He found a certain pleasure in sitting with his wife and discussing these. Again and again he recounted the story of the lost White Ship and how his misfortunes had begun with that dire tragedy. He continually stressed that if it had not been for the loss of that ship there would not have been this desperate need to get an heir, for he would have had one already. He would not have had to marry again. Poor Adelicia! she cast down her head as though in apology. He patted her hand. ‘You have been a good wife in all but one thing,’ he told her. ‘The most important thing,’ she answered. ‘That was not in your power to supply,’ he told her and added kindly: ‘you have been a comfort to me.’ It was true. When he meandered on about the past he did not want an intellectual companion. Sentiment suited him much better in such moods and the self-effacing nature of the Queen was exactly what he needed. He could talk to her for hours and she would only answer briefly or nod her head in sympathy.
What do You think about The Passionate Enemies (2012)?
