The Courts of Love - Jean Plaidy [208]
There were many anomalies. Charters were available to cities for certain sums of money; privileges were taken from monasteries and retrieved on payment The people were amused at first, then outraged. It seemed as though an auction sale was being conducted throughout the country; and not for its own good either, but so that the King might raise an army to fight far away from home. There would have been a great outcry, I was sure, but for the fact that the money was sought to fight a holy war, and people were afraid to protest too much for fear of heavenly reprisals.
I protested to Richard that these acts could undermine his future as King. He had begun so well by releasing the people from prisons. He reminded me that that was my act. I said I had done it for him and he had seen how it had enhanced his popularity. The people had been ready to welcome him when he came home; but there were murmurings now. If there was one thing calculated to alienate the people, it was excessive taxation.
His reply alarmed me. He said: “I would sell London itself if I could find a buyer.”
It might be that the people were more disillusioned because they had expected so much. They had believed they were getting a more benign sovereign than Henry; now they were beginning to see that what they had thought of as Henry’s harsh rule was for the good of the country, whereas everything Richard wanted was for the good of his crusade.
Preparations went on with speed. Richard’s methods were bringing in the money. There was talk of little else but what military equipment would be needed. The fleet was being assembled.
I could not help comparing this with the crusade in which I had joined. Whenever I was with Richard, he would insist that I talk to him of my adventures. He was determined that the Third Crusade should be the one to bring final victory. He did not want to return until Jerusalem was in Christian hands. I was anxious about him, for, in spite of his magnificent looks, he was not as strong as might be expected. He had suffered from that distressing ague for a long time. He had tried to hide it but it was not always possible to do so; and I remembered the hardships I had suffered during my adventures in that inhospitable land.
I had always loved him so entirely—from the moment he first lay in my arms, a beautiful child even on the day of his birth—that it was hard for me to see faults in him.
I did find myself constantly comparing him with Henry. I had to admit that Henry had had very special qualities. He had been bedeviled by his need for women. I had often noticed how preoccupation with sex can impair people’s careers. Not that Henry allowed it to interfere disastrously with his; but if it had been less important to him and had allowed him to remain faithful to me, our partnership could have brought us both much good, I was sure.
Henry had made those two vital mistakes in his life, of course—the bestowing of an archbishopric on Becket and a crown on his son Henry. Even so, he would never have made the mistakes Richard was making now.
I saw them clearly and I wanted to stop him; but I knew Richard’s obstinacy. He had one thought now and that was to go on a crusade. I must not try to impede him. Let him go; and when he returned he would be a good King. Meanwhile I must hold the kingdom for him.
I was very worried about John. Rumors were circulating, and I guessed John was at the source of them. It was being said that Richard wanted to be King of Jerusalem . . . and in that event John would be King of England.
How I wished that Richard had never taken the cross, that he had been content to rule over his possessions at home!
He was ready to sail by spring. He left the country in the charge of Longchamp as Chancellor and Hugh Puiset, Bishop of Durham, both of whom had paid highly for their appointments. I, of course, was to be at the head of affairs.
But I did not intend to remain in England. I had been captive so long and I was finding freedom