The Land Beyond the Sea Read online

  ALSO BY SHARON KAY PENMAN

  THE HISTORICAL NOVELS

  The Sunne in Splendour

  Here Be Dragons

  Falls the Shadow

  The Reckoning

  When Christ and His Saints Slept

  Time and Chance

  Devil’s Brood

  Lionheart

  A King’s Ransom

  THE MEDIEVAL MYSTERIES

  The Queen’s Man

  Cruel as the Grave

  Dragon’s Lair

  Prince of Darkness

  G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

  Publishers Since 1838

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  penguinrandomhouse.com

  Copyright © 2020 by Sharon Kay Penman

  Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

  First U.S. edition published in 2020 by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Random House (LLC).

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Penman, Sharon Kay, author.

  Title: The land beyond the sea / Sharon Kay Penman.

  Description: First U.S. edition. | New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2020.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2019009998 | ISBN 9780399165283 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781101621752 (epub)

  Subjects: LCSH: Baudouin IV, King of Jerusalem, 1160–1185—Fiction. | Jerusalem—History—Latin Kingdom, 1099–1244—Fiction. | GSAFD: Historical fiction | Biographical fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS3566.E474 L36 2020 | DDC 813/.54—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019009998

  p. cm.

  Map by John Burgoyne

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  To

  Enda Junkins and Paula Mildenhall

  CONTENTS

  Also by Sharon Kay Penman

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Cast of Characters as of 1172

  Map

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Afterword

  Author’s Note

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  CAST OF CHARACTERS AS OF 1172

  Royal House of Kingdom of Jerusalem, Aka Outremer

  Baldwin III, King of Jerusalem, deceased 1163; uncle of Henry II, King of England

  Amalric, King of Jerusalem; Baldwin’s brother

  Maria Comnena, Queen of Jerusalem; great-niece of Manuel Comnenus, the Greek emperor of what is today known as Byzantium

  Sybilla, daughter of Amalric and Agnes de Courtenay, b. 1159

  Baldwin, son of Amalric and Agnes de Courtenay, b. 1161

  Isabella, daughter of Amalric and Maria Comnena, b. 1172

  Nobility of Kingdom of Jerusalem

  Baudouin d’Ibelin, Lord of Ramlah and Mirabel

  Richilda, Baudouin’s wife

  Esquiva and Etiennette, their daughters

  Balian d’Ibelin, Lord of Ibelin; Baudouin’s younger brother

  Hugh d’Ibelin, their elder brother, deceased 1169

  * * *

  Renaud (Denys) de Grenier, Lord of Sidon

  Agnes de Courtenay, his wife; mother of Baldwin and Sybilla; daughter of the Count of Edessa, who died in a Saracen dungeon

  Joscelin de Courtenay, brother to Agnes; son of the Count of Edessa

  * * *

  Humphrey de Toron, constable of the kingdom

  Philippa, a princess of Antioch; Humphrey’s wife

  Humphrey de Toron, the constable’s son, recently deceased

  Stephanie de Milly, widow of the constable’s son; heiress to Outrejourdain

  Humphrey de Toron, their young son

  * * *

  Eschiva, Princess of Galilee

  Hugues, her eldest son and heir

  William, Odo, and Raoul, his younger brothers

  * * *

  Miles de Plancy, seneschal of the kingdom

  Guyon, Lord of Caesarea; cousin to Lord of Sidon

  Gautier, Guyon’s brother and heir

  Walter de Brisebarre, Lord of Blanchegarde

  Guidon de Brisebarre, Walter’s brother

  Mary de Brisebarre, their sister

  Amaury de Lusignan, French lord newly arrived in Outremer

  Churchmen of Kingdom of Jerusalem

  Emeric de Nesle, the patriarch

  Lethard, Archbishop of Nazareth

  Joscius, Bishop of Acre

  William, Archdeacon of Tyre

  Eraclius, Archdeacon of Jerusalem

  Military Orders

  Odo de St. Amand, grand master of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, better known as the Knights Templar

  Jobert, grand master of Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, better known as the Knights Hospitaller

  Jakelin de Mailly, Templar knight

  Principality of Antioch

  Bohemond, Prince of Antioch; cousin to King Amalric and the Count of Tripoli

  Mary, Boh
emond’s sister; wed to Manuel Comnenus, emperor of the Greeks

  Reynald de Chatillon; wed to Bohemond’s mother, Princess Constance, now deceased

  County of Tripoli

  Raymond de St. Gilles, Count of Tripoli; cousin to King Amalric and Prince Bohemond

  Saracens

  Nūr al-Dīn Mahmūd b. Zangī, ruler of Egypt and Syria

  al-Sālih Ismail b. Nūr al-Dīn, Nūr al-Dīn’s young son and heir

  al-Malik al-Nāsir Salāh al-Dīn Abū al-Muzaffar Yūsuf b. Ayyūb, Nūr al-Dīn’s vizier in Egypt, known to history as Salāh al-Dīn or Saladin, called Yūsuf by family

  al-Malik al-‘Ādil, Saif al-Dīn Abū Bakr Ahmad b. Ayyūb, Saladin’s younger brother, best known as al-‘Ādil, called Ahmad by family

  Taqī al-Dīn, al-Malik al-Muzaffar ‘Umar b. Shāhanshāh b. Ayyūb, nephew to Saladin and al-‘Ādil, called ‘Umar by family

  Farrukh-Shāh, ‘Izz al-Dīn Da’ud b. Shāhanshāh b. Ayyūb, Taqī al-Dīn’s younger brother, called Da’ud by family

  European Rulers

  Henry II, King of England

  Eleanor of Aquitaine, his queen

  Louis Capet, King of France

  William, King of Sicily

  Frederick, Holy Roman Emperor

  Philip, Count of Flanders

  PROLOGUE

  February 1163

  City of Jerusalem, Outremer

  Agnes de Courtenay knew that most people would say she’d been blessed, for she was both beautiful and highborn, the daughter of the Count of Edessa, cousin to the rulers of Antioch and Jerusalem. None would have believed her had she confessed her secret fear—that she was accursed. But how else explain why her family had suffered so many sorrows?

  Their litany of woes had begun with the loss of Edessa. Agnes was ten when the city fell to the Saracens. She’d known that the young Christian realms of Antioch, Tripoli, Edessa, and Outremer were viewed as infidel intruders by their Muslim neighbors in the Levant, saplings surrounded by enemy oaks. But she’d not realized how vulnerable they were, not until Edessa was captured and its citizens slaughtered.

  Her father had clung to power for a few more years and when Agnes was thirteen, he’d wed her to Reinald, the Lord of Marash. Her new husband had treated her kindly and Agnes had been happy as his wife, envisioning a tranquil future as the Lady of Marash.

  It was not to be. She’d been wed less than a year when the Prince of Antioch was defeated by a large Saracen army. Among the dead was the prince himself and Reinald, Lord of Marash. The stunned young widow returned home to her family, where worse was to come. Agnes knew her father was a flawed man, caring more for his own pleasures than the welfare of his subjects. But she still loved him and grieved when he was captured by the Saracen amir, Nūr al-Dīn. Refusing to ransom him, Nūr al-Dīn had him blinded, condemning him to die in an Aleppo dungeon. It was then that Agnes understood—God had cursed the de Courtenays.

  Her mother, Beatrice, had done her best, securing a pension from the emperor of the Greeks, Manuel Comnenus, for herself and her children, Agnes and Joscelin. They’d moved to Antioch, having enough to live upon but not enough to provide a proper marriage portion for Agnes, and she soon discovered that beauty alone would not tempt a highborn husband.

  The years that followed had not been happy ones for the de Courtenays. Then, in early 1157, Hugh d’Ibelin came to Antioch and was smitten with Agnes. Hugh was just eighteen, more than three years her junior, but he was the heir to his mother’s wealthy fief of Ramlah in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and his father was dead, so there were none to protest his willingness to wed Agnes without a marriage portion. He was a handsome lad, too, and Agnes gladly agreed to marry him, grateful that the Almighty had restored her family to His favor.

  That summer, Agnes, Joscelin, and their mother had traveled to Outremer, where Hugh awaited them. But upon their arrival at Jaffa, Agnes learned of yet another battlefield defeat, this one on June 19, when a force led by King Baldwin was ambushed by Nūr al-Dīn. While Baldwin had escaped, among the men taken prisoner was Hugh d’Ibelin.

  Agnes had despaired, for how could Hugh raise his ransom? His brothers, Baudouin and Balian, were too young to help, and his mother was dying. Only King Baldwin could rescue Hugh, and so she sought out the Count of Jaffa, the king’s brother, Amalric. She’d heard that Amalric was unlike Baldwin, who was renowned for his generosity. Amalric was said to lust after money even more than he lusted after women. She did not see why he’d object to spending his brother’s money, though, and was hopeful he’d agree to approach Baldwin on her behalf.

  Her meeting with Amalric did not go as planned. He was obviously impressed by her beauty and she was willing to flirt with him if that would win his cooperation. But within moments, she found herself fending off a mauling that went well beyond flirtation. She managed to free herself and flee. She’d heard the gossip that he was no respecter of marital vows. She’d not expected to be treated like a whore, though, for she was Amalric’s cousin. She’d not realized that with Hugh and her father both held prisoner in Aleppo, Amalric might well see her as fair game, vulnerable as only a woman without male protectors could be.

  This sudden understanding of her peril—a guest in his castle, his city—had impelled her to confide in her mother and brother. Joscelin had been angry at this affront to his sister’s honor but was wary of antagonizing so powerful a man as the king’s brother. Their mother had more steel in her spine, and she went to confront Amalric, warning him that Agnes was no peasant wench to be swived at his pleasure, reminding him that she was his kinswoman, the betrothed of one of the king’s most loyal vassals. Agnes could only hope that would be enough to shame Amalric to his senses.

  But when her mother finally returned, it was with stunning news. Six years later, Agnes could remember that scene as vividly as if it were yesterday.

  * * *

  “Well, it seems we misread the count’s intentions. Amalric swears he would not have raped you. He wants to marry you.”

  Agnes gasped, shocked into silence. But when Joscelin let out a whoop of joy, she glared at him. She opened her mouth to say that she did not want to marry Amalric, catching herself in time. Marriages were not based upon personal whims, after all. “Count Amalric seems to have forgotten that I am plight trothed to Hugh d’Ibelin and in the eyes of Holy Church, that is a binding commitment. Moreover, we are fourth cousins and thus forbidden to marry.”

  Joscelin insisted plight troths could be broken, dispensations issued for cousins to wed. Agnes ignored him. “Mother? Do you want me to wed this man?”

  “It is a far better match than the one with Hugh d’Ibelin. You would be the Countess of Jaffa and Ascalon, your rank second only to Baldwin’s queen once he weds. Our family’s fortunes would be mended, restoring us to the prominence we enjoyed ere your father lost Edessa—”

  “And Amalric is the king’s heir,” Joscelin interrupted. “If Baldwin dies ere he marries and sires a son, Amalric will be king. You could be the queen one day, Sister!”

  While Agnes was fond of her younger brother, she’d never taken him all that seriously. “Jos, leave us alone for a time,” she snapped and, as unhappy as he was to be banished from this crucial family conclave, he obeyed; she’d always been the stronger of the two. Once he’d gone, Agnes crossed to Beatrice’s side. “I will be honest with you, Mother. I do not deny this is an opportunity none of us could have expected. But I would rather wed Hugh d’Ibelin. As Lady of Ramlah, I would be respected, and I am sure Hugh would do his best for you and Joscelin. Whilst he may not have the power that Amalric wields, he has a more generous nature.”

  Beatrice seemed to sigh. “There is something you need to know, Agnes. I had a long and forthright conversation with Amalric. When he said he wanted to marry you, he seemed as surprised as I was to hear those words coming from his mouth. I think it was only th
en that he realized he wanted more from you than a quick tumble in bed. It appears you’ve bewitched him as you did Hugh. With one difference. Amalric is a young man accustomed to getting what he wants. Now that he has decided he wants you, he means to have you. He is indifferent to the plight troth, to your lack of a marriage portion, or that you are cousins. And he would be just as indifferent to your refusal should you tell him nay.”

  “You are saying that he’d force me to wed him?” Agnes tried to sound indignant, but what was the point? The Church said a marriage was not valid without consent. Yet in the world beyond the Holy See, it was not so unusual for an heiress to be abducted and wed against her will. If it could almost happen to Queen Eleanor of England, who would care if it happened to the penniless daughter of a man rotting away in an Aleppo dungeon?

  “We do what we must, Agnes. Even if this marriage is not entirely to your liking, there is much to commend it. You’ll have a privileged life with the king’s brother, and you’ll have power. That is not a draught you’ve ever tasted, but I think it is one you will learn to savor.”

  “And Hugh?”

  “You can get Amalric to pay his ransom.”

  Others might have found that answer cold, uncaring. Agnes did not. Her mother was simply recognizing the reality confronting them, as women had been compelled to do down through the ages.

  * * *

  There had been opposition to the marriage. The Patriarch of Jerusalem had objected, raising the issues of consanguinity and Agnes’s plight troth to Hugh d’Ibelin. But Amalric paid him no heed. If it was not a happy marriage, it had been a successful one. Even after the novelty wore off, Amalric continued to desire her, while Agnes fulfilled a wife’s primary duty, giving him a daughter and then a son. She did not find the pleasure in his bed that she’d have found in Hugh’s, for she was not attracted to him. Her mother had been right, though. The taste of power was intoxicating.