Prisoner of the Queen (Tales From the Tudor Court) (15 page)

“Not particularly.”

He chuckled. “Come then, and please, no ‘my lording.’ Let us be less formal with one another. We have known each other for quite some time, have we not?”

“Indeed
, we have.”

He took a step toward me.
“And have we not been close in the past?”

“Right you are again.”
My voice came out breathy as my pulse hitched up a notch.

Closing the distance between, he said,
“So you agree, then?”

I nodded, not really sure what else to do or say.

“May I call you Katherine?” He held out his arm.

I nodded again and took his proffered arm. I had to stop my fingers from massaging the
well-formed sinew beneath his surcoat.

“Then I must insist you call me Ned.”

“Ned? But you are Beau to everyone else.”

“I am Beau to my mother and my siblings. I do not want to be Beau to you.”

I frowned, slightly hurt that he didn’t want me to be so familiar. Perhaps I had read too much into his flirtations.

“Do not frown so, Katherine.” He stopped and turned toward me, bringing my hand to his lips, where he kissed my knuckles, stealing my breath. “Do you find the name Ned offensive?”

“No, ’tis a nice enough name.” I gazed around the great hall, trying to avoid his eyes. The duchess stood by the hearth, discussing something with one of the servants.

“
Beau is a name I’ve had since I was a babe. I would rather a woman of your beauty and a woman I am…fond of, call me by a man’s name.”

My stomach did a little flip.

“You would look at me as a woman does a man, would you not, Katherine?”

Beau was openly flirting with me. The things he said scandalous. Mother would have dragged me out by my ears.
I opened my mouth to speak, not sure any words would come out. I was nearly panting with nervousness and the desire for his lips to press to mine. Wicked thoughts! I did the next best thing and nodded.

“Beau, darling, cease making love to my guest and offer her a glass of honeyed wine.”
The duchess saved me from embarrassment, as I was not sure all the decorum I possessed could have kept me from leaning into Ned’s arms and pressing my lips to his.

What is wrong with me
? I had been raised as a princess of the blood. Straight back, strong chin, stomach sucked in, hips square, feet planted in a ladylike fashion, hands held together in front of my waist, inclines of the head, simple smiles, but remain emotionless, neutral. Above all things, do not act the fool. And here I was acting like a fool common woman—a harlot.

I stepped away
from Ned and then, taking measure that he was still entirely too close, took another step away from him.

The
duchess approached, and I breathed a sigh of relief. With Lady Anne by my side I could indeed weather the tide of emotions raging through my veins. She floated on air, this willowy woman who was once the most prominent woman in England. Her skin stretched taut over her cheekbones. If she were to smile, she might very well crack, and perhaps that was the reason for not smiling. Indeed, I’d seen her lips quirk perhaps only a dozen times in all the years I’d known her.

She was a sad woman, but driven. Whatever demons chased her when the candles blew out at night, she did not let them rule her during the day.

“Lady Katherine,” she said in her smooth, strong voice, “we are honored that you accompanied Jane to Hanworth for the summer.”

I dipped into a
curtsy. “Your Grace, it is I who is honored to have been invited.”

Lady Anne dipped her head.

I accepted a goblet from Ned and sipped at the sweetened wine. “Thank you, my lord.”

He narrowed his eyes at me, and I acted as though I did not notice. He may have given me leave to call him Ned in private, but I would not break with
formality in front of his mother.

“Lady Katherine, you must tell me everything that is happening at court.”

Now this I was very comfortable in speaking of. The duchess had always been a trusted ally of mine.

“Princess Elizabeth was recalled to court after her imprisonment for nearly a year. She was to attend the queen in her confinement…but it does appear that another phantom pregnancy afflicted
Her Majesty.” I shook my head, truly saddened for Mary Tudor. She did not deserve the trials she’d gone through as queen after having lived with so much torture as a princess.

Lady Anne
’s face changed little as she accepted my news. “How does Princess Elizabeth treat you?”

I chewed my lower lip a minute and took another sip of wine. With the lack of food, I felt the wine going straight to my head. I hoped we would eat soon
, else I would be light-headed and giddy from drink. “She is cordial to me. We see each other with the queen daily, as we are both in her presence, but I think there is pain she harbors from the past.”

“
From Jane?”

I nodded, the mere mention of my sister
bringing back painful memories.

“Elizabeth is much like her father, I believe,” Ned added.

I nodded in agreement. “She has been through much, as Queen Mary has, and I am a constant reminder that some fraction of Protestant England could replace her inheritance of the throne and give it to me. Many believe her to be a bastard still. I think this weighs heavily on her, but not as heavily as the queen’s imprisonment of her. She looks on me and sees that she is treated in an ill manner, while I have apartments at court and spend my days with the queen.”

Lady Anne gestured for
us to sit at the table, where steam wafted off a roasted boar and fresh baked rolls called to me. I sat down and politely took a small portion of the dishes, tasting one bite of each. How I wished to eat with abandon, but decorum called for otherwise. I gazed at the duchess’s silver plate and saw she had eaten less than I.

Ned ate in energetic bursts but managed to not spill nor get a bit of grease upon his lips.

“I would make a suggestion to you, Lady Katherine,” the duchess said, swirling wine in her goblet. I nodded for her to go on. “Befriend Princess Elizabeth.”

I peered at her with curiosity. I did not necessarily take issue with befriending the princess, but it would be
a difficult task, as she was more often than not quite standoffish with me.

“What do you th
ink I should gain from it? The queen would surely notice, and I do not want to call negative attention to myself, especially in light of speculation constantly being placed on Elizabeth’s shoulders.”

“
’Tis true, Your Grace, I would not wish Katherine put in harm’s way.”

The
duchess raised her brow at Ned’s informal use of my Christian name, but did not make a comment on it.

“
’Tis a fact that Princess Elizabeth could be queen one day, and if the present queen is still suffering from phantom pregnancies and her health becoming more and more unstable, then you should indeed take an interest in gaining friends at court who will be Elizabeth’s allies as well as Elizabeth herself. That is, unless Queen Mary decides the Device for the Succession written by her father and brother stands, and she names you her heir.”

Her words struck a chord, cutting
off my air, and I forced myself to breathe. If Mary named me next in line, I would run away. Far away. Live in a hovel if I had to. I would not be resigned to the fate of my sister, for I’d not the desire to fight Elizabeth.

Chapter
Seven

Where Gods are moved, in soarin
g
clouds

like dusky mantels black:

The troubled air to mortal men,

doth threaten ruin and wrack.

I turn my talk from such discourse,

and treat of that turmoil…

~Thomas Churchyard

Elizabethan soldier and poet

The following morning I awoke to blinding light. The drapes were drawn open, and through the thick glass, the sun shone brighter than I’d ever seen it. I tossed back the blankets, my feet hitting the chill wood planks of the floor. I jumped from one foot to the other until I found my matching slippers and placed them on my feet, still unused to how drafty this castle was, despite summer having arrived.

Padding to the window
, I glanced out at the great green expanse that was Hanworth Hall. The grass shone with dew, and a few field flowers popped up here and there. The sun blazed high, and although there was a slight nip to my room this morning, the fetid heat would take over by afternoon.

“Ah, so you have decided to wake.
The duchess awaits you in the hall before Mass.”

I whirled to see the maid who
’d come by the day before standing in the doorway.

“
Do you know what today’s activities include?” I asked, hoping a ride on horseback or a walk outside was at the forefront.

She clucked her tongue. “For certes
, her ladyship does not confide in me. Best you find out from her.”

I frowned
and chose to ignore the sourpuss maid. Since I’d given Mrs. Helen the morning off, I let the new maid dress me in a fine gown of black velvet trimmed with burgundy lace.

“How is Lady Jane this morning?” I
inquired.

“She is still abed
. Had a fit of fever last eve.”

My heart sank. Jane appeared to g
row weaker each morning. I prayed that by afternoon she would regain her strength.

I hurried to the hall
, where the duchess stood, back ramrod straight with Beau beside her. I was having a hard time thinking of him as Ned, for in truth he was a Beau to me. His handsome countenance oozed confidence, and his gaze held somewhat of a devilish glint this morning. What was it about courtiers? They were all such outrageous flirts.

I stifled a smile that threatened to not only curve my lips in a way
the duchess would find most unladylike, but also in hopes of warding off the flutter of my stomach whenever I gazed at him.

Evident to me was that
Ned was his mother’s favorite child. She held no great love, it appeared, for any of them, but if one were to have gained her favor, it was him. Her gaze appeared to soften when she looked at him. I wondered yet again how much she had suffered.

I
supposed being the wife of the late Lord Protector, a man executed for treason, could not have been easy.

We were close in this, and perhaps that
was why she did not seem to hold the same disdain for me that she did for other young ladies at court.

“I am pleased you finally decided to grace us with your presence, Lady Katherine.” Her voice was clipped, but the look
Ned cast my way did much to alleviate any embarrassment I felt at having made them wait.

I curtsied before her, and she inclined her head before leaving the hall.

Ned offered me his arm, and I took it, my fingertips tingling atop his velvet-covered forearm.

“Katherine, I had thought to ask if you wished to go for a ride this morning after we break our fast, but
with the heat you may be more comfortable with perhaps a game of cards instead?”

My eyes widened
in panic. I did not know how to play cards! At home, Mother and Father had often played cards, but their priest had advised against us children playing, saying it would lead to idolatry and devilishness. Over the years at court, I’d abstained from playing for fear someone would realize my ignorance. Now there was no help for it.

“I confess, I do not know how to play.”

A deep rumble of a laugh came from his chest. “You’ve never played? Would you care to learn then?”

I glanced up sharply
, and my cheeks heated. “You would teach me?”

“If you are of a mind to accept my lessons.”
His eyes twinkled and I felt myself leaning closer to him.