Play Favourites (King Edward and His Favourite Men) - 3. Chapter 3

“Come, Roger d’Amory. I will show you to my parlour,” he said.

Roger just looked back at the king. He gave no reply. Edward moved to the stairs that led up to the first floor. He climbed them majestically. Roger followed him. He felt the eyes of the peers on his back. Edward stopped at the top of the stairs and pointed down a hallway.

“There are my rooms. I will show you to my favourite chamber,” he said.

Edward moved on. He stopped in front of a door. A servant opened the door for him. Without looking at the man, Edward entered the room. Roger followed him inside quickly. The servant gave him a piercing look. Roger looked aside. The man closed the door behind them.

Edward gave a laugh.

“All the noblemen, peers and servants will know within the briefest of time that you are here with me in my favourite room.”

He turned to Roger with a smirk.

“Rumours spread quickly, Roger d’Amory,” he said.

Roger nodded faintly.

Edward walked to the window and looked outside.

“My dear spouse will also be informed in just a moment’s notice. She is keen to know wherever I go and whatever I do,” he said in a mocking voice.

Roger joined Edward by the window hesitantly. He gave Edward a questioning look.

“I was forced to marry her. Isabella, the French sovereign’s sister. She is a beautiful woman, isn’t she?” Edward asked, turning to Roger.

“Indeed, the queen is beautiful,” Roger said in a low voice.

Edward nodded.

“She is beautiful, indeed,” Edward said.

Edward turned back to the window and pointed at the sky.

“Isn’t the blue sky beautiful also? Isn’t the sun beautiful also?” he asked.

Roger kept looking at Edward. Edward bit his lip.

“Does the sun demand my love? Does the sky want me to worship its beauty?” Edward asked.

Roger looked at the blue sky.

“Nature is beauty in itself,” he said. “Nature’s beauty is everlasting and imperishable.”

Edward looked at Roger, raising an eyebrow. Then the king smiled.

“You are clever and smart, Roger. I understand what you are saying. I must not compare a woman to the sky,” he said.

“Well, why not?” Roger asked. “The queen is beautiful, although her beauty is not everlasting for she is not immortal as is nature.”

He paused.

“But you acknowledge her beauty. So this is not why the queen may feel depressed,” Roger continued.

Edward turned his head and looked outside again for a while.

“You are very right, Roger d’Amory. I acknowledge her beauty. I let her know I do. I respect her as a queen, as the French sovereign’s sister. I admire her courage to face her fate. But...”

Edward turned to Roger abruptly.

“She cannot accept her fate. So many noble women have to accept and even endure their fate. So many noble men have to do so as well. We serve our country, our nation, Roger,” Edward said forcefully.

He fell silent and looked out of the window again. Roger also looked outside for a while.

“Well,” Roger said finally. “Is it wrong that a woman claims the love of a man? Is it wrong that a wife claims the love of her husband, my lord?”

Edward tilted his head slightly. He measured Roger. The man’s words were bold. But the king liked his honesty.

“There is nothing wrong about it, Roger. It’s just not a very realistic point of view on life and the world. Earthly love is perishable. We must not base our life on what is bound to not last forever,” the king said.

Roger looked outside again, musing.

“Well, my lord. Let me speak frankly. Don’t you claim to find love yourself? Don’t you risk leading your country to ruin for a personal wish?” he asked.

Edward shrugged. Rogers’s words struck him. He now felt his anger rise. But Edward controlled himself. He bit his lip again.

“Well, Roger d’Amory,” he said finally. “I must admit that you are right. I deny Isabella the right to find love while I, myself, take it for granted.”

He gave a forceful nod.

“Yes, Roger d’Amory, you are certainly right,” Edward said.

Edward fell silent. He looked outside again, almost forgetting about Roger’s presence.

“There is another fault in your thoughts, my lord,” Roger said finally in a low voice.

Edward turned to Roger abruptly. His face had flushed. He opened his mouth to scold Roger, but he fell silent instantly at Roger’s serious look.

“You feel bothered by your spouse’s demands. Would you feel bothered also if Isabella loved another man but you?” Roger asked.

His eyes rested on Edward’s face. He knew his words were bold. But Roger, to his own surprise, was not afraid of the king’s reaction.

Edward’s eyes widened slightly. He looked at Roger in astonishment.

“Well, yes, you are right again, Roger. I would not feel bothered at all. I wished she would turn to another man,” he said.

Edward turned around and paced the room. Roger watched him silently. Finally, Edward stopped. He looked at Roger.

“This would be the most common thing, Roger. The marriage of a king and a queen is for the sake of their country. Their personal happiness rarely ever is a part of the deal,” he said.

Edward made a step towards Roger.

“Why, why can’t Isabella accept her fate like any queen did before her? Why must the Queen of England demand the love of the King?” he asked forcefully.

“She fell in love with you perhaps?” Roger asked.

Edward shook his head forcefully and made a gesture with his hand.

“She just fancies she is in love with me. She does not love me for she does not know who I am. We have barely met. I saw a queen. But I never saw the woman. And she never saw the man I am,” he said.

Roger looked at Edward, not daring to interrupt the king.

Edward paced the room. He finally stopped and looked at Roger.

“We have a son together. He will be the heir of England’s throne. But this child is not a pledge of marital love. How can she think so? It has been like this for thousands of years. It has never been different, Roger. It’s all about politics,” Edward said.

Roger kept waiting. Edward walked back to the window.

“Isabella must have known. She was raised to be married for political reasons. There is no other choice for a sovereign’s daughter,” he said.

Edward looked out of the window for some time. Finally, he turned back to Roger.

“Isabella must lower her expectations. If love is what she is after, then she must seek for another man,” he said.

Edward’s voice was determined. He narrowed his eyes.

“I just think it is not love that she seeks,” he said finally.

He turned his eyes to Roger. Their eyes locked.

“You mean she seeks for power?” Roger asked in a sober voice.

Edward tilted his head, thinking.

“My love would have guaranteed her power for she would have been able to wield influence on me. I reject her love, however, and thus I reject her influence on me,” Edward said.

Roger was thinking.

“So your spouse wants to interfere?” Roger asked.

Edward nodded.

“Yes, she certainly does,” he said slowly. “The queen is not to be underestimated.”

He turned to Roger and straightened.

“I can see her motives. She acts in favour of her nation, France, and in favour of her brother, the French sovereign,” he said soberly.

Edward crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“She just made one big mistake,” Edward said.

He gave Roger a piercing look.

“She murdered Piers Gaveston. She took my beloved friend away from me. She hoped I would then turn my love to her. I am asking you, Roger, how could she think I would love the woman who murdered my beloved friend?” Edward asked.

Edward’s cheeks had flushed. He felt enraged.

“Perhaps she did not seek your love any longer then,” Roger replied. “Perhaps she counted on your grief and sorrow.”

Edward gazed at Roger. He thought about Roger’s words, and then he nodded.

“Indeed, you are right again, Roger. I closed myself up. I gave away power to the peers. I was not interested in politics. I was not interested in England’s welfare. I made a bad decision. I lost the Battle of Bannockburn. This loss made me an even more vulnerable king. Another bad or wrong move and my fate will be sealed. My downfall is already decided. My foes are waiting. They are patient. And my foes are many,” Edward said.

Edward’s face had turned pale. Roger watched him silently.

“I awoke this morning and the fog had gone,” Edward said suddenly. “I instantly knew that something had changed for the better.”

He looked at Roger pensively.

“However, the worms are not aware of this change. And I certainly will not let them know of this change of mine. Thus I will have the advantage over them,” Edward said.

Roger nodded thoughtfully.

“My lord,” he said finally. “You were angry when my uncle approached you this morning. Why?”

Edward looked at Roger. He felt puzzled by the sudden change of topic.

“Why?” he repeated Roger’s question. “Because I do not speak to visitors outside of the grand hall normally. It is contrary to etiquette.”

Edward kept looking at Roger. He frowned slightly. And then he narrowed his eyes.

“Ah, well, Roger, I see clearly now. Who did take you and your uncle to the green in order to meet me there?” Edward asked warily.

Roger looked at Edward.

“Sir Mortimer showed us there. I felt uncomfortable with meeting the king informally. But my uncle reassured me. And so I followed him,” he said.

Edward started pacing the room. And then he gave a laugh.

“Sir Mortimer and the queen. What a couple! They are a good match definitely. Keen for power. They are cold and ruthless both,” he said in a mocking voice.

Edward stopped and looked at Roger. He sneered.

“It all makes sense now, my dear Roger.”

Edward approached Roger and stopped right in front of him. He put a finger on Roger’s chest.

“You are a prey, Roger d’Amory. You are a bait. They were certain that I would take the bait. And so I did,” Edward said.

He withdrew his finger, made a step back and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Edward measured Roger. He looked him down from head to toe. And then he smiled.

“You closely resemble Piers Gaveston, Roger. This is why they have chosen you. How did they know you would fall for your king?” he asked.

Roger flushed slightly. He shrugged.

“They do not know. They cannot be aware of it. They were just certain I could not reject the king’s command,” he said.

Edward nodded. A smile was playing on his lips.

“In fact, you are not in a position to reject your king. I must acknowledge their plan. Well devised. I lost the battle. I almost ruined the country. They hope I will cherish my malady again instead of serving England, my country. This is their plan. Just let the mob know their king turned away from them and then let them know why he turned away from them. A riot is what they plan. An upheaval that will bring me down,” Edward said.

Edward crossed the room. He paced the room slowly and majestically.

“A well devised plan, I have to admit. Rather Sir Mortimer’s idea then Isabella’s, I think,” he said.

Edward turned back to Roger forcefully. He approached him again. The smile on his lips broadened.

“They made a mistake, Roger d’Amory,” he said.

Roger gave Edward a questioning look.

“They did not reckon you’re smart and clever. And they did not reckon you would instantly see the man and not the king,” Edward said.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest again and smiled at Roger.

“You are my favourite, Roger d’Amory. I will let them know very soon. And then I will watch their moves and I will operate to my advantage,” Edward said.

Roger’s eyes rested on Edward’s face. Edward made a step forward. He reached out his hand and placed his finger on Roger’s chest. He looked into Roger’s eyes.

“Are you on my side, Roger d’Amory?” Edward asked with a challenging undertone.

Roger kept looking at Edward.

“Yes, I am,” he replied seriously.

Edward gave him a slight nod. He fixed his eyes on Roger’s face.

“So give me your word of honour then, Roger. And I will give you mine,” Edward said.

Roger’s lips opened slightly. He just looked at Edward for an instant. And then he slowly returned the nod.