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Authors: Jean Plaidy
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smiling.
“Then well met,” I said.
We talked awhile, and then he told me that he had recently come from Ireland and should shortly be returning to that country.
“But I shall be back,” he added, “when I trust I shall once more be allowed to enjoy the Duke’s hospitality.” He smiled on us all, but I was sure the smile lingered on me. “And, mayhap I shall be privileged to meet you all again.”
“That,” I assured him, “will be a great pleasure.” I turned to the others. “Will it not?”
Both Dorothy and Joan agreed that it would.
When he had gone, we discussed him. We all agreed that he had great charm, and we said it was a pity he was going away as soon as we had met him.
I did see him before he went. I was in the garden, alone this time, when he came.
“Mistress Howard,” he said. “I had been hoping to see you. I know you come this way. I confess, I have watched you on one or two occasions. I wanted to say good-bye to you before I went away.”
“Mayhap we shall not meet again.”
“We shall,” he said. “I shall hope for that. There is something I wish to show you. Will you wait for me here until I bring it to you?”
“How long should I wait?” I asked.
“Five minutes. A little more perhaps, but not much. Rest assured I shall be with you as soon as it is possible.”
I stood under the shelter of the oak tree, waiting for him with anticipation. I liked him. How different he was from Henry Manox! I wondered how I could ever have thought I loved that musician.
When my new friend returned, he was carrying a small box tied up with red ribands.
“It is for you,” he said. “Open it when you are alone, and when you look at it, always say, ‘Francis Derham will return.’ Will you do that?”
I promised readily. And he was gone.
Excited, and very curious, I looked down at the box in my hands. I could not wait to open it. I untied the ribands and, nestling in the box, was a red silk rose.
Dangerous Games
I DID NOT FORGET Francis Derham. There was the red rose to remind me. I often wore it. Dorothy and Joan smiled when I told them Francis Derham had given it to me. They often commented on it and afterward I wished I had not told them whence it came. So then I did not wear it as much as I should have liked to; and it seemed they forgot him. But I did not need the red rose to remind me of him.
Something was happening, and we were aware of it. This was due to living near the Court and not in Horsham. Moreover, my grandmother and the Duke of Norfolk appeared to be concerned in it.
I saw little of my uncle, but my grandmother often left the Court and returned to the house. The Court was constantly traveling round the country and my grandmother did not like the journeys. She said she was feeling her age, and Court life could be exhausting.
Her limbs were stiff, she complained. She had procured some soothing lotions from her physician which had to be rubbed into her swollen legs, and she summoned me, as a member of the family, to perform this intimate task.
This, although somewhat distasteful to me, had its compensations, for, as I massaged, she would slip into a dreamy state and talk almost as though to herself, which meant she often forgot discretion and said more than she intended. Thus I began to understand much of what would otherwise have been a mystery to me.
It quickly became clear to me that all was not well with QueenAnne. The euphoria was fast evaporating, and the King was less devoted than he had been.
“It began with the birth of the child,” mused the Duchess. “If only she had been a boy. That would have bound them together. He had set his heart on a son. All the documents announcing the birth … they had all been prepared for a boy. And then comes the Princess Elizabeth … a beautiful child … no weakness there … but a girl. He had thought my granddaughter perfect. He had thought she could give him all he wanted. But it is the good God who decides the sex of
“Then well met,” I said.
We talked awhile, and then he told me that he had recently come from Ireland and should shortly be returning to that country.
“But I shall be back,” he added, “when I trust I shall once more be allowed to enjoy the Duke’s hospitality.” He smiled on us all, but I was sure the smile lingered on me. “And, mayhap I shall be privileged to meet you all again.”
“That,” I assured him, “will be a great pleasure.” I turned to the others. “Will it not?”
Both Dorothy and Joan agreed that it would.
When he had gone, we discussed him. We all agreed that he had great charm, and we said it was a pity he was going away as soon as we had met him.
I did see him before he went. I was in the garden, alone this time, when he came.
“Mistress Howard,” he said. “I had been hoping to see you. I know you come this way. I confess, I have watched you on one or two occasions. I wanted to say good-bye to you before I went away.”
“Mayhap we shall not meet again.”
“We shall,” he said. “I shall hope for that. There is something I wish to show you. Will you wait for me here until I bring it to you?”
“How long should I wait?” I asked.
“Five minutes. A little more perhaps, but not much. Rest assured I shall be with you as soon as it is possible.”
I stood under the shelter of the oak tree, waiting for him with anticipation. I liked him. How different he was from Henry Manox! I wondered how I could ever have thought I loved that musician.
When my new friend returned, he was carrying a small box tied up with red ribands.
“It is for you,” he said. “Open it when you are alone, and when you look at it, always say, ‘Francis Derham will return.’ Will you do that?”
I promised readily. And he was gone.
Excited, and very curious, I looked down at the box in my hands. I could not wait to open it. I untied the ribands and, nestling in the box, was a red silk rose.
Dangerous Games
I DID NOT FORGET Francis Derham. There was the red rose to remind me. I often wore it. Dorothy and Joan smiled when I told them Francis Derham had given it to me. They often commented on it and afterward I wished I had not told them whence it came. So then I did not wear it as much as I should have liked to; and it seemed they forgot him. But I did not need the red rose to remind me of him.
Something was happening, and we were aware of it. This was due to living near the Court and not in Horsham. Moreover, my grandmother and the Duke of Norfolk appeared to be concerned in it.
I saw little of my uncle, but my grandmother often left the Court and returned to the house. The Court was constantly traveling round the country and my grandmother did not like the journeys. She said she was feeling her age, and Court life could be exhausting.
Her limbs were stiff, she complained. She had procured some soothing lotions from her physician which had to be rubbed into her swollen legs, and she summoned me, as a member of the family, to perform this intimate task.
This, although somewhat distasteful to me, had its compensations, for, as I massaged, she would slip into a dreamy state and talk almost as though to herself, which meant she often forgot discretion and said more than she intended. Thus I began to understand much of what would otherwise have been a mystery to me.
It quickly became clear to me that all was not well with QueenAnne. The euphoria was fast evaporating, and the King was less devoted than he had been.
“It began with the birth of the child,” mused the Duchess. “If only she had been a boy. That would have bound them together. He had set his heart on a son. All the documents announcing the birth … they had all been prepared for a boy. And then comes the Princess Elizabeth … a beautiful child … no weakness there … but a girl. He had thought my granddaughter perfect. He had thought she could give him all he wanted. But it is the good God who decides the sex of
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