Her husband’s most potent vassal, she knew that his voice would carry most weight when it came to the succession and she had sound reasons to think him steadfast in her cause. Much would rest with Roger de Hauteville, Count of Sicily and younger brother to the Guiscard, after whom Borsa was named. He was on his way from the island, that she knew, for Robert had called upon his brother to bring to Apulia what forces he could muster to aid his campaign against Capua. What she did not know, and her husband had prior to his illness suffered the same uncertainty, was how long he would take to arrive; there was no way of guessing the precise depth of his engagement against the continuing Saracen resistance to the complete Norman subjugation of the island. Boats had been sent out to intercept him on his way to Trani, to which he had been summoned, to ensure he changed course for Bari, which he must bypass on the way. Meanwhile she could sense the atmosphere growing more febrile as the numbers who had taken up residence in Bari, and who had now witnessed for themselves the depth of their liege lord’s malaise, turned idle talk into varying schemes.
