Free Joanna by Roberta Gellis Page B

and any shadow of suspicion fall upon John. It seemed to the bishop that Salisbury’s fixed, blind affection for his brother was neither so fixed nor so blind as it had been in the past. The earl had been badly shaken by the death of William Braose’s wife and son.
    Winchester shifted in his seat and dropped his eyes to the floor. He wished he had not thought of that. The truth was that even he had been shaken by that, and he was neither blind to the faults nor particularly fond of the king. John was growing either indifferent to or careless of showing the true depths of his degradation. He had made no secret of it when he locked Braose’s lady and child into a tower and gave orders that neither food nor water be given to them. The man had committed treason, it was true, and the woman had aided and abetted him and had spoken foolishly and haughtilybut death by starvation was cruel beyond need or reason and the boy was scarce thirteen years old. What had he done? Salisbury had pleaded for Braose’s son on his knees, offering his own legitimate heir as hostage. Winchester sighed. He had pleaded and reasoned alsohoping more that John would satisfy his brother than that any spirit of mercy would move the kingbut he had been equally unsuccessful. The child had died with the mother after weeks of suffering.
    That was not all. John had always played fast and loose with the wives and daughters of his nobility, but in the past he had confined himself either to willing women or to those who could be seduced or threatened into willingness. Of late, he did not even bother to put a gloss over what he was doing. He sent openly for any woman his fancy happened to light upon, and if she did not come, he sent men to seize her. Winchester had protested openly about this practice; he had called it a sin against God. John had laughed at himpubliclysaying he could not be more damned than he already was, excommunicated as he had been by the pope. And privately the king had sneered that he did not need to fear sin since, doubtless, he would be absolved for such trifles as rape and murder when he was absolved for the greater sins of flouting the Holy Father’s will andworse yetlaying hands upon Church property.
    “So the bastard is betrothed,” Isabella sneered, breaking into Winchester’s thoughts. “You see, my lord, I said your brother would not care for your preferences. He has betrothed his son to the daughter of your enemy.”
    “You do not understand William,” John replied, a little more sharply than he usually spoke to Isabella. “His purpose is to bind de Vipont to me more firmly by making a blood bond with him.”
    Although she did not answer in words, Isabella tossed her head. “Is the girl still as red as a fox? she asked. “I remember her when she came to court with Lady Ela.”
    “Yes,” Winchester replied shortly. It was never wise to praise other women to Isabella.
    “And a bitch like the mother, no doubt?” John asked.
    “Oh no.” Isabella answered before Winchester could speak. “Not at all. She is a pious prude and as meek as a nun’s hen. What could she be else with such a mother.   Lady Alinor has trodden all the life out of her.”
    Now Winchester was more than uneasy; he was actively frightened. It had not escaped his keen eye that despite her placid manners there was nothing at all downtrodden about Joanna and that Salisbury was almost as fond of her as he was of his own son. To meddle with Joanna was to court immediate disaster. Yet to say a word on the subject was to invite catastrophe by sparking the king’s interest and the queen’s spite. Fortunately at that moment the child in the cradle began to wail, Richard jumped up, scattering his toys, and young Henry went to see what had disturbed his sister. Winchester blessed all three with sincerity, even wishing he was a holier man so that his blessing would be more effective.  
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Chapter Four
    On the evening before Geoffrey’s departure, Joanna