Crown of the Realm (A White Knight Adventure Book 2) Read Online Free

for the prime years of my life and estrangement from those very sons. Now witness a woman who believes in fin’amor —fine love … courtly love—but has never tasted its admirable flavor. Is it not ironic? Is it not the way of God. He mocks while we pretend.”
    Amaria returned to refill their silvern goblets and discreetly withdrew.
    “No, Richard is not angry. He is amused. You reacted beyond all expectations. You and Stephen both. My congratulations.” Her sky-blue eyes sparkled with adulation. “Reason rules your king’s madness. Bethink that, and you will soon glean that whatever he says and however he acts, neither reflects the substance of his mind.”
    “Then he does not wish me to marry Matilda of Angoulême?”
    “Of that there is no doubt. But heed this, dear Drake. There is a lesson in God’s mockery, and in Richard’s. Both tell us that passion thrives on the one hand and duty on the other, and one condition must not be confused with the exigencies of the other. As long as you remember this, nothing is to be feared, from God or from Richard.” Without so much as a breath to intersperse one thought from the next, she said, “John convinced the king he will need his support in England during his long absence.”
    And so it was revealed, the second reason Eleanor waylaid him.
    “Richard has released his brother from his oath to not set foot on English soil for three years. In its place, John has sworn a new oath, that he will faithfully serve Richard in all manner and propriety, keeping only the king’s will in mind.” She took a sip of her wine and set the chalice on a nearby table. “You are my great-nephew, the grandson of my dear brother Joscelin, whom I adored with all my heart. You may speak.”
    Drake silently considered the wine goblet clutched in his hand.
    The queen read his mind. “You are thinking that John had a hand in your troubles summer last. And that he is but a child with much to learn.”
    “ Not a child. A spoilt brat who covets his brother’s playthings.”
    “ Already he has many of the king’s playthings. Castles all across England.”
    “ Aye,” Drake agreed. “But he wants more. He wants the crown of England, and he will not be content until he gets it.”
    “He will never get it. Soon Richard will name his successor. In his nephew.”
    “Arthur of Bretagne? He is but an infant. And John—”
    “— is most disappointed. More. He is seething with rage. Though you will never see it in his demeanor. Or his words. But in his acts? Ah, that is a different beast altogether.”
    Drake set his cup aside. “And so you whispered in the king’s ear.”
    “ Mon cher , already you are learning. Yes, I must confess, I had something to do with the turn of events. It is the only prudent course. I am an old woman. Guillaume de Longchamp fights with Hugh de Puiset over control of Merrie England. Ranulf de Glanville, who had a level head when it came to governing the savage English, is now banished to the Holy Land for having been my gaoler amongst other shortcomings. And Richard’s successor is but a child of two. All in all, not the best state of affairs.” She considered Drake with a sidelong glance. “You are thinking the lion has let the rabid dog out of its cage. But perhaps it is more prudent to let him roam free, even if wild, than to chain him inside where he can only grow more vicious. He will need a leash, this dog. I will be that leash.”
    Drake was sure no one, not even the indomitable Eleanor of Aquitaine, could restrain John, comte of Mortaigne.
    “Speaking of rabid dogs, you took note of Alais’ assertion about a cloven-hoofed imp playing havoc among we mortals.”
    “Her claim was not fancy?”
    “Far from it. One might readily attribute the attempts to accidents if they hadn’t numbered more than two or been so closely spaced. A dog dying from the poisoning of a platter of food meant for the king. A viperous snake finding its way into the king’s