The Battle of the Queens by Jean Plaidy Page B

himself to abandon his loyalty to the crown. It was young William Marshal who had seized Worcester for Louis. But a year later he had turned from the French Prince for he could not bear to see French nobles strutting through England and when John died it seemed natural that he should change his allegiance, so he had joined his father and became a sturdy supporter of young Henry.
    He had been married at a tender age to a child named Alice who was the daughter of Baldwin de Béthune; but the marriage had never been consummated as they had been but children and Alice had died before they were grown up.
    There was no doubt that young William Marshal was considered a man of great influence, not only through his father but because of his own abilities. Young as he was he had already caused some consternation by going over to Louis’s side. Then he had fought beside his father and had taken possession of several castles which had been in French hands; but perhaps because of his one-time support of Louis he was watched rather closely by some of the older knights and in particular Hubert de Burgh.
    He had recently been promised the hand of the Princess Eleanor – the youngest daughter of King John and at this time about three years old – because he was proposing to marry a daughter of Robert de Bruce, a prominent family of Southern Scotland who had some claim to the throne. The idea of a man’s marrying into the North, which was a perpetual threat to England, was alarming – particularly when he had shown that he could shift his loyalty to the French. And it was for this reason that the greater alliance with baby Eleanor had been offered him.
    Young William could be proud, for it was clear that he was regarded as a man who must be placated.
    When his father died he would inherit great possessions; but the thought of a world without his father filled him with foreboding.
    The old man saw this and grasped his son’s hands. ‘You will follow me, my son. You will be the second Earl of Pembroke when I am gone. I want you always to keep our name as honourable as it is at this day.’
    William promised but assured his father that he had some years left to him yet.
    His father shrugged this aside and said that he wished his son to send for Hubert de Burgh as there was much he had to say to him.
    In due course Hubert arrived at the castle and spent some hours with the Marshal when they talked of the difficulties through which the country had passed and those which remained.
    ‘There is not a man living,’ Hubert told him, with some emotion, ‘who has made England’s cause his own in the same self-effacing manner as you have, my lord.’
    ‘And you will carry this on, I know,’ replied William.
    Hubert bowed his head and declared that he would do his best, though in his heart he doubted that he could match William Marshal. Hubert was a man whose emotions would always play some part in his actions; he often thought of his conduct with regard to Arthur for whose sake he had, at great risk, defied the King; and he wondered what William Marshal’s actions would have been in similar circumstances. Honour was a fetish with William Marshal. He was the man who had defied Richard, when it was clear that his father was on the edge of defeat and Richard would soon be King. Fearless in honour – that was William Marshal and there were few like him.
    Hubert said suddenly: ‘My lord Earl, you must not expect the same degree of selfless service from other men as you yourself have given to the crown. The spirit is often willing, but self-interest creeps in – also the need to preserve one’s own life. The service of kings is a dangerous one.’
    ‘I know it well. I know you defied John when you saved Arthur from mutilation. You were not serving your King then, whatever your motive. But this gives you a quality which men perceive. I do not think they like you the less for it. Have you noticed how our young King turns first to you and with