Rhuddlan

Chapter 18

  February, 1177

  Hawarden Castle, Gwynedd

  After leaving Stroud, Hugh and Roger of Haworth had traveled to the march of Cheshire and ended up in the earl’s castle at Hawarden. In actuality, Hawarden was in Wales, at the extreme eastern edge of Gwynedd and the most northerly point of Powys. It was also to the west of the River Dee, which meant it was decidedly severed from England. Hugh didn’t know upon whom he had an unconscious desire to turn his back: his king or his mother.

  Hawarden had been in the possession of the earls of Chester since Hugh’s great-grandfather’s wars against the Welsh one hundred years earlier. Its most recent tenant had died during the Rebellion, killed in the Bastard’s surprise attack on Hugh’s convoy into Brittany. He had left no heir and Hugh had always liked the area. The castle had been meant as a symbol of the Norman presence, a martial structure, calculated to inspire fear in the native population. It wasn’t a castle in the same sense as Chester; it wasn’t a sprawling, thick-walled monster incorporating a whole town. It was rather a simple motte and bailey fortress; small and defensible. The motte was built on the flattened top of a natural mound, a foothill of the Berwyns, and consisted of a three-storey stone structure surrounded by a stout timbered palisade and a steep ditch while the bailey below it, similarly encircled, contained various servile endeavors including a forge, barracks, stables and kitchens.

  Roger of Haworth looked askance at it. This was his first time at Hawarden and he wasn’t pleased with what he saw. “My lord, you can’t live here!” he protested.

  Hugh smiled at him. “Why not?”

  “Well—just look at it! It’s not large enough to suit an earl. And half the people don’t know a word of French or English.”

  “You’re right, of course,” Hugh said. “But it doesn’t matter. Those are temporary conditions.”

  It was his plan to dramatically enlarge Hawarden, perhaps even to a size which would rival Chester. The king had made it clear at the council meeting which had precipitated Hugh’s release that his barons were not to build castles without his express permission. But Hugh didn’t think Henry would object to Hawarden—it was already built and it was in Wales, not England.

  But the best thing about Hawarden was that it was only ten miles from Chester. Henry might have put down this rebellion but everyone knew that the king’s sons were notoriously unfaithful and Hugh was gambling on the very real possibility of another uprising. There were disaffected barons still—Hugh was wryly certain Ralph de Fougères would jump at yet another chance to go against Henry—and if such an opportunity presented itself the first thing Hugh would do would be to march on Chester and reclaim it from the royal garrison.

  Miles de Gournay remained in Chester at Hugh’s behest. While the castle itself was in the king’s hands, its revenues still belonged to the earl and Hugh preferred that the steward oversee their collection, partly because he didn’t trust Henry’s officials but mostly because he didn’t want de Gournay with him. Ever since the interview with his mother, Hugh found it difficult to think of de Gournay without irritation. He didn’t doubt the man’s loyalty but he felt his disapproval, which was worse because it was personal. Disapproval of Hugh’s choice of sides in the war, disapproval of his relationship with Haworth but especially disapproval of the way he’d treated Eleanor. He knew the steward blamed him for his wife’s death for all the man’s constant protestations that he himself had failed to keep an eye on her.

  Although the season wasn’t generally favorable to outdoor work, the earl knew from long experience that doling out liberal amounts of money tended to persuade men to look past their own comfort and that included toiling in disagreeable weather. Since the local population was hardly plentiful, Hugh recruited artisans and laborers from the area around Chester, paying even for their families to join them. Haworth’s complaint that only half the people in residence knew a word of French or English was soon resolved.

  Haworth still wasn’t convinced that Hawarden was the best place for the earl but he was mollified. Hugh was in a better mood. A kind of melancholy had come over him after the king had passed judgment on him at Falaise. It had been partially relieved after his meeting with his mother; Haworth had felt the difference. But it was without a doubt the reconstruction of Hawarden that was giving Hugh a reason to get up in the morning. The earl was continually consulting with the master builder. He could spend the day just watching the workers.

  Roger of Haworth didn’t realize it but he himself was a large part of the reason for Hugh’s recovery. It wasn’t until they’d arrived at Stroud that Hugh realized how much he’d come to rely on the stolid man. Since Bolsover’s death, Haworth had been at his side. He’d shared Hugh’s confinement and he’d seen to Hugh’s well-being during that hellish period between Henry’s announcement regarding Chester and the meeting with the dowager countess Maud. Although it was never acknowledged, it was no secret to anyone at Hawarden that he and Hugh quite often slept in the same bed. Hugh trusted him absolutely. He knew whereas Bolsover had pursued him for the money, favors and recognition the patronage of a rich and influential man could give him, Haworth did it all from sheer love.

  Such devotion, however, was at times stifling because Hugh was not in love with Roger of Haworth. He had an affection for him and felt a loyalty to him but these were emotions born more out of gratitude for Haworth’s unconditional love than out of any deep feeling for the man himself. Haworth was not of his background; he had been raised up into the knightly class, even against prevailing sentiment, at Hugh’s instigation. He wasn’t clever or witty or particularly handsome, qualities Hugh found attractive, and he had no desire to be Hugh’s equivalent in anything. He existed only to serve the earl, an unequal relationship that flattered the ego but frustrated the soul. But Hugh had the sense of honor and fairness typical of most of his peers and pounded into him from the first day he could remember and he realized that he owed Haworth a great debt. So he was careful to always ask his captain’s opinion and to show proper appreciation for any service he was given and if he looked at other men, he did it surreptitiously. Perhaps, he sometimes thought, it was just as well that Bolsover was no longer around to dazzle and befuddle his reason. He knew now he could live without Bolsover but he was not so sure he could live without Haworth.