Joanna went on: ‘I doubt not the wedding will take place on Easter Day. What a lovely day for a wedding! It is almost certain that this is what Richard has in mind. Then we shall be sisters in very truth. I was so happy when I heard that I am to accompany you. Do you feel perhaps a little alarmed at the prospect of travelling with Richard to the Holy Land?’
‘It is not quite what my father thought would happen when he told me I was affianced. I think he thought that Queen Eleanor would take me back to England.’
‘Without Richard! That is no way for a bride to live . . . apart from her husband! You would hate that. Do you not think he is the most handsome man you ever set eyes on?’
‘I do indeed, Joanna.’
Joanna extolled his virtues, told of his brilliant feats in battle, his sense of poetry; she sang the songs he had written and made Berengaria sing them with her; they talked of him continually and each day they expected to be told that the wedding was to take place. But time was passing and Richard was occupied with preparing for the next lap of his journey. He saw little of Berengaria and only when others were present; then he was always gracious to her although a little aloof, Joanna thought.
It was Joanna who decided to ask Richard what his plans were and she chose a moment when she could be alone with him which was not easy to do.
But Joanna was determined.
‘Richard,’ she said, ‘what of your marriage?’
He frowned slightly and looked her straight in the eyes.
‘What mean you, sister?’ he said. ‘My marriage . . . it will take place at the right time.’
‘When will the right time be?’
‘It cannot be here at Messina.’
‘But Richard, it is what we are expecting.’
‘Who is expecting this?’
‘Berengaria . . . Everyone.’
‘My dear sister, I am engaged on a holy crusade.’
‘But your marriage is important too, Richard. Berengaria has travelled far and has at last reached you.’
‘I know. We shall be married, but I could not allow the ceremonies to take place in holy week. You see that.’
‘I do, brother. I see that clearly but it will soon be Easter. We thought perhaps you had decided on Easter Day. We should like to know, for there are certain preparations we must make.’
‘Easter Day would be good indeed, but alas I must depart before that.’
‘Before Easter Day! But that is but a week away!’
‘I know it well. I must be sailing for Acre before that. The King of France is already on his way there and I have given my word that I will not delay longer. I waited here only for Berengaria’s arrival. I cannot remain until Easter Day.’
‘Then brother, should not the ceremony take place before you sail?’
‘Nay, I must have a public wedding and I cannot have it during Lent, and as I must leave Sicily before Lent is over I clearly cannot marry here.’
‘Could you not tarry a few more days?’
‘Nay, sister, I have already tarried too long.’
‘Then there will be no wedding here! Poor Berengaria, she will be so disappointed.’
‘Berengaria will understand that I am engaged on a crusade.’
‘Perhaps a quiet ceremony . . .’
Richard’s eyes had grown a little cold. Joanna had begun to notice that this was what happened when he was displeased and she had learned it was a warning to stop pressing the matter under discussion.
‘Well,’ she said, ‘we must needs wait. It means that you and Berengaria will not be able to travel in the same vessel since you will not be married.’
‘I shall know what custom demands, sister. You may safely leave such matters to me.’
She was disturbed. Richard was certainly no eager bridegroom. She remembered that her mother had told of his coronation which had taken place on the third of September which everyone knew was a date to avoid, yet he had not been superstitious then. It was not as though he did not know at that time that he was going on a crusade. Why should he be so concerned about marrying in Lent when surely a quiet wedding, in such unusual circumstances, could not have offended Heaven?
Joanna had begun to think that there could be only one reason.
Richard was so eager to postpone his wedding that he sought any excuse for doing so.
In the middle of holy week they set sail.
Crowds had gathered to watch the ships depart, for it was a magnificent sight as the two hundred vessels left the harbour and started their journey eastwards.
The three ships which were in the lead, equipped for battle, their towers being raised above the decks so that they could with ease fire on enemy ships, were known as Dromones. In one of these ships the King’s treasure was carried; in another were Berengaria and Joanna. The third, like the others, carried armaments and was prepared to go to the defence of any of the fleet should the occasion arise when it would be needed. These three were followed by thirteen troopships – the busses, two-masted vessels with strong firm sails. Richard brought up the rear with his war galleys – long slim ships equipped with rows of oars.
Berengaria and Joanna side by side on the deck could not help but be thrilled by the spectacle. The crowds on the shore were relieved to see the departure of an army which had brought trouble with it.
Berengaria, suffering from disappointment because their wedding had not taken place, was thinking how much happier she would have been had she been travelling in Richard’s ship; Joanna had comforted her but it was bewildering after all this time to be still unmarried. It was true that it might have been wrong to have married during Lent, but why did they have to leave on the Wednesday before Easter Day? Surely they could have waited four more days since Richard had been so long in Sicily? If it were not for the fact that she knew Richard was such an honourable man she would have had very uneasy doubts.
However Joanna was beside her and a very warm friendship was growing up between them.
‘Are you not thrilled, Berengaria,’ she asked now, ‘to be sailing with Richard’s fleet?’
‘Oh yes, but I wish we were in his ship.’
‘My dear sister, and you not married to him! That would be most improper and quite out of the question.’
‘We could have been married . . .’
Joanna put her arm through Berengaria’s. ‘It seems so to us, but how can we know all that is in Richard’s mind? It was so with my husband. He was a ruler and sometimes he acted in a manner which was strange to me. When we are married to men who hold high office we must be patient, for things are not always what they seem.’
Berengaria nodded gravely. ‘You are right, of course. How beautiful the island looks from the sea!’
‘And let us thank God for calm seas. We shall be in Acre very soon.’
They were both silent thinking of the Holy Land and the desperate battles that were going on and had been for so many years. Berengaria and Joanna were both convinced that Richard would be the one to save that land for Christianity.
Good Friday dawned. A strong wind had arisen and was sending the louring clouds scudding across the sky. Richard following his fleet in his galleys spoke on the enormous trumpet which carried his voice to the leading vessels.
‘A storm will break at any moment. Keep within hailing distance.’
They would do their best, but with the firmest of wills how could that be achieved in such a storm? Rarely had Richard encountered such violence. The sails were useless against the mighty wind and Richard’s voice, shouting through the trumpet, could not carry beyond his own deck. He realised that his fleet would be scattered. Briefly he wondered what was happening to Berengaria and Joanna. If their ship was wrecked they would drown, but an even worse fate might befall them if they were washed up on an alien shore.