intend to consolidate our position in Wales and Scotland and have a fancy to let our destriers enjoy the rich fodder of Ireland. I need to build a new army — an army of Englishmen, led by Normans. I am going to take an English wife. Will you help?’
‘I will, of course. Do you have someone in mind?’
‘Yes, she is ideal, the daughter of Malcolm Canmore and Queen Margaret — your niece, Edith.’
I tried not to let my shock be too obvious. But he was right, of course. She was ideal — the daughter of the royal house of Scotland and a direct descendant, through my sister, of the Cerdician kings of England. Their children would create an Anglo-Norman dynasty, which had to be in the long-term interests of the English, so I quickly warmed to the idea.
‘I will do all I can.’
‘It is delicate. Your sister sent her to the nuns at Romsey several years ago, where your other sister, Christina, is abbess. Some say she has taken Holy Orders and wears the veil. She says that she hasn’t taken her vows — and only wore a veil because her mother told her to, in order to protect her from lustful Normans.’
‘I’m not sure I can help much on ecclesiastical matters.’
‘You don’t have to — just deal with your niece. Rufus banished Anselm, the clever Burgundian Archbishop of Canterbury. I’m going to bring him back and tell him to proclaim that she’s not a nun. People will believe him.’
I could not help thinking about the irony of Edith wearing a veil to protect her against ‘lustful Normans’ while she was likely to end up marrying the most lustful of them all.
‘Now, about my brother. What do you understand to be his intentions with his mighty army and treasure of Solomon?’
The satirical tone of Henry’s question made me wonder how far he’d seen through my pretence, but there was no turning back now, so I ploughed on.
‘First of all, when Robert and I last spoke, he knew nothing about the tragic circumstances of Rufus’s death; indeed, he is unlikely to know for some time yet. Even so, I don’t think anything he asked me to convey to you is altered in any way by the King’s death or your succession to the throne. You should know that Robert is much changed by events in the Holy Land, as we all are. The truth of it is, although our intentions may have been noble, we Christians behaved in a way that many of us, including Robert, found appalling. We were participants in some of it and we all carry regrets that will haunt us for the rest of our lives.’
‘What sort of appalling things do you mean?’
‘Well, in short, the wholesale slaughter of soldiers and civilians alike — women and children included — rape, torture, mutilation and the breaking of all God’s commandments. Most of it was done without provocation or justification and all of it in Christ’s name.’
‘I see, but how does that affect me?’
‘Robert will pay back to the English treasury his mortgage on his share of Normandy’s wealth. Robert desires only to live out his days quietly in Normandy. He has no designs on the English crown at Westminster and will not use his powerful allies and army, or his significant wealth, to force a claim for the throne.
‘That is a concession to Rufus, not to me.’
‘But it applies to you now.’
Henry had seen the hole in the middle of our pretence, as Sweyn and I had thought he would, so I played the gambit that we had discussed.
‘As testament to his sincere belief in harmony and his regard for you, Robert is prepared to share the Duchy of Normandy with you. You would have Lower Normandy — the dioceses of Avranches, Sees and Coutances — which you would rule from Caen. Robert would have Upper Normandy — the dioceses of Lisieux and Evreux — which he would rule from Rouen. He is also prepared to use his now considerable influence in Rome to have Pope Paschal declare both parts of Normandy as separate dukedoms.’
‘That is generous indeed! I am happy to accept his offer.’
Sweyn and I had anticipated this predictable response as well. I smiled; it seemed right to treat his reply as light-hearted, even if he may well have meant it.
‘Very amusing — of course, your succession here in England, and particularly your ambitions on our Celtic borders, means that it is impossible for you to rule Lower Normandy as well.’
I swallowed hard, realizing that I was in the middle of a fake game of chess, with two realms and the fate of thousands of people resting on the outcome.
Henry stared at me, as if trying to see behind my eyes.
I tried to hold my composure and forced another smile, this one more pronounced.
He smiled back; had the moment passed? Had the deception worked? If it had, it was time to haul the catch in.
‘Robert would be happy to swear an oath recognizing your sovereignty here and guaranteeing his loyalty and his support for your attempts to strengthen our kingdom.’
‘Edgar, you are a very shrewd emissary, you should have been an ambassador. Do your advice and Robert’s loyalty come at a price, by any chance?’
‘Only two small amounts. Robert would, of course, expect you to take an oath affirming his lordship of Normandy and your acceptance of mutual loyalty and cooperation.’
‘And?’
‘The second trifle would be of enormous benefit to your reign and go a long way to securing the loyalty of your magnates and the affection of your English subjects.’
‘This sound like more than a trifle.’
‘Not at all, it would be a simple affirmation of the laws of England and your respect for them. There would be nothing new; you would acknowledge the laws enacted by your father, King William, and those he respected from his predecessors, particularly those of King Edward and Cnut the Great. You would also reject the excesses of Rufus’s reign and promise to correct the wrongs he did. You could call it your Coronation Charter and have it read in every burgh in the land. It would be a hugely popular beginning to your reign.’
Henry stared at me again, as if I were a strange creature he had never seen before.
‘Edgar, Prince of the English, you are a clever man, and, I suspect, a cunning one. But I like the idea of a Coronation Charter being read all over England. It will begin my rule in England with an outcry of popular support — something my brother never had, and certainly not my father. Can you read Latin?’
‘I can.’
‘I will get my scribes out of bed. You can work on it with them tonight — all night, if you have to. I’ll read it in the morning and, after my coronation at Westminster, I will ride to the old city to proclaim it from my father’s chapel of St John the Evangelist in the Great Tower. I will call it Henry of England’s Charter of Liberties.’
I nearly lost control at that point. For some unfathomable reason, he had proposed a title for the Charter that I would never have dreamed of suggesting, fearing it might seem too bold. I changed the subject immediately to help hide my elation.
‘And what will I say to Robert?’
‘Again, you are very astute. I wonder how much of what you told me are my brother’s words — or are they yours? But it doesn’t matter much; tell him I agree to the oaths. We will take them together, at a place of his choosing — as long as it’s not the Holy Land, of course — when he’s finished bedding his young bride. By the way, is she tall, average height…?’
‘She’s very petite.’
‘That must be a relief for little Shortboots! I will leave you to your scripting; I have the two lovely daughters of a London goldsmith awaiting my pleasure. He has sent them to plead his case to become one of my assayers. He doesn’t have very strong credentials, I’m afraid, so they are going to have to do a lot of pleading.’
34. Treaty of Alton
Sweyn and I rode out for Romsey the day after Henry’s coronation to fulfil the undertaking I had given to the King to help with his plan to marry my niece.
Although I would never tell him so, it was not a difficult task. Edith knew her own mind and she had had
