The Courts of Love - Jean Plaidy [51]
“He was brought up to go into the Church, as you know. But for a pig . . .”
Raymond laughed. “What a sobering thought! Our destinies left to the judgment of pigs!”
I laughed with him. “But for a pig I should have married Louis’s brother. Would he have been a better proposition, I wonder.”
“He could hardly have been worse.”
“And your marriage, Raymond?”
“It is not unsatisfactory. It was necessary, as you know.”
I nodded. “All those years ago I remember so well your coming to our Court. You had everything then . . . but lands and money.”
“A very sad lack, I do assure you.”
“But one which you were determined soon to remedy. You were going to England to the Court of King Henry.”
“So I did and he was good to me. But I was just a landless youth . . . son of William of Aquitaine, it is true, but a younger son.”
“Determined to make his way.”
“And the opportunity came with the death of Bohemund I, who was slain by the Turks in ’30. Bohemund was a great fighter. He came out on a crusade as you and Louis have. Antioch was then in the hands of the Mohammedans, and it was necessary to take it from them to make the road to Jerusalem safe for Christians, so Bohemund fought to free it; and when he had done so, instead of continuing with the crusade, he settled in Antioch, made himself its Prince, and kept the city safe from marauding Turks. On his death his son, Bohemund II, became Prince of Antioch.”
“And when he died?”
“There is where I came in. He left only one daughter, Constance, his sole heiress, and an ambitious widow, Alice. She proposed to marry Constance to the son of the Byzantine Emperor, and there was great consternation throughout Christendom, Antioch being a place of great importance on the way to Jerusalem. There was I, at the Court of King Henry, looking for a way to fortune. Why should I not be sent to Antioch to marry the girl? I was unmarried. I was young and strong. They thought I had the qualities of a ruler. It was my great opportunity.”
“And you took it.”
“It was not so easy. There was Alice to be confronted. I guessed I should have trouble there. I came to Antioch. Alice received me. She was very gracious and seemed to have some affection for me.”
“That does not surprise me.”
“But she wanted the Byzantine for Constance.”
“And you for herself?”
“You have guessed.”
“What a difficult position you were in!”
“I had had a long and arduous journey to Antioch. There were many who knew my purpose and were bent on stopping me. I was in disguise most of the time . . . as a pedlar sometimes, at others a pilgrim. Having managed to overcome all those hazards, I was not going to miss that for which I had come—which was marriage to Constance . . . and Antioch.”
“I am sure you were very resourceful.”
“I had to be. My future was at stake. Alice insisted that I marry her, and there was nothing I could do but appear to submit, so preparations for our wedding went ahead. But before the wedding day I quietly married Constance, who was then nine years old. It was not difficult, for it was what the people of Antioch wanted and they helped me in this. They had chosen me as their leader, and the only way I could become that was through marriage with their heiress.”
“And Alice?”
“It was a fait accompli. What could she do? The people were for it. They wanted a Prince and they had chosen me.”
“And how wise they were! I knew, when I was a child, that one day you would be one of the great rulers of the world. And you see I was right.”
“You see me thus at this moment, my dear one, but I am most insecure. If the Turks came here to attack me in their hundreds of thousands, I should be lost. I should be unable to stand against them. The occasional raid . . . the general harassment . . . that can be dealt with. The people are loyal to me. They enjoy life here. They would fight with all they have to retain it. But the Turks are a ferocious people. They fight for their religion as we do and there is no greater cause than that.”
“I am surprised to hear you talking