Free David the Prince - Scotland 03 by Nigel Tranter Page A

the butt, he became, as it were overnight, if not the senior at least the most influential and prominent. There was nothing of the obsequious offered or expected; but David's wishes and preferences now tended to have priority - it would have been strange otherwise, with all at Court, from the King down, treating the other two as being more or less in the Scots prince's train. Even their tutor, the Benedictine Brother John, a pleasant if rather sober young man, less than ten years older than themselves, treated David differently, having come with them from Romsey to Winchester.
    The wedding was a notably joyful occasion, much more so than most royal matches. For although Henry was well aware of the political advantages of marrying the senior female representative of the Saxon royal line, he was much attracted to Matilda personally, and she to him - as near a love-match as any prince was likely to approach. Even though he insisted on her name being changed to Maud, the English diminutive, on account apparently of his hatred of some female relative of that name who had bullied him as a child. His new Queen did not mind, her true baptismal name being the Saxon Eadgyth, or Edith, anyway. She would have put up with much more than that to attain this wedded bliss - for obstacles were indeed put in her way. The marriage was not popular with the Norman nobility, even those who were close supporters of Henry. They conceived it to be a mistake, an unnecessary encouragement of the Saxon element in the kingdom, which might well become uppish, and a consequent danger to their own French supremacy. Some of them went beyond mere murmurings in the matter. They raised the objection that the princess was in fact a nun, already wedded to Christ and therefore unable to marry the King. Vehemently she protested that this was not so, that she had never taken the veil, had only dwelt, and unwillingly, amongst the nuns in the care of her abbess-aunt, Christina, at Romsey. But the objectors got Christina, a distinctly soured character, to testify that once, when they were younger, she herself had thrown veils publicly over the heads of her two nieces to protect them from the advances of licentious soldiery-which could be construed as an initiation of sorts. It became the gentle but firm Anselm's first task, on his return from exile in France, as Archbishop, to declare this as invalid and the princesses no nuns. He improved on this by personally marrying the happy couple a week later, in St. Swithin's, David giving away the bride. The King of Scots' agreement was taken for granted.
    After the wedding, David found himself in something of a dilemma. Hitherto he had been little better than a prisoner-at-large. Now he was the Queen of England's brother and the King's friend. Yet his heart should be back in Scotland. Presumably there was nothing now to prevent him from going home? But was it his duty? Could he better serve his coun try/ back in Scotland or here at the court of England? He was under no illusions that Edgar was anxious for his return. Edgar showed no real interest in his youngest brother. As for Alexander, he went his own way, never communicating with him or his sisters. What place would there be for him in Scotland? Moreover, would Henry permit him to go? Henry clearly assumed that he would remain, even seemed to want his company, finding roles for him to fill. Might he not serve best by acting as voice for his brothers here, meantime at any rate? Besides the fact that Matilda and Mary would not hear of him going. And his friends were here. Scarcely admitting it to himself, David found a reluctance to leave. Later, to be sure . . .
    Apart from the Norman disagreement with his marriage, Henry's taking of the throne was remarkably painless, virtually unchallenged. William had made so many enemies, and chosen his friends from amongst the baser sort, that most of the men of real power and influence - that is, the Norman nobility - found the change