The Llanfair heritage – Dragon Hearts II
3. Geoffrey's plan
Geoffrey watched his royal master's restless pacing with the patience only many years of constant practice can create.
"I still don't see the merit in a marriage of Camelot's Crown Prince to this, this…." Uther snapped his fingers impatiently.
"Guinivere, Your Grace" Geoffrey offered.
"Yes, yes, yes, Gwenifar. I admit she took some troubles on the Pendragons' behalf…."
"Very true Your Majesty. She risked her life more than once for the Prince. And there is still the small matter of you throwing her into the dungeons to ensure His Highness'….shall we call it cooperation? Besides, you had her father executed for using magic some time ago and one might doubt the adequacy of the punishment!"
"Did I?" Uther couldn't remember anything of this.
"You did, My Lord. The Lady Morgana was most enraged and made no secret of her feelings when she spoke to you about it."
"That's the first thing I hear of it!" Of this the King was sure.
"How comforting to know that Your Majesty wasn't troubled by it when everybody else in Camelot Castle had no choice but to hear every word Her Ladyship yel…. said."
"Anyway, this isn't the point now" Uther said. "I do not doubt this …. girl's entitlement to some kind of reward but marriage with my son? What would the other royal houses say to such an outrage? Or our own barons?"
"Who gives a crap?" Geoffrey said as cool as you please. "If a Pendragon wants to marry he'll marry. When and how and whom he chooses, even if nobody else can. Especially if nobody else can."
With an effort the King restrained from poking his ears. "What did you say?"
Geoffrey sighed. "Your Majesty has been tiptoeing around the aristocracy and the other Kingdoms since you first have had the wind in your face. You have hoped to make amends for what the notables had seen as a blunder on your side, a significant sign of weakness. But you will not fight this off by showing even more weakness. You say Prince Arthur's choice for a future Queen of Camelot is a slap into the faces of nobility. And I say His Highness is giving you a tremendous chance. Take it, stop the pussy-footing, slap them and do it now!"
"But where is the chance in this; a chance which outweighs the risks?"
Now the old advisor was in his element. "Primo, it would be the sign of strength and independence which is long overdue. Secundo, it would give you an opportunity to differentiate those nobles who are loyal to you from those who aren't. To safeguard your realm the Crown needs an heir and to rule the country this heir will need some loyal liegemen. This means, every person who opposes this marriage does so at the peril of forfeiting his fiefdom. You could give the cashiered estates to men whose loyalty will form a reliable power basis for Prince Arthur when he takes the Crown."
Geoffrey took a moment to breathe and to assess his King's reaction but Uther kept silent. Therefore the old man decided to go for broke. "And tertio it is absolutely essential for you to do something to regain the Crown Prince's affection and trust. His Highness has already been approached repeatedly by those who would like nothing better than to see him heading a rebellion against you!"
Not for the life of his Uther would have admitted how much this last statement hurt him. He kept his voice as indifferent as possible, but his words betrayed him nevertheless. "So you have been spying on my son? You thought that necessary? You believe Arthur would be willing to conspire with these nobles against me?"
The secretary cleared his throat nervously. "No, Your Grace, of course not. And I didn't spy on the Prince! However, it came to my attention that your son doesn't know where to turn. It is possible that he turns to some false friends, with disastrous consequences. The Crown Prince's loyalty to you must be above even the slightest doubt or he might become a living pawn again, a hostage, but this time he wouldn't even know it."
Uther looked definitely crestfallen when another painful thought struck him. There was another young man he had begun to take nearer to his heart, if only as a means to close the gap between father and son. "Does Merlin know about this?"
To the King's surprise Geoffrey smiled fondly. "Our young sorcerer does not have and most probably never will have a head for politics but his loyalty is beyond question. It was him who brought the matter to Gaius' attention and Gaius came to me. Otherwise I would not have known that your son's trust is …wavering! Did you really tell him that he was no use to the realm as her Prince anyway?"
Uther felt his knees wobble. "I guess I did" he said very softly and Geoffrey couldn't remember that he had ever seen UtherPendragon blush with shame before. "I had hoped Arthur might have forgotten my...slip of the tongue, considering what happened afterwards!"
Geoffrey briefly closed his eyes in despair. "To be completely honest Your Majesty, I do not think there's much of a chance that Prince Arthur will ever forget these words."
"So it is this marriage or nothing?"
"I'm afraid so, Your Grace. May I suggest that I could draft the letters with which we could decline the other offers!"
Uther rubbed his eyes but then he straightened his shoulders. "Make it so!" he said. "But I would like to warn you as well as your clerks. I will need some time to think this over before I decide on the matter finally and if anybody breathes a word of this to a living soul, especially to my son, before I do it'll cost him his head, is that clear?"
"Perfectly clear, Your Majesty!" Geoffrey bowed, untroubled by the blunt warning he had just received. There were people at the Court of Camelot who thought – and had always thought – that, as much as Uther loved his son, the King needed his advisor even more. So the chief advisor was safer in his position than even the King's only child. Geoffrey, who had a genuine and heartfelt affection for Arthur, was among the people who thought so and it had given him many a sleepless night over the years.
He searched for something to lighten the mood, knowing that father and son would have another most troublesome encounter on this very evening. And he found it.
"There is another detail I should bring to Your Majesty's attention" he said.
"What is it?"
"As to our young warlock's reaction to the disgusting boot-licking some of the nobles attempted in order to undermine your son's loyalty... Did Your Majesty know that our friend Merlin took it upon himself to transform the two men who annoyed Prince Arthur most into a very handsome pair of poodles for a whole day? Naturally His Highness doesn't know that. At least officially."
Geoffrey left the study and felt very satisfied with himself when he heard Uther's laughter through the door while he turned around the corridor's corner.