Amabel had known for some time that Matilda was smitten with Stephen, and she was not surprised in the least, for few young girls were not susceptible to high spirits, good looks, and gallantry. Robert now saw it, too, although with none of his wife’s benevolent approval. He supposed it was only to be expected that a fifteen-year-old virgin maiden would not have the wisdom to tell gilt from true gold. But women worldly enough to know better made the same foolish mistake, and it baffled him that it should be so. It was not that he wished Stephen ill; he did not. Nor did he deny that Stephen had courage, good humor, and a giving heart, admirable qualities for certes. But Robert did not think Stephen was reliable, and for Robert, that was one of the most damning judgments he could pass upon another man.
“Well, I’d best get back to the White Ship.” Reaching again for Matilda’s hand, Stephen raised it to his mouth. “God keep you, Lady Matilda. Till the morrow at Southampton.”
“Oh!” It was an involuntary cry, and a revealing one. “You are not coming with us?” Matilda’s disappointment was keen enough to embolden her. “I’d hoped,” she confided, “that you would make the journey on our ship. I have ever hated the sea. But I would not be so afraid if you were there to laugh at my fears, to make me laugh, too…” Her lashes fluttered up, just long enough to give Stephen one look of intense, heartfelt entreaty, then swept down, shadowing her cheeks like feathery golden fans.
Amabel grinned; coming from such an innocent, that was not badly done at all. Robert glanced at his wife but refrained from commenting. Stephen was momentarily caught off balance, not sure what to say. He really did want to sail on the White Ship, had been laying wagers with friends that it would be the first ship into Southampton Harbor. But he found himself staring at Matilda’s long, fair lashes; was that shine behind them the glint of tears?
“White Ship? I never heard of it,” he said, and discovered then that any ship was well lost for the sake of her smile.
THOMAS FITZ STEPHEN, the proud master of the White Ship, was not pleased to learn that Stephen had defected to the king’s vessel, for the more lords of rank aboard, the greater his prestige. But he had no time to brood about Stephen’s change of plans, for the king’s son had finally arrived. The Lord William was a prideful, cocky youth of seventeen who’d inherited his father’s stocky frame, black hair, and iron-edged will. He did not have Henry’s ice-blooded control and vaunted patience, though, and soon grew restless, abandoning the ship for the more convivial pleasures of the nearest quayside tavern. But before he departed, he won over the crew by breaking out three of the casks of cargo wine, ordering them shared between passengers and sailors alike.
Most of the cargo had already been loaded: huge wine casks and heavy, padlocked coffer chests said to contain the king’s treasure. They were now secured in the center of the ship, covered with canvas. A large tarpaulin tent was being set up near the bow so the highborn passengers could be sheltered—somewhat—from the cold and flying spray. When Berold had first come aboard, he’d been awed by the spaciousness of the ship. It was filling up fast, though. He’d heard in the tavern that there were fifty oarsmen on the White Ship, but his counting skills were rudimentary at best, and he could only guess at the number of passengers milling about; at least two hundred, he reckoned, mayhap many more.
Berold had been dismayed to learn that Stephen would not be sailing with them. With Stephen aboard, he’d have felt safe, would have feared neither storms nor prowling Channel pirates, not even the disdain of these highborn passengers. With Stephen not there to speak up for him, what if one of the lords ordered him off the ship? He’d found for himself an out-of-the-way corner at the stern, near the steering oar, and drawing his knees up to his chin, he pulled his cloak close, tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. He knew, though, that his very appearance marked him out as an intruder in their midst. The drab grey of his homespun tunic—neither bleached nor dyed—contrasted starkly with the vivid blues and scarlets and greens swirling around him. And while he was grateful for the warmth of his sheepskin cloak, he saw the scornful smiles it attracted, for the wool was on the outside, a style worn only by rustics, the poor, and baseborn. But when his fears finally came to pass, when a knight objected belligerently to the presence of “this meagre whelp,” the Lord Richard Fitz Roy waved the man aside with a quip about “one of Lord Stephen’s strays.”
Berold closed his eyes in thankfulness, then blessed the Lord Stephen again, for still casting a protective shadow. Sliding his hand under his cloak, he squeezed the leather pouch hidden in his tunic, his secret talisman, Stephen’s farewell generosity. The coins clinked reassuringly as he touched them. Settling back against the gunwale, he at last felt free to enjoy his astonishing good fortune: sailing to England on the king’s newest, fastest ship, amongst these great and powerful lords and their ladies. What stories he would have to tell Gerard!
He began to eavesdrop, seeking to catch snatches of conversation, for he wanted to identify as many as possible of his celebrated shipmates. Richard Fitz Roy looked to be in his early twenties; he was said to be well loved by his father, the king, who’d recently betrothed him to a Norman heiress. Berold wondered if she was one of the women sailing with them, wondered too, if the Lord William’s young wife was aboard. He was utterly fascinated by the female passengers, for never had he been in such close proximity to ladies of rank.
He counted at least fifteen of these alluring beings, all of them clean, clad in rich, vibrant colors, and whenever one of them passed nearby, there wafted to him on the damp salt air the fragrances of summer. Their gowns were concealed under long surcotes and wool mantles, but they wore no hoods despite the November chill, just delicate veils held in place by jeweled circlets, their hair swinging down in long braids, often adorned with ribbons. One carried the smallest dog Berold had ever seen, and its ears, too, sported jaunty red ribbons. Berold was bewitched by each and every one of them, these ladies of the White Ship, but above all, by the Lady Mahault, Countess of Perche, and the Lady Lucia, Countess of Chester. They were both handsome young women. Mahault was slim and dark, while Lucia’s blonde plaits gleamed like braided sunlight against the emerald of her mantle, reaching almost to her knees. Berold could not take his eyes off them once he learned who they were, for Mahault was one of King Henry’s natural daughters and Lucia was his niece, Stephen’s sister.
All day the sun had shone fitfully, with a pallid winter warmth. As if to compensate for that, it flamed out in a spectacular fusion of crimson and gold and purple. The last traces of light were fading along the horizon when Berold saw a lantern suddenly flare on the king’s ship. As the lamp was hoisted to the masthead, a trumpet fanfare echoed across the dark waters of the bay. The creaking of windlasses sounded, raising anchors, and the cry went up to “unfurl the sails!” The royal fleet of Henry I, King of England and Duke of Normandy, was getting under way.
But the White Ship remained at its moorings, for Lord William and the Earl of Chester and a number of the young lords were still ashore. Sounds of loud laughter floated out from the tavern, sounds so cheerful and beguiling that others were tempted to join the revelries. Few men faced a sea voyage without some trepidation, and as the night sky darkened, more and more of them discovered how easy it was to drown their qualms in a free flow of wine. The crew, having been given access to the royal wine casks, were quite good-humored about the delay. Only the ship’s master was vexed by their failure to sail with the tide, but when he ventured ashore to complain, he learned that a ship captain’s authority did not carry much clout with a youth who would one day rule all England and Normandy.
By the time the White Ship was finally ready to sail, it was full dark and bitter cold. The waiting had been hard on Berold. He’d not even had the solace of wine as the other passengers did, for he’d not dared to join in the crew’s carousing, and he was one of the few people on board who was still sober when the ship’s master gave the command to cast off. A small crowd had gathered to watc
h their departure and was pleasantly scandalized when the young lords leaning precariously over the gunwales jeered and mocked the priests who’d come to offer a blessing for “they that go down to the sea in ships.” As the spectators gasped and the priests angrily denounced their impiety, the anchor was raised, the shrouds were tightened, the sails were unfurled, and the White Ship slowly moved away from the quay, out into the blackness of the harbor.
The night was clear, the sky adrift in stars. The moon was on the wane, casting a wavering, silvery gleam upon the cresting waves. The ship rode low in the water, and Berold was unnerved to realize the freeboard was only three feet or so above the surface of the bay. He was already feeling queasy, and whispered a quick plea to St Elmo, who was said to pity those poor souls stricken with seasickness. He’d heard that, depending upon the wind and tides, a crossing from Barfleur to Southampton might take a day. Twelve hours lay ahead then, the longest twelve hours of his life.
Berold might have been comforted had he known that his anxiety was shared by most of the highborn passengers, including the king’s son. William had crossed the Channel more times than he could remember, but his body always reacted as if each voyage were his first time on shipboard. He had so many miserable memories of seasick suffering that he had only to look upon a ship to experience a queasy pang. This was one reason why he’d gotten so drunk, in the hope that wine might settle his treacherous stomach, keep him from making a fool of himself, for at seventeen, there are few greater fears than the dread of public humiliation. That others, too, were often stricken with the same undignified malaise consoled him not at all, for he was England’s future king and must not give in to the weaknesses of lesser men. His lord father never did, and by God, neither would he.
But as soon as they headed toward open water, William bolted for the ship’s bow, then clung to the gunwale as he vomited into the waves splashing over the prow. “Greensick so soon, Will?” The voice was sympathetic, but it also held a hint of amusement, the smug indulgence of a good sailor. William felt too wretched, though, for resentment, and he let his brother help him up, steer him toward the canvas tarpaulin, where he flopped down on a blanket, grabbed a handhold, and held on for dear life. When Richard checked on him again a little later, he’d rolled over onto his back, was snoring softly.
“Richard…how fares Will?”
“The wine has done him in. With luck, he’ll sleep through the night, poor lad.”
Richard reached out then, as the ship pitched, helped to steady his sister and cousin. Mahault could only marvel at his surefootedness; he’d had almost as much wine as Will, but he seemed none the worse for it. Why, she wondered, were men such fools? Lucia was less judgmental. Poor Will, she thought, he’ll be shamed as well as dog-sick come the morn. Aloud, she said, “I’ll stay with him in case he awakens.”
Richard was more interested at that moment in his lost gamble, for he’d wagered a goodly sum that the White Ship would beat the rest of the king’s fleet to Southampton. As soon as he could catch Thomas Fitz Stephen’s eye, he beckoned the ship’s master over to find out if there was still a chance of victory.
The ship’s master shrugged. “We are in God’s Hands, my lord. They are well ahead of us, but if we caught a good wind…” He shrugged again. “We’ll not be able to make up much time till we are out into the Channel and can rely on the sail. I’ve told the oarsmen and my helmsman to keep close to Barfleur Point as long as we can, so we can avoid the worst of the contrary currents offshore. At least it is a cloudless night, so we’ll have the polestar to steer by. I would hope—Jesus God!”
Both men were flung backwards as the ship suddenly shuddered, stopped dead in the water. There was a crunching sound, and then the ship began to list, sending screaming passengers careening into one another, slamming into the casks and treasure chests, into the struggling oarsmen. Thomas Fitz Stephen managed to regain his footing, skidded across the slanting deck. He already knew what had happened. It had all come together for him with horrific clarity in the span of seconds—the tide dropping, the reef that men called Chaterase lurking just beneath the surface, his tipsy oarsmen straining for speed. An ashen-faced sailor lurched against him, clutching at his arm. “We hit a rock and staved in the port side!”
Fitz Stephen swung about, shouting at the stunned helmsman, “Up on the helm!” The ship shifted again, provoking more screams. He had to clamber over prostrate, thrashing bodies to reach the port side. “Fetch boat hooks! Mayhap we can push her off!”
He thought he’d been braced for the worst. But he hadn’t, not for the sight of that gaping hole in the hull, his ship’s death wound. As his crew pushed against the rock with boat hooks and oars, he stood frozen for a moment. Then he pulled himself together, for there was a trust still to be honoured, one last duty to perform. Grabbing one of his sailors, he gave the man a terse, urgent order, then searched among the frightened passengers for the captain of William’s guard. “Get your lord over to the starboard side. We’re going to launch the spare boat, and it must be done quick—whilst the passengers still think themselves safer aboard ship.”
The man gaped at him. “Jesú, is it as bad as that?”
The ship’s master gave him a hard, quailing stare. “You’re less than two miles from Barfleur, close enough to make it safe to shore. But go now. You understand? Save the king’s son.”
William had never experienced a nightmare so vivid, so intense, so endless. Groggy, dazed, and disoriented, he found himself scrabbling about in darkness, entangled in suffocating folds of collapsed canvas. Then hands were reaching for him, pulling him free. His head spinning, his stomach heaving, he decided he must still be dreaming, for now he was being roughly pushed and shoved, his ears filled with screams and curses. He stumbled and fell forward into a boat; at least he thought it was a boat. Trying to recover his balance, he cracked his head and slumped back, groaning, wanting only to wake up.
Opening his eyes, he gasped as a spray of stinging salt water doused him in the face. He struggled to sit up, and voices at once entreated him to “Keep still, my lord, lest you tip the boat!” And as he looked about him, William sobered up in the time it took to draw icy sea air into his constricted lungs, for he was adrift in a pitching open boat in the middle of a black, surging sea.
“What happened?”
“The White Ship…she is sinking, my lord!”
“That cannot be!” William twisted around to look, causing the boat to rock from side to side. “Christ Jesus…” For it was indeed so. The White Ship was listing badly, and he could hear the despairing wails of its doomed passengers. Mahault, Richard, Lucia, all his friends, his father’s steward. “We’ve got to help them, cannot let them drown!”
The men continued to row, and to bail, for water was sloshing about in the bottom of the boat. “They’ll be in no danger, my lord, once they get off the rock. This was but a safeguard, for you are the king’s only lawfully begotten son and your life is precious to the Almighty.”
William so wanted to believe him. But it was then that he thought he heard a woman’s voice, high-pitched and shrill with fear. “Will, do not leave me to drown!”
“My sister! We must go back for her!”
“My lord, we dare not! We cannot put your life at risk!”
William was deaf to their pleading, to all but Mahault’s cry of terror. “I am to be your king and I command you! Obey me or I’ll have the lot of you hanged, I swear it!”
They were appalled by the order, but obedience had been bred and beaten into them from the cradle, and even now they dared not defy a royal command. As they strained at the oars, William yelled, “Mahault, we’re coming for you! You’ll have to jump into the water, but we’ll pick you up! We’ll send help back for the others!”
As they drew closer to the stricken ship, William half rose and had to be pulled down by one of the sailors before he swamped the boat. Peering through the darkness, he sought in vain for his sister midst the panicked passengers cl
ustered along the starboard side. Shouting until his throat was raw, he began to tremble with cold and fear. None of this seemed real. Surely God would not let the White Ship sink? Mayhap the men were right and the ship in no danger. But then the screaming intensified, taking on a new frenzy, and the sailor closest to William said in awe, “Oh, sweet Jesus, she is breaking up!”
“We’re too close, she’ll drag us down with her!” Desperately manning the oars, the men struggled to draw away from the sinking ship. It seemed to be splitting in half, water gushing into its smashed hull, washing people overboard. “The mast is coming down!” More screams. The masthead lantern was swinging wildly, then went out. Their boat was wallowing in the swells, water breaking over the bow. They heard splashing in the darkness, the surface churning with flailing bodies. One man managed to reach their boat, pleading for help, too weak to heave himself up over the side. A sailor grabbed his arm, sought to pull him in. But then others were floundering toward them, clutching at their oars, clinging to the sides. Realizing their danger, they tried to repel these drowning, plucking hands, to save themselves. But it was too late. Their frail craft was being buffeted by the surging waves, caught in the undertow of the dying ship, and then it was going under, and William was flung into the water, opening his mouth to scream and swallowing salt water, with no one to answer his choking cry for help, for they were all drowning, the passengers and crew of the White Ship.