< previous page page_105 next page >

Page 105
bothering him. He had not been surprised when Geoffrey cursed at the news of Joanna's arrival. He assumed Geoffrey would have cursed at that moment at the information that he had been given a great fortune. Now that the shock was over, however, it seemed to him that Geoffrey should display more enthusiasm. Joanna was so lovely that she could raise enthusiasmand something elsein a pillar of salt, yet Geoffrey seemed interested only in the practical aspects of her arrival.
In this, Salisbury did not take into consideration Geoffrey's relationship with the queen. Salisbury had never liked Isabella, not only because of her spite toward himself but more because he realized she would do nothing to help John. She did have some influence with her husband because he liked to please her and to make her smile, but Isabella would not even play the traditional role of a queen as a healer and peacemaker. Never once had she raised her voice or bent her knee to mitigate a punishment or soften an exaction. On the other hand, Salisbury neither hated nor feared Isabella. He knew she did not trouble herself with political affairs and, in general, she was too self-centered even to feel much personal spite. Her animosity toward himself he discounted completely, knowing quite well that John could not be influenced against him.
What Salisbury forgot was that Geoffrey, knowing the same things, did not react emotionally the same way. It was a boy of nine, already much disturbed by the death of his grandfather and the breakup of his home that Isabella had nearly destroyed. The scars remained. Despite the fact that Geoffrey now knew Isabella was vain, shallow, and stupid, that she was unable to do any real harm, he could not help crediting her with a sort of malign power. When the queen was involved in anything relating to him, it took on a black aspect and was bound, in his opinion, to come to a bad end. He could not, therefore, think of her invitation to Joanna in any way except that it would bring trouble that he must somehow circumvent.
This foreboding, added to a splitting headache, generated

 
< previous page page_105 next page >