The Jester's Daughter

generally.

  JUSTIN: It isn't just luck. It takes a good lord to make a good servant.

  ROBERT: Well, I try. But you can't do anything if the basic quality isn't there.

  JUSTIN: True enough. Nicholas, what are you thinking of? Wine for his lordship.

  Nicholas hastily swallows what remains of his cake and complies.

  JUSTIN: You know, Robert, Ernscar's become almost a second home to me.

  ROBERT: That's the best compliment you could pay to a host.

  JUSTIN: In fact, in some ways it's better than my own home.

  ROBERT: How so?

  JUSTIN: I don't need to be on my dignity here. Right, Nicholas, I don't think we'll need you again for a while. You can go and play with your new toys for a couple of hours – I know you've been dying to.

  NICHOLAS: Thank you, my lord. (To Robert) My lord.

  He bows, remembers to finish his wine, and exits.

  ROBERT: I gather that Nicholas hasn't quite caught the Ernscar informality.

  JUSTIN: No need to take it to extremes. But you've no idea how wearisome it can be – the constant "Yes, my lord," "No, my lord," "As my lord bishop says," when you know very well that what he really means is "You're talking through the top of your head" – or some less dignified part of the anatomy.

  ROBERT: Not Nicholas, surely?

  JUSTIN: No, I mean any of the minor prelates and chaplains and goodness knows who else. Even the lesser gentry. All crawling. All about as sincere as the serpent himself.

  ROBERT: All?

  JUSTIN: Well, no, I exaggerate. There are a few honest men among them – probably more than a few, to be truthful. But oh for someone like your Tom Fool to give a straightforward opinion I can believe in.

  ROBERT: Sorry, Justin, I'd do a lot for you but I'm not parting with Tom. He's far too valuable.

  JUSTIN: I'm sure.

  ROBERT: A Fool who's anything but a fool. His nose for treachery has saved me from quite a few nasty surprises. And you know something of his wit.

  JUSTIN (chuckling): Yes, indeed.

  ROBERT: You should have heard him with Lord Humbert last week; practically every remark was a double entendre at his expense. In the end I had to signal to him to lay off because I couldn't keep my face straight any longer – and then even an ass like Humbert might have twigged.

  JUSTIN: Not the brightest of our nobility.

  ROBERT: Nor the dimmest, worse luck.

  CUT TO NICHOLAS'S QUARTERS.

  He enters, rummages through his kit and takes out a small prepared panel and a box of artist's equipment. He walks through the castle to the hall, looks around for a suitable subject, spots an old chest with other furniture around it and settles down to sketch, marking in outlines with charcoal.

  CUT BACK TO THE PARLOUR

  ROBERT: But anyway, how was Rome?

  JUSTIN: Oh, don't ask.

  ROBERT: As bad as that?

  JUSTIN: Worse. It still hasn't recovered from the schism – the city's in a mess, the cardinals are as bad as our English grandees, French squabbling with Italians and the Italians themselves at each other's throats.

  ROBERT: Very depressing.

  JUSTIN: Yes. That's why I stayed for a few weeks at Gilbert's monastery in Bruges to cheer myself up.

  ROBERT: A place I've never visited. And now might not be the best time

  JUSTIN: Definitely not. But you should, if you ever get a chance.. The architecture's splendid, the people hospitable. And the paintings! They've invented a new technique that gives really brilliant effects. Young Nicholas was in his element.

  ROBERT: Nicholas? I didn't know he was interested.

  JUSTIN: He dabbles. He's produced some quite pretty flower studies –

  ROBERT: Better be careful. People are starting to take them as political symbols.

  JUSTIN: Don't worry. I'm as keen as you are not to offend any of the factions unnecessarily.

  ROBERT: Sorry, I interrupted.

  JUSTIN: And before you jump in again, he's no pansy, either.

  ROBERT: I'm glad to hear it. But go on.

  CUT TO AN ANTEROOM IN THE DUCAL PALACE, BRUGES.

  Justin is waiting with Nicholas, who is getting rather fidgety. Jan van Eyck enters from the audience chamber and introduces himself to Justin. After a few moments a servant beckons Justin in for audience. Van Eyck remains in unheard conversation with Nicholas. A dissolve indicates a skipped lapse of time. Justin emerges, van Eyck asks him a question and being answered favourably leaves with an evidently delighted Nicholas. Meanwhile the following conversation is heard in voice-over.

  JUSTIN: Well, he was with me when I paid a courtesy visit to the duke who happened to be in residence at the time ...

  ROBERT: A bit dodgy, wasn't it? When we're practically at war?

  JUSTIN: I was there as a churchman, not an English legate. Though I must admit having thought there might be a chance to smooth things over a bit ...

  ROBERT: Some hope!

  JUSTIN (overriding) : ... until Gilbert put me right on that. I hadn't realised how bad the situation had become, but then I've never understood Burgundian politics.

  ROBERT: I'm not surprised. Does anyone?

  JUSTIN: Not over here, I imagine. Still, the civilities were fully observed. I gather that unless there's a very good reason Philip doesn't go looking for trouble with the church.

  ROBERT: They say with so many mistresses he probably doesn't need to.

  JUSTIN: Perhaps not. Anyway, all this is beside the point. A Master van Eyck was there – evidently the Duke uses him as both a painter and a diplomat and I'm not sure which capacity he was representing on that occasion – and Nicholas seemed to click with him.

  ROBERT: A useful future contact?

  JUSTIN: Maybe. Anyway, the upshot was that van Eyck offered to show Nicholas his workshop, I had nothing much for the lad to do, so off they went together, Nicholas like a cat with two tails.

  ROBERT: Evidently a decent sort.

  JUSTIN: I've usually found the Flemings obliging, and of course to meet an enthusiast for one's speciality is always pleasing. That evening Nicholas said that one of van Eyck's assistants was willing to teach him something of the new techniques if I'd permit it.

  CUT TO VAN EYCK'S WORKSHOP.

  Assistant painters are working on portions of a large panel. Justin enters with Nicholas, escorted by the foreman, looks at the panel and particularly at a corner where Nicholas has been working, then at some smaller completed pieces. The voice-over continues.

  ROBERT: Extraordinary!

  JUSTIN: Isn't it? You usually find craftsmen jealous of their secrets. I suspect he was fishing for a commission, but there was probably an element of sheer good nature.

  ROBERT: Did you give him one?

  JUSTIN: No, but I was obviously under some obligation, so I bought a couple of the workshop's stock paintings – they always keep some in hand for casual sales.

  ROBERT: I suppose they can't always rely on private patrons.

  JUSTIN: It's useful to have a regular trade as well. Rather more classy than the usual tat passed off to pilgrims or the like in transit. One tit–bit of information Nicholas picked up was that the guest–master at the monastery takes a small monthly retainer to point visitors in that direction. I'm not sure that Gilbert's aware of that, and I'm afraid I forgot to mention it to him.

  ROBERT: How very remiss! – but convenient.

  JUSTIN: Quite. I must show you these two pictures when we've unpacked. They're rather attractive – should impress visiting bigwigs. And copying them could be a good exercise for Nicholas.

  ROBERT: Rather an unusual occupation for a page, isn't it?

  JUSTIN: Yes, but considering what else he might get up to in an unfamiliar city, I was happy for him to be kept out of mischief. Better than the alehouse – or getting in the way around the monastery.

  ROBERT: Not the ideal place for a young man of the world to find entertainment.

  JUSTIN: Exa
ctly. Anyway, for the rest of our stay he seemed to spend all his free time at the workshop. Not all tuition, of course, but sometimes helping to prepare the panels and colours, sometimes watching the other painters and how they did things. And trying a little piece or two of his own.

  ROBERT: Really!

  JUSTIN: More or less like one of their own apprentices, in fact – and that in itself could be useful experience – not many of our nobility seem to have much idea of how craftsmen's minds work or how to deal with them. They even let him loose on an odd corner of a big work in hand for one of the guilds.

  ROBERT: Sounds risky.

  JUSTIN: With careful instructions of course, and it would probably be retouched afterwards, but it pleased him no end.

  ROBERT: I can imagine.

  JUSTIN: Before we left I went along to see what he'd been up to. The foreman – a very kindly fellow – said that Nicholas would never be a great painter, but showed signs of a minor talent that it would do no harm to encourage, so I bought him a basic kit of equipment and materials at the same time as my own purchases.

  CUT BACK TO ROBERT'S PARLOUR

  ROBERT: Aha! The new toys you sent him off to play with.

  JUSTIN: Yes. This is the first time we've been anywhere long enough to be worth unpacking them.

  ROBERT: – and very good it is to have you here. But we can't spend all day chatting about your travels; we'd better get down to business. Things don't improve much, I'm afraid.

  JUSTIN: Any particular developments?

  ROBERT: Well, although the king's still under age they've declared him "capable of government," but he seems just as useless as under the regency council. The Beauforts have kept a lot more influence than I like, and Duke Humphrey, when he isn't squabbling with them, is preoccupied with the French war.

  JUSTIN (with a respectable French pronunciation): Plus ça change …

  ROBERT: Yes, c'est la même chose with a vengeance. But without the formal provisions we had under the regency. There's bound to be an overt power struggle, sooner or later. We need a strong monarchy – and as Henry obviously isn't going to provide it, I'm very much afraid someone else will try to.

  JUSTIN: Fancy the job yourself?

  ROBERT: Good lord, no! Running Ernscar is enough for me. I know my limitations, and thank goodness I've no connections with the royal line. Though I couldn't be worse than Henry. No one could.

  JUSTIN: We might get someone positively malicious. But even the Pope said he'd be happier about our situation if the cardinal spent more time in church and the king a damn sight less.

  ROBERT: Did he, indeed? I wonder who the informant is.

  JUSTIN: Not the cardinal himself, presumably.

  ROBERT: No. But we've our own little corner of the realm to keep in order. We need to sort out who's likely to be with us in that, and who would more likely be looking to their own advantage. It'll be useful to have a map handy – I've got one in my study. We should see it more easily there.

  Exeunt

  FADE OUT.

  Back to Contents

  FADE IN TO THE HALL.

  Nicholas is sitting at his sketch, reaching the stage of applying colour. Alison – a lively, open girl who bounces around with all the energy of youth – crosses unnoticed behind him on some errand, pauses to look over his shoulder, cocks her head appraisingly, then passes on. A minute or so later she returns, and again pauses behind him.

  ALISON: You've drawn that chest wrong.

  NICHOLAS: What?!

  ALISON: Sorry, did I startle you?

  NICHOLAS: You did, rather. (Taking a good look at her) But it was worth it.

  ALISON (coquettishly): Thank you, kind sir. Quite the courtier, aren't you?

  NICHOLAS: I'm practising.

  ALISON: Being a courtier or a painter?

  NICHOLAS: A bit of both, at the moment.

  ALISON: You're Bishop Justin's page, aren't you?

  NICHOLAS: That's right. Nicholas Palmer, at your service, ma'am. And you?

  ALISON: Alison Miller. My father's the castle Fool.

  NICHOLAS: Ah. The Bishop's told me about him. Says he's actually the most intelligent man in the castle, after Lord Robert himself. He didn't say what a lovely daughter he had, though.

  ALISON: Don't overdo the flannel. Or I shan't believe anything you say.

  NICHOLAS: