Here Be Dragons - 1 Sharon Penman (paper ebook reader .TXT) 📖

of his father's realm As he glanced about the table, it was with a distinct shock that he realized how few of them bore his father no grievances, how few were not in some sort of disfavorChester seemed to have weathered John's earlier suspicions And his Uncle Will, of course, still stood high in John's favor So, too, did John's mercenary captains, Falkes de Breaute and Robert de Vieuxpont Richard thought them to be men without honor, men who whored for the lord who'd pay the most, but their very practicality would keep them loyal, none could pay better than the KingPeter des Roches had proved his loyalty even to John's exacting satisfaction, remaining in England despite the Pope's Interdict The same could not be said, though, for the othersWilliam de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, had the bad luck to be a nephew to William de Braose The northern baron Eustace de Vesci was suspect because of his links to the Scottish crown, he was wed to a bastard daughter of King William TheEarl of Huntingdon's predicament was even more acute, he was the Scots King's brother Richard de Clare, Earl °f Hertford, was twice damned in John's judgment, he had welcomed John's accession to the throne with less than wholehearted enthusiasm, ar>d his daughter was wife to William de Braose's eldest sonWilliam de Braose was casting a long shadow indeed, Richard'"ought bleakly Even the faithful, upright Earl of Pembroke had stum-ed over it, had foolishly taken pity on the fugitive de Braose family, briefly given them shelter on his Irish estates, for which John had a6 to forgive him The truth his father did not want to face was unpleas-v dear to Richard, that there was a growing groundswell of sympa-

304r305thy for de Braose among his fellow barons, not because he'd been liked but because he'd been so powerful, so apparently invulnerable. There was not a man in this chamber, Richard knew, who had not thought to himself: The same thing could happen to me, to mine, should the King ever turn against me as he did deBraose.This was the first council meeting since they'd departed Woodstock for John's hunting lodge at Silverston. Richard knew what his father wanted to discuss:his coming campaign in Ireland, with its dual purpose of capturing the deBraoses and punishing those lords who'd dared to harbor them, an expedition he meant to finance with the fifteen thousand marks he'd extorted from the King of Scotland.The council meeting began on an entirely different and discordant note, however. Eustace de Vesci leaned across the table, said with poorly concealed relish, "I've news Your Grace should know. The Pope has given the order for your excommunication."Suddenly the chamber was very quiet. The Interdict was causing no small degree of suffering for John's subjects, but so far it had not had the effect thePope desired, had not undermined the allegiance of the English. A large majority still supported John's position, that it was the King's right to choose an Archbishop of Canterbury, and not for the Pope to force his own man upon them. It was only to be expected, therefore, that the Pope would resort to excommunication, which made of John an outcast among all men of faith. NoChristian was to break bread with an excommunicate; he was to be shunned as a moral leper, as a man doomed to eternal damnation.John looked at de Vesci for a long moment, then smiled coldly "'When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things.'"Richard heard more than one indrawn breath, and looking around, he saw that his father had profoundly shocked most of the men. Even the cynical de Vesci seemed taken aback.How much bravado was there in John's blasphemy? Richard did not know. The sentence of excommunication had come as no surprise to John; he'd been privately warned days ago by Peter des Roches that the decree was imminent, had time enough to come to terms with it. Rich' ard knew, of course, that his father was not the most pious of men, but what man could contemplate damnation forever and aye without recoil/ without an inner shudder of the soul?It was the pragmatic Chester who at last ended an acutely uncom fortable silence, saying calmly, "Have you thought, my liege, of tn problems this will pose for you ... for us? How the common people wi' react?""The common people are not likely even to know. Let the Pope proclaim it from now till Judgment Dayin France, Brittany, Normandy. But who's to proclaim it for him in England? My lord Bishop of Winchester is the only prelate still onEnglish soil."Peter des Roches smiled imperturbably, confirming what all already j^iew, that he'd chosen his King over his Pope, ambition over obedience- "Your Grace is, as ever, quite right," he said blandly. "Shall we speak now of Your Grace'sIrish expedition?""Not yet." John signaled for wine, said, "I've had word from Shrewsbury.Gwenwynwyn is offering no less than twenty hostages for his freedom, as a pledge of future loyalties."That was of little interest to de Vesci and the Earl of Derby; theirs were notMarcher lands. It was of enormous interest, though, to border lords likeChester and de Clare. And to Richard, for altogether different reasons."Do you intend to release him, Your Grace?""I expect so ... sooner or later.""You do know that will mean war?" Chester's eyes were suddenly speculative."Once Gwenwynwyn is free, he'll seek to regain what was his."

"You think he can?" John asked, and Chester considered, shook his head."Against Llewelyn? No, Your Grace, probably not. Not unless he does get help.""I agree with you," John said, no more than that, but Chester was sensitive to nuance, to the unspoken."You would aid Gwenwynwyn, my liege?" he asked, and John acknowledged his percipience with a faint smile.But it was Will who answered him, saying with some indignation, "No, he would not!