thomas, and the plain truth was that he did not love his father. My feelings were mingled. I thought Henry was right in this matter. I could not see why murderers should go free just because they were clergy. I believed many of them were rogues and would be prepared to swear their innocence for the sake of escaping punishment for their misdeeds. But I had to admit to a great pleasure when I saw my children turn to me rather than to their father. Henry had disappointed me in