Jack laughed. “Invasion is a lofty word, in truth, although,” and he waved his arm in the direction of the coast, “the Conqueror undertook a successful one a few miles from here, did he not? My role is to persuade the Spider to give up what was ours by right (thanks to that same Conqueror). I shall leave on the morrow with Lord Stanley. But to answer your first question, we aimed to use our alliance with Charles of Burgundy to force Louis to return Normandy and Gascony to us. The king and council believe that, by mustering an invasion force and having Charles’s army ready to join us across the channel, Louis will give in.” He furrowed his brow and kicked at a stone. “However, we had not reckoned with the self-interest of our ally Charles. They do not call him le Téméraire for nothing. His rashness or boldness, or whatever it means, has led him to ignore our treaty obligations and lay siege to some no-account city for so many months that we cannot hope for the full army he promised.”

Richard was dumbfounded. “So without our ally’s support, how can we defeat France with these?” He indicated the English troops. “If Charles were not to be counted on, why muster our troops? Surely ’tis a futile campaign and Edward should abandon it.”

“What? And infuriate the people of England? The poor bastards had to find money they did not have in the first place to fund this war. Can you imagine the fury if we return empty-handed having never fired an arrow? They won’t be refunded, you know. The king has enough disaffection on his hands now; he was counting on reclaiming the French crown to warm Englishmen’s hearts. Nay, we have to go.”

Richard nodded although now this expedition seemed like mere folly to him. “There are still those who remember Agincourt and the honor King Harry brought back to England. In truth, it was a blow to my father’s pride when Somerset lost France—he spent many a year in Normandy holding it safe for Henry.” He was always hoping his own chivalry both in war and at the council table measured up to his father’s high standards. In his wishful thinking, he wanted to believe Edward, too, was living up to it with this venture. “’Tis a worthy cause, I warrant—and if Charles is there, albeit with a smaller force, it is attainable.”

“He will be there,” Jack assured him, “and we have St. Pol’s and Brittany’s support as well. Edward’s plan is that Louis will be squeezed between the borders of Burgundy and Brittany.”