The Courts of Love - Jean Plaidy [94]
“I saw my way out. I should be a corpse. I should be wrapped in a winding sheet and placed in a coffin, and so I should be borne out of the city gates and through the guards to safety.”
“What a daring plan! And it worked?”
“I remember it clearly . . . even now. I awake at night thinking of it. It seemed an unending journey through those guards. I could hear their voices and I lay, still as Death, in my rough-hewn coffin, the sheet over my head, scarcely daring to breathe, and I thought what a fool the saintly Matilda was, to have made such a procedure possible.”
“And when you had passed the guards were there horses waiting for you?”
She shook her head. “No, there could not be. All I knew was that I could get help at Wallingford, so there was nothing to do but make our way there on foot.”
“And you did that?”
“It is surprising what one can do when one has to.”
“But what a triumph!”
“Shortlived. From Wallingford I went to Oxford. There I hoped to rally help and continue the fight. Unfortunately, in attempting to escape from Winchester my half-brother Robert of Gloucester was captured by the Queen’s men. This was a bitter blow to me because he was my greatest general, one of the few in whom I could have complete trust. Queen Matilda bargained with me. The release of Stephen for Robert. I stood out for a long time, but at length I saw that I had to have Robert back and I gave way, so Stephen was freed.”
“And so was Robert.”
“Oh, my good brother! He came to Oxford. He said we could not continue without help. I had sent messengers to Anjou asking Geoffrey to come to my aid, but my husband ignored my request. Robert said he would go to Anjou himself. He would impress on Geoffrey the urgency of the situation and see if he could induce him to come to my assistance. I was loath to lose Robert but at length I agreed, and he went. It was then that Stephen—now freed—came against me and the castle was besieged. Can you imagine my feelings?”
“Indeed I can. You had escaped in a shroud only to find yourself in a similar position.”
“And there is nothing more depressing. Moreover, it was winter, for the siege had lasted three months. It was the same as it had been before . . . lack of food, sickness and what looked like inevitable surrender. ‘I will not fall into Stephen’s hands,’ I said. ‘I will not. I will not.’ And those about me just looked at me sadly and shook their heads. They did not understand my fierce determination.
“I sat at my window. The wind was blowing a blizzard, and the river below my window was one thick sheet of ice. It would be weeks before it melted even though the weather changed tomorrow. Then I had an idea. There was no moon. Clad in white, one would not be distinguished from the scenery . . . and on the other side of the river was freedom.”
I caught my breath in admiration for this woman. I was not surprised that Henry admired her so fervently. She was indomitable.
“I sent for a dozen men I trusted,” she went on. “I told them the plan. We should wrap ourselves in white furs and let ourselves down from the window onto the ice, and silently we would cross it to the bank. And that, my dear daughter, is what we did.”
“And when you had crossed the river?”
“Then we walked . . . in that bitter wind, we walked. But my spirits were lifted because once more I had had a miraculous escape. It was six miles to Abingdon. It seemed more like forty. But at last we arrived. There we found horses and made our way to Wallingford.”
“I suffered great hardship during our crusade, but I think you suffered more.”
“I had a cause to fight for and that buoys up the spirit. It carries one through adversity.”
“But you had so many defeats.”
“Yes, but I always thought that in the end I should succeed. I was not sure how, but I was the rightful heiress of England and I believed that justice would be done in the end.”
“Tell me what happened at Wallingford.”
“We were exhausted. We took food first, I think, and then we slept and slept . . . and I had the most wonderful awakening. When I opened my eyes, standing by my bed was