Two Gentlemen of Touraine

[Dramatis Personae

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Duke of Normandy,        Guillaume d'Angevin, William Plantagenet

Hip Young Man        Valan Montague

Scene: London, England. Autumn. 2013]

ACT I, Scene I:

     Enter VALAN MONTAGUE, the Hip, Young Man About Town. Waiting on the Tower Bridge is the Duke of Normandy, GUILLAUME d'ANGEVIN, clothed in a dark suit with an equally dark overcoat. On either side of them and beneath them, the water of The Thames glitters with the carnival lights of another London evening. Ferris wheel included.]

Valan: [In French] A majestic setting. Are you going for a theme tonight, William?

Guillaume: [Laughing. In French.] I cannot have conversations and sit still at the same time. I must walk, and so... why not a view? [Makes a sweeping gesture to London at-large.]

Valan: [Grins.] It is a nice night, as they say, so why not? Soon it will be raining and foggy, I will long for the clear nights! But at least the nights will be longer. Why not is my motto anyway.

William: [Straightens, smiling, hands going into his pockets.] I never liked being cold. And yet, every winter, where am I? I am two blocks south of the Arctic Circle. But, yes... you are right. They will be cold, but at least they will be longer.

Valan: [Grins.] You and Ian are heading to Strathfayr, yes? I do not know how you two do it, living in the country way out there in the wilderness and at the top of the world. If I were in Chinon or Strathfayr... or Chenonceau... I might end up... reading or something.

William: [Chuckles.] Hmm... you think so, Montague?

Valan: [Laughs.] This is not to say that you and Ian spend your time in the library...

William: [Smiles, looks from Valan to the view of London.] We read a little. [Pulls his hand out of his overcoat's pocket, offering a pack of cigarettes to Valan.] Cigarette?

Valan: Believe it or not, I am going to say no for now. But I will take you up on it later. I do not like to smoke when I walk.

Guillaume: [Putting the pack back and by that concurring.] It is as they say, walking, talking and chewing gum. Or... is that patting your head and rubbing your stomach? [Smiles.] I can never keep those straight.

Valan: [Laughs.] So, where are we going?

Guillaume: Everywhere...

[They cross the bridge, leaving the Tower of London behind them, one of the residences of Henry II -- and the inaugural project of his great-great-grandfather, William the Conqueror.]

Valan: [Looks over the bridge, at the view of London.] I must admit I have not done much sight-seeing. Outside of bars and clubs that is.

Guillaume: [Laughs.] Edward isn't much of a tour guide. [Slants a grin.] I should not lie on my friend. I should say he is not a... traditional sort of tour guide, though I am sure he has shown you around. Still, some night, you should walk around, take a late night at The Tate or the museum of history. Things that tourists would do. That's a part of your London, too. And... if for nothing else... they are good for a laugh. The Jack The Ripper tour, especially so. The Tower...[waves.] ... it is a group of castles. Unless you are particular to the stories of my ancestors and descendants, I can't imagine it would be very interesting. You have seen better castles, if I may say so, in Fleurlil, Chinon, Strathfayr and Chenonceau.

Valan: This is true, it would be difficult to top those four, I think. [Pauses, grins.] Ancestors? You mean there is a building in this city that is older than you?

Guillaume: [Shoots Valan a look with a slanting smile.] A few, actually. At least one of those back there [half-turns to look at the Tower complex]... is older than I. My great-great-grandfather, William the Conqueror, started it, and his sons and his grandsons ruled in it. My father used it as his zoo, mostly. He was never in one place for long. I think I was there once when I was very small, but I don't remember it much. I remember the tigers and leopards, as young boys are wont to do, but not so much the location. My father's empire was large and we were always on the move. I do not remember the man sitting down...

Valan: Did you have a good relationship with your father? You seem to speak of them, and him, fondly.

Guillaume: [Looks ahead.] It was a complicated relationship. It is a difficult thing, raising your replacement and surrendering your legacy. He built an empire, his sons lost it, his grandchildren squandered it. [Smiles, looking to Valan.] Did you bring me out here just to talk about my papa?

Valan: [Smiles.] It's not everyday that one gets the chance to ask such questions of one such as you. The brother of Richard the Lionhearted, the son of Aelinor and Henry. I know there are academics in this town who would be fainting at such a prospect.

[They appear on The Strand...two beautiful men strolling side by side. The world passes them by...]

Guillaume: [Laughs.] There would be academics surprised to find out that Guillaume XI lived past the age of three, let alone that he yet lives.

Valan: Why would they think this?

Guillaume: [Nods, looking at the sights and then to Valan as they meander toward the Strand.] In the history books, Guillaume XI, Comte du Poitou died when he was three. There is no record of his campaigns in Wales, Gascony and Navarre, no Normandy, no Holy Land.

Valan: That is a big thing to miss, certainment...

Guillaume: [Smiles to Valan.] History is capricious.

Valan: It depends on the writer, they say...

Guillaume: The writer, yes, but more, I think sometimes, the editor...

[Heading westward, they edge toward Westminster Abbey...]

Valan: You never said, about your father...

Guillaume: [Smiles, glances to Valan.] You want to know about me and Henry? [Exhales, smirks.] I do not know what it is about you that makes me want to say 'Yes' when I should say 'No'.

Valan: I have that effect on people.

Guillaume: [Smiles.] So it seems. [Pauses a moment, eyes on the concrete ahead, then finally to Valan.] When I was five, Henry was a god. When I was fifteen, he was my king. When I was twenty-five, he was ... just papa. And then he was gone. I idolized him once, learned from him frequently, and like all of his sons I wanted his pride and his affection. But unlike the others I never wanted his empire. It was not mine to have with such brothers as Henry the Young and Richard. I only had to keep it intact. My relationship with Henry was much the same. I simply tried to keep it intact through turbulent years. In his lifetime, I was the only son of his that did not rise against him in rebellion. I was the only son who was not seduced in some way by the King of France. I was with Henry when he died in Chinon. I took a son's station by his bed. I stood in for the sons who were not there, particularly the one he most wanted to be there. The one most like himself. I loved my father, for his weaknesses as well as his strengths, for his ferocity as much as his compassion. And I treasure that part of me that is him.

Valan: [Looks up from his drink.] I understand about the complicated relationship with a father. My relationship with my father has been... somewhat similar. That is interesting... treasuring that part of you that is Henry. [Looks ahead for a moment and then back to William.] And your mother?

Guillaume: [Smiles a little.] Like you, she made everyone love her, whether they really wanted to or not. She was difficult to deny -- sometimes impossible to deny. She was as they say: beautiful -- brilliant -- deadly. The road of her affection was so... twisted... that at the end I was not sure how far I had walked or where I had ended my journey. I loved her, worshipped her, resented her, sometimes hated her, and killed for her. I inherited much of her. It made our relationship difficult, contentious, intensely loving. At times, I have found myself resenting and cursing our similarities. I have finally learned to embrace them. Aelinor has had the last laugh. At my expense. Again. [Smiles.] It would please her.

Valan: To know your relationship to your parents is to understand your relationship with the world, I think. [Smiles.] Pop psychology 101. [Guillaume laughs.] It is a good segue into the story of your embrace... parentage...

[They pass among the traffic, largely unseen. Cars speed past them, tourists wander by, their days of shopping turning to a night of trying to find one of London's now legendary clubs. Westminster Abbey and Parliament now sparkle and loom overhead, surrounded now by the gleam of modern skyscrapers.]

Guillaume: [Looks up at Westminster, smile spreading.] Such a euphemistic term. I wonder why anyone uses it. It's nothing like an embrace, usually. Naturally, being the egoist that I am, I prefer the term resurrection. [Looks to Valan, winks.] If it's good enough for a carpenter from Judea, it's good enough for a French engineer. So, how would you like it, Montague?

Valan: I will let you decide. It's your story.

Guillaume: That is true.

Valan: To be serious for a moment, at least, I do want to say, William, that I am flattered you agreed. Despite what you say is your seeming inability to say 'No' to me. I know these stories are very personal. Edward told me -- he told me even before I was... resurrected...to use your word, that your story was one that I should hear. So, even before you start, I want to say thank you.

Guillaume: [Smiles.] I'm indulgent with those I love.

Valan: [Grins.] Edward may have told you that I like to be spoiled...

Guillaume: [Feigns surprise.] Really? [Grins.] I truly had no idea. I am surprised, a little, that Edward would suggest this. He is a man who is content to love -- he doesn't need all of the dirty details. By the end of the night, you'll know more than he does.

Valan: I will try not to gloat too much. So... let's talk about you. All about William...

Guillaume: Yes, well... it is my favorite subject, if one is to believe the rumors. [Places hands back in his coat pockets.] I am wondering how I shall even tell such a thing. I guess I will simply start at the beginning. [Turns to Valan.] And feel free to ask whatever questions you like along the way. It may help to jog an old man's memory.

Valan: [Smiles.] I will be sure to ask questions frequently then...

Guillaume: [Smirks.] No wonder he loves you. So, to begin, I must ask you a question, Montague. How familiar are you with the politics and history of 12th Century France and Britain?

Valan: Only from the history books. But it has been a while since I was in university, so some of it is lost to me now.

[They turn northward, appearing then on Haymarket and Coventry. Two men, wandering spectacular beneath the illumination of marquee signs and neon lights...]

Guillaume: [Nods, his attention seemingly drifting to the sights and sounds of Coventry.] I will preface this by saying that there are two versions of the story. There is my personal story, the last moments of my life and of my memory, which I will tell you first, and then there is the story of how I fit into things that were happening around me, the story in its full scope, with warring clans, murder, resurrection and finally love -- the totality of which I have only just recently understood.

Valan: [Looks to William.] It is amazing to think that eight hundred years of history could still provide an epiphany. Well, that is to say that there would still be things to address from so ancient a past.

Guillaume: Without ongoing epiphanies, what is the point of living? I hope someday to have another, to progress from the night when I walked the streets of London with Valan Montague. [Smiles a little.] Even the last ten years have been... [peers ahead and then looks to Valan.] ...amazing years, in every sense, the good and the bad. So much has changed that even my own friends do not know what to make of me. That is, if they even realize it, and some do not. And so, yes, I know more tonight than I knew even ten years ago, about what happened Then. [Grins.] It takes a long time, ne c'est pas? To soul-search when your soul is nearly nine hundred years old. That is a lot of ground to cover.

Valan: [Laughs.] I had not thought of it in those terms. It is easy to understand, perhaps, what has happened for twenty-nine years. [Thinks for a moment.] I think sometimes people may have expectations, they put their dreams and their hopes on you and they become something you have to carry. Something that in the end isn't you and isn't what you asked for.

[They move beneath the garish lights of north Picadilly Circus, turning to the south. The Abbey's light is lit, its evening hours nearly expended.]

Guillaume: That is very true. But there is no blame to be handed out. Be your own man, and make up your own mind about things, about people. And... be generous. [Pauses, smiles quickly.] I don't like to give out advice. People begin to think that you know something they don't. And I am as much a pilgrim in this universe as the baby born tonight.

Valan: [Considers this. Looks to William.] A pilgrim in the universe...

Guillaume: As for this ancient history, I think I should set the stage a little. It will also help you, I think, to make more sense of it all later. I will apologize in advance for being long-winded.

Valan: I do not mind long stories, so long as they are good. [Leans in.] No pressure.

Guillaume: None felt, mais non. [Laughs.] Well, maybe a little. [Exhales.] So, then, the 12th Century. The latter half of the 12th Century, my father was the ruler of an empire that dominated most of the land mass of modern day France, and that included Britain and Ireland. I was born into this empire in 1165, as the eleventh Guillaume Comte du Poitou. I was Henry and Aelinor's fifth son and eighth child. My sister Joanna would be born the following year.

Valan: [Smiles.] A big familie -- like mine. Four sisters total?

Guillaume: And two half-sisters, daughters of Aelinor and Louis of France, her first husband. Alix and Marie. Not to be confused with Louis' other daughter Alys, who was to be married to one of my brothers.

Valan: All of my siblings are sisters but one, there are six of us total.

Guillaume: I credit them for whatever manners I have. [Smiles.] I am lucky I had such sisters.

Valan: Me, too... actually. And your brothers were...

Guillaume: Henry The Young Lion or King, Richard the Lionhearted, Geoffrey Duke of Brittany, John Lackland and myself. My father also had another son named William, his bastard son -- William Longsword, whom I liked. He was a calming influence but sadly an infrequent one. He was kind to me and to father.

Valan: A big empire and a big familie to go with it.

Guillaume: [Nods.] Very big by all accounts. [Smiles.]

Valan: [Laughs.] No comment!

Guillaume: [Grins.] I think that is it for that year. Other highlights? In 1170, when I was five years old, my father was embroiled in a scandal involving a very dead archbishop. 1170 was also the year that his enemy, Owain ap Gwynedd, the great prince of Wales, died, leaving his country to his three sons. They then divided it into war, each one of them seeking to be the one and only prince. [Smiles. Leans in.] Davydd was one of those sons. He was fifteen at the time, nearly sixteen I think.

Valan: [Surprised.] Our Davydd?

Guillaume: Our Davydd, oui. He and his brothers fought for years, off and on. In 1180, at fifteen, I was invested Duke of Normandy amid family imbroglio and civil strife in Wales. And in 1183, I was dispatched by my father to put an end to the Welsh wars. And that is how I met our mutual friend. In the wilderness of Wales and at the wrong end of a Welsh bow.

Valan: That is just... incredible. Literally unbelievable. How did ... how is it ...?

Guillaume: [Chuckles.] In this life, I have discovered that there are few accidents. That Davydd and I are both here, well... that is a part of the story, too. I was Davydd's enemy. He was the Prince of Wales, for all intents and purposes the king of Wales, and I was the youngest lion of Henry's brood, sent to help them turn against each other until nothing was left. Davydd was a very formidable enemy. [Smiles to Valan.] Just as he is a most steadfast friend. A brother. He and Edward both.

Valan: Incroyable. I just cannot fathom that. I feel this is a whole story on its own. I had no idea that Davydd was from that same era. You pardon, there is no expression for this in French. [In English.] It blows me away.

Guillaume: [Smiles.] We were both surprised to find each other later, but that is getting ahead of things. Hmmm...ah, so yes. I was sent to Wales to mop up. In 1186, I married Davydd's only sister, Catrin, to seal the peace that ended several years worth of civil war in Wales and war between England and Wales. I came to love her regardless of the peace she represented.

Valan: [Looks at London and London zooms by.] I suppose I will one day learn how not to assume things. Maybe that is a very 20th or 21st Century thing to do. Maybe because we think that we know everything. It did not occur to me...I did not know that you were ever... married, William...

Guillaume: [Looks to Valan.] Do not kick yourself for that assumption. It is an easy one to make. Since you have known me, have I ever been seen with a woman? But it is true, I was married and happily. Before I met her, I was a dog among men and a snake among women. [Chuckles.] I was terrible. But Catherine, Catrin...[Smiles.] She was tiny but, like her brother, she was very formidable. Beautiful. Stunning. A Medieval ideal. And, when I married her, she was all of fourteen. I looked no further.

Valan: It is amazing that you found such love in your marriage, rather than having someone like ... Lucretia Borgia.

Guillaume: [Laughs.] Ah, now... leave poor Lucretia alone. She was not so bad. [Grins.] Well, I wouldn't have wanted to be her husband, true. I will give you that one. Ah, yes... From 1186 - 1188, I was involved in various campaigns, squashing vassal uprisings in Gascony and Poitou, and navigating the turbulence of family drama -- which, in my family, always involved shouting, treason and war. My brother Geoffrey died in 1186, and Brittany passed to Richard until the birth of Geoffrey's son, Arthur. I was traveling constantly from battle to Rouen, from battle to Poitiers, my little bride waiting for me, still childless.

Valan: It is a wonder more that you even had time to eat and sleep. I had not realized that it was so tumultuous. We just don't think about it these days. My generation, we have so much autonomy. The most we have had to worry about is whether we will score at a bar, get a promotion or be able to afford the car we want and get a cool flat.

Guillaume: [Smiles a little.] Yes, very different to be in your 20s in the 21st Century and to be in your 20s in the 12th. But do not sell your generation short, ami. You cannot really compare Then to Now. Besides, what does it matter? Everyone worries, and to everyone else it is trivial.

[The financial district gleams, glittering on them as they walk away from it...]

Guillaume: But as busy as they were, the tumult of those years was... nothing compared to what 1189 would have to offer me. The year started brilliantly. I was home for a long stretch, victorious in Gascony and the borders of Navarre, and Catrin was pregnant with my first heir. It was hard to think of 1189 being anything but auspicious at the time.

[The pace slows as they approach the river again.]

Guillaume: But for all the auspiciousness of its beginnings, 1189 soon proved to be my most difficult year. In March, I lost my oldest sister, Matilda. In July, Henry died. In September, seven months into her pregnancy, Catrin died... and with her, our unborn son. I named him William Fitzroy -- son of the king -- when they Christened and then buried him.

[The Thames comes into view again, the reflections of light upon the water. They continue over the Waterloo Bridge toward the South Bank...]

Valan: [Looks to the river. There is quiet for a few moments.] I have never suffered that kind of personal loss. All my family is alive. My lover is a 600 year old vampire. It must have seemed like the... end of the world...

Guillaume: [Looks to Valan and smiles a little.] No, not completely. Though I could see it from where I stood. It is funny, how Time works. In one moment, I thought, oui, that there was ...not much left for Guillaume d'Angevin. In September of 1189, I was a distraught duke. I set fire to a church in Rouen, I cursed god and wanted to die. In September of 1191, I was in the Holy Land on Crusade, with the expectation of becoming the King of Jerusalem.

Valan: [Smiles suddenly.] And so your commentaries on Jesus is more than passing vanity. You really were going to be the King of the Jews?

Guillaume: [Smiles.] If we had won. But the Crusades were a complete disaster. So much so, that it bordered on comical. I think I laughed myself to sleep on several occasions, though that might have been the heat stroke. We were on our way to Jerusalem at last -- and really it was a miracle we made that far after experiencing the setbacks we did. Richard's health was poor, and the enmity was growing between him and France. It was a miserable fucking march through the desert. We were weary, disheartened, sick and spiteful. But we were facing horrible odds, and that always stood in our favor.

Valan: [Grins.] Maybe God was working in that mysterious Way of His. To make you King of the Jews for all your cursing. It is an interesting penance.

Guillaume: [Smirks.] It would not have been penance enough. I was a very bad man on that trip. I am not going to relate that -- I am not proud of it. I am sure there is, even after nearly nine centuries, more penance for me to work off from that year alone. I was terrible.

Valan: By today's standards or 12th Century standards?

Guillaume: I would have been executed by today's standards. Me and Meurelle. Hmmm, but I should not cast my sins in with his. His are his own. Mine are enough.

[The South Bank shines all around them, the bustling waterside attractions. They weave among the crowds and drift toward Gabriel's Wharf.]

Guillaume: [Glancing around.] I should open a gallery here, or move The Abbey. The foot traffic is tremendous...

Valan: I like the South Bank, the Wharf. It reminds me a little of the university area. A little of the Tours centre ville. Only more circus like. Actually, it isn't like Tours much at all. [Laughs.] I like the crowds.

Guillaume: [Chuckles.] I miss Tours. It is a good city. I may have to visit on the way to Chinon next year. Besides, it has a glorious new prince, and I should pay my homage.

Valan: I met him at your show, I think. Only the best looking men can be princes of Tours apparently.

Guillaume: [Laughing.] I will be sure to tell him this. But, oui, I think Tours has high standards.

Valan: Overall, I think I miss Paris more than Tours, but I do like Tours. Do you want to stop for coffee? You can keep going, by the way... do not let espresso stop you...

Guillaume: I was thinking more of dinner. Have you been to 'Juliet's Bower'? I think they call it 'The Bower' these days. The best view of London, if not the best French cuisine in the City. I believe you may know its owner, Juliet duMonteville...

Valan: Juliet duMonteville? I was supposed to attend a party of hers.

Guillaume: She knows of you. I told her I would be bringing you by to have dinner with me. She said, I think it was: Damn your luck, and damn mine. A lovely woman.

Valan: Where is The Bower?

Guillaume: Not far. [Nods toward a high rise near the performance center.] Just there.

[Lights play upon the glass exterior of a new building. Enclosed in an elevator making its way to the top floor, Guillaume leans his head against the mirrored wall.]

Guillaume: Where was I?

Valan: You were about to sack Jerusalem and create a great sacrilege.

Guillaume: [Smiles smoothly.] Oh yes, that is right. My year of mayhem. We never made it to Jerusalem. Saladin's forces were waiting for us in a fortified city along the coast called Arsuf. Richard was still battling his illnesses. But despite this, and despite being out fortified and out numbered, I was leading our armies in a victorious surge. We were on the cusp of victory when I was surrounded by the Saladin's men and impaled through the back with lance. My mouth filled with my own blood and my world went dark. That was the last moment of my Living life. The last thing I remember before waking in another kind of darkness. [The elevator doors open.] The hull of ship.

Posted by rowan at November 26, 2003 09:51 PM