Free The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick Page A

stood in the chamber that had been allotted to Alienor, high up in the Great Tower.
    The room was well appointed, with handsome wall hangings, sturdy furniture and a big bed with heavy curtains smelling strongly of sheep. The shutters were closed and since there were few candles, the effect was one of encroaching deep shadow. In full daylight, though, the double arched windows would give a view over the busy River Seine, much as the Ombrière Palace at Bordeaux looked out on the Garonne.
    Under Adelaide’s watchful gaze, servants brought washing water, wine and platters of bread and cheese. Alienor’s women started unpacking, shaking out gowns and chemises before draping them over clothing poles or storing them in the garderobes. Adelaide’s nostrils flared at the sight of the colourful and detailed garments emerging from the baggage chests. ‘You will find us accustomed to plainer ways here,’ she said primly. ‘We are not a frivolous people, and my son has simple tastes.’
    Alienor tried to look demure, thinking that if Adelaide knew what her precious son had been doing throughout their progress of Aquitaine, she would have an apoplexy. Even for Louis, the Church was not the only influence in his life.
    Petronella tossed her head. ‘I like bright colours,’ she said. ‘They remind me of home. Our papa loved them.’
    ‘Yes, he did.’ Alienor slipped her arm around Petronella’s waist in support. ‘We shall have to set new fashions!’ She smiled at Adelaide, who did not smile back.
    Several young women in Adelaide’s retinue exchanged glances with each other, among them Louis’s sister, Constance, who was of a similar age to Alienor, and Gisela, a young royal kinswoman with dusty-blond hair and green eyes. Someone stifled a giggle and, without looking round, Adelaide made a terse gesture commanding silence. ‘I can see you have much to learn,’ she said severely.
    Alienor refused to be browbeaten. She would not allow her unfamiliarity with Paris and French ways to make her feel diminished. She would be proud and stand tall because she was the equal of anyone here. ‘Indeed I do, madam,’ she replied. ‘Our father taught us the importance of education.’ Because to outwit your rivals, first you had to know their ways and how to play their games.
    ‘I am pleased to hear it,’ Adelaide said. ‘You would do well to listen to your elders. Let us hope he taught you the importance of manners too.’
    ‘She doesn’t like us,’ Petronella said when Adelaide eventually left to attend to business elsewhere. ‘And I certainly don’t like her!’
    ‘You will be civil to her,’ Alienor warned, lowering her voice. ‘She is Louis’s mother and owed respect. There are different customs here and we must learn them.’
    ‘I don’t want to learn their ways.’ Petronella pursed her lips in fair imitation of Adelaide and folded her arms. ‘I don’t like it here.’
    ‘That’s because it is late and you are tired. Tomorrow, in daylight, when you have slept, it will be different.’
    ‘No it won’t,’ Petronella said, just to be awkward.
    Alienor suppressed a sigh. Tonight she did not have the wherewithal to humour Petronella because her own mood was low. Adelaide plainly disapproved of them and viewed their presence as a thorn in her side. Her power at court had grown stronger as her husband’s health deteriorated, but to maintain that power, she now had to control and influence Louis. She clearly viewed Alienor as someone who would usurp her position if not put down from the outset.
    Louis had been reticent about his mother but Alienor had gleaned the impression that the emotional ties between them were rigid and about dominance. There was no love, except in the way of a need for it on Louis’s behalf, and a refusal to give it on Adelaide’s. Alienor had already seen how easily Louis was manipulated by stronger personalities, and how stubborn he could be once persuaded to a certain decision. The