A Love Most Dangerous (45 page)

'And is she the only choice?'

He shook his head. 'Cromwell seeks an alliance with
the Protestant Princes of Germany. The Duke of Cleves has two daughters who are
said to be pretty enough.'

'Then I am sure Your Grace will find a suitable
match.'

'Perhaps I will. I shall not be forced to seek a bride
from the Sultan or send to the Indies. Europe has enough pretty young
princesses it seems. I will send my painter Holbein to paint portraits of all
of them so I can see who is the most suitable.'

He chuckled to himself and I thought it best not to
ask why. I was too busy trying to hide my relief that he had been advised to
look abroad for a queen.

He walked over to the window and gazed up at the
castle on its hill to the south. I joined him. I could see why Cromwell had
chosen it to house me. It was near enough to be on hand but far enough to
remain discreet. No whisper of the secret concubine need travel to the courts
of Europe to trouble the minds of thoughtful fathers. I wondered how permanent
my position might be. I could not be sure that I would remain the King's
favourite for long. I would have to make the best of it while I could.

'You'll need a household,' he said. 'In your
apartments.'

'I have a maid,' I said. 'Sissy Cooper, the daughter
of the family I stayed with in Stratford.'

'You'll need more than that,' he said. 'I'll arrange
for my steward to choose some servants.'

'Thank you, Your Grace.' I was surprised by his
generosity but thought I had best make use of the opportunity. 'And would it be
possible to have some friends with me?'

He looked bemused at my words. 'You mean maids of
honour?' He shook his head. 'That is not possible. That is preposterous. A
favourite with maids of honour. Preposterous.'

'I mean friends. Companions.'

He tilted his head in thought, considering. Finally he
nodded. 'Two only.'

I took him by the hand and kissed it. I had two
friends very much in mind.

Two days later Susan Dunster and Mary Zouche arrived
at the castle. It was the autumn equinox when the day is exactly as long as the
night and I felt that the arrival of my friends would make me feel as balanced
as this day. I hurried down to the Hall to greet them. We fell upon each other,
crying like babies.

'We were so worried,' Mary said.

'We thought you'd been murdered,' said Susan, 'or
worse.'

I felt my face cloud at those words. 'It was worse,' I
said. Then I shook my head. 'No it cannot have been. For I am alive and with
the best of friends in all the world.'

'And you are restored as the King's favourite,' Susan
said. Her eyebrow arched as she said it.

'I am. But I intend to be a more circumspect favourite
this time. I shall dance upon egg shells.'

They did not reply. It was obvious that they thought
this a most sensible plan.

'And is this where you live?' Mary asked.

'It is,' I answered, flushing with embarrassment and
with pride. 'And it is where you will live as well. You are to be my
companions.'

'So will we share a chamber with you?' Mary asked.

I shook my head. 'Far from it. Follow me.'

I led them up the stairs and through a wide oak door
into a large chamber with a table in the middle and half a dozen chairs dotted
around. 'This is the reception area,' I explained.

We then went through another door into a similarly sized
chamber but one which was decorated with honey-coloured oak panelling. A huge
fire blazed in the fireplace, with four comfortable chairs placed in front of
it and fire-screens close to hand. There were two tall windows each with a
padded window seat and other chairs dotted around the room with little side
tables set beside them. On one table, in a corner of the room, sat a virginal.
Mary clapped her hands with delight when she saw this.

'I chose this for you,' I said. 'Go ahead and try it.'

She sat at the table and began to play on the
instrument. She played without music to read, from memory, a lovely lilting
piece which gladdened the heart.

'She wrote the music herself,' Susan whispered. 'She
made it herself.'

A door opened and Sissy peeped in to listen. I
beckoned her over and she came to me, head low with embarrassment.

We stood in silence and listened to the melody. I felt
a warm glow begin to suffuse my body, warmer than the heat given off from the
fire. It started in my heart and as I looked around at my friends the glow
lapped up my breast, along my arms and to my head.

A warm and reassuring feeling swept over me, as if I
was floating in a warm sea with the gentlest of waves. I felt transported to
the safest of havens, to the place I always wanted to be. It was as if I were a
part of everything around me, dissolved into it, and everything around was
dissolving into me. A peace like I had never known before. And I was
transported here not only by the music. I felt this way because of the friends
I loved and because I knew that, finally, I was in the place I always meant to
be.

Thank you for buying Love Most Dangerous.  I hope you
enjoyed it. 

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THANKS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

No
book is completely the work of one person and it is the same with A Love Most
Dangerous. First and foremost I would like to thank my wife Janine who was a
constant source of support while I was writing it and was the first person to
read and comment on it.

I
have also been fortunate to have a number of people who have read the book and
suggested changes and amendments. They are too many to mention here but I would
like to mention the following for their detailed comments and suggestions: Anne
Shilton, Barbara Maria Patrizi, Dee Gillies, Erin L. Johnson, Julie Webb-Harvey
and Sophie Six
for their detailed comments
I whole-heartedly agreed with most of the changes these eagle-eyed people have
pointed out and incorporated them into the book.

Any
remaining mistakes are solely down to me. However, if you as a reader notice
any typos, errors or jarring material which has eluded everyone’s eyes, please
let me know.

OTHER BOOKS BY MARTIN LAKE

Here are some other books
which you may wish to take a look at. 

Resistance.
The first book in the Lost King Series. Edgar Atheling
is proclaimed King of England. He is only thirteen years of age. And he has to
fight against Duke William of Normandy, the man who has won the Battle of
Hastings and is leading his victorious army to London.

Wasteland.
  The second novel in The Lost King series.

Blood of Ironside
. The third novel in The Lost King series.

Outcasts: Crusades Book
1. 

Saladin is marching to
conquer the city of Jerusalem. Within the city waits only one nobleman, Balian
of Ibelin, and four knights. In desperation Balian knights thirty ordinary men
of the city in to lead the defence. History says nothing more of the men raised
so far above their normal station. 'Outcasts' tells the story of how they fare
in a world grown more bitter and fanatical.

Artful
.  The further adventures of the Artful Dodger.

For King and Country
.  Three short stories set in the First World War.

Nuggets.
  Fast fiction for quiet moments.

Mr Toad's Wedding
.  First prize winner in the competition to write a
sequel story to The Wind in the Willows.

The Big School.
  Three light-hearted short stories about a boy's
experience of growing up.

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by clicking here:

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