of the king and the disinheritance of the crown. Moreover, she had procured letters of privilege contrary to the law and the intentions of the king.”
“What utter nonsense!”
“They demand her departure by Michaelmas and require that she relinquish her wardship of Bamburgh Castle,” said Edward almost complacently. “Of course it is nonsense. It was my father who gave her custody of that castle, after she served for years as one of my mother's ladies in waiting. Her late husband was my father's good friend. I only renewed her wardship, and for good reason; she has been loyal and carried out her duties well.”
“The impertinence!”
“They call for her brother Beaumont's dismissal as well.” Seeing Isabella's indignation had almost cooled Edward's. He glanced at the parchment again. “The rest of these are what one might expect. Magna Carta is to be fully kept. Royal revenues are to be paid in the exchequer. Escheators are to be appointed in Parliament. My right to issue pardons is restricted. Prises are to be abolished.” He tossed the parchment aside. “Fine words from the Fiddler, but can he play? And can the Black Dog bite as well as bark?”
“Do they want Gaveston gone too?” the queen asked.
“He is to depart from Dover by the first of November.” Edward's mood sank again. He walked to a window and stared out of it.
Eleanor had been sitting in silence listening to the royal couple's conversation. Now she burst out, “Uncle, they cannot send him away! Margaret is with child.”
Edward started. “I have heard nothing of this, Niece.”
“I heard of it from Margaret only yesterday. She said she would wait a couple of weeks more before telling Piers.” Margaret and Piers had not followed the king south, but had stayed in the north.
“Is she certain?”
“She feels ill all the time, and she says she is losing her waist.”
“Then she must be with child,” said the king. “What splendid news! Gaveston to have an heir! We shall give him—that is, Margaret—a churching as has never been seen.”
“Not if he is in exile, Uncle.”
“Those damned Ordainers,” said the king. “I'll fight them.”
The king did fight the Ordinances, but it was of no use. In the end, fearing civil war, he grudgingly acceded to all of the Ordinances but the one concerning Gaveston, and eventually he was forced to accede to that one too. Though Gaveston left from London, not Dover, and on the fourth of November, not the first of November—the minor discrepancy a source of some small satisfaction to the king—he still left, with his pregnant bride remaining in England.
Isabella de Vescy had left the court before Gaveston, though only for her lands in Yorkshire. “Don't fear, your grace, I'll soon be back,” she promised the queen. “Fool barons!”
The king, Margaret, and Eleanor had gone to the side of the Thames to see Gaveston off. Eleanor had never learned whether the rumors about Gaveston and the king were true, but as the years had passed by, she had ceased to wonder about them. Margaret and Piers seemed as happy as most couples she knew, and it was not like Margaret to keep her complaints to herself if she had any. She'd wanted to join Gaveston in his exile, but he had not wanted her to travel by sea in her condition.
Edward was making no effort to control his emotions as he embraced his friend to say good-bye, and Eleanor tactfully took a great interest in the unloading of a nearby merchant ship. Then Gaveston turned his attention to Margaret, whose bulk prevented him from holding her as close as he had the king. “I know I can trust you to take care of my wife, Nelly,” he said at last, tapping her on the shoulder to unfix her gaze from the merchant ship.
“I will do everything possible for her, Piers. But where shall you go?”
“Where life takes me, as has always been the case.”
“But you cannot be so careless once you have had your child, you know.”
He
“What utter nonsense!”
“They demand her departure by Michaelmas and require that she relinquish her wardship of Bamburgh Castle,” said Edward almost complacently. “Of course it is nonsense. It was my father who gave her custody of that castle, after she served for years as one of my mother's ladies in waiting. Her late husband was my father's good friend. I only renewed her wardship, and for good reason; she has been loyal and carried out her duties well.”
“The impertinence!”
“They call for her brother Beaumont's dismissal as well.” Seeing Isabella's indignation had almost cooled Edward's. He glanced at the parchment again. “The rest of these are what one might expect. Magna Carta is to be fully kept. Royal revenues are to be paid in the exchequer. Escheators are to be appointed in Parliament. My right to issue pardons is restricted. Prises are to be abolished.” He tossed the parchment aside. “Fine words from the Fiddler, but can he play? And can the Black Dog bite as well as bark?”
“Do they want Gaveston gone too?” the queen asked.
“He is to depart from Dover by the first of November.” Edward's mood sank again. He walked to a window and stared out of it.
Eleanor had been sitting in silence listening to the royal couple's conversation. Now she burst out, “Uncle, they cannot send him away! Margaret is with child.”
Edward started. “I have heard nothing of this, Niece.”
“I heard of it from Margaret only yesterday. She said she would wait a couple of weeks more before telling Piers.” Margaret and Piers had not followed the king south, but had stayed in the north.
“Is she certain?”
“She feels ill all the time, and she says she is losing her waist.”
“Then she must be with child,” said the king. “What splendid news! Gaveston to have an heir! We shall give him—that is, Margaret—a churching as has never been seen.”
“Not if he is in exile, Uncle.”
“Those damned Ordainers,” said the king. “I'll fight them.”
The king did fight the Ordinances, but it was of no use. In the end, fearing civil war, he grudgingly acceded to all of the Ordinances but the one concerning Gaveston, and eventually he was forced to accede to that one too. Though Gaveston left from London, not Dover, and on the fourth of November, not the first of November—the minor discrepancy a source of some small satisfaction to the king—he still left, with his pregnant bride remaining in England.
Isabella de Vescy had left the court before Gaveston, though only for her lands in Yorkshire. “Don't fear, your grace, I'll soon be back,” she promised the queen. “Fool barons!”
The king, Margaret, and Eleanor had gone to the side of the Thames to see Gaveston off. Eleanor had never learned whether the rumors about Gaveston and the king were true, but as the years had passed by, she had ceased to wonder about them. Margaret and Piers seemed as happy as most couples she knew, and it was not like Margaret to keep her complaints to herself if she had any. She'd wanted to join Gaveston in his exile, but he had not wanted her to travel by sea in her condition.
Edward was making no effort to control his emotions as he embraced his friend to say good-bye, and Eleanor tactfully took a great interest in the unloading of a nearby merchant ship. Then Gaveston turned his attention to Margaret, whose bulk prevented him from holding her as close as he had the king. “I know I can trust you to take care of my wife, Nelly,” he said at last, tapping her on the shoulder to unfix her gaze from the merchant ship.
“I will do everything possible for her, Piers. But where shall you go?”
“Where life takes me, as has always been the case.”
“But you cannot be so careless once you have had your child, you know.”
He
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