Henry knew what had happened. He told Eleonore when they were alone. Matilda had offended the English so much that they would never accept her.
‘Make sure,’ Matilda confided in Eleonore, ‘that Henry never offends the English - at least not until the crown is safe on his head.’
Eleonore certainly would, although she believed that Henry would be wiser in that respect than his mother had been.
He was eager now to leave for England, he wanted to get that matter settled. If he could bring Stephen to such a pass that he swore his heir should be Henry Plantagenet, he would be content. He was going to try.
Both Matilda, his mother, and Eleonore, his wife, agreed that he should lose no time and he prepared to leave for England.
Before he was ready there was news for him. Forces were mustering against him. Eustace was determined to take Normandy, and Henry’s own brother wanted Anjou.
Henry cursed them loudly, and then he was glad that he had knowledge of his brother’s treachery and Eustace’s designs before he had left for England.
Naturally he could not leave for England. He must remain where he was and deal with Eustace and Geoffrey who came against him with the help and blessing of Eleonore’s one-time husband, the King of France.
Henry never showed his genius for generalship so well as when he was faced with seemingly overwhelming difficulties. He immediately abandoned his plans to go after the English crown in order to consolidate his position in Normandy. Because he was the possessor of much land he had a great deal to protect and hold, but he was full of vigour and by no means disturbed to pit his skill against that of the Queen’s previous husband.
‘Let Louis come against me,’ he declared. ‘I’ll show him and you who is the better man.’
‘I at least do not need to be shown,’ answered Eleonore. ‘You will fight and win. I was never more sure of it. As for that blustering Eustace, you will soon let him know what it means to come against the true heir to England. And your brother Geoffrey is a fool. Look how he tried to trick me and failed.’
The Empress Matilda also declared her faith in him. He need have no fear. With two determined women to look after his interests he would succeed.
They were right, and although several months were spent in fighting off these enemies, Henry defeated his foolish brother Geoffrey, and Eustace returned from the fight dispirited while Louis made overtures for peace.
Yet victorious as he was he did not wish to waste time. The lust for conquest was on him. He knew that now was the time to strike for England.
Like the good general he was he set about reviewing his resources.
He could safely leave his wife and mother to rule in his stead. They were both experienced women. How glad he was that he had not married a silly simpering girl. How foolish were those who shook their heads over a marriage in which the wife was twelve years the senior of her husband. Eleonore had lived longer than he had, and during those years had gleaned much wisdom. It was a great comfort to know that the interests of this amazing woman were his.
His mother’s temper had not improved with the years and she would never be loved, but Eleonore managed to win people to her, proud and often overbearing as she was. None but these two could better look after his affairs in his absence, for one thing they both had in common was their devotion to him.
He could turn his thoughts to England and Stephen, that strange man who was so gentle and yet such a great fighter. He had never understood Stephen. There had been long years of civil war in England - with Stephen on one side and Matilda, Henry’s mother, on the other, and yet when his mother spoke of Stephen a strangely soft look would come into her eyes; and even when he had gone to England to make an attempt to take the crown Stephen had been kind to him.
There was some mystery about Stephen and his mother. So be it. Stephen held the crown and when he died - if not before - that crown must pass to Henry.
If Stephen had not had sons there might have been no war to fight, for it would be better to wait and take the crown peacefully on Stephen’s death than to fight for it now. But there was ambitious Eustace who had dared to try to take Normandy, and another son William who did not by all accounts seem to be much of a fighter.
He must therefore go to England without delay, and as soon as he had gathered together a fleet to carry him there and the men-at-arms to fight for him he would set out.
To his great joy while he was making his preparations he received a message from Robert of Beaumont, the Earl of Leicester, to the effect that if he came to England he, Leicester, would be ready to support him.
This was a triumph, for Robert’s father had served William the Conqueror well and prospered under him, and his son, Henry I, had allowed Robert to be among those favoured young men who were brought up at his court, and in due course he had married a rich wife. The Earl was a cautious man; he did not wish to lose anything that he had gained but he saw clearly that there could be very little prosperity under the rule of Eustace if he ever came to the throne. He had been saddened to see the country torn by civil war while Matilda and Stephen battled for the crown and although he believed that Stephen was the better choice he was looking forward to the time when England was once more ruled by a strong king such as Henry I and his father had been. He had known Robert of Gloucester, Henry I’s illegitimate son, who had supported Matilda and through him had learned of the good qualities of young Henry of Normandy. Leicester believed that the best hope of prosperity for England on Stephen’s death would be the accession to the crown of Henry Plantagenet. He knew that this was a time when he could no longer remain neutral. Stephen was a sick man; he had never recovered from the death of his wife, the gentle Matilda, who had stood firmly beside him through his many vicissitudes and had been a far greater prop to him than even he realised. Stephen had always been subject to mysterious illnesses; he was a lovable man but a weak one; he liked to be on good terms with everyone, and that was no way for a king to be. No, in Robert of Leicester’s opinion England’s hopes lay in Henry Plantagenet, and he wrote to the young man telling him that he was prepared to put his wealth and his experience behind his cause.
‘There is not a more powerful man in England,’ cried Henry, his eyes gleaming. ‘Victory is assured.’
But he was too clever to let that change his preparations which were going to be as thorough as though he were facing the most formidable army in the world.
It was a January day when he sailed for England with his fleet of thirty-six ships and landed at Bristol. There he found men of the West Country ready to rally to his cause.
Sadly Eleonore missed him. He had absorbed her life to such an extent that she asked for no other lover. She threw herself into the task of looking after his affairs and her friendship with her mother-in-law the Empress ripened. The two women admired each other and although their strong temperaments often clashed, for neither would give way in the slightest degree in her opinions to please the other, they never forgot that discord between them would be detrimental to Henry, and for both of them he was the centre of their lives.
Eleonore had her little court about her. Gallant men sang her songs and composed verses of their own. Many of them were addressed to her, and because of her reputation, which would always be with her, many of them were hopeful. But Eleonore was devoted to her Duke. They all knew that, but could such a woman be expected to keep her sensuality smouldering, not allowing it to burst into fire before the return of her lord which might be who knew when?