Read Online Court of Traitors (Bridget Manning #2) by V.E. Lynne - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: V.E. Lynne
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unsophisticated, wide-eyed maid fresh from the country that I remember from . . .” the queen searched for the right word, “before.”
The women in the room tittered, and Bridget felt heat spread across her creamy complexion. She forced her lips upward in the approximation of a smile and pretended as if the queen had paid her a compliment. “I thank you, Your Majesty. I am very pleased to be married, although you have the advantage of me, as you are carrying an heir for your husband, whereas I am as yet barren.”
Jane glanced down at her belly and her face filled with pride. For a moment, the force of her emotion rendered her otherwise-pedestrian features pretty. She rubbed her hands across her brocade-covered bump and sat a little higher in her chair. The mention of her forthcoming babe seemed to soften her a little, and Bridget noticed a slight thaw in her frosty expression.
She ran her light eyes up and down Bridget’s frame and tapped one finger on the carved armrest of her chair, as if she were weighing a decision on a set of scales in her mind and considering the result. After a decent interval, she ceased her tapping and spoke. “Lady de Brett, let us proceed to the reason I have called you hither. I have no real desire to have you as a member of my household, and I am certain that I do not need to tell you the reason why. I am well served by the ladies I already have, even by my newest maid, Mistress Bassett, although she has much still to learn.” The girl grimaced. “And furthermore, I do not seek, at present, to increase the numbers of ladies about me. Nonetheless . . .”
Bridget tensed, and she thought of the tapestry portraying the Three Fates she had seen outside. They must have reached the part where the thread, having once been spun and measured, was cut. She anticipated the verbal slice of the blade, but Queen Jane, for once, said something that took her off guard. “The king speaks highly of you and also of your husband, and he has made it plain to me that he wants your presence at court. Lord Cromwell has similarly praised you and suggested that a place should be found for you. I, both as a Christian and as an obedient wife and subject, have decided to accede to their wishes. Therefore, my decision is this: I do not require you to officially join my household, but I do require you to attend on me in my chambers as and when I command, and, to that end, you shall accompany me to Windsor when we remove thither. If you can prove yourself amenable to me you may yet become of one my ladies once my son is born and I have fully recovered.”
So, the carrot of promotion to the ranks of her ladies-in-waiting was being dangled in front of her, but in the meantime Bridget was to receive the stick. She was to place herself at the queen’s beck and call and no doubt assume the role of her general dogsbody. Queen Jane beamed at her as if she had just bestowed the greatest of honours and Bridget had no option but to feign gratitude. She thanked the queen for her munificence whilst avoiding as best she could the gleeful grins being directed at her from Lady Rochford and Lady Hertford. Queen Jane, puffed up with regal self-importance, accepted Bridget’s thanks, and then dismissed her from her chamber. Bridget, who had dropped into the mandatory curtsey, rose in relief and turned for the door, but at the last minute the queen called her back.
“Oh, how silly of me, I almost forgot. There is one more matter to be cleared up before you depart, Lady de Brett. Lady Rochford.” The queen clicked her fingers at Lady Rochford, and the woman jumped to attention eagerly, like a pet expecting a treat. She strode across the room and stood next to Bridget. There she waited, as though she were a soldier anticipating further orders. They were not long in coming. Almost imperceptibly, the queen raised her eyebrows, and Lady Rochford needed no further prompting—she sprang into action. She
The women in the room tittered, and Bridget felt heat spread across her creamy complexion. She forced her lips upward in the approximation of a smile and pretended as if the queen had paid her a compliment. “I thank you, Your Majesty. I am very pleased to be married, although you have the advantage of me, as you are carrying an heir for your husband, whereas I am as yet barren.”
Jane glanced down at her belly and her face filled with pride. For a moment, the force of her emotion rendered her otherwise-pedestrian features pretty. She rubbed her hands across her brocade-covered bump and sat a little higher in her chair. The mention of her forthcoming babe seemed to soften her a little, and Bridget noticed a slight thaw in her frosty expression.
She ran her light eyes up and down Bridget’s frame and tapped one finger on the carved armrest of her chair, as if she were weighing a decision on a set of scales in her mind and considering the result. After a decent interval, she ceased her tapping and spoke. “Lady de Brett, let us proceed to the reason I have called you hither. I have no real desire to have you as a member of my household, and I am certain that I do not need to tell you the reason why. I am well served by the ladies I already have, even by my newest maid, Mistress Bassett, although she has much still to learn.” The girl grimaced. “And furthermore, I do not seek, at present, to increase the numbers of ladies about me. Nonetheless . . .”
Bridget tensed, and she thought of the tapestry portraying the Three Fates she had seen outside. They must have reached the part where the thread, having once been spun and measured, was cut. She anticipated the verbal slice of the blade, but Queen Jane, for once, said something that took her off guard. “The king speaks highly of you and also of your husband, and he has made it plain to me that he wants your presence at court. Lord Cromwell has similarly praised you and suggested that a place should be found for you. I, both as a Christian and as an obedient wife and subject, have decided to accede to their wishes. Therefore, my decision is this: I do not require you to officially join my household, but I do require you to attend on me in my chambers as and when I command, and, to that end, you shall accompany me to Windsor when we remove thither. If you can prove yourself amenable to me you may yet become of one my ladies once my son is born and I have fully recovered.”
So, the carrot of promotion to the ranks of her ladies-in-waiting was being dangled in front of her, but in the meantime Bridget was to receive the stick. She was to place herself at the queen’s beck and call and no doubt assume the role of her general dogsbody. Queen Jane beamed at her as if she had just bestowed the greatest of honours and Bridget had no option but to feign gratitude. She thanked the queen for her munificence whilst avoiding as best she could the gleeful grins being directed at her from Lady Rochford and Lady Hertford. Queen Jane, puffed up with regal self-importance, accepted Bridget’s thanks, and then dismissed her from her chamber. Bridget, who had dropped into the mandatory curtsey, rose in relief and turned for the door, but at the last minute the queen called her back.
“Oh, how silly of me, I almost forgot. There is one more matter to be cleared up before you depart, Lady de Brett. Lady Rochford.” The queen clicked her fingers at Lady Rochford, and the woman jumped to attention eagerly, like a pet expecting a treat. She strode across the room and stood next to Bridget. There she waited, as though she were a soldier anticipating further orders. They were not long in coming. Almost imperceptibly, the queen raised her eyebrows, and Lady Rochford needed no further prompting—she sprang into action. She
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