Hugh and Bess

by Susan Higginbotham

  The Lady Chapel at Tewkesbury Abbey that Bess and Hugh visited before their wedding was torn down during Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. The details of Eleanor de Clare's tomb are purely fictitious, as no description of it or even of its location in Tewkesbury survives.

  Guy Brian enjoyed a successful and varied career in Edward III's service and was created a Knight of the Garter in 1370. One of his Garter companions was Hugh's heir and eldest nephew, Edward, who was named to the Order in 1361. Edward, regarded by the chronicler Froissart as a model of chivalry, had a shining but sadly brief career; he died in 1375, aged only thirty-nine.

  Bess and Guy's oldest son, naturally named Guy, married Alice de Bures, whose household records form the basis of a study by ffiona Swabey entitled Medieval Gentlewoman: Life in a Widow's Household in the Later Middle Ages.

  Joan of Kent's husband Thomas Holland died in 1360, Joan having borne him five children. After his death, Joan married Edward III's eldest son, the Black Prince, in what is usually considered to be a love match. Their eldest son, Edward, died young; their second son, Richard, ascended the throne as Richard II. Joan died in 1385, reputedly of grief when Richard refused to show mercy to his half-brother John Holland, who had murdered Ralph Stafford.

  Bess's brother William died in 1397, having had one son by his second wife. Tragically, William accidentally killed his son at a tournament in 1382. William was survived by his wife and was buried at Bisham Abbey, the resting place of his father.

  Hugh's mistress, Emma, is a fictitious character, as is his laundress, Alice. Hugh's cause of death on February 8, 1349, is unknown, but it seems likelier than not that he was a victim of the Black Death, called simply “the pestilence” at the time. It would revisit England many times over the next few centuries; Bess, dying in 1359, at least was spared its second great outbreak in 1361.

  Some readers may have wondered why neither Joan of Kent nor Bess's mother, the Countess of Salisbury, drops her famous garter to be picked up by Edward III. Sadly, this well-known legend is now regarded by historians as apocryphal, though the exact origins of the Order of the Garter and its motto remain obscure. Even the date of its founding is in dispute. I have followed Ian Mortimer's theory, found in his biography of Edward III, The Perfect King, that the Order was established in April 1349 and that part of its purpose was to raise the spirits of a nation that had fallen into despair due to the pestilence.

  Edward III never did resume work on his Round Table house, the Order of the Garter having become the preeminent chivalric institution of his day. The house was torn down during remodeling around 1358 to 1361. Its remains were excavated in 2006.

  Estimates of the English death toll from the pestilence of 1348–49 vary, but the most common figure is that a third of the population perished. The fortitude with which the survivors bore this catastrophe and rebuilt their lives is remarkable. In The Black Death, Philip Ziegler comments on the stoicism displayed by so many at the time: “With his friends and relations dying in droves around him, with labour lacking to till the fields and care for the cattle, with every kind of human intercourse rendered perilous by the possibility of infection, the medieval Englishman obstinately carried on in his wonted way.”

  Read on for an excerpt from another novel

  by Susan Higginbotham

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  THE TRAITOR'S WIFE

  ELEANOR DE CLARE, SOME CHAMBERS AWAY FROM HER uncle and his friend in Westminster Palace, had been passing the morning less pleasantly, though more decorously. Though in her naiveté she was quite content with the drape of her wedding dress, the styling of her hair, and the placement of her jewels, her mother, aunts, sisters, and attendant ladies were not, and each was discontent in a different way. As her hair was debated over and rearranged for the seventh time, she snapped, “Enough, Mama! I know Hugh is not being plagued in this manner. He must take me as I am.”

  Gladys, a widow who had long served Eleanor's mother as a damsel and who had agreed to go into Eleanor's household, grinned. “Aye, my lady, and he won’t much care what you are wearing. It will be what is underneath that will count.” She patted Eleanor's rump with approval. “And he will be pleased.”

  Elizabeth gasped. Margaret tittered. Eleanor, however, giggled. “Do you truly think so, Gladys?”

  “Of course. You’re well developed for your age, and men love that. And you will be a good breeder of children, too, mark me. You will have a fine brood.”

  “You can tell me, Gladys. What will it be like? Tonight?”

  Eleanor's mother, Joan, the Countess of Gloucester, had been sniffling sentimentally at the prospect of her first daughter's marriage. Now she raised an eyebrow. “Your little sisters, Eleanor—”

  “They shall be married soon, too, won’t they? They might as well know.”

  “We might as well,” Margaret agreed.

  “Each man will go about his business in his own way, my lady. But I’ll wager that he will be gentle about the matter.”

  “Will I be expected to—help at all?” At thirteen Eleanor was not quite as naive as she pretended, having heard enough courtiers and servant girls whispering to piece together what happened on a wedding night, but it had occurred to her that no one was fussing over her hair now.

  Gladys had been left entirely on her own by the gaggle of women, who were plainly finding this entertaining. When Gladys paused before answering, Mary, Eleanor's aunt the nun, piped up, “Well, answer, my dear, because I certainly can’t.”

  “I’ve no doubt that once you get interested in him, my lady, you shall want to help.”

  Eleanor nodded and considered this in silence.

  Margaret, sitting on a window seat, sighed. “I wish I was getting married,” she explained.

  “I’m sure you will be soon.”

  “And better.” Elizabeth sniffed.

  “Elizabeth! What mean you?” Her mother glared.

  “I only repeat what I overheard you say the other day.” Elizabeth was only ten, but she had the dignity of a woman twice that age. “Nelly is an earl's daughter, and Hugh is only a mere knight. He has no land to speak of. And he's not even truly handsome, like my uncle's friend Piers Gaveston.”

  “As though we need more of that!” Joan went over and patted her oldest daughter on the shoulder. “I did think you could have done better,” she said gently, “but it was your grandfather's match, and he has always thought highly of Hugh's father, who has served him well for years. There is no reason why his fortunes should not grow in years to come.” She frowned at a tangle in Eleanor's waist-length red hair—it was difficult at times to determine what was tangle and what was curl—and began to brush it out.

  Eleanor glared at her youngest sister.

  “Tell me,” she said, submitting ungraciously to having some color put on her naturally pale cheeks, “who is this Piers to my uncle? I have never seen my uncle out of his company since we came to Westminster. And why does his being around him vex my grandfather the king so?”

  Gladys became deeply interested in a discarded bracelet lying on a table. The other women stared absorbedly at Eleanor's robes. Only her little sisters looked at Eleanor, and their faces were as curious as hers.

  “We must get to the chapel,” Joan said. “Come, ladies.”

  Acknowledgments

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  WRITING A SECOND NOVEL, I HAVE HEARD IT SAID, IS far harder than writing one's first. I wholeheartedly agree. My task here was made considerably easier by the people I encountered after I completed the predecessor to Hugh and Bess, The Traitor's Wife. To include everyone would be an impossible task, but I would particularly like to thank Alianore, who shares my fascination with the reign of Edward II and its aftermath and whose public blog and private e-mails have afforded me hours of stimulating conversation and encouragement. Author Brian Wainwright very kindly pointed out some blunders I as an American fell into with regard to forms of address. Martyn Lawrence generously sent me a copy of his dissertation o
n the Despenser family. Sara Kase at Sourcebooks was invaluable in suggesting improvements to the original manuscript. Many others, on and offline, have touched my heart with their well wishes and their interest in the people of these novels.

  As before, special thanks go to my husband, Don Coomes, my children, Thad and Bethany, and my parents, Charles and Barbara Higginbotham.

  Reading Group Guide

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  Though Hugh and Emma love each other, they do not marry. Instead, they choose to abide by the conventions of their time, under which Hugh is expected to marry a wealthy woman of his own social class. What would you have done in their place? Would you have done as they did, or would you have rejected convention and followed your heart?

  Though guiltless of any crime, Hugh spends four years in prison but manages to emerge with little bitterness. Would you have been able to do the same? How does this experience affect Hugh?

  When we first meet Bess as a young thirteen-year-old girl in her parents’ home, she is spoiled and headstrong. How does she change over the course of the novel? What shapes her character? Does Hugh also change?

  Hugh's name has been tarnished by his family's shameful legacy—his father and grandfather were both horribly executed as traitors. How does this affect his relationship with Bess?

  Against their better judgment, Hugh and Emma are brought together in the same household when Bess asks Emma to become her damsel. Since Hugh and Emma allowed themselves to live so closely, do you think it was inevitable that they would end up in bed together again? Would you be able to live in close quarters with a past lover?

  Even though Bess catches Emma and Hugh in bed together, she and Emma eventually resume their close friendship. Do you believe Bess truly forgave Emma? Did Emma truly forgive Bess for her behavior and reaction? Would you have been willing to forgive either Bess or Emma as easily?

  With his father and grandfather disgraced, Hugh looks to his great-grandfather as an exemplary role model. Does Hugh succeed in living up to the ideals he sets for himself? What is Hugh's attitude toward his own father?

  When his brother dies in battle, Hugh briefly questions the value of the war he is fighting. For the most part, however, Hugh and those around him treat war as a natural part of life and welcome the opportunities it brings for individual and national glory. How does this compare to modern attitudes toward war? How have responses to war changed throughout history, and how have they stayed the same?

  Before Bess's marriage, her mother advises her on the double standards for men and women. Bess forgives Hugh when he is unfaithful to her, yet Hugh is furious when Bess merely flirts with the king. How did you react to this double standard? Do you think it still exists today?

  At Windsor in 1344, the dowager queen Isabella makes a rare appearance at court. What does her summoning of Bess and their conversation tell you about Isabella's character? Isabella approved the execution of Hugh's father. If you were Hugh, could you forgive Isabella for her actions?

  Bess has little sympathy for Joan's plight when she finally reveals her secret marriage. Does Bess judge Joan unfairly, or is her reaction colored mainly by the fact that she is Will's sister? Do you think that women have a tendency to judge other women more harshly then men judge them?

  The pestilence that struck England in 1348–1349 was immensely shocking and disturbing to those who lived through it. How does this event compare to catastrophic events—both natural and manmade—in modern times?

  Elizabeth de Burgh's chaplain blames the pestilence on the immoral state of living that England has fallen into. Faced with such disasters, even today, many people try to assign blame. What does this say about human nature? Is it a desire to find a scapegoat, or a desire to make sense out of the senseless?

  Out of some common reactions to the pestilence— despair, wild living, religiosity—Hugh chooses to deal with the epidemic by laughing at it. What did you make of Hugh's reaction? How would you have coped with such an event?

  Bess refuses Hugh's offer to send her someplace more isolated during the pestilence, and when Hugh falls ill, Bess places her own life in jeopardy to tend to him. Would you do the same in her place? Do you think Bess would have made the same decision if she and Hugh had had children to think of?

  Hugh's decision not to isolate himself from the pestilence, made as a point of honor to be there for the tenants depending on him, ultimately proves fatal. Is he the final victim of his father's and grandfather's wrongdoing, or would he have likely made the same decision even without his family's disgrace? How much of Hugh's sense of honor do you believe is inherent? How much of it is influenced by his ancestors?

  Bess, uncertain whether to marry Guy, decides to accept his proposal when he makes her laugh. What qualities are deciding factors for you in considering a potential partner or spouse?

  Bess's first two marriages are arranged, and her third marriage, though Bess likes and respects Guy, is not a love match. What makes marriages based on things other than love successful—or unsuccessful? Is it possible that such marriages could ultimately be more successful than ones founded on romantic love or infatuation?

  About the Author

  Tim Broyer

  SUSAN HIGGINBOTHAM LIVES with her family in North Carolina and has worked as an attorney and as an editor. Her first novel about the Despenser family, The Traitor's Wife, won the silver award for historical fiction in ForeWord Magazine's 2005 Book of the Year awards and the gold medal for historical/ military fiction in the 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards. Her website is www.susanhigginbotham.com.