Life was only bearable if he passed the days dreaming of escape. Sometimes he thought a party of Bretons would storm the castle. There would be a siege and he would creep out to the besiegers and place himself at their head. What joy that would be when he was reunited with his own people. But he liked best the fancy that it was Hubert who came to rescue him.
But the days passed and neither the Bretons nor Hubert came to Rouen.
A visitor did in due course come to the castle of Rouen.
John could not get out of his mind the memory of that boy in the castle of Falaise and now at Rouen. The manner in which his eyes had flashed, the haughty way in which he held himself, showed that he was well aware of what had been planned for him in the castle of Falaise. He would remember it all his life; it would be spoken of. Doubtless if he were free he would find some means of communicating what had happened to Philip of France. John could well imagine what use Philip would make of such information.
Arthur was a menace – the greatest menace of his life, really. What a pity he hadn’t died at birth.
John wondered how many people knew that he had given the order to put out the boy’s eyes and castrate him. Hubert knew. Oddly enough he believed he could trust Hubert. There was a nobility about the man which John could recognise; there was loyalty too and Hubert would not work against the crown even though he did not agree with what was being done. Somehow that boy had moved him and that was why he had saved his life. Hubert would not betray his king, though … not unless he thought it was for the good of the country. His father had always said: If you have a good man, respect him, even though at times he may speak against you, for if he speaks from honesty and honour he is a man to grapple to you for he is worth all the flatterers in the kingdom. Although John hated to be crossed and that drove him into a frenzy of rage, when he was calmer he realised the truth of this. So he would hold nothing against Hubert de Burgh.
But he was glad he had separated him from Arthur. He must come to some terms with the boy. If he could only delude him into signing some document in which he would renounce all claims to the possessions which were now in John’s hands he could with a few strokes of the pen deprive the Bretons of their reason for waging war on him.
He was tired of war. It seemed a king’s life must be spent in this futile occupation. The victory of today was the defeat of tomorrow and castles passed from hand to hand as the battle swayed.
There were more interesting ways of spending one’s time. It was aggravating to have to leave one’s bed in the early hours of the morning to be on the march, to be prepared to storm some castles, to spring to the defence of another. It wearied him. Then there was the possibility of being struck by an arrow. Three Kings of Britain had fallen in that way: Harold at Hastings, Rufus in the forest and Richard at Chaluz – and all three in less than one hundred and fifty years. Why should a man put himself into such danger when he would have a very comfortable life? As John saw it a king should travel through his possessions being respected and honoured where he went; there should be feasting, singing, dancing at the various castles which he visited; there should be women only too eager to share his pleasures. He would of course prefer to have Isabella with him, and they would lie abed until dinner time as they used to. It was not asking a great deal, only what he thought of as a kingly existence. But there were those who stood in his way of enjoying it.
Chief of these was Philip of France: he would never stop trying to make himself lord of all French territory. It was three hundred years since Rollo had taken Normandy, and yet Philip still dreamed of getting it back, and he would go on trying to do so as the French kings had for all that time. There was nothing he could do about Philip; but he could do something about his nephew and if he could prevent his continually harping on his claims, if he could render him powerless, he would have removed one cause of conflict.
He decided that now Arthur was at Rouen and Hubert de Burgh was not there to caution him and advise, he would go and see him. So John set out for Rouen.
It was the 1st April when he started the journey, travelling through the fertile lands of Normandy. He was thinking of his nephew and made up his mind that he would not leave Rouen until he had extracted from him an oath to give up his claims. He felt irritated by the need to have to come to Rouen without Isabella for he had decided on the spur of the moment not to bring her with him. He did not want anything to distract him from this matter of coming to terms with Arthur, but when he left her he always wondered what she was doing. The fact that he was never faithful to her during their partings made him wonder whether she was faithful to him, and while he shrugged aside his own adventures as natural and to be expected, the thought of hers could send him to the edge of one of his rages so that he would be inclined to let it flow over whoever came near him and offended him in the slightest way.
He needed to keep his mind clear to deal with Arthur so he did not want it to be disturbed by outside influences. Perhaps he should have brought Isabella with him. No, he could not be at all sure what was going to happen at Rouen and it was better to be alone.
He was pleased by his reception at the castle. There was a flurry of excitement at his arrival and serving men and women were scurrying in all directions. Arthur came to greet him sullenly and he spoke to him in a jocular fashion and told him that he had come to talk with him and to be his good uncle.
Arthur was subdued, and they feasted together.
Tomorrow, thought John, I will talk with Arthur.
He knew the castle well. Often he had stayed here. He remembered how he had gone with a party of men down to the stone steps where boats were moored, for the river was close by. They had rowed up that river to Les Andelys over which the Château Gaillard stood guard. He had always been thrilled by that castle and wished that he had built it instead of Richard. It was the castle to outshine all castles. He knew that Philip of France ground his teeth in envy when he saw it; it was like a sentinel standing on guard protecting Rouen, that favourite city of all the Dukes. When Arthur had signed that document in which he would admit he had no claim to John’s possessions, John would swear that on his death without heirs everything should go to Arthur. They would sail up the river to Rouen and there they would ride through the town together and all should know of the amity between them. And once he had signed that document proclaiming that Arthur should be his successor if he died without heirs, he must have children without delay.
That would be the right thing to do. The first stage of his relationship with Isabella had passed. He had adored her child’s body, but she wasn’t a child any longer and she must fulfil her duties and give him children. That would keep her out of mischief. So what he must do was get Arthur to sign and then get Isabella with child; and signing that document was the purpose of his coming to Rouen.
It was dusk of the next day when he and Arthur were alone together.
John said: ‘Pray be seated, nephew. I have something of great importance to say to you. It is this: You and I must come to terms. I want us to be good friends.’
‘Are you going to give up what you have taken from me then?’ asked Arthur.
‘I said we should come to terms.’
‘Pray tell me these terms you have in mind,’ said Arthur.
‘You are to give up all claim to my possessions. Ah, wait. Do not sulk like a foolish child. If I die without heirs you shall be my successor.’