The Revolt of the Eaglets by Jean Plaidy Read Free Book Online

England and Normandy had made it impossible for them to do so. Now he, who had ever wider territories to control, was on the point of doing so.
    At Waterford he received the homage of the petty princes and arranged that they should pay him a small annual tribute as a token that they accepted him as their suzerain.
    It was November by the time he came to Dublin. He took up his headquarters in the wooden palace there; and he sent his two commissioners, Roger de Lacy and William Fitzalden, to parley with Roderick, the King of Connaught, who was the chief of all the petty princes. They met on the banks of the Shannon where Roderick made it very clear that as he considered himself the true ruler of Ireland he had no intention of abdicating in favour of Henry of England.
    When Henry received the message he was furious. Everything had gone so smoothly until this time. He would have liked to go into battle immediately to show the little king that he was master, but his soldier’s eye saw at once that the mountains were too steep and the weather too wet to enable him to embark on a successful campaign. He cursed Roderick – the only one who had stood out against him – and swore that as soon as the weather changed he would be ready to make him wish he had acted differently.
    Christmas came. Henry was not sorry that he must celebrate the festival in Dublin. Time was getting very near to the anniversary of Thomas’s death and he knew that in England and France people would remember. It was as well therefore to be far away at such a time.
    Those of the Irish who had decided to accept him as their ruler paid great honour to him. They even built him a palace outside the walls of the city. It was constructed in a very short time and was made of wattle. Henry was very proud of it. There should be a great celebration on Christmas Day, he said, and he would invite all his new and loyal subjects to join him at his table.
    Then he set his cooks to produce a magnificent meal such as would impress these people so much that they would talk about it for years to come and Roderick of Connaught would hear of the riches of the new lord of Ireland.
    There was merrymaking and much laughter and Henry listened with grave appreciation to his new subjects’ songs and performances on the harp.
    Shortly after the festivities he arranged that the bishops of Ireland should swear fealty to him and when this had been done he wrote to the Pope asking Alexander to accept him and his heirs as the rulers of Ireland.
    All was going well with the exception of the tiresome Roderick who was constantly affirming his determination to stand against the King. Henry planned to take by force what Roderick would not give him, but the weather was still too treacherous for him to launch a campaign. The wind howled up the river; the rain fell in torrents; it was clear to the most inexperienced soldier that no campaign could be successfully carried out in such conditions.
    January passed and February had come, but the weather continued to be against them and there was nothing he could do but wait.
    All through March he waited and just as he was preparing to finish Roderick’s resistance for ever, ships arrived from England.
    They had disturbing news.
    On the anniversary of Thomas’s death, the pilgrims had streamed into Canterbury. Many of them declared that they were cured of their infirmities at the shrine of the martyr. Everyone was saying that Thomas was a saint.
    Worse still the Pope had sent Cardinals Theodwine and Albert to Normandy to find the King.
    ‘Why do they wait in Normandy?’ demanded Henry. ‘Why do they not come to England?’
    There was a simple answer to that. They did not come to England because they knew that they would be arrested as a danger to the peace if they set foot there.
    Instead they waited for him in Normandy.
    ‘Then they must needs wait,’ was his answer to that.
    ‘They are saying, my lord, that if you do not go to Normandy with all