Youre as bad as Abbot Bernard! she flung at him. You and I are meant to be a partnership. We agreed. I am no milksop farmwife to be cast aside: I am the sovereign Duchess of Aquitaine, and I will be deferred to as such! Do you heed me?
For answer, Henry folded her in his arms and kissed her brutally. This is your role now, my lady. I do not remember agreeing to anything.
How dare you! Eleanor cried, struggling free and slapping him on the cheek. These are my domains, and my word is law here.
Henry recoiled. His face was thunderous, his voice menacing. Enough, Eleanor. Leave that for now. There are more pressing matters to consider. I came to tell you that Louis has summoned us to his courthe unscrolled the parchment and readto account for our treasonable misconduct in marrying.
Its bluster, Eleanor declared, still angry. He cannot do anything to us.
Henry frowned. I wouldnt be so complacent. The envoys who brought this say that their master is shocked and angered. He accuses me of basely stealing his wife
As if I were a chattel to be taken against my will! Eleanor interrupted, furious.
Henry threw her a look. Some of the French lords have even urged Louis to revoke the terms of your annulment, he went on, or even the annulment itself. Others want us excommunicated.
Words! fumed Eleanor.
Angry men often translate words into actions, Henry said. My enemies are uniting against us. Even my beloved little brother Geoffrey has declared his support for Louis. And Count Henry of Champagne, who is betrothed to your daughter Marie, is dashing off to Paris to join them. Of course, he knows very well that if you and I have a son, Marie will not get Aquitaine. His brother, Thibaut of Blois, that bastard who tried to abduct you, is also for Louis.
He is to wed my little Alix when she is of age, Eleanor said, a touch wistfully. I could wish it otherwise. He could not win the mother, so he settled for the daughter, the bastard!
Its war, no less, Henry declared. I must leave for Normandy at once. The rumor is that Louis plans to attack it in my absence.
Then this is our first farewell, Eleanor said, the last traces of her rancor evaporating. She swallowed and put on a brave smile. I suspect it will be the first of many, given how far-flung our domains are.
You knew that when you took me for a husband, Henry said gently, tilting her chin toward his face. He kissed her long and hard, all trace of annoyance gone. It grieves me too, Eleanor, but it will not be for long. I will send Louis and all his cronies scuttling back to Paris with their tails between their legs. And mayhap I am leaving you with child
Then God will have smiled upon our union, Eleanor pronounced. I fear it is too early to tell.
Henry sighed. I could have done without all this, he growled. I was planning to take an army across to England and settle matters there, but it will have to wait, yet again. At this rate, the English will get fed up with waiting and declare for the usurper Stephen after all.
He kissed her again, then broke away.
I must go, he said briskly. Speed is of the essence.
The news Henry sent Eleanor by his couriers was good. Louis had the temerity to invade Normandy, but Henry advanced with such speed that several horses dropped dead from exhaustion on the road; and with devastating compunction, he laid waste that land called the Vexin on the Norman-French border and the demesnes of Louiss own brother, Robert of Dreux.
Next she heard he had been in Touraine, taking some castles that his father left to the unfraternal Geoffrey. He was winning through. Then God Himself, it seemed,
walls.
Henrys set expression suddenly changed dramatically. He went purple with anger. Eleanor had never seen him so enraged; was she at last going to witness the notorious Angevin temper at its worst? It seemed she was! Roaring curses on the abbot, the citizens, andfor good measureSt. Martial himself, Henry lost control and, throwing himself on the floor, rolled around yelling bloodcurdling oaths before finally falling quiet and grinding his teeth on the rushes strewn over the flagstones. The fit lasted a full three minutes, with Eleanor looking on open-mouthed, the abbot curling his lip in disgust at the prone, seething figure at his feet, and the aghast company craning their necks to get a better view.
After the worst excesses of his rage had subsided, Henry got dazedly to his feet and stood glowering at the sea of faces staring at him.
Know this! he cried in his cracked voice. I, Henry FitzEmpress, your duke and liege lord, will not tolerate such blatant disrespect. Nor will my lady here. He looked hard at Eleanor, challenging her to agree with him, and although she had been on the point of interrupting, she subsided, quelled by the menacing steel in his gaze.
Limoges will pay dearly for this insult, Henry announced to the silent company. Its walls shall be razed to the ground. No one, least of all you, my Lord Abbot, will be able in future to use them as an excuse for depriving me or your duchess of our just and reasonable dues. Now you had best get back to the city and convey my orders to your peopleand see that they are obeyed! Demolition must begin tomorrow.