The Courts of Love - Jean Plaidy [6]
“Just like my grandfather.”
He nodded. “The trouble is that when a leader is excommunicated, the edict can fall on the entire community. This is what happened. Churches were closed and people were in revolt against that, so Philip eventually had to make a show of giving up Bertrade, and when he died he was reconciled to the Church. Bertrade was an ambitious mother and wanted her son by the King to be heir to the throne. When Philip was alive she made an attempt to poison his son Louis—her stepson—but that attempt fortunately failed and on his father’s death Louis came to the throne.”
“And he is the father of the man I shall marry?”
“The man I should like you to marry. This is between ourselves at the moment. There will be many to seek alliance with France, my dear, but we have much to offer. We have the rich duchy of Aquitaine and with it one who must be the most beautiful girl in the whole of France.”
I smiled complacently. I had no doubt of my ability to capture the son of the King of France.
“Louis VI has two sons—Philip and Louis.”
“It will be Philip for me,” I said.
“The elder, no less.”
“Does he . . . know?”
My father shook his head. “Though Louis will be looking out for his son’s best interests.”
“Tell me about the Court of France. Is it like ours?”
“Oh, no, no. I doubt there is another Court in the world like ours. Your grandfather founded it, and although he is no longer with us, it does not change greatly. There will be differences. They call the King of France Louis the Fat . . . for obvious reasons. He is a great eater . . . a great drinker . . . and it is difficult for him to move about, so large is he. He is a very religious man which is why France is called ‘the Elder Daughter of the Church.’”
“It would not be very merry at his Court.”
“If you were Queen of France, you would see that your Court was how you wanted it to be.”
“That is true,” I said. “But the King of France has said nothing as yet regarding his son’s marriage.”
“Not as yet, but I am his most powerful vassal, and Aquitaine covers about a quarter of France. He would be hard put to it to find a more worthy bride for his son.”
“So you think it will come to pass.”
“I am as sure as a man can be of anything.”
After that I thought a good deal about France and tried to learn all I could from the travelers who came to our Court.
It was at Ombrire that I first saw Raymond.
I was in the gardens with a group of girls who were being brought up at Court with us, and Petronilla was beside me. Some of them were embroidering altar cloths, while others took it in turn to recite verses and sing to us.
It was a pleasant summer’s day—not too hot for the shade under the trees was pleasant.
I saw him walking through the gardens with my father, and I thought he was the most handsome man I had ever seen. He was very tall and upright, with blond hair, blue eyes and a merry expression. Since my talk with my father about marriage. I was paying more attention to young men. I had always been aware of them and liked to see what effect I had on them, and I was accustomed to receiving ardent looks which delighted me. I liked to think of myself as one of those sought-after maidens who kept themselves aloof because they were far too precious to fall into the hands of lesser men and must wait for the perfect knight.
I left the group of girls, Petronilla at my heels; she followed me everywhere.
My father saw us and smiled. “Oh, Raymond,” he said, “here are my daughters Eleanor and Petronilla. Daughters, your uncle Raymond.”
We curtsied. Uncle! I was thinking. There must be some mistake. He gazed at me and murmured my name.
“And Petronilla,” said my father.
Petronilla gave him a dazzling smile but I was delighted to notice that it was I who held his attention.
“I did not know that I had such enchanting nieces,” he said.
“You should have come before,” my father told him. “It is not good for there to be rifts in families.”
We went into the palace with him. I think he was rather surprised by the easy manners between us. We were doubtless expected to