Read Plantagenet 1 - The Plantagenet Prelude for Free Online Page B

Matilda, and as they had a son, naturally they would wish to restore it to him.
    At this time Stephen of Blois had taken the crown of England, and it seemed very likely that he would hold it although England was not in a very happy state. Matilda, whom many believed was the true heiress, for she was the daughter of the late King Henry I, whereas Stephen was merely his nephew, would never cease to urge her husband and son to bestir themselves to get back their dues.
    Suffice it then that Eleonore and Louis leave Normandy out of their calculations. But what of Toulouse? The fact that the Counts of Toulouse asserted that they were the true rulers of that province had always rankled with Eleonore. Her grandfather had married Philippa of Toulouse, and Eleonore maintained that through this marriage Toulouse had passed to Aquitaine.
    Eleonore discussed this with Louis. He saw the point.
    ‘Mind you,’ he temporised, ‘I doubt whether the Count would agree with us.’
    ‘It is not a matter for him to agree or disagree about. The fact is I have a right to Toulouse through my grandfather’s marriage and I see no reason why I should waive it.’
    ‘Why did your grandfather and father never take it?’ asked Louis.
    Eleonore shrugged impatiently. She did not wish to recall that neither her father nor her grandfather had been noted for their success in battle. Her father had been somewhat inept politically and her grandfather had been more interested in the conquest of women than territory.
    She however was more ambitious. Within her there still burned the resentment engendered by her father’s desire to displace a forceful young woman, possessed of all the attributes a ruler should have, for the sake of an unborn child merely because he might be a boy.
    ‘The fact that they allowed others to take that which was theirs does not mean that we should.’
    Louis was uneasy. She could have shaken him.
    ‘But Toulouse has been independent for many years.’
    ‘I know, I know! When my grandfather went crusading he put it into the care of Raymond Saint-Gilles. It was to be a temporary measure.’
    ‘But it has remained in his family ever since.’
    How impatient he made her! She frowned and then allowed her smile to become tenderly exasperating. ‘My dear, dear Louis, you are so gentle, always ready to defend your enemies. I love you for it, of course, but it is no way to rule.’
    He could not endure her disappointment in him. She had ensnared him completely. Sometimes he wondered whether she had given him one of those potions she had once mentioned. He could not bear that she should not admire him. It was true that he needed to be war-like. His father had warned him that he must be strong and that it might be doubly hard for him, brought up as he had been to be a priest.
    ‘What do you suggest we do, Eleonore?’
    Her smile was radiant.
    ‘First you will summon all your vassals to court. There you will tell them that you intend to wage war on Toulouse for what belongs to the Crown through your marriage shall be brought to it. You will tell them that you expect - nay demand - their support. It is your due and their duty. Are they not your vassals?’
    ‘Eleonore, I confess the thought of going to war disturbs me.’
    ‘That is a feeling you will have to overcome, my King.’
    ‘Of course I have you always at my side.’
    She took his hand and smiled dazzlingly.
    ‘Always,’ she assured him, ‘to help and comfort you.’
    He certainly felt much comforted.

    In the gardens were gathered about Eleonore the ladies and gentlemen of the court. There were young girls whose families had sent them to the Queen to be schooled in all the graces and accomplishments they could find nowhere else. Eleonore delighted in these young people. Her love of power was, even in this small way, satisfied. These young people regarded her as their teacher. Under her guidance they made their gowns; they sang, they composed music and songs; and they