Read Online The Tapestry by Nancy Bilyeau - Free Book Online Page B

here from Dartford, they are waiting for word from me this minute,” I protested.
    â€œBut the commission from the king, you do not know when he will wish to discuss it with you,” Catherine pointed out. “It might not take place at the dinner tomorrow. Are your friends prepared to wait for days, perhaps a week?”
    This was indeed a problem. How frustrating . If only I knew what King Henry wanted from me, and when and how I should prepare myself, I could make arrangements and notify Agatha and John Gwinn. However, monarchs did not share their plans. It was laughable to suggest that he’d care if a party of commoners from Dartford were inconvenienced by his whim.
    There was also the matter of the threat to my life. How could I wander the galleries and chambers of Whitehall with the page in the same palace, possibly tracking me?
    As if reading my mind, Culpepper made an excuse to speak to me privately about the next day’s dinner. Once we were in the passageway and out of earshot of Catherine, he said, “I wish I could make report to you of the page having been identified and taken into custody, but alas, that’s not the case.”
    â€œWhy not?” My heart started its quick, tight beat.
    â€œI took your description to the master of pages and he says not one man who was unaccounted for during the time matches your description. There aren’t many pages with beards—many of them are not much more than boys—so it didn’t take him long to ask a few questions. The master of pages said it’s impossible.”
    â€œWhether or not it’s impossible, it happened,” I said. “This man exists. And what’s to prevent him from trying to hurt me again?”
    Culpepper took a step closer to me, his voice dropping even lower. “Until we have an answer, this is the safest place for you, with Mistress Howard. She has a maidservant with her, and Richard stands guard outside.”
    I wasn’t sure. “The page possesses cunning and strength.”
    Culpepper said reassuringly, “As long as you stay close to me or to her, you are safe.” His lips tightened. “No man would dare disturb Catherine Howard.”
    Something about the way he said that struck me as odd. Yet I had to admit that his proposal made sense. As much as I disliked the idea of sleeping in the palace of Whitehall, it was better than riding back and forth from the Gwinns’ in Southwark, exposing myself—and my friends—to danger.
    This was an intolerable situation. I had to find out who the page was and what guided his violence. Perhaps the problem was that Culpepper had not seen him with his own eyes, and so he shared a secondhand description with the master of pages.
    â€œIs there some way that I could see the royal pages, one by one?” I asked.
    â€œNot without having to explain why. That means you’d have to say you were the person who was attacked. Up to now, I’ve kept your name out of it.”
    I said slowly, “But isn’t there some sort of inspection that could be arranged, when they must assemble, perhaps walk in a single line? And then I could observe the pages, but be myself unobserved. There must be rooms or chambers that lend themselves to that here. A tall curtain? A door partly ajar?”
    Culpepper burst out laughing.
    â€œIs this a matter for amusement?’ I asked. “I don’t see how.”
    â€œYou are just so clever ,” Culpepper said. “Yes, that is a most excellent idea, Mistress Stafford. I will arrange it tomorrow. It’s too late for today—the sun’s setting and everyone will be seeing about their suppers.”
    When we stepped back into Catherine’s room, she and her maid, Sarah, were perched on the embroidered chairs, gleefully examining the dresses sent by the king. While waiting for me, they’d been nibbling the cakes Catherine sent for. A smudge of sugar clung to her lower