But the archduke was not willing to give Richard up. A negotiation was, however, opened, and finally he consented to sell his prisoner for a large sum of money. The emperor took him away, and what he did with him for a long time nobody knew. In the mean while, during the period occupied by the voyage of Richard up the Adriatic, by his long and slow journey by land, and by the time of his imprisonment in Tiernsteign, the winter had passed away, and it was now the spring of 1193. CHAPTER XXII. THE RETURN TO ENGLAND. 1193-1199 Conjectures of Richard's friends.--Queen Berengaria in Rome.--Richard in prison.--He is discovered by Blondel.--Berengaria's distress at the loss of her husband.--The people of England sympathize with Richard.--King Richard arraigned before the German Diet.--The six charges against the king.--Richard's ransom to be divided between the emperor and the archduke.--Richard finally reaches England.--Flight of John.--The expedition to Normandy.--Ill treatment of Berengaria.--Richard's reckless immoralities.--A warning.--Sudden illness.--Recovery.--The peasant's discovery of hidden treasures.--Videmar denies the story.--Richard shot by Bertrand's arrow.--King Richard's reign.--The character of the "lion-hearted." During all this time the people of England were patiently waiting for Richard's return, and wondering what had become of him. They knew that he had sailed from Palestine in October, and various were the conjectures as to his fate. Some thought that he had been shipwrecked; others, that he had fallen into the hands of the Moors; but all was uncertainty, for no tidings had been heard of him since he sailed from Acre. Berengaria had arrived safely at Messina, and after remaining there a little time she proceeded on her journey, under the care of Stephen, as far as Rome, very anxious all the time about her husband. Here she stopped, not daring to go any farther. She felt safe in Rome, under the protection of the Pope. The emperor attempted to keep Richard's imprisonment a secret. On removing him from Tiernsteign, he shut him up in one of his own castles on the Danube named Durenstein. Here the king was closely imprisoned. He did not, however, yield to any depression of spirits in view of his hard fate, but spent his time in composing and singing songs, and in drinking and carousing with the people of the castle. Here he remained during the spring and summer of 1193, and all the world were wondering what had become of him.