The Bastard King (12 page)

So passed the years when William grew into his manhood.

‘There is news from England,' said Herlwin as he came into William's chamber. ‘Hardicanute is dead.'

‘What will happen now?' replied William.

‘We must needs wait and see.'

‘It may be that this is Edward's chance,' said William. ‘I would I could go to see my cousin.'

‘Why, William, you imagine all men are as you. There are many who say that Edward Atheling has no wish for a crown.'

‘It may be that he would be chary of going to England – remembering what happened to his brother.'

They talked awhile and together went down to the great hall where the roasted flesh of wild boar was awaiting them.

After they had eaten they talked of England and what would happen now.

Arlette mentioned that sad day when Robert had returned to Normandy – defeated by the storms which had suddenly arisen and destroyed his fleet. She always believed that if he had successfully conquered England he would never have gone on his pilgrimage. But she was philosophical now. She had a good husband, a charming daughter, her dear little boys and her wonderful son William was with her if but temporarily.

‘It was a pity Hardicanute ever went back to England. He brought no good to that country,' said Herlwin.

‘Yet he was greeted warmly enough,' said William, ‘by both Danes and Saxons.'

‘In truth he was,' put in Guy. ‘For he came with sixty ships and men to defend his claim should any dispute it. I heard that his first act as King was to take revenge on his dead brother Harald, and that he had his body dug up, the head cut off and that with his body thrown into the River Thames.'

‘Much good would that do him!' said William. ‘He betrayed himself as a man of no account by such an act.'

‘But it relieved his anger against Harald, so perhaps it
did
do him some good.'

‘He was a bad king and few will regret his death.'

‘He taxed the people so that they cried out against him,' said Herlwin, ‘and in Worcester where the people defied his tax-gatherers he laid the city to waste and had its inhabitants put to the sword.'

‘That is no way to rule,' said William.

‘Would you, cousin,' asked Guy, ‘be such a ruler that you will allow your subjects to flout you?'

‘None shall dare flout me,' declared William. ‘But I will have justice in my domain. If people protest against taxes I shall examine their complaints.'

‘It is easy to be a great ruler with one's mouth,' Guy reminded him. ‘Ha, look at yon Fool Gallet drinking in the words of wisdom. He believes you, cousin.'

‘Then he is no fool.'

‘I'll warrant he understands not a word of what you say. That's so, Gallet, is it not?'

‘Yes, master,' answered Gallet.

‘There, William, you see, you are adored by those without understanding. You will not win such an easy victory over wise men.'

Herlwin said: ‘Come, master Guy, we want no quarrels. This matter is a serious one. What happens in the countries close to us can have its effect on us as our Duke is well aware.'

Constantly, Herlwin was thinking, he was having to remind Guy that William was his suzerain and although a little badinage was acceptable in the schoolroom it was not to be tolerated before servants.

William understood Herlwin's thoughts and smiled. He was quite capable of handling Guy.

He said: ‘One day, Guy, you may discover what kind of ruler I will be. In view of the fact that that day will most likely come, a wiser man might see fit to guard his tongue.'

Guy was a little subdued for him but he quickly said: ‘This Hardicanute is no more then and it would seem this is not a matter for deep regret.'

‘The real ruler was Earl Godwin – he and Emma,' William
said. ‘Hardicanute was too fond of a life of pleasure to rule. All he cared for was the levying of taxes to pay for his pleasures – which were mainly eating and drinking.'

‘I have heard,' said Herlwin, ‘that he sat to table four times daily and on each occasion would sit for several hours so that there was very little time between these four gigantic meals and that the servants and cooks were cooking every minute of the day.'

‘When they were not eating they were drinking. Never, it was said, had such consumption of food and drink been seen.'

‘It is an old Danish custom,' said Herlwin. ‘The Danes are big men and need constant supplies of food and drink. It is a wonder they ever had time for conquest.'

‘And now,' said William, ‘the people of England are heartily sick of Danish rule. Canute was a good king, but his son was far from that. I believe the Saxons and the Angles have had enough of them. They would welcome back Edward Atheling.'

‘I wonder if he will go?'

‘I have learned much of what takes place in England,' said William. ‘My instructors are constantly telling me that I must study the affairs not only of Normandy but also of our neighbours. The Danes have been in the ascendancy too long; and they are the foreigners. They pay no taxes; they enter the houses of the Saxons who must needs feed them and treat them as guests as long as they wish to stay. Moreover the intruder becomes the master of that household so that the owner may not drink without his permission. If a Dane wished to take the wife or daughter of his Saxon host he would do so and if the Saxon avenged his honour he was punished. Many Saxons so took this revenge and then fled to the forest to become brigands, that being the only way in which they could live. They naturally sought to rob and murder their Danish masters. Such brigands were treated as though they were wolves, for a price was set on their heads as is the case with these animals and they were even known as Wolves' Heads.'

‘William has done his lessons well,' said Guy lightly. ‘Why, cousin, do you plan to make England part of your domain as well as Normandy?'

‘The Duke is wise,' said Herlwin. ‘These affairs can so easily be ours. It is true that this reign was a cruel one and I will stake my castle and lands on the return of Edward, for the people of England are in truth heartily weary of this submission to the Danes and they will back the Atheling.'

‘Was he poisoned, this Hardicanute?' asked Guy.

‘It could be so,' said Herlwin. ‘He was at the marriage banquet of one of his Danish friends. You can picture the scene. The company had been eating for many hours and the feasting had gone far into the night. Hardicanute lifted a goblet to propose yet another toast. He drank, staggered forward and fell to the floor.'

‘It may well have been poison,' said William.

‘Which shows how careful rulers should be,' added Guy, laughing into William's face.

‘They must constantly be on the watch for traitors,' agreed William. ‘That, alas, is a lesson they learn at their mother's feet.'

It was a short while afterwards that they heard that Earl Godwin had thrown in his lot with Edward Atheling and that Edward was invited to return to England.

Before he sailed for England Edward Atheling came to Conteville to take leave of William.

He knelt at the Duke's feet and William said: ‘Why, Edward, rise. You will soon be a king and I am but a duke.'

William was anxious to know how Edward felt about his recall. That he was apprehensive was clear. Naturally he would be remembering what had happened to Alfred.

‘You know I wish you well,' said William.

‘And I you. Never shall I forget the sanctuary that has been given me in your country.'

‘Methinks you are loth to leave us.'

‘I have grown accustomed to the monastic life.'

‘If you are king you can live as you please.'

‘Do you think any king may do that? One of the conditions of my return is that I marry Earl Godwin's daughter, Editha.'

‘Marry that man's daughter? There have been rumours that he was involved in the murder of Alfred.'

Edward looked sad. ‘He is the most powerful man in England.'

‘He must be clever. He, a cowherd's son, to aspire so high. You must be watchful of him, Edward.'

‘Ay, I must be watchful of so much.'

‘I have often thought of England. I remember so well the stories you and your brother told me of King Alfred. Do you remember?'

‘I do. He was a great King – one of our greatest.'

‘It may be that you will be such another.'

‘He had many children. I shall have none.'

‘You must have heirs.'

‘Nay, that I shall not. I have sworn a vow of celibacy to God and all his saints.'

‘But you are to be married.'

‘Only because Earl Godwin has made this condition.'

‘Edward, could you not have refused to go?'

‘I saw it as my duty. England needs a Saxon King. She is weary of the foreigners. If I did not agree some Danish claimant would have appeared. I must do my duty. I hope I shall always do that. But I will keep my vow of perpetual continence and nothing will make me break it.'

‘You must have an heir to follow you to the throne.'

‘William, why should
you
not follow me to the throne of England?'

‘I, Edward!'

‘Are you not the great-nephew of my mother Emma? It could be for me to name my successor.'

‘England,' said William wonderingly. ‘I have always felt an interest in that country . . . far more so than I ever did in France which is closer to us.'

Edward smiled at him. ‘I shall never forget, William, what I owe to Normandy. I must go to England because it is my duty. I must marry Editha, although it will be marriage in name only. But my heart will be here in Normandy and I shall take with me the customs of this land. There will always be a welcome for Normans in England while I am the King. One day you will visit me there.'

They took farewell of each other and William bade Edward godspeed.

He waited eagerly for news of his arrival and often feared that they might have betrayed Edward as they had Alfred and put out his beautiful blue eyes.

At length there was news. The English, heartily tired of Danish rule, had warmly welcomed Edward, who had married Editha and kept his vow not to consummate the marriage. The monks applauded this; they said he was a saint and he became known as Edward the Confessor throughout the land. And because twenty-seven years of his life had been spent in Normandy he was more Norman than Saxon. Although he had not been allowed to take a Norman entourage with him when he landed, Normans began to filter into England. Edward's first act had been to abolish the Danish taxes. This ensured his popularity and since he was so pious, he quickly became reverenced. There was no murmur from the people when Norman fashions were introduced into the country and it became fashionable to speak the Norman tongue as was done at Court.

William learned all he could of England. A new ambition had started to grow. Not only did he wish to be a great Duke of Normandy, to stand beside Rollo and Richard the Fearless. He wished to be a King of England.

IT WAS TIME
he left Conteville. Rouen was the principal city and he moved there, taking with him his mother, his stepfather and their family. He was seventeen, still young but old enough now to take part in councils. His grasp of affairs astonished his ministers; yet he was cautious, never boastful, and his skill in military matters was outstanding. There was still conflict in the Duchy but his supporters were in the
ascendancy now and as he grew older the complaint against his extreme youth must necessarily be modified.

Guy had not accompanied him to Rouen. He parted with his cousin with regret and, as a show of affection, presented him with the Castle of Brionne.

It was a sad farewell he took of him, and Guy, though making a show of being his jaunty self, was also moved.

‘It will be strange without you,' said William.

‘With whom will you wrestle now?'

‘There'll be others.'

‘It will be different, William. With them it will be an exercise. With me . . . well, admit it, cousin, you could have killed me sometimes.'

William conceded this.

‘It gave zest to our fights, did it not?'

‘It will be tame without you.'

‘Picture me in my castle of Brionne. At least I shall bow the knee to no one there. And very soon now you will be armed as a chevalier – then, my lord, you will be Duke in very truth and ruler of us all. The future lies rosy before you.'

‘Still,' said William, ‘I shall miss you.'

The King of France arrived at Rouen. He had come to take part in the most important ceremony William had yet known. This was to be his initiation; he was to show his people that he was worthy to be armed as a chevalier and prove he was skilled in all the arts expected of him.

Those arduous years of training had culminated in this and he meant to excel himself so that his people should have no doubt that he was indeed fitted to rule them.

Never far from his thoughts was that hateful word ‘bastard'. Because of it, he must not only do what was expected of him – but more. Was that why Richard the Fearless had earned his name? Had he too felt this pressing need to wipe out the stain of his birth?

Henry arrived, suave and friendly; but William was wiser than he had been when under the King's guardianship. He was well aware now that Henry's friendship with him was a matter
of expediency; he must not be charmed by honeyed words and affectionate manners. He must remember too that he needed the help of the King to subdue his rebellious subjects and restore order in the land.

There was feasting at Rouen and William himself stood behind the King's chair on these occasions and himself served him as a mark of respect and deference. The King knew and William knew that their friendship was uneasy. Only the preceding year the King had destroyed a fort on the frontiers between his kingdom and Normandy. The loyal Norman who guarded the fort had at first refused to pass it to the French but William and his advisers had decided that they could not take on a war with France and subdue their own rebels at the same time and had commanded the loyal Norman to hand over the fort which was destroyed by the French. ‘Neither should have it,' said the King; but almost immediately he rebuilt another and placed a French garrison in charge of it. This had been too much for William. He was eighteen years old, of an age to lead his men into battle. To allow the French to remain would have given his enemies the chance they needed to declare him unfit to rule. He rode out with his men, attacked the fort and put the French to flight.