If he got control of England, which seemed likely, and was in possession of so large a slice of France, what power would be his? And there could be no doubt that he would know how to exploit it.
Louis discussed the matter at length with his counsellors. Men such as Henry of Normandy had many enemies. There was his brother for one. Geoffrey of Anjou was incensed because his father had left him only three castles. It was true that there had been a proviso in his father’s will that if and when Henry became King of England, Anjou was to be passed over to Geoffrey, but knowing Henry, Geoffrey rather doubted this would come to pass. Henry had always been too fond of his possessions to give anything up. If Geoffrey was ever going to gain possession of Anjou he felt he must do it now before Henry had the might of England behind him to help him hold it.
There was one other who feared Henry and that was Eustace, the son of Stephen. Because his father was the King, Eustace rather naturally believed that on his death he should take the crown. Matilda had found it impossible to wrest that desirable object from Stephen so why should her son become King on Stephen’s death? That Matilda had the first right to the throne mattered not to Eustace. He was determined to fight for it.
As Louis’s ministers pointed out, here were two stalwart allies, both with grievances against Henry and much to gain.
Let there be an alliance between them and surely if they stood together against Henry they would have a fair chance of victory.
Louis called a meeting and plans were discussed. Both Eustace and Geoffrey were exultant at the thought of having their revenge on Henry. They hated him fiercely for Henry, with his careless ways, his rather crude manners and his innate knowledge that he was going to make a mark on the world, aroused their bitter envy.
In the family circle Geoffrey had always been obliged to take second place to his elder brother. It had been clear that Henry was his father’s favourite, and his mother, whose tongue and tempers they all tried to escape, had a devotion for Henry which seemed alien to her fierce headstrong egotistical nature. It seemed as though she had transferred all her hopes and ambitions - and they had been monumental - to her eldest son. Geoffrey had always lived in Henry’s shadow and he hated him for it.
Eustace hated Henry of Normandy with an equal fervour. If Geoffrey was a weak man, Eustace was not. He had fierce passions; he longed for power and often he despised his father for his weakness. Eustace was such that he would have stopped at nothing to reach his goal. He was violent and his desire for power was much greater than any qualities he possessed to attain and hold it.
These were the chief allies whom Louis drew to him. As a further gesture he offered his sister Constance to Eustace as a bride.
‘It is fitting,’ said Louis, ‘that the sister of the King of France should in time be the Queen of England.’
The strongest bonds to hold together an alliance were those of marriage and Louis could not have told the world more clearly that he was supporting Eustace’s claim to the throne of England.
‘There is one other matter,’ his ministers reminded him, ‘you are now free to marry and you should do so without delay. You must marry and produce a son. It is what the people are waiting for.’
Somewhat reluctantly, but understanding the need for him to take this step, Louis was married to Constance, the daughter of Alfonso of Castile.
Both Henry and Eleonore believed their marriage to be an ideal one. They were two of a kind. Sensual in the extreme they had known themselves to be; that was what had first attracted them; but there was more than that. She delighted in his vigour and ambition. He was charmed by her ability to follow his quick mind as he explained his schemes to her.
When he talked of going to England, much as she would hate to lose him she would put no obstacle in the way of his going. Indeed, she was eager for him to go. It was his destiny to become the King of England.
What a woman she was! She could be beautiful and more seductive than any woman he had known; yet her mind was alert; she had grown in political stature because of her need to keep pace with him. The fact that she was some twelve years older than he was meant nothing to them as yet. Her body was perfect and her mind was mature.
Theirs, as they had known it would be, was the perfect union.
Therefore when he talked to her of his plans for going to England, for making an understanding with Stephen, fighting him for the crown if need be, she was with him. The parting would be agonising for her but she knew he must go. They were destined to be King and Queen of England, and if they must suffer to gain the prize then so be it.
She was as completely confident of his final victory as he was himself.
How pleasant to lie together in their bed which had lost none of its charm now that it was no longer illicit and when they were temporarily satiated with the force of their passion to talk of the future.
‘Stephen is a strange man,’ mused Henry. ‘It is difficult for me to think of him as an enemy. My mother declared that she hated him and yet sometimes a strange look comes into her eyes when she speaks of him.’
‘It is natural that she should hate the usurper who took her throne.’
‘It seems he is a man it is difficult to hate. He has shown a kindliness to me which is strange. When I went to Scotland in order to march against him and was deceived as to the support I could count on, he gave me money and the means to return to Normandy. What do you think of such a man?’
‘That he is a fool,’ said Eleonore.
‘Yes, in a measure. But I am not sure. I cannot find it easy to think of him as my enemy.’
‘Oh come, my love, he has taken your mother’s crown. He would set up his son Eustace in your place. Rest assured he is your enemy.’
‘Aye, so it would seem. Men and women have strange passions, Eleonore. I would like to know more of Stephen’s.’
‘Do not concern yourself with his nature but his crown. The crown that is yours.’
”Tis true, and ere long I must go to England to claim it.’
And so they made plans during those idyllic weeks, but they knew that the honeymoon must soon be over and the arduous task of gaining a crown must begin.
They travelled to Falaise where Eleonore met the redoubtable Matilda - Countess of Anjou, daughter of Henry I of England who was still known as the Empress because of her first marriage to the Emperor of Germany.
The two women took each other’s measure.
Matilda was naturally delighted with Henry’s marriage to the greatest heiress in Europe. Moreover she recognised a strong woman.
She decided that she approved of the match.
Eleonore, knowing something of the history of her mother-in-law, could not help thinking that she had mismanaged her life. There she was, still handsome, a woman who had found it difficult to control her passion. She had passed on her temper to her son, Henry. Because of the amity between them Eleonore had so far seen little of that temper; she had heard rumours though that it was formidable.
It should never be aroused against her, she assured herself. And if it were? Well, was Eleonore of Aquitaine of the nature to be alarmed by a man’s tantrums?
Often she wondered why Matilda had been content to give up the fight for her crown. She had fought for it and had come near to gaining it, but her unfortunate nature had been her downfall and in due course although the people of England recognised her prior claim they preferred the mild and charming Stephen to the virago Matilda.
And so Stephen reigned in England and Henry must cross the seas and challenge his right to the crown.
Matilda talked with them. She wished that she was younger so that she could accompany her son to England. Now and then she mentioned the past. The English were a people it was not easy to understand. They had acclaimed her in Canterbury and had been ready to do so in London, but suddenly they had turned against her and just as she and her company were going into the hall to dine, the mob had stormed the palace and she had been forced to flee.