I smiled complacently. I had no doubt of my ability to capture the son of the King of France.

“Louis VI has two sons—Philip and Louis.”

“It will be Philip for me,” I said.

“The elder, no less.”

“Does he ... know?”

My father shook his head. “Though Louis will be looking out for his son’s best interests.”

“Tell me about the Court of France. Is it like ours?”

“Oh, no, no. I doubt there is another Court in the world like ours. Your grandfather founded it, and although he is no longer with us, it does not change greatly. There will be differences. They call the King of France Louis the Fat ... for obvious reasons. He is a great eater ... a great drinker ... and it is difficult for him to move about, so large is he. He is a very religious man which is why France is called ‘the Elder Daughter of the Church.’”

“It would not be very merry at his Court.”

“If you were Queen of France, you would see that your Court was how you wanted it to be.”

“That is true,” I said. “But the King of France has said nothing as yet regarding his son’s marriage.”

“Not as yet, but I am his most powerful vassal, and Aquitaine covers about a quarter of France. He would be hard put to it to find a more worthy bride for his son.”

“So you think it will come to pass.”

“I am as sure as a man can be of anything.”

After that I thought a good deal about France and tried to learn all I could from the travelers who came to our Court.

It was at Ombrire that I first saw Raymond.

I was in the gardens with a group of girls who were being brought up at Court with us, and Petronilla was beside me. Some of them were embroidering altar cloths, while others took it in turn to recite verses and sing to us.

It was a pleasant summer’s day—not too hot for the shade under the trees was pleasant.

I saw him walking through the gardens with my father, and I thought he was the most handsome man I had ever seen. He was very tall and upright, with blond hair, blue eyes and a merry expression. Since my talk with my father about marriage. I was paying more attention to young men. I had always been aware of them and liked to see what effect I had on them, and I was accustomed to receiving ardent looks which delighted me. I liked to think of myself as one of those sought-after maidens who kept themselves aloof because they were far too precious to fall into the hands of lesser men and must wait for the perfect knight.

I left the group of girls, Petronilla at my heels; she followed me everywhere.

My father saw us and smiled. “Oh, Raymond,” he said, “here are my daughters Eleanor and Petronilla. Daughters, your uncle Raymond.”

We curtsied. Uncle! I was thinking. There must be some mistake. He gazed at me and murmured my name.

“And Petronilla,” said my father.

Petronilla gave him a dazzling smile but I was delighted to notice that it was I who held his attention.

“I did not know that I had such enchanting nieces,” he said.

“You should have come before,” my father told him. “It is not good for there to be rifts in families.”

We went into the palace with him. I think he was rather surprised by the easy manners between us. We were doubtless expected to be in awe of our father instead of making light conversation with him ... at least I did. Petronilla said little, but I could see that she was as enchanted by this new uncle as I was.

He proved to be about eight years older than I, and he was Philippa’s youngest son, born just after she had left the castle on the arrival of Dangerosa.

Alas, his visit was brief, but I was with him a great deal during the ten days he stayed in the palace for he was as attracted by me as I was by him. Each morning I awoke with the joyous thought: Raymond is here. We would ride together. I would sing for him. Petronilla was often with us and so was my father but I liked best the times when we were alone.

He told me that I was the most enchanting little girl he had ever met. There was a certain regret in his eyes and in his voice, and being precocious I knew what he meant by that. This was love, of which the troubadours sang, but he was a man, and for all my sophistication I was but a child, and he was my uncle, so there was too strong a blood tie between us for us to be lovers. But all our looks and gestures spoke of love; and I shall always remember Raymond as my first love.

He talked to me of serious things. I had an idea that he believed that by pretending I was not a child I should miraculously become a woman and then we could both give expression to what we felt.

He reminded me of my grandfather although I had only known him as an old man and this was a radiant young one. He was after all my grandfather’s youngest son but he had never known him because he had been born after Philippa had left.

He told me that he was without fortune which was why he was setting out to make it. He was starting first in England, for he had met Henry, the King, who had promised him a welcome. I was sure he would make a name for himself, for he was meant for greatness ... even though at this stage it was difficult to see how he would do this.

He was a great talker and I loved to listen.

He told me much of what was happening around me and of which I had been ignorant before. I had thought that my father was all-powerful; it was a revelation to learn that this was not the case and that he had dangerous enemies.

The greatest of these was the Church.

I began to see my father through new eyes. Not that Raymond ever spoke against him. But when he told me of affairs in Europe I realized that my father had only a very small part in them.

Raymond was interested in Bernard of Clairvaux, who was at this time in conflict with my father.

“He is a very powerful man,” Raymond told me, “and it is unwise to cross swords with him.”

“And that is what my father is doing ... crossing swords?”

“I should not be talking to you thus, dear child. Let us sing a beautiful song together. That is more suitable to the occasion, I am sure.”

“Let us sing certainly ... but first I would hear of this Bernard of Clairvaux.”

“If you have not heard of him, assuredly you soon will. He is a monk and he is renowned for his power with words. He draws the most hardened sinners to the monastic life. It is said that mothers hide their sons, wives their husbands and friends their companions for fear that he will lure them away from them. As a young man he went to the monastery of Cteaux because it was noted for its austerity, and that was the life he chose.”

I grimaced. “How tiring such people are!” I cried. “They want to be miserable themselves and to make everyone else so at the same time. If they want to starve and mourn, I say, let them, if they will allow those who want to enjoy life to do so.”

He laughed at my vehemence. “I see you are a little hedonist. I am of your opinion. But we cannot ignore this Bernard. He is becoming too powerful a figure in the world.”

“It seems to me that one must either be very wicked or very good to win the approval of the people.”

He laughed again. “And an observer of human nature too, I perceive. What a wise niece I have.”

“Tell me more of this Bernard.”

“He and his followers became so well known that many wanted to join their Order and there was not room at Cteaux to hold them so they decided to build a new monastery. They went in search of a place where they could build it and they came upon the wooded valley of Langres which was very dark and gloomy and would have to be cleared.”

“They make me impatient,” I said. “Why choose a place which demanded a lot of hard work before they began to build? They might have chosen a sunny plain somewhere.”

“But that would not suit Bernard. He believes that only by suffering can a man come to God. So they worked hard; they cut down trees; they settled there and built the famous abbey of Clairvaux. They endured great hardship and as a matter of fact, Bernard became so ill because of the austere life he led that they feared he would die.”

“He had none but himself to blame.”

“You are a realist, my dear little niece. Of course you are right. But there was great consternation. He was regarded as a saint. You have heard of the great doctor William of Champeaux. He went to Bernard. He cured him, taught him that it was possible to live frugally and be healthy. So now we have Bernard traveling the country, urging people to forsake their evil ways and whipping them up to a frenzy of piety. But the point of his discourse now is the acceptance of Innocent II as the true Pope.”

“I know of the rivalry between the two Popes.”

“It is splitting not only France but the whole of Europe. There are the supporters of Anacletus and those of Innocent.”

“But why are there these two Popes?”

“Because there was a split among the Cardinals and each candidate for the Papacy declares himself the winner. It is dividing the whole of Christendom. Italy stands for Anacletus and France for Innocent. At least that was how it was until Bernard took a hand in the dispute. You see, Louis sent for Bernard. Louis, indulgent as he is to his own appetites—and his immense body bears witness to that—is a very religious man. How the ascetic Bernard and gross Louis became so reconciled to each other it is hard to say, but the fact is that Louis has persuaded Bernard to stand for Innocent; and that means that he will win the whole of Europe to his side with his honeyed words.”

“So this matter will be settled then?”

“What I am telling you is that there are some who still stand for Anacletus and your father is one of them.”

“Is that why he is so troubled lately?”

“It may well be.”

“Why should we in Aquitaine be bothered by what is happening in Rome?”

“What happens in the world affects us all. Does your father talk to you of these matters?”

“Of some. He did not talk of this.”

“I would guess that it is because it weighs heavily on his mind.”

“What is Anacletus to him?”

“It is hard sometimes for people to change a course when they have set out on it.”

I knew what he meant. My father was a stubborn man and he would often cling to a decision because he had made it even when he discovered it could do him harm. He had an innate pride which would not let him do otherwise.

Raymond was smiling at me. “Why do I talk to you so?” he said. “Eleanor, there are times when I forget you are so young.”

“Then go on forgetting,” I begged him.

He took my face in his hands and kissed me gently. I flung my arms about his neck and cried: “Do not go away. Stay here at our Court.”

He sighed. “I would that I could!” he said.

“Why not?” I demanded. “You are seeking your fortune. Why not do it here?”

He laughed. “What a glorious prospect! Every day to be with Eleanor. Ah, the temptation is great. Tell me this, little wise one, why are the best things in life so often out of reach?”

“The clever ones stretch out far enough to reach them,” I replied.

Then he took me in his arms and held me tightly against him. I was deeply stirred, and if I could have shut out of my mind the knowledge that he would soon be going away, that could have been the happiest moment I had ever known.

But he released me and said he must leave me. He had much to do and he must prepare for his departure and not delay too long or King Henry would have forgotten his invitation, and that would be another lost chance.

When he went away, I was sad for a long time.

The conflict between the Popes dominated the country. From what I could gather, we stood apart, for now that the King of France had persuaded Bernard to give his approval to Innocent, it seemed the whole world followed him. Bernard only had to appear with his spare, emaciated figure and his loud condemnation of sin, for people to know that they were in the presence of a saint. They immediately followed him—all except my father.

“I will not be told what to do by this man just because he tortures his body and talks like a fanatic,” declared my father. “I will go my own way.”

I was a little alarmed for him. To my way of thinking it was of little importance to us which Pope ruled. They were all the same, all in search of the same thing: self-aggrandizement, power.

But my father was stubborn. When an invitation came for him to meet Bernard at the Abbey Montierneuf, he refused to go at first. It was only when he was advised that this was a dangerous attitude to take, for the King of France was firmly behind Bernard as was most of Europe, that he finally decided to go.