And as soon as the news of her father's death reached her, Matilda made her first move in becoming Queen. She rode north to seize control of Argentan, an important fortress that was crucial to the rule of Normandy. But then she went no further. She discovered she was pregnant. It's impossible to know what was going through Matilda's mind stuck out here at Argentan. The chronicler, William of Malmesbury, says only that she failed to return to England for "certain reasons", which at a distance of almost 900 years is maddeningly opaque. Maybe her pregnancy had made her ill or maybe she believed the nobles would simply rally to her cause. What we do know is that while Matilda hesitated it was her cousin Stephen who seized the moment.