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 10,000ounces 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 of the utmost importance for the security and common prosperity of the kingdom and counties aforesaid.
"Moreover,he has decided and commanded that in case of the death of the Duchess Joan--which God avert!--without lawful issue of her body,the most illustrious lord Andre,Duke of Calabria,her husband,shall have the principality of Salerno,with the title fruits,revenues,and all the rights thereof,together with the revenue of 2000ounces of gold for maintenance.
"Moreover,he has decided and ordered that the Queen above all,and also the venerable father Don Philip of Cabassole,Bishop of Cavaillon,vice-chancellor of the kingdom of Sicily,and the magnificent lords Philip of Sanguineto,seneschal of Provence,Godfrey of Marsan,Count of Squillace,admiral of the kingdom,and Charles of Artois,Count of Aire,shall be governors,regents,and administrators of the aforesaid lord Andre and the aforesaid ladies Joan and Marie,until such time as the duke,the duchess,and the very illustrious lady Marie shall have attained their twenty-fifth year,"etc.etc.
When the vice-chancellor had finished reading,the king sat up,and glancing round upon his fair and numerous family,thus spoke:
