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‘Yes.’
‘Why involve him?’
‘Because Jerrard, Laurent and I were instructed to find out who our allies were on our journey north. Your uncle has influence in Lincoln.’
‘So you weren’t there to collect me at all?’ Her head jerked, dark hair spinning around her face like a thundercloud. ‘You were just there to spread discontent about the King?’
‘It was both. Only there was no need to spread anything. The discontent was already there. Everyone we spoke to on our journey had some grievance or other against John. The question has been what to do next. We’d hoped he might change his ways after France, but he seems incapable of it.’
‘So now the barons are marching on London.’
‘Yes. Hopefully even a king can be made to see sense.’
‘And if he can’t?’
He felt the muscles of his face and neck tighten. ‘I’m not sure.’
‘But if you had to guess?’
‘If I had to guess, I’d say there’ll be war.’
‘The King against his own barons?’
‘Yes.’
She looked at him fixedly for a long moment before turning away, striding towards the window as if she needed to put some distance between them.
‘I don’t understand. I mean, I understand why you want to rebel, but for what purpose? If it comes to war and you defeat the King, then who would you put in his stead? His son is only a child.’
‘We don’t intend to get rid of John. There’s no one else to replace him, no one all the barons would accept anyway. There was only ever one other possible candidate.’
‘Was?’
He grimaced and sat down again, reluctant to tell her the story, but now that he’d started he owed her the whole truth.
‘John had a nephew, his older brother Geoffrey’s son, Arthur of Brittany. Richard Lionheart named him as his heir. They say he changed his mind on his deathbed and named John instead, but Arthur was still a threat.’
‘Oh...’ She took a few faltering steps back towards him, her eyes filled with a look of dread. ‘What happened to Arthur?’
‘He led a revolt against John in Normandy just over ten years ago. He was only fifteen years old, but he was captured and imprisoned at Rouen Castle. No one knows what happened next. John claims he was murdered by the French to make him look bad.’
She stood absolutely still for a few seconds before dropping on to the bench beside him.
‘Do you think John had a hand in it?’
‘I don’t know. Nothing was proven, but he had the most to gain.’
‘How despicable.’ She shuddered. ‘But perhaps he was really framed by the French like he suggested?’
‘It’s possible, but I wouldn’t put any kind of cruelty past him. Arthur might have been his nephew, but John’s never been one to care about family ties. He abandoned his own father when he was dying. Whether he killed Arthur or not, the fact that people believe he could do something so cold blooded is damning enough.’
‘Yes.’ She wrapped her arms around her waist as if she were cold. ‘But if you can’t replace John, then what can you do? If your challenge succeeds, what then?’
‘We want him to be accountable. As King, he has too much power and not enough honour or decency to wield it. We want him to agree to establish a council of barons to oversee his actions.’
‘How would you persuade him to do that?’
‘With his own father’s words. When the second King Henry came to the throne, he made a coronation charter, proclaiming his intentions and setting out rules for inheritance, wardship, taxes and everything else his son rides roughshod over. If John can be made to agree to something similar, then he won’t be able to abuse the country any longer. If he signs a charter, he’ll have to abide by the law.’
