The Winter Crown Read Online Free Page A

after giving birth. The notion of growing strong in order just to produce another baby for him caused her eyes to narrow. She had warned him at the outset of their marriage that she was more than a brood mare, and she would not be treated as one.

3
Winchester, September 1155
    ‘The Archbishop is pushing me to organise an expedition to Ireland,’ Henry said, pacing the floor with vigour and irritation. ‘The old fox wants to bring the Irish Church to heel under Canterbury’s influence. He suggests I should make my brother king there, but if he thinks to use me and Geoffrey to work his will, he is mistaken.’
    Alienor sat by the window dandling seven-month-old Henry in her lap and watching his older brother gallop his wooden hobby around the trestle, shaking its red leather reins. ‘What does Geoffrey say?’
    Henry wrapped his hands around his belt. ‘He likes the idea of a kingdom for himself, but not as distant as Ireland. I certainly do not want him left to his own devices on my seaward flank.’
    ‘You are right to stand your ground.’ Alienor was unable to warm to either of Henry’s brothers. Geoffrey the second-born was full of petulant bluster and resentful of Henry’s primary position. Alienor did not trust him near her or her sons and avoided him when possible. She felt a similar but less strong antipathy towards Henry’s youngest brother, William. He was less forthright in his sense of prerogative, but sought to intimidate others as a way of bolstering his station. Henry’s only decent brother was Hamelin, who was bastard-born and had to sustain his position at court through loyal service.
    ‘I refuse to let the Church dictate to me,’ Henry growled. ‘Theobald may invoke Rome all he wants and play on how important he was in the past as a mediator. He can hint at how many favours I owe him, but it makes no difference. I shall deal with Ireland in my own good time, not his.’
    ‘Have you told him that?’
    ‘Not as such.’ A sly look crossed his face. ‘I said that since it concerned my brother, it was a family matter, and I must consult our mother. I know for certain she will not agree. Like me she will see it as a waste of time and resources – and dangerous. Theobald will pursue it for a while, but I can outlast him.’
    ‘Clever,’ Alienor said. Henry’s mother was his deputy in Normandy and ruled her roost from the abbey at Bec. She knew the Archbishop well and would be a sympathetic intermediary, while still ensuring Henry’s will was done.
    ‘I think so,’ he said with a grin.
    ‘Look, Papa, my horse can gallop fast!’ chirruped Will, who had just begun to talk in sentences.
    Henry’s expression softened. ‘A man always needs a fast horse to be ahead of the game and outride his opponents.’ He caught and embraced his son, and their heads pressed together, Henry’s fox-red mingling with William’s brighter, ruddy gold, but both of the same coin.
    ‘What does your chancellor say, being as he was once Theobald’s man?’ Alienor asked. ‘Has he sought to persuade you?’
    ‘Thomas does as I command him.’ Henry flashed her a sharp grey glance. ‘He takes his instructions from me now, and his task is to raise revenues, which he is doing remarkably well. It must be his merchant blood.’ He set his son back down on the floor. ‘My mother will deal with Theobald, and that will keep the pair of them occupied and leave me free to attend to other matters.’
    Alienor handed the baby to his nurse. ‘You mean us. The matters are mine as well as yours.’
    A wary look entered his eyes. ‘That goes without saying.’
    ‘And yet I always feel I need to say it.’
    Irritation sparked in his eyes. ‘When I cross the sea to deal with matters in Normandy and Anjou, you will be my regent here; you are my proxy as I am yours. Rest assured I will always involve you.’
    Alienor had no intention of ‘resting assured’, because she did not believe him. If he involved her, it was for his