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

too, Papa7"John laughed, shook his head "I'm not jesting, Joanna I've made a brilliant marriage for you I've agreed to betroth you to Llewelyn ab lorwerth, Prince ofGwynedd ""Papa7""In truth, sweetheart I've offered the castle and manor of Ellesmere inShropshire as your marriage portion, will yield it to Llewelyn next spring, although I would not have the marriage take place till after you do pass your fourteenth birthday " John reached over, took Joanna's hand "You realize what this will mean, Joanna7 You'll be a Princess, lass This goes so far beyond what I ever hoped to gam for you It is a rarity, indeed, when needs and wants do mate in such harmony But but have you nothing to say to me7 I would have thought you'd be besieging me with questions Are you not curious about the man you shall marry7"Too stunned for coherent thought, Joanna could only stare at her father in dazed disbelief "He he does speak French7" she whisPered at lastThat was not what John had been expecting "Of course, and quite well He knows much of our ways, did live in Shropshire as a lad ""Is he is he a Christian, Papa7"John frowned, torn between amusement and annoyance "What s°rt of foolish question is that, Joanna7 Wales has been a Christian county since the days ofSt Patrick To whom have you been listening7"To you, Papa How often I've heard you say the Welsh were barbar-lans' that theirs was an accursed land fit only for mountain goats, that e Welsh were as bad as the Scots and worse than the Irish Joanna saidNothing, though, watched as John rose, moved to the table Her hands

178179were icy; she laced her fingers together, locked them around her draw up knees."This Welsh Prince . . . how old is he, Papa?""I'd reckon about thirty or thirty-one."Joanna could not hide her dismay. "As old as that?" she gaspej"He happens to be at least five years younger than I, Joanna," JOL said dryly.He was smiling, but Joanna remembered, just in time, that her father was fully twenty years older than Isabelle."I... I did not mean it like that, Papa," she stammered, and thena sudden thought came to her, a faint glimmer of hope. "But Papa, I ani your natural daughter. What Prince would want a wife born out Oj wedlock?""A Welsh Prince," John said and laughed. "The stigma of illegitj. macy counts for little amongst Llewelyn's people. If a father recognizes a child as his, that child then enjoys full rights under Welsh law. Llewelyn had his son with him at Worcester, a lad about eight or so, born of a Welsh concubine, and yet looked upon by all as his heir. In fact, if a Welsh woman swears a holy oath that a certain man fathered her child, he must then deny her charge under oath, too, or the child is held to be his. Moreover, even if he does make such a denial, if she can show he gave her money for the child, her word counts against his! I have to admit, they do have some queer customs, but..."Joanna was no longer listening, was trying to envision herself as a stepmother to an eight-year-old boy. She could not, and with that realization, some of her panic began to ebb. She could not make this marriage. She could not. To leave Papa, Richard, Isabelle, all that was known and familiar to her, to live out her life amongst strangers, an exile in an alien land ... no, she was not strong enough, had not the courage Somehow she must make Papa see that, make him understand that he asked too much of her.John had poured wine into two cups, gave one to Joanna. "Ah, lass, I cannot tell you how pleased I am about this marriage. Mayhap I should not say this to you, but of all my children, you are the dearest, the closest to my heart. Ican think of no greater gift to give you than this, a crown.""Papa, you have been so good to me, and I would do anything fof you, I swear Iwould. But this marriage""is the answer to so much, Joanna." John leaned forward, his eyes shining; it had been months since she'd seen him so animated, so enthused. "Before God, it was an inspired solution to the Welsh profr lem. I do gain a gold coronet for you and a secure border for England, a" for the price of one castle and a wedding ring. Rarely has a war been s° cheaply won, sweetheart!"» war . " Joanna echoed numbly. "Is the marriage as important MVouasthat?"John's smile faded. "Yes, it is. You want the truth, Joanna? I do not w if I shall ever be able to reclaim the lands lost to the FrenchM rmandy, Anjou, Touraine. Now Poitou is slipping away, being swal-wed up by that whoreson on the French throne. I'll not let it go, not° the lands that were my mother's, that Richard held before mebyChrist, I will not. But I cannot fight a war on two fronts, cannot deal th the Welsh and the French, too."He rose abruptly, began to pace. "They are a strange people, the Welsh. Man for man, the best fighters in the world, for you cannot defeat a foe who has not the sense to know when he's beaten! We'd never have been able to keep them from laying claim to Shropshire and Cheshire, much less conquer so much ofSouth Wales, had it not been for their one fatal weakness, that they are such a quarrelsome, passionate people. They kill one another as readily as they doNormans, engage in blood feuds, nurse grudges for years, and thank God, but they have ever lacked a Prince capable of uniting them against England . . .until now.Joanna stared down at her wine cup as if at some utterly alien and exotic object. Raising it to her lips, she took a tentative swallow; the