John’s breath stopped and, for a moment, he thought his heart had stopped, too. He’d not been genuinely alarmed to hear that Richard wanted to bring Arthur to his court, for he felt confident Constance and her barons would never agree; cutting off their noses to spite their faces was a favorite Breton sport. But naming Otto as Count of Poitou could be a first step toward making him Duke of Aquitaine, and if Richard would do that, he might well be willing to make Otto his heir. John waited tensely for his mother’s answer, but once again she disappointed him, saying that she thought it was a good idea. John bit his lip to keep from protesting, trying to take comfort in the reminder that Otto was hundreds of miles away at the imperial court and likely to remain there for years to come, too valuable a hostage for Heinrich to relinquish.
By now Joanna and Berengaria had joined them, followed by André and Denise, Jaufre and Richenza, and Will Marshal and Isabel. John’s earlier suspicions were confirmed when Eleanor and Richard congratulated Isabel on her pregnancy, and he watched as Berengaria summoned up a heartbreaking smile. They were soon talking again about Richard’s victory at Issoudun and the treaty he’d forced upon the French king, and John hid another yawn.
“It was a good day,” Richard acknowledged. “But it was only a beginning. I mean to strip away Philippe’s remaining allies, one by one, until he is utterly isolated and alone.”
He sounded as if he had a plan in mind to do just that, and Joanna found herself feeling a sudden unease. Philippe’s most important allies were Baldwin, the new Count of Flanders, and Raimond, the new Count of Toulouse. While she’d always known that Raimond de St Gilles was an avowed enemy of her House, she realized now that she did not want to see her brother leading an army against Raimond. Was Richard seriously thinking of pushing Maman’s claim to Toulouse as her two husbands had done? She did not doubt that Richard would prevail if he met Raimond on the battlefield, but she hoped it would not come to that. She was loath to see the dogs of war unleashed upon the easygoing, pleasure-loving people of the sun-drenched South and their charming, controversial count. She turned away so no one could see her distress, hearing again a voice like melted honey, murmuring in her ear, Farewell, my beautiful coward.
John almost cheered when Richard finally rose, saying it was growing late. Slipping his arm around Berengaria’s slender waist, he made ready to bid their guests farewell. They looked like the veritable image of marital harmony, John thought. But was he the only one to notice how little attention Richard had paid to his wife in the course of the evening? As he studied Berengaria, he thought, No, I’m not the only one.
People were beginning to approach the dais when there was a stir at the end of the hall. A moment later, men were being ushered in, wrapped in travel-stained mantles and fur-lined hats that Richard had not seen since leaving Germany. He took a step forward, but his niece was already in motion. Lifting her skirts, Richenza flew across the hall and flung herself into the arms of one of the new arrivals. The other guests looked startled, some shocked. But even before the youth removed his hat to reveal tousled dark hair, a face reddened with cold, and a smile bright enough to illuminate the hall all on its own, Richard knew. “Good God, it is Otto!”
Otto hastened toward the dais, his sister clinging to his arm, her eyes glistening with tears. When he started to kneel, Richard raised him up at once and embraced him warmly. He tried to kneel before his grandmother next, but Eleanor was having none of that, either, and kissed him, instead. There was such a commotion that it took a few moments before Otto could assure them that his little brother had been freed, too, by Heinrich, and had gone to join Henrik in Saxony.
“But I came straight to you, Uncle,” he said to Richard. “I came home.”
Richard introduced Otto to Joanna and Berengaria then, and looked around for his son, calling to Philip to come meet his cousin. It was the sort of emotional family reunion that the contentious Angevins rarely enjoyed, one that became even more jubilant when Otto told Berengaria that Heinrich had also agreed to release her brother Fernando. When it was his turn, John welcomed his nephew back with a smile and a hug. But all the while, his ears were echoing with Otto’s euphoric, revealing words. I came straight to you, Uncle. I came home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
MARCH 1196
Norman Border