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became insensible to any feeling beyond what directly affected the object of its devotion. Wholly and completely, Isabella of Angoulême loved herself. |
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It was fortunate for Isabella that this was true. Otherwise her life would have been exceedingly unhappy. She had been betrothed from childhood to a young nobleman of power, wealth, and characterHugh le Brun de Lusignan. Only weeks before her wedding, John met her, coveted her, and, in short order, married her. Isabella made no protestand not because she was young and overawed. She had exchanged the count for the king, the vassal for the overlord, quite willingly. To her mind, being a queen could only set her beauty in a more appropriate frame. |
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Isabella was well satisfied with her bargain, even though it was clear within months of her wedding that her husband was a confirmed lecher. However, his open contempt for the women he bedded casually, coupled with the formality and respect he showed Isabella herself, prevented her pride from being hurt. Since no emotion other than pride had ever touched her relationship with her husband, she was content. She did not doubt that John loved her; he would never be long separated from her and spent much time in her company just looking at herno matter whom he took to his bed. |
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With the coming of her children, Isabella's life was almost complete. Young Henry and Richard and the little girls had secured her position. She could never be put aside like John's previous wife for childlessness. There had been the danger, of course, that John would dote more upon the babes than upon herself, but that problem soon resolved itself. John no more than she wished to be bothered with squalling and puking infants and, by the time Henry was old enough to be amusing, his strong resemblance to John's hated older brother Richard was apparent. In fact, when Isabella saw how coldly her husband regarded the coloring and large stature of his son, she had feared John would accuse her of adultery. However, it soon became clear that his distrust was of the child, not of herself. |
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