Besieged and Betrothed

‘Empress.’

‘Come in, Lothar.’ A tall, striking-looking woman turned from where she stood by the window, favouring him with a sad smile. She looked every inch the Empress in a fine azuline-blue gown and matching headdress, yet something about her seemed different somehow, in some subtle way he couldn’t quite put his finger on. ‘You got my message about Robert?’

‘Yes, my lady. Do they know what happened?’

‘It wasn’t Stephen’s doing. What else matters?’ She held out her hand for him to kiss. ‘He’s gone, Lothar, and I’m so tired.’

‘Shall I fetch your ladies?’

‘Not tired like that. I mean tired of all of this. This war.’ She waved a hand in the air before rounding on him accusingly. ‘I’ve been hearing rumours about you, too. Tell me what happened at Haword.’

‘It was just as my messenger informed you, Empress. Lady Juliana surrendered the castle without any bloodshed.’

‘Yet now I hear that you sent Sir Guian away. Those weren’t my orders.’

‘I’d heard that Stephen was on his way back into Herefordshire. I didn’t think Sir Guian capable of holding the castle against an attack.’

‘None the less, he was the man I chose.’ Matilda’s nostrils flared slightly. ‘You’ve never questioned my judgement before.’

‘I would never presume to do so, Empress, but there was another situation at Haword Sir Guian wasn’t aware of.’

‘Situation?’ A thin, delicately arched eyebrow drew upwards. ‘Is that what you call it? I’ve heard that she’s a very attractive young lady.’

‘Sir Guian seemed to think so.’

‘Ah.’ The eyebrow dropped again. ‘I should have remembered that weakness in you. You’ve never been able to walk away from a damsel in distress, Lothar. Even one who betrays me, apparently.’

‘She didn’t betray you, my lady, at least not in the way that we thought. Stephen was holding her father captive.’

‘William? I thought he was killed in battle?’

‘That’s what we were supposed to think, but he survived. He was still alive when I left, though he’s failing. Lady Juliana surrendered Haword to Stephen in orde

r to get him back.’

‘She made a bargain?’

‘Yes, my lady. She didn’t want to betray you.’

Matilda was silent for a moment, as if considering all the ramifications of his words. ‘She must have been very convincing for Stephen to let her stay at Haword.’

‘She couldn’t have moved William anywhere else in his condition.’

‘But still, for Stephen to trust her to hold the castle...’ She frowned. ‘She’d no right to assume the position of chatelaine at all whilst her father was alive.’

‘I believe she had no choice. Keeping her father a secret was part of her agreement with Stephen.’

‘Indeed?’ Matilda looked sceptical and he felt an uneasy sense of foreboding. This was exactly the situation that Juliana had feared. He’d assured her that the Empress would understand, though now he wasn’t so sure. She didn’t seem in a particularly forgiving mood.

‘If she swore allegiance against her will, why didn’t she simply cede Haword to Guian once Stephen had gone?’

‘Because she’d sworn an oath to him. She felt honour-bound to keep it.’

‘Yet she surrendered to you?’

‘Eventually, yes, for the sake of her men.’

‘Or perhaps she’s just a clever woman?’