Виктория Холт - Epitaph for Three Women

Messengers were constantly arriving at Les Tournelles. He was eager to know how his forces were faring at D’Orsay for that town had been in a state of siege for more than six weeks and the stubbornness of the townsfolk was an irritation to him for it meant expending so many men and so much ammunition to enforce the siege.

It was time D’Orsay collapsed; it must before long, he assured himself, and then he thought of the siege of Rouen which had caused his brother such anxieties. But it had been successful at last and had indeed been a decisive factor in Henry’s victory. D’Orsay was hardly as important as that but at the same time he was anxiously waiting for news of that beleaguered town.

It was while he was thinking of this matter that news came of the surrender of D’Orsay.

Anne was with him. He smiled at her. ‘At last,’ he cried. ‘Who would have thought such a place could hold out so long.’

She smiled at him sadly. He remembered that smile later. It was not always easy to remember that these people who were holding out against him were her countrymen.

He stood at the window watching the bareheaded prisoners being brought into Paris. These were the men who had made the siege of D’Orsay such a costly matter.

Anne was beside him.

‘You look sad,’ he said.

‘I was thinking of those men. Where are they being taken?’

‘To the Châtelet,’ he told her.

‘Prisoners,’ she said.

‘What would you expect them to be, dear lady? They have killed my soldiers; they have fought against me.’

‘In defence of their town,’ she replied.

He sighed. ‘It was foolish of them. Had they surrendered six weeks before they would have saved us and themselves much suffering. They must pay for their folly.’

He turned abruptly and left her.

When he was asked to pass sentence on the prisoners he said it should be death. The citizens of France must learn that it did not pay to hold out against the Regent and severe penalties must await those who did; it was the only way to deter others.

There was gloom in the city of Paris. The people did not like these public executions. They hated to see their own countrymen led out to be slaughtered. For what reason? Because they had defied the usurpers!

On the morning of the day fixed for their execution, the streets were deserted. That was better, thought John, than having them crowded round the place of execution. It was a good sign. Sullen they might be but they were resigned.

He was sure that he was doing the right thing.

Anne came to him as he sat at his table in the antechamber. He rose and bowed. ‘You wished to speak with me?’ he asked.

‘Yes. It is about the prisoners.’

‘They are to be executed today.’

‘John, please do not do it.’

He softened. ‘It has to be,’ he explained gently. ‘They are an example, you must understand. I cannot endure many more of these pointless sieges. They drain our resources too much. They take too much time. I cannot have great bodies of men concentrated round one town because the people are so stubborn and will not give in.’

‘Please understand that they are only defending their homes.’

‘They would have defended them better by surrendering to my men. What good have they done? They have starved the citizens of their town; they will leave their wives without husbands and their children without fathers.’

She turned passionately towards him. ‘My lord … pardon them.’

‘Pardon them! You do not mean that surely?’

‘I do,’ she said. ‘I ask you. Pardon them.’

‘My dear lady, do you understand what this means? To pardon them would be to advise others to do the same. They would say I was weak …’

‘They might say you were strong.’

He laughed. ‘Never.’

She said: ‘I should think it showed strength. To kill them shows that you fear that others will do likewise.’

She bent her head to hide the tears in her eyes and he was overcome by a sudden tenderness.

‘You do not understand these matters,’ he said gently. ‘My dear lady wife, you must allow me to decide. You are too gentle, too good. You do not understand the perils of war.’

‘I understand too well,’ she replied. ‘There has always been war … War between my house and the Armagnacs … War between France and England. Everyone in this poor war-torn land knows war, my lord.’

‘Sweet lady, you must leave these cruel matters to men.’

‘War has always been a man’s game, has it not? A game … yes that is it. It is a game. You play with living men as you would play with toy soldiers. You forget that they are not wooden soldiers … they are living flesh and blood.’

He tried to take her hand but she withdrew it and sharply turning ran from the room.

He stared after her. He was upset by the encounter. She saw him as cruel, indifferent to suffering. She saw him as a monster crazy for power. It was not so. He had been brought up to fight. It was part of a boy’s education. If he did not excel in the jousts he was considered to be a weakling and was despised by those about him. Anne did not understand.

An hour passed. He was still thinking of her. She had seemed more beautiful in tears than she had in her magnificent wedding gown.

What had she said? It showed weakness. It was nonsense. The men had to die. It would be folly to allow the people to think that they could flout his army and be forgiven like naughty schoolboys.

He must forget Anne’s outburst. She was hysterical; she was illogical; she brought a woman’s reason to that which was a matter for men.

He sat staring before him. He went to the window and looked out on the empty streets. Then he called to one of the guards.

* * *

Anne stood before him. Her eyes were shining and he saw that her cheeks were wet.

She was smiling at him. She said: ‘You did it then. You stopped the order.’

‘You spoke for them so earnestly.’

‘But you said …’

He went to her and took her hands in his. He kissed them.

She said, ‘Thank you.’

Then he put his arms about her and held her close to him.

He was rejoicing in his marriage – not friendship with Burgundy, not the promise of Artois, nor all those golden crowns … but simply because he loved her.

HUMPHREY, Duke of Gloucester was in his element. He thrived on intrigue. His marriage to Jacqueline had focused attention on him and there was nothing he enjoyed more than being at the heart of a controversy.

‘Ha,’ he said to Jacqueline, ‘this has made my brother realise that there are other members of the family besides his important self. It has pricked the pride of proud Burgundy. Imagine the consternation in the camps of these two worthy gentlemen, sweet wife.’

‘I can well imagine it,’ retorted Jacqueline, ‘but what concerns me most is when we are going to get control of my territories.’

‘All in good time our lands will be ours. Leave it to me.’

He looked at her slyly. He did not greatly care for her. Stripped of those delectable lands she would have no appeal for him at all. Her nature was not what he would call warm – quite the reverse. She indulged in what he called bed frolics with something less than enthusiasm. It was clear to him that if he had married her for her lands she had married him that he might get them for her.

Never mind. The project was a pleasing one and it still intrigued him.

He was constantly sending messages to Europe. He was trying to get the Pope, Martin V, to agree that Jacqueline’s marriage to Brabant was not valid – Benedict did not carry enough weight – for although he was not entirely pleased with his marriage it was very important that it was recognised to exist.

There were disquieting messages from his brother John. It was a foolish thing he had done, insisted John. If he had been told that once he had been told twenty times. Burgundy was incensed, John added. Always Burgundy! John seemed to be obsessed by Burgundy. And he had married the mighty Duke’s sister! Poor solemn old John forced into marriage because of brother Humphrey’s feckless conduct!

‘As a matter of fact,’ he told Jacqueline, ‘I am working very hard on our project. Do you know that e’er long I shall have amassed an army of five thousand? The time will soon be here when we are ready to cross the water, land at Calais and then march through to Hainault.’

‘And you think Burgundy will allow that?’

‘Burgundy will not be able to stop my gallant five thousand.’

‘I trust you are right.’

She looked at him with narrowed eyes. How far did she trust him? She was no fool and she knew that any woman would have to be a fool to trust Gloucester far.

‘So my love,’ he went on, ‘it is now for you to make your preparations. What say you to that? You will want to select your household, for I will not have you travel in any inferior style than that of a queen.’

‘I have no intention of doing otherwise,’ she told him.

He nodded pleasantly.

‘Then, sweet wife, speed on your plans. Before October is out we should be on our way. We do not want to wait for the winter, do we?’

‘As soon as that?’ she said.

‘Aye,’ he answered, ‘as soon … or sooner. If you do not believe me, go and study the accounts my treasurer is compiling. He will be pleased to discuss them with you, for he is mighty pleased with his efforts.’

‘I will,’ she said.

He bowed as she went out and then made his way to the apartment which they shared together.

A woman was hanging up one of Jacqueline’s cloaks in a cupboard. He had seen her before and noticed her. He had in fact come here in search of her.

‘Why ’tis Lady Eleanor, I do declare,’ he said.

She turned round. She had large dark brown eyes and thick dark hair; her cheeks were highly coloured and Humphrey thought of her as luscious. Her figure was voluptuous in the extreme, small waisted, large bosomed and ample hipped. The belt she wore at her waist accentuated this.

‘Ah,’ she said saucily, ‘I too will make a declaration. It is Duke Humphrey.’

‘And you are pleased to see him, mayhap?’ he murmured.

‘My lord, is there any reason why I should not be pleased?’

‘Indeed no. There is every reason why you should be pleased. I will tell you this. I find you are a very pretty woman.’

‘Ah.’ She put her hands on her hips. ‘Then you have not come to tell me that you are displeased with me and would dismiss me from the Lady Jacqueline’s household.’

‘Nay, nay, I have come to tell you that I would wish to take you into mine.’

‘My lord jests,’ she began but got no further because he had put his arms about her and his mouth was pressing on hers.

She was warm in her response as he had known she would be. He had had his eyes on her for days … and he knew well enough that she had been aware of it and was cordially inviting him to proceed.

‘You’re a witch,’ he said. ‘You’ve bewitched me.’

‘Mayhap. But it is not my occult powers that have done it.’

‘Well, what shall we do about it, eh? What should you say?’

‘I should say that you must remember your good wife, the Lady Jacqueline. But it might be that I will not say what I should.’

‘Then what will you say?’

She drew away from him and put out her tongue provocatively. ‘I shall say this, my lord. You are a man … and men do what they will … when they will, how they will. What does a poor woman do?’

‘You mean …’ he said.

‘I mean nothing, fair sir. Yet I could mean anything.’

He approached her again. He seized her. ‘I want you,’ he said. ‘You know it.’

She opened her wide languorous eyes and said, ‘When? Here?’

‘Why not?’ he said.

‘You are a bold man.’

‘You’ll find me as bold as you wish me to be.’

She pushed him from her. ‘Here? … when my lady might come at any moment?’

‘She is studying the accounts. I sent her to do so.’

‘That you might come and see me?’

‘You know I’ve had my eyes on you for days.’

‘I saw the lust in them.’

‘ ’Tis not the first time you’ve seen such looks I’ll warrant. Nor satisfied them either,’ he added.

‘My lord you are offensive.’

‘You arouse a madness in me.’