Edward was in his tent dining on bread and cold venison. A fluffy white dog occupied his lap, delicately taking meat scraps from his fingers. On seeing William, Edward leaped to his feet and thrust the dog into the arms of a surprised attendant. ‘It’s for Leonora,’ he said. ‘You know women and their pets.’ He engulfed William in a hug. ‘Uncle, well met!’
They were of a height now and Edward had broadened out. His beard stubble was harsh, no longer the fluff of a youth. He resembled neither parent, but William suspected from the tales he had heard he must be a throwback to his celebrated warrior great uncle, Richard Coeur de Lion.
‘Help yourself to food and drink,’ Edward said, gesturing. ‘The wine is excellent.’
‘I understand you are here to tourney.’ William sat down.
‘In part.’ Edward resumed his seat. ‘How is my dear aunt Joanna?’
‘On her way with the rest of the baggage train. She will be here shortly, but I came ahead to greet you, sire.’
‘I appreciate it. I have missed your advice and your company.’ Edward gave him a shrewd look. ‘I had not realised how much of a buffer you were between me and my father. You have the skill to reach out to both of us.’
‘I hope you have settled your differences with him since the spring, sire. I heard rumours you had joined the Earl of Leicester’s camp.’ It was more than rumour, but William erred on the side of diplomacy, glad that he had been busy in Bigorre during the time that Edward had come close to rejecting his father, even though he had drawn back from crossing that line.
Edward slanted him a look from under his golden brows. ‘You should know how that particular mill grinds by now, Uncle. I would never harm my father or our royal position. I am his son, born of his seed, and I am his heir. We have differences, but the good of the family is all. No harm shall ever come to my father through me, and I know we are united in this desire.’
‘Assuredly, sire,’ William said. ‘Does your father know you are here now?’
‘Of course he does. Supposedly he has sent me to stay out of trouble and sow some wild oats on the tourney circuit, but he wanted me to liaise with you. Come the spring, I hope you will be back at court in England, although there are still those who would rather you did not return.’ His brows drew together. ‘You will have to take the oath to the provisions made at Oxford, there is no getting around it for now, but I promise you will not have to give anything up – you have my word, and my father’s, on that.’ Edward lowered his voice. ‘My father hopes that a papal dispensation to cancel out the provisions made at Oxford will be ready in a few months.’
‘I had heard. Your uncle Aymer has been at the papal court during most of our exile and has kept us informed.’
Edward smiled. ‘I would have expected no less from Uncle Aymer.’
They finished eating and left the pavilion. A messenger was waiting with the news that Joanna had arrived with the rest of William’s baggage. Edward accompanied William to greet her, and Joanna swept him a curtsey. She was red-cheeked and wind-blown from her journey, and a little flustered still to be in her travelling clothes.
‘Dearest aunt.’ Edward embraced her warmly. ‘It is so good to see you!’
‘You tower above me now, sire!’
‘Hah, I do, don’t I, Little Aunt,’ Edward teased.
‘How is Leonora?’
‘Well, and hoping to see you soon.’ He glanced at William. ‘Perhaps in the spring.’
Joanna looked between them, but Edward did not elaborate, and moved off to attend to business. Joanna handed William a linen food cloth containing a small ball of marchpane wrapped around a date. ‘I brought this for you,’ she said. ‘There is more when we unpack.’
‘That is very “sweet” of you,’ William jested. Knowing that she had remembered him was even better than the taste of the confection. Happily chewing, he turned to supervise the raising of the other tents she had brought in the baggage train.
‘You do not have to do that,’ she said with amused exasperation. ‘They have done this so often that they know very well to place the entrance away from the smoke and the smell from the latrine pits.’
‘But if I see it done right, I know it will be right,’ he said. ‘It’s like you supervising the maids when they are sweeping.’ He finished the delicacy and took her hands. ‘I have spoken to Edward and it is likely that we can go home in the spring.’
‘Home?’ She gave him a slightly quizzical look.
‘England is my home,’ he said. ‘It might not be my place of birth, but it is the place of my heart. My life is there and my service is there.’
He watched a serjeant hammering in a tent peg and had to step forward and make an adjustment, although it was not really needed. The action made him feel more settled.
Joanna said quietly, ‘Just be careful. Do not wear your heart on your sleeve for all to see. It takes a head as well as a heart to play the game. Not everyone in the lord Edward’s group is an ally. Some will be watching your every move and waiting to make advantage from it. Do not be over-friendly with Edward in front of others, but judge it carefully.’
He shook his head at her but forbore from calling her Joanna Worry-wort. ‘I hear you,’ he said, ‘but the lord Edward is ahead of all of us and he made all the overtures. I suspect he wants people to report back because it will worry the Earl of Leicester and make his authority less secure, but you are right, I shall be on my guard.’
Joanna and William travelled to Paris in Edward’s entourage and there, with the city silvered in a sharp December frost, attended a court gathering at the royal palace at the invitation of the King and Queen of France.
Joanna was looking forward to the imminent banquet, but felt anxious too, for gaining permission to return to England would either happen or be postponed, depending on diplomacy and negotiation. She and William had been playing an understated and subtle game for a long time and she was eager for a resolution, and to go home.
