William palmed his face. He didn’t want to hear that she was shrewd and perceptive, especially after what she had said about his mother.
Edward leaned towards him, his eyes bright with concern. ‘What is it? You know you can tell me anything and it will not go further, I promise on my word of honour as a knight.’
William sighed deeply. ‘My mother and grandmother brought Jeanette to Calais explicitly for us to beget an heir. They say it is past time and they want her with child by Christmas, but I think it unlikely.’
‘If you are not on good terms, it must be difficult.’
William puffed out his cheeks. ‘My mother does not understand – refuses to understand. In truth I would rather spend the night on sentry duty in the snow than perform my other duty in the marriage bed.’
Heat burned into his face at admitting his vulnerability. He could not even get a cockstand these days to do the deed no matter how many potions and unguents he was given. He was eighteen years old and it should come as easily as pissing, but with Jeanette, he was as flaccid as a gouty old man. He wasn’t going to admit that to Edward, whether he trusted him or not.
‘She has sworn ever since we were wed that her true husband is Thomas Holland and that they made some kind of binding pact when they were in Flanders. My family has always refused to believe it, and even Jeanette’s own mother says it is an untruth and a silly girl’s whim – but what if it isn’t?’ He gave Edward a pleading look. ‘I have seen the way she and Thomas Holland look at each other. Not once in our marriage has she ever given me such a glance. I am at a loss. Even if I do get Jeanette with child, what if she cries abroad that she is someone else’s wife? What of my heirs then? They will be deemed bastards.’ He picked up his drink and drained it to the lees.
Edward cleared his throat and said nothing.
‘You know about this, don’t you?’ William accused, feeling sick with betrayal.
Edward winced. ‘Yes, but I have said nothing, for the sake of your reputation and Jeanette’s, for I do not know if it is true, or if it would stand up to scrutiny if brought before an ecclesiastical court. I thought it might die down without the need to say anything . . .’
William looked glum. ‘If the marriage with Thomas Holland is true, then her union with me will never be right while God disagrees.’
Edward frowned, wondering how he could help to resolve the situation without doing more harm and without compromising himself with Jeanette, with William, or indeed with Thomas Holland, whose services were invaluable. ‘I am sure something can be done.’
‘Then you are more certain than I am.’ William rubbed his face again. ‘I am still your father’s ward and he has put me in my mother’s care until I come of age, and she will never agree to dissolve the marriage. It would cost too much pride and money. She says it will all go away and that Holland does not have a case.’
‘Do you truly wish your union with Jeanette to be dissolved?’
William grimaced. ‘I wish it had never come about, but my loyalty to my family remains, and your father would never consent to such a thing.’
Edward narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. ‘Leave this with me,’ he said. ‘I can think of at least one lever, and if nothing happens, you are still no worse off than you are now. If it does work, perhaps I can spring you and Jeanette from this coil.’
The glimmer of hope that sparked in William’s breast died in the same moment. Edward was his lord and a dear friend, but he could not imagine what he could do about it. However, he nodded. ‘If you wish,’ he said.
‘I believe my mother may be able to help unravel this coil. I shall speak with her when she returns from Ghent. She will give good advice on the matter at the least, and she will have a vested interest, I have no doubt.’
William flushed, thinking of what Jeanette had told him about his own mother and the King.
He met Edward’s gaze, and Edward nodded, so there could be no mistaking what they both knew but would not say. ‘You are my friend,’ Edward said. ‘You always will be. Now, will you come and play dice and forget your worries? You can do nothing for now. A game of hazard and a cup of wine among friends will do you better than brooding on your sorrows like a laden donkey.’
William shrugged, found a smile from somewhere and, rising to his feet, followed Edward to the convivial arena of the gaming board.
Almost a month later, Edward sat with his mother in his chamber on the outskirts of Calais. A bitter late winter wind whistled at the shutters and they were both wrapped in fur-lined cloaks and eating small balls of stuffed marchpane at the fireside. He had invited her to his dwelling to play tables with him. A few members of her private household were present too, including Thomas Holland, who had been seconded to her employment for the past several weeks. He had been restored to her favour now that he possessed more maturity and had proven his exceptional military abilities.
Taking a respite from the game, Philippa leaned back and drank from her glass goblet. ‘You wrote to me about William Montagu’s marriage to Jeanette,’ she said.
‘I did,’ Edward replied. ‘We spoke of it before and you said we should leave it and see what happens, but it has gone neither forward nor back, and it needs to be made right. William doesn’t want to be wed to Jeanette any more than she wishes to be wed to him, but he will do his duty by his family and will not actively seek to end the match. They are both miserable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so out of sorts.’
‘And you think that I can do something about it?’ Philippa raised one eyebrow. ‘Or that I should even want to do something about it? Is there a reason for me to rock that particular boat – a good reason? Many marriages are not made in heaven, but they are still successful. I thought Jeanette and William would be a good match, I still do, or I would never have endorsed it.’ Her tone was defensive as she popped another marchpane ball into her mouth.
Edward contemplated the wine, shining golden-green through the goblet glass. ‘Jeanette insists she was married within law to Holland at Saint Bavo, and he has told me the same tale. If true, it will damage the legitimacy of any heirs Williamdoes have with her, and if we turn a blind eye, are we not ignoring God’s will?’
‘That is something to consider,’ she conceded, ‘but more proof is needed than hearsay.’
‘I want to help all of them. The Church will decide, I know, but the Church is open to other influences – including words from kings and queens.’
‘Sometimes,’ Philippa said. ‘It does not always hold true.’
‘My father gave Jeanette’s marriage to the Salisbury family as a personal favour – the Countess pursued the matter strongly at one time, as did Jeanette’s mother.’ He saw his mother’s lips purse. ‘Perhaps you might think it fitting to take an interest, and voice your concern over the validity of the second marriage, given Jeanette and Thomas’s insistence that they were wed in the eyes of God.’
