‘She was a beautiful girl when I last saw her,’ said Edward.

‘Nurtured as she must have been, how would she feel towards the rough mountain chieftain?’ wondered Pembroke.

‘I heard that she was as taken with Llewellyn as he with her and that pledges were made between them. Of course she is in exile and cannot come here and he – rebel chieftain that he is – is in no position to bring her. Thus are true lovers kept apart.’ Edward’s mouth was firm. ‘And shall remain so.’

‘Unless of course …’ began Gilbert.

‘Unless, my lord?’ Edward interrupted. ‘I guess what you will say. Unless we can use my cousin, the Demoiselle Eleanor, as a bargaining counter to bring Llewellyn to heel.’

‘If that were possible it would be a good plan.’

‘It would indeed,’ said Edward. ‘I think we are noticed. Our serious conversation gives an impression that we are holding a council of war.’

‘Which in a way we are, my lord,’ added Gilbert.

‘And that is no way in which to conduct a coronation. Let us ask the minstrels to sing.’


* * *

The coronation festivities continued. There was no more popular man in the city of London than the King. He was strong, said the people. He would not be a man to be ruled by his wife; nor was she a woman to seek to rule.

All knew that the late King had been ruled by his wife and she had been the one they hated; though they despised the King. But this was a new era.

This King was just. The matter of the bridge confirmed their belief in him.

A party of London citizens had asked leave to see the King during that period of coronation celebrations and he, knowing full well the importance of his capital, agreed to receive their leaders and hear what they had to say.

The head of the party bowed low before the King and when asked what troubled him he explained that it was the state of London Bridge.

‘My lord King,’ said the man, ‘it has fallen into such a state of decay that it is scarcely safe.’

‘Then this must be rectified without delay,’ cried the King. ‘Why has it not been done?’

‘My lord, repairs are made from the revenue received from the custody of the bridge and have previously been done regularly that the bridge may be kept in good order.’

‘Then why has it not been done now?’

There was silence and the King urged them to continue.

‘My lord, the King your father gave the custody of the bridge to the Queen your mother that she might enjoy the revenues therefrom. Since then the lady Queen has collected the dues and careth nothing for the state of the bridge.’

Edward felt a surge of anger against his mother. He knew that he need not verify the statement. Was this not exactly what his mother had been doing since she had come to the country? Was this not the reason for her unpopularity and that of his father and would she never understand that it was deeds such as this which had brought them within sight of losing their crowns.

He restrained the outburst which rose to his lips and replied, ‘My friends, you may leave this matter to me. I can tell you this. The bridge shall be repaired and its upkeep shall in future be looked after from the dues received.’

Exultant by his quick grasp of the situation and believing in his promise, for he was already gaining a reputation of being a man of his word, the deputation left and among their friends sang the praise of the new King who would undoubtedly bring a return of just rule to the country.

The Queen Mother was with her daughter and she had just heard the joyous news from Beatrice that she was pregnant again.

As Edward entered she cried, ‘Dear Edward, do come and join us. I have such good news.’

Edward found it difficult to curb his temper. He had a share of that defect of the Plantagenets, but he had told himself that he must learn to keep it under control. It needed all his willpower to do this now.

‘Your sister Beatrice is going to have another child.’

He took Beatrice’s hand and kissed it. ‘Congratulations, sister,’ he said. ‘I’ll warrant John is pleased.’

‘Oh yes, but he always gets anxious. He says we have five and should be content.’

The Queen Mother laughed indulgently. Nothing pleased her more than to hear of the devotion of her daughter’s husband.

‘I wish I could keep you here, Beatrice, until the child is born.’

She looked at Margaret and they smiled, recalling the time when they had deluded the Scottish nobles and Margaret had stayed in England to be with her mother when her daughter was born.

‘If it is a girl,’ said Beatrice, ‘I shall call her Eleanor after you, dearest Mother.’

The Queen Mother laughed. ‘Not another Eleanor in the family! My dearest love, it is confusing enough now.’

‘Still, there is no one whose name I would rather my child had than yours.’

‘It was a good thing I named my girl Margaret,’ said the Queen of Scotland. ‘But I threaten that if I should ever have another daughter she will be an Eleanor too.’

The Queen Mother was gratified but anxious immediately. ‘My darling, I hope there will be no more. You suffered too much when David was born. If you girls only knew what I go through when you have your children you would vow never to have any more. I wait for the messengers … and they are always so tardy.’

‘Oh, my dearest mother,’ cried Margaret, ‘you must remember that we are no longer children.’

Edward was drawn into this family circle in spite of himself. They had all had a wonderful childhood, so different from most royal children. He must always remember – however exasperated he became by his mother’s fecklessness – that they had enjoyed a happy family circle.

Edward whispered to Margaret, ‘I have something of importance to discuss with our mother.’

‘I will take Beatrice with me to your lady wife,’ said Margaret. ‘She will want to hear about the baby.’

‘Yes, do,’ said Edward.

When he was alone with his mother he assumed a grave manner.

‘I have had a complaint, my lady,’ he told her, ‘from the citizens of London.’

‘Those tiresome people! How dare they complain at the time of your coronation! Have they not been given so much … free wine, banquets …’

‘Free wine and banquets will not repair London Bridge, my lady.’

‘London Bridge! What has that to do with the coronation?’

‘If it were to collapse it would be remembered as the outstanding event of this coronation for years to come.’

‘Collapse! Why should it?’

‘Because it is in need of repairs and the dues collected partly for that purpose have been used for other things.’

‘What things?’

‘You know that better than I for you have had them and misspent this money.’

‘I never heard such nonsense. In your father’s day …’

‘My lady, this is not my father’s day. It is mine, and I would have you know that I will not have money which is meant to repair my bridge spent on other things.’

‘Your father gave me the custody of the bridge for six years …’

‘And since that time the bridge has become a danger to the public. Will you never learn? Did the rising of the barons mean nothing to you?’

‘The barons have been defeated.’

‘The barons will never be defeated, my lady, while they represent the will of the people, and only when that is in his favour can a king rule.’

‘Your father did very well without it.’

‘That is not the verdict of the world, alas. My father tried to rule without it, and because of this only the greatest good luck kept him his crown and you will remember well, my mother, that he came within a very short distance of losing it. Have you forgotten those days when he and I were the prisoners of Simon de Montfort and you went to France as a begger to your sister’s court and tried to raise money for an army to free us?’

The Queen Mother wiped her eyes. ‘Do you think I shall ever forget the saddest time of my life when I and your father were separated?’

‘I trust you never will and that you will remember how easily it came about. The people would not brook your extravagance, your spending of money raised in taxation on yourself and your friends and relations.’

‘Edward! How dare you! And you my son! Whose side are you on? That of the crown or the rebel barons?’

‘There must be no sides, my lady. I am on the side of justice. I am going to see wrong put right. I am going to bring this country back to prosperity and belief in its sovereign. And I am going to begin by repairing London Bridge and taking the custody of it out of your hands.’

‘Edward … how can you do this to me!’

He went to her and laid his hands on her shoulders, for he loved her dearly and there were so many memories that stayed with him of childhood days when she had been his comfort and his solace and to be with her and his father had been the greatest treat of his childhood. ‘I can because I must. Dear Mother, you know of my love for you, but I am first a king and I mean to rule. I love you now as I ever did and never shall I forget your devotion to me and my dear father. But I cannot allow you to place my crown in jeopardy as you did that of my father. For that reason I act as I must and as I see it that is the right and just way to act.’

‘So you would humiliate me in the eyes of these rapacious Londoners.’

‘You will win only honour by discontinuing with this custody. And these Londoners are not rapacious because they wish to see their bridge repaired.’

‘If they want it repaired let them pay for it.’

‘It is exactly what they are doing. You know that part of the dues paid are for the upkeep of the bridge.’