Feud (14 page)
Authors: Lady Grace Cavendish
I leaned forwards to look at it. The portrait was the size of an egg. It sat in an ebony frame, most wondrously carved. And it was superb. The Queen, to the life, looked out of the frame with such command it was as if she were truly there. Her jewels glinted, her pearls shone, and her silken robes glimmered.
The Queen was silent for a while, gazing at the tiny painting. “Who did the limning?” she asked. “Forgive me, Levina, but it was not you, I think.”
Mrs. Teerlinc smiled and shook her head. “No, no, not me,” she confirmed. “Mr. Hilliard did it. He has been working on it in secret, but had not the confidence to show it to Your Majesty before now. He even has a way of mixing pounded gold with resin, laying it on the vellum, and then polishing it with a ferret's tooth so that it gleams. At last I have persuaded him to make more portraits!”
I hid a smile—not you, Mrs. Teerlinc, I thought, but skinny little Ellie who spoke her mind.
“Superb,” said the Queen quietly. “Quite superb. And more honest than many, Mr. Hilliard, for I can see you have kept that slight hook in my nose which I often miss in portraits of me. I will have a great deal of work for you, I think. And while we are about it, who carved this delicate frame?”
“That was Ned Steyner,” explained Nick Hilliard, still flushed with pleasure at the Queen's praise. “He says that when he carves, it does not matter that he cannot see, for he feels it all, anyway.”
“Then I shall order him to work upon my bedhead,” said the Queen. “And this I shall wear upon my belt. In fact, I believe I shall appoint you our official Court Miniaturist, Mr. Hilliard, to be sure you can make as many as I desire.”
She beckoned me, and I came and found a thick
silk lace and hung the portrait upon the Queen's jewelled belt, next to her fan. Nick looked quite dazed: if the Queen is wearing his work and has appointed him Miniaturist to the Crown, every single Courtier in the place will be clamouring to have something painted by him, and he can charge what he likes. No more need to steal paint, I think, and I grinned at him. He smiled back, looking bemusedly happy, and then he winked at me. As for old Ned, I think he will be much happier carving, for he will not need to squint at all.
There is good news of Penelope as well. She had a letter arrive from her parents this day, and when she opened it she squealed with excitement. She is usually such a quiet little person, but at this, her face turned quite pink and her eyes were sparkling. At first she was talking so fast nobody could work out what she was saying, but then Mary gave her a cup of wine to calm her.
It is all to do with a distant cousin. She has known him since she was a child, because his lands border on her parents' estates. She likes him very much and has missed him greatly since he went to university and she came to Court. Her parents and his parents have been negotiating for years and at last it is all concluded. The contract is drawn up, her dowry and
jointure are decided, and she is to be wed as soon as possible! And because of Penelope's service to the Queen, Her Majesty has agreed for her marriage ceremony and feast to be held at Court—the which is a sign of great favour as the Queen normally hates for her Maids of Honour to be wed. Penelope's mother is quite undone with happiness about it. So now we all have a wedding to look forward to!
And Carmina is much better already. She didn't need the litter to get down to the Great Courtyard this noontide along with everyone else. Although we weren't really supposed to be there, practically every woman in the palace waved goodbye, as the players and their carts trundled out of the palace main gate between the hexagonal towers. Ellie was waving a kerchief. Masou was standing on a wall, loudly whistling and shouting farewell.
As the last cart rumbled out, Richard jumped onto it, waved goodbye, and shouted that they would be playing at Merton, Farnham, and all sorts of other places I've never heard of, all the way down to Cornwall—which is hundreds of miles away and only tin-miners, wreckers, and pirates go there.
“And a last great thanks to our young friend Masou—the finest boy acrobat in the world,”
shouted Richard, waving his hat at Masou, “who taught me this!” And he stood on his hands on the back of the cart …
“Ooer,” said Ellie.
… until the cart went over a bump and Richard wobbled, kicked his legs, and fell off.
“Told him he wouldn't be able to do it,” sang out Masou, still laughing and clapping as Richard rolled and bounced up onto his feet again. “You owe me a shilling, Mr. Fitzgrey!”
And Richard took out his purse and threw a shilling to Masou, who caught it, looking delighted. Then Richard bowed extravagantly to all the girls and ran after the carts, shouting at them to let him back on.
“I suppose he's not so bad,” Masou admitted.
So now everything will calm down and
perhaps
the other Maids of Honour will start behaving sensibly. Meanwhile, I will stay on the alert for any crimes or mysteries that warrant investigation by the Queen's own Lady Pursuivant.
apothecary
—an Elizabethan chemist
apple leather
—a popular Elizabethan sweetmeat
aqua vitae
—brandy
Barbary Corsairs
—privateers or pirates from the Barbary States in North Africa, authorized by their government to prey upon the ships of Christian countries
Bedlam
—the major asylum for the insane in London during Elizabethan times—the name came from the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem
Bergomask
—a rustic dance
Bey
—a chief or a prince of the Ottoman Empire
bezoar stone
—a hard, stonelike object from a goat's stomach, used by Elizabethans (unsuccessfully), as an antidote to poison
bisket bread
—chewy almond macaroons
blackwork
—black embroidery on white linen
bodice
—the top part of a woman's dress
bubo
—an infected swelling, often in the armpit, associated with plague
bumroll
—a sausage-shaped piece of padding worn round the hips to make them look bigger
buttery
—confusingly, this was a place where barrels of beer, wine, and brandy were kept for people to get drinks
cannonade
—bombard with artillery
ceruse
—a lead pigment used in painting
Chamberer
—a servant of the Queen who cleaned her chamber—which the Maids of Honour and Ladies-in-Waiting, of course, could not be expected to do
chemise
—a loose shirtlike undergarment
close-stool
—a portable toilet comprising a seat with a hole in it on top of a box with a chamber pot inside
comfit
—a sugar-coated sweet containing a nut or seed
comfrey
—a medicinal herb
consumption
—a wasting disease such as tuberculosis
cramoisie
—crimson cloth
cony-catcher
—a cheat, often one who cheated at cards. Coney is an old word for “rabbit.”
coppice
—a thicket or copse
Cordova leather
—leather from the Spanish city of Cordova, which was famous for the high quality of its leatherwork
damask
—a beautiful, self-patterned silk cloth woven
in Flanders. It originally came from Damascus— hence the name.
daybooke
—a book in which you would record your sins each day so that you could pray about them. The idea of keeping a diary or journal grew out of this. Grace is using her daybooke as a journal.
demesne
—lands, territory
distempered
—disordered, deranged
doublet
—a close-fitting padded jacket worn by men
dowry; jointure
—money, goods, and estates that a woman would bring to her husband on their marriage
farthingale
—a bell- or barrel-shaped petticoat held out with hoops of whalebone
favour
—a handkerchief or other token given to someone as a mark of the giver's esteem or affection
fleur-de-lys
—a stylized rendering of an iris—used in heraldry and fabric designs
garderobe
—a private room
graphite
—a soft form of carbon used in lead pencils
gumdragon
—a vegetable gum used to make shaped sweets
henbane of Peru
—also known as tobacco. In Elizabethan times it was regarded as a great cure for phlegm.
humours
—the fluids of the body, which were thought to control health and temperament
journeyman
—a skilled and reliable worker
kirtle
—the skirt section of an Elizabethan dress
Lady-in-Waiting
—one of the ladies who helped to look after the Queen and kept her company
lapis lazuli
—a semiprecious stone that is a rich blue color
limn; limner
—to draw or paint; a painter
Lord Protector
—Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford. He was Edward VI's uncle and appointed by Henry VIII—in his will—to be “Lord Protector of the Realm and Governor of the King's Person” until Edward was old enough to rule England himself.
lye
—an ingredient in soap. It is strongly alkaline and was used by itself for cleaning.
Maid of Honour
—a younger girl who helped to look after the Queen like a Lady-in-Waiting
malachite
—a green mineral
manchet bread
—white bread
marchpane
—marzipan
marchpane subtlety
—a sculpture made out of marzipan and then colored
marmelada
—a very thick, jammy sweet often made from quinces
Mary Shelton
—one of Queen Elizabeth's Maids of
Honour. Most Maids of Honour were not officially “Ladies” (like Lady Grace), but they had to be born of gentry
masque
—a masquerade, a masked ball
Master of the Revels
—the Court official in charge of entertainment for the Queen and her Court
megrim
—a migraine headache
mummer; mumming
—an actor; acting
Mussulman
—an old word for Muslim
New World
—South and North America together
orpiment
—arsenic trisulphide, usually orangey yellow in color. Used as a pigment for yellow paint in Elizabethan times.
Painted Passage
—A decorated passage of some sort was usual in the Queen's palaces so that the Queen could process down it and impress those subjects waiting to ask her for favors. Such a passage is mentioned in Court accounts simply as the “painted passage.”
partlet
—a very fine embroidered false top, which covered just the shoulders and the upper chest
pasha
—a title given to a man of high rank in Turkey or North Africa
penner
—a small leather case that would attach to a belt. It was used for holding quills, ink, knife, and any other equipment needed for writing.
plague
—a virulent disease that killed thousands
posset
—a hot drink made from sweetened and spiced milk curdled with ale or wine
post; riding post
—To post or ride post meant to travel very quickly by changing horses at stages along the route, so that each horse was fresh and thus capable of greater speed.
pounce
—a way of transferring a design for embroidery. The design would be drawn on stiff paper, and lots of little holes would be pricked with a needle along all the lines. The paper would then be placed over the fabric to be embroidered, and powdered chalk or carbon would be sprinkled over it so that the powder fell through the holes, leaving an outline of the design on the fabric. The paper would then be removed, and the embroiderer would tack along the lines made by the chalk to keep the design clear when the chalk rubbed off. Once all this had been done, the embroidery work itself could start.
Presence Chamber
—the room where Queen Elizabeth would receive people
pulses
—the points on the body where the rhythmical beat of the heart can be felt
pursuivant
—one who pursues someone else
Queen's Champion
—a combatant who rode and fought on the Queen's behalf
Queen's Guard
—more commonly known as the Gentlemen Pensioners; young noblemen who guarded the Queen from physical attacks
raiment
—clothing
samite
—a rich silk fabric interwoven with gold or silver
Secretary Cecil
—William Cecil, an administrator for the Queen (later made Lord Burghley)
silk woman
—a serving woman in charge of caring for fine silk garments
small beer
—weak beer
stainer
—one who stained a wooden panel or canvas with color
stays
—the boned, laced bodice worn around the body under the clothes. The Victorians called it a corset.
stomacher
—a heavily embroidered or jeweled piece for the center front of a bodice
sweetmeats
—sweets
tabaca
—tobacco
ten-day-old urine
—Ten-day-old urine was used in the laundry for removing stubborn stains!
tiring woman
—a woman who helped a lady to dress
tisane
—a medicinal hot drink made from herbs
truckle bed
—a small bed on wheels stored under the main bed
tumbler
—an acrobat
vein; open a vein
—a cut made in a vein to let out “bad” blood; to make such a cut. This was used as a cure for almost everything!
vellum
—fine parchment made from animal skin
veney
—a bout or round of swordfighting
vomitus
—(noun) sick
wand of office
—a white rod, about two feet long, which was a Court official's badge of office
watch candle
—a night-light
Withdrawing Chamber
—the Queen's private rooms
withies
—thin, flexible twigs and branches
wood-wild
—crazy, mad
