Joan of Naples | Page 8

venomous jealousy, and an
all-devouring ambition. She had her three sons about her--Robert,
Philip and Louis, the youngest. Had the king chosen out from among
his nephews the handsomest, bravest, and most generous, there can be
no doubt that Louis of Tarentum would have obtained the crown. At
the age of twenty-three he had already excelled the cavaliers of most
renown in feats of arms; honest, loyal, and brave, he no sooner
conceived a project than he promptly carried it out. His brow shone in
that clear light which seems to, serve as a halo of success to natures so
privileged as his; his fine eyes, of a soft and velvety black, subdued the
hearts of men who could not resist their charm, and his caressing smile
made conquest sweet. A child of destiny, he had but to use his will;
some power unknown, some beneficent fairy had watched over his
birth, and undertaken to smooth away all obstacles, gratify all desires.
Near to him, but in the fourth group, his cousin Charles of Duras stood
and scowled. His mother, Agnes, the widow of the Duke of Durazzo
and Albania, another of the king's brothers, looked upon him affrighted,
clutching to her breast her two younger sons, Ludovico, Count of
Gravina, and Robert, Prince of Morea. Charles, pale-faced, with short
hair and thick beard, was glancing with suspicion first at his dying
uncle and then at Joan and the little Marie, then again at his cousins,
apparently so excited by tumultuous thoughts that he could not stand
still. His feverish uneasiness presented a marked contrast with the calm,
dreamy face of Bertrand d'Artois, who, giving precedence to his father
Charles, approached the queen at the foot of the bed, and so found
himself face to face with Joan. The young man was so absorbed by the
beauty of the princess that he seemed to see nothing else in the room.
As soon as Joan and Andre; the Princes of Tarentum and Durazzo, the
Counts of Artois, and Queen Sancha had taken their places round the
bed of death, forming a semicircle, as we have just described, the

vice-chancellor passed through the rows of barons, who according to
their rangy were following closely after the princes of the blood; and
bowing low before the king, unfolded a parchment sealed with the
royal seal, and read in a solemn voice, amid a profound silence:
"Robert, by the grace of God King of Sicily and Jerusalem, Count of
Provence, Forcalquier, and Piedmont, Vicar of the Holy Roman Church,
hereby nominates and declares his sole heiress in the kingdom of Sicily
on this side and the other side of the strait, as also in the counties of
Provence, Forcalquier, and Piedmont, and in all his other territories,
Joan, Duchess of Calabria, elder daughter of the excellent lord Charles,
Duke of Calabria, of illustrious memory.
"Moreover, he nominates and declares the honourable lady Marie,
younger daughter of the late Duke of Calabria, his heiress in the county
of Alba and in the jurisdiction of the valley of Grati and the territory of
Giordano, with all their castles and dependencies; and orders that the
lady thus named receive them in fief direct from the aforesaid duchess
and her heirs; on this condition, however, that if the duchess give and
grant to her illustrious sister or to her assigns the sum of 10,000 ounces
of gold by way of compensation, the county and jurisdiction
aforesaid--shall remain in the possession of the duchess and her heirs.
"Moreover, he wills and commands, for private and secret reasons, that
the aforesaid lady Marie shall contract a marriage with the very
illustrious prince, Louis, reigning King of Hungary. And in case any
impediment should appear to this marriage by reason of--the union said
to be already arranged and signed between the King of Hungary and the
King of Bohemia and his daughter, our lord the king commands that
the illustrious lady Marie shall contract a marriage with the elder son of
the mighty lord Don Juan, Duke of Normandy, himself the elder son of
the reigning King of France."
At this point Charles of Durazzo gave Marie a singularly meaning look,
which escaped the notice of all present, their attention being absorbed
by the reading of Robert's will. The young girl herself, from the
moment when she first heard her own name, had stood confused and
thunderstruck, with scarlet cheeks, not daring to raise her eyes.

The vice-chancellor continued:
"Moreover, he has willed and commanded that the counties of
Forcalquier and Provence shall in all perpetuity be united to his
kingdom, and shall form one sole and inseparable dominion, whether or
not there be several sons or daughters or any other reason of any kind
for its partition, seeing that this union is