Winter still lingers in the heart of Champagne, all covered in pure white. Warm in the softness of our bed, Reyn and I don't fear the cold air out.
A burning fire consumes our two bodies.
But hunting keeps Reyn almost as busy as love. Nevertheless, I think he misses battles, and he shows great interest when the seneschal of Champagne himself honors us with his visit.
Despite the pain endured in the Holy Land, John de Joinville looks radiant as he hugs Reyn and his father.
"What happiness to see you again!" he exclaims.
He tells us about his last stay in Paris, "For Henry of England's arrival, our dear king had all the streets cleaned, and Parisians adorned their houses with freshly picked flowers."
"It must have been an enchantment," the lady of Chasseney says.
"Exactly!" the seneschal agrees. "The queen could gather her noble mother and all her sisters on this occasion."
They're four sisters.
Four daughters of Provence whose destiny is exceptional!
Marguerite, queen of France!
Eleanor, gorgeous considered, married Henry of England.
A queen too!
There is also Sancie, said to be unhappy. She's the wife of Henry's brother, the powerful count of Cornwall.
And finally, Beatrice, who is Charles of Anjou's wife,
But Charles is a dangerous member of the Capetian brotherhood.
I know that.
John of Joinville describes the royal banquet, served on long tables covered with sumptuous tablecloths and fragrant roses. He stood at the side of Theobald, the young king of Navarre, promised to Princess Isabel, the daughter of King Louis.
Theobald is the son of the count of Champagne, who, as suzerain, had authorized Reyn to marry me. The count died in Navarre, which he had inherited, about a year before King Louis returned to Paris.
"Alas," the seneschal sighs, "nothing is calming down in the French royal family."
"What do you mean?" my parents-in-law ask.
"A violent dispute broke out," he admits. "After the crusade, Charles went to war in Flanders, hoping to expand his fiefs, as always. But on his return, Louis put an end to his brother's ambitions. So the count was moody and took the taunts of his mother-in-law badly. She also gathered against Charles an impressive number of her late husband's vassals."
The seneschal clears his throat and explains, "This is the reason for my visit. Charles plans to fire his seneschal, who struggles to dislodge the rebellious lords from their Provençal strongholds. And unfortunately, this man is a weakling. The bourgeois of Marseille are no longer afraid to boo and chase him back to his home. So Charles needs a man of Reyn's caliber. And the king himself approves his brother's choice!"
"It's such an honor," the lady of Chasseney exclaims, her eyes shining. "And Reyn is still a young man!"
"The king himself approves this choice," John of Chasseney repeats in a voice full of paternal pride.
Reyn says nothing, but the flames of war are already dancing in his wolf eyes and those of despair in mine.
The seneschal seems to have seen it. "Countess Beatrice wishes that you accompany your husband. The poor woman is isolated in her vast palace of Aix, where her mother's partisans slyly feed all grievances of the Provençal against the count."
YOU ARE READING
The Wolf and the Snake (English version)
Historical FictionIn 1099, a mysterious child of noble origin was taken in by Jews who had fled the Crusaders' arrival in front of Jerusalem. Years later, Ada, the descendant of this child, travels through Palestine with her father. He's a merchant and knows medicin...
