The Stolen Queen (3 page)

‘See how handsome he is, Isabelle,' whispered Agnes. ‘Don't be afraid.'

I did not think him handsome. I thought he looked stupid. I wanted to rush and hide in my mother's skirts and beg her to take me home to Angouleme, but she was moving forward, inclining her head graciously to Lord Hugh, though not too low, as she was a granddaughter of the king of France. I gave Agnes's hand a tight squeeze before I stepped into my own curtsey, as my mother had taught me, only wobbling a little when my knees touched the rosemary-scented rushes. When I looked up, he was standing over me, impossibly high, smothering my hand in his great hard palm and leading me forward to present me to Hal.

‘The Lady Isabelle.'

I curtsied again, with no shaking this time. I bit my lip and thought of the Courtenays, princes of the desert, and of my father's people, the Taillefers, the iron cutters, who gained their name from the slashed chain coat of a long-ago Norman sea
king. I would not let this boy see how scared I was. I could feel my mother watching me approvingly as the servants brought wine in silver cups and we moved to take our seats.

‘To King Richard, may God save his soul,' offered my father as he took a deep drink.

‘And to our new King John, may God preserve him,' replied Lord Hugh. Then they both laughed and sat back as though they had said something secret and clever.

‘Have you no words of welcome for your bride, Hal?' smiled Lord Hugh. His lips were curled upwards but it was a snake's smile, I thought, with no kindness in it.

Hal muttered something through his fringe about my being very welcome to Lusignan.

‘Perhaps you would like to take Lady Isabelle to the garden, Hal? To become better acquainted,' suggested Lord Hugh.

The men rose as I stood and let Hal hand me down, Agnes bustling behind. We were not half the length of the hall when I could hear the adults' voices begin, urgent and close. Hal led the way carelessly between two men-at-arms in green surcoats, not giving a glance to the horrible blades of their axes, then down a narrow passage to a small door which gave onto a walled garden. The air was warm between espaliered peach trees and a soft lawn that looked as inviting as a velvet carpet. It was such a relief to be in the air after the smoke and scents of the dark hall that I began to feel a little better. Perhaps Lusignan was not such a bad place after all, even though it was full of Lusignans. Agnes gave me a warning nod, which I knew meant I was to behave, and seated herself on a sunny
bench, her eyes falling closed straightaway with exhaustion from the journey.

‘What shall we play?' I asked Hal.

‘Play?'

‘Yes. You could be Saladin, if you like, and I will be Peter de Courtenay and attack you in the tree. Or do you prefer hunting? I can be a bear. Or we could have a sword fight, if we can find some good sticks …'

‘Why would I want to play with a stupid little girl? I don't play, anyway.'

He wasn't that much older than me. ‘Well, we could dance then. I can do
les grâces
, can you?'

‘Dancing?' he sneered. ‘How about this for dancing?' He kicked me hard on the shin so I fell over and I could feel the scrape of his boot even through my gown. I rolled on the lawn, which was not so velvety as it looked, and I thought that Agnes would scold me for spoiling my clothes, and then I felt a great wave of tears build up inside me and I was so angry that he might see me cry that I jumped up and threw myself at his nasty sneering face, and when he toppled over next to me I grabbed his arm and sank my teeth into his wrist as hard as I could so that he screamed.

‘Who's the stupid girl now then?' I jeered. ‘Ow!' He had a handful of my hair, wrenching it so hard I thought my scalp would peel off. I rolled over on top of him and banged my knee into his stomach to wind him. ‘Let go! Let go! Or I'll bite you again.'

‘My lady! Stop this at once!' called Agnes, but I was weeping furiously now, I could feel my face all hot and smeary, and I didn't care about that, or the state of my skirts, I was going to
fight him like a Taillefer and make him surrender. But he was much bigger than me and he tipped me over easily, sending me sprawling. He was walking away, shaking his arm.

‘Angouleme bitch.'

‘How dare you?' I howled, scrabbling myself upright. I ran at him, grabbing at his cloak before Agnes could reach me and jabbing the point of my elbow at the soft place between his legs. He screeched and dropped to his knees, clutching himself, so I kicked at him and shouted, ‘Infidel dog! Submit!' When I looked up I could see the axe men laughing and my parents' horrified faces peering through the garden door. My mother flew towards me and grabbed me like a kitten by the scruff of my neck.

‘Agnes! How could you let this happen? And you, Isabelle, for shame! You shall be whipped!'

I had never seen her look so furious. It made me cry harder.

‘But he kicked me, Maman! I only wanted to play.'

‘Lord Hugh, I must apologize. She has her father's temper. She is willful but she is a good child.'

I was being picked up, swung through the air until my dirty face encountered Lord Hugh's white-silk shoulder. ‘Your coat, sir,' I mumbled, finally remembering my manners, but he held me tight against him, so tenderly that I could not stop the tears, and I felt that huge hand awkwardly petting my head.

‘Madame, it is my son who should be ashamed, to treat a lady so,' apologized Lord Hugh. ‘Hal! Apologize to Lady Isabelle immediately!'

I could feel the rumble of his voice deep in his chest, against my body. I peered through my dishevelled hair down at Hal,
who made a deep bow and said, ‘I beg your forgiveness, Lady Isabelle.'

His father's hand shot out and cuffed him round the ear. ‘None of your cheek, boy. Say it like you mean it. And shame on you for losing a fight with a little maid.'

I tried to catch Hal's eye as he repeated his bow, to show I was sorry that we were both in trouble, but he was not enough of a child to remember that we should be allies. All I saw in those deep slate-black pools was hate.

Lord Hugh set me gently to the ground. ‘There, Isabelle. You are very welcome to the family. Now run along with your nurse, you must rest. Do you like marmalade?'

I nodded.

‘Then you shall have some. Go along now.'

Still panting and snorting with tears like an exhausted pony, I took Agnes's hand and let her lead me away, grim faced. As soon as we were indoors she looked at me and sighed.

‘Oh Isabelle. How could you? Hal is your betrothed, and he will be your master. How could you be so wicked, little one?'

I didn't care about Hal and I would never let him be my master. As I trailed along after Agnes I thought on Lord Hugh. He was not a kind man, I could see that, but he had been kind to me for all that he looked so grand and stern. Perhaps because Lord Hugh's family were Crusader kings like mine, he saw that my blood was brave and fearless, that I was a Courtenay as well as a Taillefer.

I wished I had remembered to tell Hal that I knew all about Melusina and that I knew he was the grand-something of a snail
like the one on his father's brooch; that he should beware, in case she came flapping her wings after him. Although the Lusignan castle seemed huge after the broad, light-filled rooms of my father's house, I was not a bit afraid of some old serpent, at least not now, in the daytime, with the sun glowing through the horn panels of the casements and the scent of apple blossom from the orchard. I did not much like the thought of being married, but Lusignan was not so very far from Angouleme. I should have to stay here until the ceremony was conducted when I was twelve, which seemed an impossibly long time, but Agnes would be with me, and as soon as I had been educated as a wife I thought I could go straight home for good because I would be a grown lady and no one should be able to stop me. And perhaps King John would take the cross like his brother, and stupid Hal would sail to the Holy Land and be killed by an infidel, which was also a satisfactory thought. Perhaps I would go, too, and rescue him from a dank and horrible dungeon and then he would have to be grateful to me, like a true knight, because I would save him for honour's sake even though he had kicked me, and then we would see who was the stupid girl.

So I lay on the little white bed which had been prepared for me while Agnes clucked and ordered alum to rub down my grass-stained skirts, and dreamed of myself and Lord Hugh at the head of a conquering army, storming a citadel, scrabbling up broken walls with our swords on our backs while Greek fire boiled down over us and the besieged crawled out to beg us for mercy. My mother would be there in a flowing gown in a courtyard full of fountains, and King John would grant
me the castle all of my own, forever. And then the marmalade came, raspberry, in a silver dish with an ivory spoon, and I lost myself in a sunny doze of sugar, trapped as sure as a nectar-sozzled fly who notices only too late that her wings are sodden with sweetness.

*

The betrothal ceremony was held the next day, before my father and Lord Hugh rode for Normandy to greet the new king on the borders of his dominions to swear their allegiance. Agnes had washed my hair with ashes and lemon juice and combed it out so that it hung below my waist. I had white silk slippers chased with silver and my new white gown. I shuddered a little as its cool weightlessness enfolded me, but Maman told me I looked beautiful so I tried to look happy.

Sulky Hal scowled through the words the priest repeated to us, the
verba de praesenti
that meant we were bound by God to be married, but I did my best to speak up clearly and smile graciously when he slipped a tiny gold ring onto my finger, and all the Lusignan court bent in a windblown cornfield of bows to acknowledge me as their new lady, which I liked very much indeed. Then there was music, and tumbling jongleurs, and a castle made of coloured wafers, almond paste and candied oranges. My mother handed me small purses of coins to hand to the poor people who shuffled into the courtyard to receive the scraps from the betrothal feast. The Lusignan knights paraded in their green surcoats, with their horses hung in the same, and I had to admit that Hal looked very well mounted up high with
his chased leather buckler. He was to ride with his father that night. Then the men clattered down to the gatehouse where the baggage wagons waited and dismounted for the priest to bless them, and my father caught me in his arms so my face was squashed in his familiar stinky beard and told me to be a good girl and mind my mother. Lord Hugh reached down from his saddle to take my hand. ‘I will see you very soon, Lady Isabelle. I hope you will be content here at Lusignan.'

‘I'm sure I shall, sir.'

He leaned forward conspiratorially so that I startled at the flash of the gold serpent at his throat. ‘And mind you are not too obedient. I have great plans for us, Isabelle, great plans.'

I looked modestly at the toes of my slippers as he kicked his horse into a trot, and leaned my head against my mother's side while we watched the men wind away down the road as we had done so many times before. The spring sky was still light and although the day had been so eventful I had that feeling of flatness that comes when others set off on a journey and one is left behind. My mother pulled me to her and hugged me fiercely, so tight that I could feel our heartbeats meld for a moment in her embrace.

‘Don't be sad, Maman,' I said stoutly, ‘Papa will come back, he always does.'

‘I'm not sad, little one,' she murmured, her lips in my hair. As though she was speaking to herself, I heard her whisper, ‘We still have a little time.' She released me and looked the way they had gone.

‘Will they be away long, Maman?'

‘Normandy is very far, little one, and there will be a great deal of business to be done. Things will change, now that King John holds his brother's lands … if he can hold them.'

‘What do you mean?'

My mother looked weary and distracted but she answered my question patiently, as she always did. ‘King John of England and our cousin King Philip of France are enemies. They have always disputed the rights of the English kings to their holdings here but King Richard lived here most of his life when he was not on Crusade. He was known, understood. This John is English, he speaks English and he conspired with English lords to overthrow his brother. And there is another heir to the crown, Duke Arthur.'

‘The son of Duchess Constance of Brittany?'

My mother smiled. ‘What big ears you have, my treasure! Well remembered. Yes, Duke Arthur claims the crown because he is the son of King John's elder brother. If he declares for King Philip it will go badly for the English.' She sighed, her eyes were far away on the road with my father, I thought. ‘But this is not your affair. You are betrothed now. We will do what women do – we will wait.'

I was pleased that I should not be seeing Hal for a good long time, at least. ‘And you shall stay here until May Day, Agnes says?'

‘Yes, little one, until the May is brought in.'

I couldn't understand why she looked so thoughtful. My father was often absent, and this time he hadn't even gone off to fight. ‘Anyway, I'm here. And we can play every day,' I announced firmly.

‘Of course we can, little love, of course we can.'

My mother's women were waiting to attend her to supper, she kissed me and promised to come to tuck me into bed, but as she walked slowly back to that huge castle, so vast compared to our home in Angouleme, I could see that the straight reed of her spine was held with effort and her head leaned wearily to one side. Perhaps she wasn't worried about Papa, perhaps she was sorry that I should stay at Lusignan when she had to leave. But though I loved my maman better than anyone, I was accustomed to spending long periods without her, and the thought of her sorrow slipped from me as I too walked up to the castle, imagining what a great lady I should be, and how I should make stupid Hal sorry and respect me when he came back home.