The Courts of Love - Jean Plaidy [4]
There was still a great deal of music in the evenings but my father, although he loved it, was no composer. He sang well, and this he liked to do; and he enjoyed the ballads and stories about his father. But he was so often away and the character of the Court had changed from what it had been in his father’s day.
When my father came home he would want to know how we had progressed. He was very interested in William Aigret’s performance, but I fancied he had a special fondness for me.
Then one day fever struck Poitou. Several people died and there were restrictions as to who should be allowed to come into the castle.
My mother became ill and she died within a few days. That was not all. William Aigret caught the fever from her and very soon afterward he was dead.
It was a time of great mourning. It was then that I realized how much I had cared for my mother and that William Aigret had been such a loving little boy.
It was a great loss. There were only two children now—Petronilla and myself; but I had become the heiress of Aquitaine.
My father called me to him. He held me close and said that I was his precious child. He was very sad. He told me how much he had loved my mother and their son, and to be deprived of them both was almost more than he could endure. He thanked God he had his daughters; and I knew that he was especially thankful for me.
I was eight years old now but more like a girl of ten, and ten was nearing maturity. Girls were married at thirteen—twelve even. So I did not seem like the child my years might suggest.
We wept together over our loss. My mother had not been a great beauty but perhaps there were qualities which some men found even more attractive. She had been gentle, tender and uncomplaining; and he had loved her as my grandfather had never loved the beautiful Ermengarde and Philippa. Of course Dangerosa had reigned supreme for several years but she had been a perfect match for my grandfather.
“This has made a difference to your position, daughter,” he said. I nodded. “You will inherit this duchy when I am gone.”
“That will be years and years away.”
“I pray God so. For we are both unready as yet . . . I to go, you to rule. You will have to learn a great deal.”
I nodded again, but I felt I already knew a great deal.
“These are troublesome times. There is always some vassal ready to make mischief. That is why I am so often from Court.”
“I know, Father.”
“We have to remember that we ourselves are vassals of the King of France. You and I must talk together. There will be times when I shall take you with me on my journeys. You will have to know the domain which one day . . . unless I remarry and get a male heir . . . will be yours.”
“Will you marry?” I asked with trepidation.
He shook his head and there were tears in his eyes. “No, no,” he said. “How could I think of replacing your mother?”
I rejoiced. I could not bear the thought of a boy replacing me.
Life had certainly changed with the death of my brother. Everyone was subtly different toward me. I had become important.
They were writing songs about me now. I loved to hear them sing of my beauty and my cleverness. I noticed that several of the young men—even those of quite mature years—glanced at me in a special way. It was exciting.
My father took me on a journey with him. It was wonderful to ride beside him over the hills and through the forests with the courtiers about us, and then to receive the lavish hospitality at the castles where we stayed.
I had thought of Poitiers as home because that was where I had spent most of my childhood, but we had other castles and palaces of which I could grow fond.
Best of all these was the Ombrire Palace at Bordeaux, where we stayed for a time. My father had to deal with disgruntled vassals, many of whom had made trouble. He wanted me to be with him so that I could see how justice was meted out. It was illuminating.
I loved Bordeaux. There was evidence of Roman occupation there and I liked to dream of those old days and wonder