The Winter Queen

by Amanda McCabe

  ‘Why is that? Why are they here? Surely they can have no marriages to propose?’

  ‘On the contrary. The Queen of Scots is most concerned with her own marriage prospects.’

  Rosamund stared down at the Scotsmen in the garden. ‘She seeks an English match? After being married to the King of France?’

  ‘Perhaps. But not the one Queen Elizabeth would have her make.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  Anne leaned closer, her voice such a soft whisper Rosamund could hardly make it out. ‘Queen Elizabeth desires Queen Mary to take Robert Dudley as her consort. They say that is why she made him an earl last autumn.’

  ‘Nay!’ Rosamund gasped. ‘But I thought the Queen herself…?’

  Anne nodded. ‘So do we all. It is passing strange. I’m sure Melville thinks so as well, which is why he bides his time here rather than hurrying back to Queen Mary to press such an offer.’

  ‘So, that is why the Earl stalks about like a thundercloud?’

  ‘Indeed.’

  ‘But then who is the third delegation? How do they fit into these schemes?’

  Anne laughed delightedly; every hint of the seriousness she’d showed when discussing the Austrians and the Scots vanished. ‘Now, they are a very different matter, the Swedes.’

  ‘The Swedes?’

  ‘They are here to present again the suit of their own master, King Eric,’ Anne said. ‘It seems he is in great need of a powerful wife’s assistance, with war looming with both Denmark and Russia, and possibly France, and his own brother scheming against him.’

  ‘He doesn’t sound like a very attractive marital prospect,’ Rosamund said doubtfully.

  ‘Oh, not at all! That is why he was already rejected a few years ago. I’m sure Her Grace has no intention of accepting him—or not much.’

  ‘Then why does she keep his delegation here?’

  ‘Why, see for yourself!’ Anne pointed as a new group entered the garden through one of the stone archways. They were a handsome gathering indeed, tall and golden, well-muscled in their fine doublets and fur-lined short cloaks, laughing and as powerful as Norse gods entering Valhalla.

  And, right in their midst, was the most handsome and intriguing of all—the mysterious Anton, he of the amazing feats on the ice.

  He carried his skates slung over his shoulder, shining silver against the black velvet and leather of his doublet. A flat, black velvet cap covered his inky-dark hair, but his radiant smile gleamed in the grey day.

  The striking red-haired lady from the pond held onto his arm, staring up at him with a rapt expression on her sharp-featured face, as if her very breath depended on his next word.

  Rosamund feared she knew very well how that woman felt. Her own breath was tight in her throat, and her face felt warm despite the chill of the window glass.

  Think of Richard, she urged herself, closing her eyes tightly. Yet even as she tried to remember Richard’s summer kisses, the way his arms had felt around her as he pulled her close, all she could see was a man spinning across the winter ice.

  ‘That is why the Queen keeps them here,’ Anne said. ‘They have proved a great ornament to the Court—almost worth the trouble.’

  Rosamund opened her eyes. Anton was still there, whispering in the lady’s ear as she covered her mouth with her gloved hand, no doubt hiding a peal of flirtatious laughter.

  ‘Trouble?’ she murmured. Oh, aye; she could see where he would be a great deal of trouble, especially to a Court full of bored ladies.

  ‘The Swedes and the Austrians detest each other,’ Anne said cheerfully. ‘The Queen has had to strictly forbid duels. And I am sure the Scots are involved somehow, though I have not yet devised how.’

  ‘Oh.’ Rosamund nodded, rather confused. She certainly did have a great deal to learn about Court life! Translating Greek manuscripts was simple compared to the complexities of alliances.

  ‘That dark one there—Anton Gustavson, his name is,’ Anne said, gesturing to the handsome Anton. ‘He is only half-Swedish, they say. His mother was English. He has come to England not only on behalf of King Eric but on his own errand. His grandfather has left him an estate in Suffolk, a most profitable manor, and he wants to claim it. But he is in dispute with a cousin over the property.’

  Rosamund watched as Anton laughed with the lady, the two of them strolling the walkways as if they hadn’t a care in the world. ‘I can scarce imagine a man like that in dispute with anyone. Surely he could charm the very birds of the trees into his hand?’

  Anne gave her a sharp glance. ‘You have met Master Gustavson, then?’

  Rosamund shook her head. ‘That is merely what I observe from watching him now.’

  ‘Oh, you must be wary of such observations! Here at Court, appearances are always deceiving. One never shows one’s true nature; it is the only way to survive.’

  ‘Indeed? And must I be wary of you, too, Mistress Percy?’

  ‘Of course,’ Anne said happily. ‘My family, you see, is an old and wealthy one, but also stubbornly Catholic. I am here only on sufferance, because my aunt is friends with the Queen. But I will tell you this, Lady Rosamund—I am always an honest source of delicious gossip for my friends.’

  Rosamund laughed. ‘Tell me this, then, Mistress Honesty—who is that lady with Master Gustavson? Does he seek an English wife to go along with that new estate?’

  Anne peered out of the window again. ‘If he does, he has made a great mistake with that one. That is Lettice Devereaux, Countess of Essex—the Queen’s cousin. Her husband the earl is away fighting the wild Irish, but it does not stop her making merry at Court.’ She tugged at Rosamund’s arm, drawing her away from the window and its enticing view. ‘Come, let me show you our chamber. I will have much more gossip to share before the feast tonight.’

  The feast in honour of those same quarrelling delegations, Rosamund remembered as she followed Anne along the corridor. It certainly should be a most interesting evening.

  Perhaps if she wrote to Richard about it he would write to her in return? If he ever received the letter, that was. He was a country gentleman, not much interested in labyrinthine Court affairs, but he did enjoy a fine jest. It was one of the things she had liked about him. That was if she still wanted to hear from him, which she was not at all sure of.

  Anne led Rosamund back to one of the quieter, narrower halls. It was dark here, as there were no windows, and the torches in their sconces were not yet lit. The painted cloths that hung along the walls swayed as they passed. Rosamund thought surely the intrigues of Court were already affecting her, for she imagined all the schemes that could be whispered of in such a spot.

  ‘That is the Privy Council Chamber,’ Anne whispered, indicating a half-open door. The room was empty, but Rosamund glimpsed a long table lined with straight-backed chairs. ‘We maids never go in there.’

  ‘Don’t you ever wonder what happens there?’ Rosamund whispered in return. ‘What is said?’

  ‘Of course! But Her Grace does not ask our opinion on matters of state. Though she does ask us for news of Court doings, which is much the same thing.’

  She tugged on Rosamund’s arm again, leading her into what could only be the chamber of the maids of honour. A long, narrow, rectangular space, it was lined with three beds on each side. They were certainly not as large and grand as the Queen’s own sleeping space. The beds were made of dark, uncarved wood, but they were spread with warm, green velvet-and-wool quilts and hung with heavy, gold-embroidered green curtains. A large clothes chest and a washstand stood by each bed, and the rest of the room was filled with dressing tables and looking glasses.

  It was a peaceful enough space now, but Rosamund could imagine the cacophony when six ladies were in residence.

  Her maid Jane was at one of the beds on the far end, unpacking Rosamund’s trunks; she clucked and fussed over the creased garments. The satins, velvets, brocades and furs her parents had provided were all piled up in a gleaming heap.

/>   ‘Oh, wonderful!’ Anne exclaimed. ‘You are in the bed beside mine. We can whisper at night. It has been so quiet since Eleanor Mortimer left.’

  ‘What happened to her?’ Rosamund asked, picking up a sable muff that had fallen from the pile of finery.

  ‘The usual thing, I fear. She became pregnant and had to leave Court in disgrace. She is quite fortunate she didn’t end up in the Tower, like poor Katherine Grey!’ Anne perched on the edge of her own bed, swinging her feet in their satin shoes. ‘Did you mean it when you told the Queen you were not here to find a husband?’

  ‘Of a certes,’ Rosamund said, thinking again of Richard. Of the letters from him she had never received. One man to worry about at a time was enough.

  ‘That is very good. You must keep saying that—and meaning it. Marriage without the Queen’s permission brings such great trouble. Oh, Rosamund! You should wear that petticoat tonight, it is vastly pretty…’

  Chapter Three

  ‘She wants you, Anton,’ Johan Ulfson said. He was laughing, yet his tone was tinged with unmistakable envy.

  Anton watched Lady Essex stroll slowly away along the garden pathway, her dark-red hair a beacon in the winter day. She peeked back over her shoulder, then swept off with her friends, their laughter drifting back on the cold wind.

  He had to laugh, too. The young countess was alluring indeed, with her sparkling eyes, teasing smiles and her claims of vast loneliness with her husband away in Ireland. He could even enjoy the flirtation, the distraction from the hard tasks he carried here at the English Queen’s Court. But he saw it—and Lettice Deveraux—for what they were.

  And now he could hardly see the countess’s red hair and lush figure. A vision of silver and ivory, of wide blue eyes, kept overtaking his thoughts. Who was she, that beautiful winter-fairy? Why had she run away so fast, vanishing into the mist and snow before he could talk to her?

  How could he ever find her again?

  ‘You are blind when it comes to a pretty face,’ he told Johan, but he could just as well be talking of himself. ‘The countess has other game in her sights. I am merely a pawn for her.’

  He inclined his head towards Lord Leicester, who stood across the garden amid a cluster of his supporters. Everyone at this Court seemed entirely unable to move singly; they had to rove about in packs, like the white wolves of Sweden.

  Lady Essex might have her sights firmly on him, but Leicester had his on a far greater prize. It would be amusing to see which of them prevailed.

  If Anton would be here to see the end-game at all. He might be settling into his own English estate, the birthright that should have been his mother’s. Or he might be back in Stockholm, walking the perilous tightrope at the court of an increasingly erratic king and his rebellious, ambitious brother. Either way, he had to fulfill his mission now or face unpleasant consequences.

  Lady Essex was a distraction, aye, but one he could easily manage. When she was away, he thought not of her. That winter-fairy, though…

  Perhaps it was a good thing he did not know who she was, or where to find her. He sensed that she would be one distraction not so easily put away.

  ‘Pawn or no, Anton, you should take what she offers,’ Johan said. ‘Our days are dull enough here without such amusements as we can find.’

  ‘Ja,’ Nils Vernerson added, his own stare sweeping over the occupants of the frost-fringed gardens. ‘The Queen will never accept King Eric. She merely plays with us for her amusement.’

  ‘Is it better to be the plaything of a queen?’ Anton said, laughing. ‘Or a countess? If our fate this Christmas is only to provide entertainment for the ladies.’

  ‘I can think of worse fates,’ Johan muttered. ‘Such as being sent to fight the Russians.’

  ‘Better to fight wars of words with Queen Elizabeth,’ said Nils, ‘than battle Tsar Ivan and his barbaric hoards on the frozen steppes. I hope we are never recalled to Stockholm.’

  ‘Better we do our duty to Sweden here, among the bored and lonely ladies of the Queen’s train,’ Anton said. ‘They should help make our Christmas merry indeed.’

  ‘If you ever solve your puzzle,’ Johan said.

  ‘And which puzzle is that?’ said Anton. ‘We live with so many of late.’

  ‘You certainly do. But you have not yet said—do you prefer to serve the needs of the countess, or the Queen?’

  ‘Or another of your endless parade of admirers,’ Nils said as Mary Howard and two of her friends strolled past, giggling. Mary glanced at Anton, then looked quickly away, blushing.

  ‘They are all enamoured after your great bouts of showing off on the ice,’ Nils said, sounding disgruntled indeed.

  ‘And now that the Thames is near frozen over he will have even more such opportunities,’ Johan added.

  ‘You can be sure all the ladies will find excuses to be in the Queen’s Riverside Gallery just to watch,’ Nils said. ‘To blow kisses and toss flowers from the windows.’

  Anton laughed, turning away from their teasing. He relished those stolen moments on the ice, speeding along with no thought except of the cold, the movement, the rare, wondrous rush of freedom. Could he help it if others too wanted to share in that freedom, in that feeling of flying above the cold, hard earth and all its complex cares?

  ‘They merely want to learn how to skate,’ he said.

  ‘Skate, is it?’ Nils answered. ‘I have never heard it called that.’

  Anton shook his head, twirling his skates over his shoulder as he strolled towards the palace. ‘You should turn your attention to the feast tonight,’ he called back. ‘Her Grace deplores lateness.’

  ‘So you have decided to be the Queen’s amusement, then?’ Nils said as he and Johan hurried to catch up.

  Anton laughed. ‘I haven’t Lord Leicester’s fortitude in such matters, I fear. I could not amuse her for long. Nor could I ever have Melville’s and Maitland’s devotion. To serve two queens, Scots and English, would be exhausting indeed. But we were sent here to perform a diplomatic task, van. If by making merry in Her Grace’s Great Hall we may accomplish that, we must do it.’

  He grinned at them, relishing the looks of bafflement on their faces. So much the better if he could always keep everyone guessing as to his true meaning, his true motives. ‘Even if it is a great sacrifice indeed to drink the Queen’s wine and talk with her pretty ladies.’

  He turned from them, running up a flight of stone stairs towards the gallery. Usually crowded with the curious, the bored, and those hurrying on very important errands, at this hour the vast space was near empty. Everyone was tucked away in their own corners, carefully choosing their garments for the evening ahead.

  Plotting their next move in the never-ending game of Court life.

  He needed to do the same. He had heard that his cousin had recently arrived at Whitehall to plot the next countermove in the game of Briony Manor. Anton had not yet met with his opponent, but Briony was a ripe plum, indeed. Neither of them was prepared to let it go without a fight, no matter what their grandfather’s will commanded.

  But Anton could be a fierce opponent, too. Briony meant much more than a mere house, a mere parcel of land. He was ready to do battle for it—even if the battle was on a tiltyard of charm, flirtation and deception.

  He turned towards the apartments given to the Swedish delegation, hidden amid the vast warrens of Whitehall’s corridors. As he did, his attention was caught by a soft flurry of laughter. It was quiet, muffled, but bright as a golden ribbon, woven through the grey day and heavy thoughts.

  ‘Shh!’ he heard a lady whisper. ‘It’s this way, but we have to hurry.’

  ‘Oh, Anne! I’m not sure…’

  Curious, Anton peered around the corner to see two female figures clad in the silver and white of maids of honour tiptoe along a narrow, windowless passage. One was Anne Percy, a pretty, pert brunette who had caught Johan’s devoted attention.

  And the lady with her was his winter-fairy; her silvery-blonde hair shim
mered in the shadows. For an instant he could hardly believe it. He had almost come to think her a dream, a woodland creature of snow and ice who did not really exist.

  Yet there she was, giggling as she crept through the palace. She glanced back over her shoulder as Anton slid back into the concealment of the shadows, and he saw that it unmistakably was her. She had that fairy’s pale, heart-shaped face with bright-blue eyes that fairly glowed.

  For an instant, her shoulders stiffened and she went very still. Anton feared she’d spotted him, but then Anne Percy tugged on her arm and the two of them vanished around a corner.

  He stared at the spot where she had been for a long moment. The air there seemed to shimmer, as if a star had danced down for only an instant then had shot away. Who was she?

  His fanciful thoughts were interrupted by the clatter of Johan and Nils catching up with him at last.

  ‘What are you staring at?’ Nils asked.

  Anton shook his head hard, trying to clear it of fairy dreams, of useless distractions. ‘I thought I heard something,’ he said.

  ‘’Twas probably one of your admirers lying in wait for you,’ Johan laughed.

  Anton smiled ruefully. If only that was so. But he was certain, from the way she had run away from him by the pond, that would never be. And that was a fortunate thing indeed. There was no room in his life for enchanting winter-fairies and their spells.

  He found himself loath to ruin her happy sparkle with his dark, icy touch and uncertain future.

  Chapter Four

  The Queen’s feast was not held in her Great Hall, which was being cleaned and readied for the start of the Christmas festivities, but in a smaller chamber near her own apartments. Yet it felt no less grand. Shimmering tapestries, scenes of summer hunts and picnics, warmed the dark-panelled walls, and a fire blazed away in the grate. Its red-orange glow cast heat and flickering light over the low, gilt-laced ceiling and over the fine plates and goblets that lined the white damask-draped tables.