‘As for Tom, he is a man grown. It is Ursula’s father who will have to consent. If Tom loves her, I shall be glad as long as she loves him in return. Watching them outside, I must say she seems very taken with him.’
‘She is, Aunt. And my brother Ed, in his own subtle way, showed Tom that he needed to make a decision soon.’ Meg’s brows rose in astonishment.
‘Ed, sweetheart? Subtle?’ Lettice burst into laughter and told Meg about Ed stealing a kiss from a horrified Ursula, making Tom realise he needed to make firm plans for the future or he would lose her. Meg nodded, smiling through the story as Lettice’s voice rose in amusement.
‘What else, sweetheart? Something that concerns you, you said?’
‘Robin has been approached to be Governor of the Low Countries and would like me to join him there. I am excited, of course, and I’m not yet sure how soon we would be leaving. I’ve heard there are still skirmishes with the Spanish. But what I really want to discuss with you is Nell’s marriage.’ Meg’s brows rose in question and Lettice fought to push down her tears, swallowing hard and trying to control her breathing.
‘Harry Hastings has agreed that she will marry Robert Riche, and she is distraught, Aunt. She is so in love with Philip Sidney, and I don’t know how to help her. Not only that, but arranging the wedding will bring its own problems, after the royal visit to Kenilworth I have just endured.’ Lettice blinked her tears away and looked at Meg, who shook her head in sympathy.
‘Poor Nell. I imagine she feels she has been sold.’ Lettice nodded mournfully.
‘Well, sweetheart, if the marriage portion has been paid, there is little you can do. Sir Henry was appointed your children’s guardian by their father before he died, so Lord Robert cannot do a great deal either.’ Meg put her arm round Lettice’s slender shoulders and hugged her, before continuing, ‘Was the Queen very rude, sweetheart?’ Lettice nodded again, throat too full of tears to answer properly.
‘Well then, let’s think what your mother would do. She would think round the problem, and outmanoeuvre the obstacles. We can do nothing about the marriage, agreed? But we can do something about the venue, so the Queen cannot be unkind to you, and so you can at least try and enjoy your own daughter’s wedding.’
Lettice blinked at Meg, surprised that the woman, who had been so gentle all her life, was speaking so forcefully.
‘You even sound like Mother, Aunt.’ Meg coloured and shook her head, lips pressed together.
‘No, sweetheart, I don’t have the steel in my spine that she had. But she was my friend for a long time, and I know how she would solve this. Do you think Lady Hastings would hold the wedding on your behalf? If she would, her husband could escort Nell so Lord Robert could be by your side. You would both be guests of Lady Hastings, as would the Queen. She wouldn’t be rude to you as a guest in someone else’s home. She might choose to ignore you, but she wouldn’t be rude.’
‘Oh, Aunt. What a wonderful idea. I would happily be ignored, but it would mean I had Robin with me and that I wouldn’t be breaking the banishment.’ Lettice pulled a wry face and wrinkled her nose, ‘And I’m sure Kit would love to arrange a wedding, having no children of her own to do it for.’ Lettice jumped up from her stool and kissed Meg on the cheek, just as a small knock came at the door and Cissy entered with the tray.
‘Thank you, Cissy. Just open my chamber door and call the girls, would you? I’m sure they have finished tidying by now.’ Lettice went to the tray and poured four cups of ale, before bringing the sweetmeat platter to Meg.
‘From Mother’s recipe, Aunt Meg. Remember how she loved them?’
‘I do, sweetheart. I certainly do.’
***
Hearing Robert’s horse on the gravel, Lettice dabbed her wrists and neck with her cologne and stood facing the door of her chamber to greet him. It wasn’t that late, and she was pleased they would have a little time together. She had dismissed the girls to their own bedchambers after they had taken down her hair, but she hadn’t wanted them to dress her in her nightgown. She wanted Robert to have the pleasure of unwrapping his gift.
Listening carefully, she heard his booted feet along the gallery and found herself twisting her fingers together, as nervous as a bride. The door flew open and Robert strode in, taking her straight into his arms and kissing her passionately. When they came up for air he stroked his hand down her cheek and she kissed his palm.
‘I should not come home in the middle of the day, Lily. I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind, to the point where in the end I excused myself a little early from the banquet to come to you.’
‘Won’t the Queen be angry, Robin? That you aren’t there?’ Robert shrugged negligently and poured himself some ale, gulping a mouthful quickly to take the dust of the ride from his throat.
‘She has Raleigh still, and Essex, and de Vere, and any number of other pretty noblemen to distract her. Drake has gone back to Plymouth but there are many waiting to replace him; she won’t notice my absence. Besides,’ his eyebrow rose and he looked at her wickedly, ‘I have a gift waiting, do I not?’ Lettice giggled and found herself twisting her fingers together again. She released them and held her hands by her side.
‘I thought to give you the pleasure of unwrapping your gift. I just hope you aren’t disappointed with what you find inside.’ She moved towards him, still holding her hands by her side, ‘Unwrap me, Robin.’
Robert snorted in amusement and began with her collar, unhooking the bodice at the front until it gaped open, revealing her whalebone corset over her delicately embroidered shift. He frowned, as beneath her shift, instead of the globes of her breasts he was expecting, were yet more layers of linen. He grunted in displeasure and Lettice smiled enticingly.
‘Now you know why I need unwrapping, Robin.’ She removed her bodice and swiftly untied the laces at her waist as Robert sipped a little more of his ale. The heat in his eyes was making her skin flush and she smothered a smile as she dropped her skirt and petticoats in one motion and stood before him clad in her corset and cobweb shift. She heard his breath catch in his throat and she pulled the lacing from her corset and dropped that on the floor on top of the turquoise pool of silk that was her gown.
Her shift gapped away from her slender body and Robert stepped forward to sweep it from her shoulders into a puddle at her feet. Naked now, apart from the linen bindings around her breasts, Robert found the end that was tucked carefully away and released it. Unwinding it round and round, Lettice giggled uncontrollably as she turned with the fabric until she stood facing him, heart pounding and a little breathless.
‘My Lord, what a lot of clothes you are wearing,’ she whispered as she pressed her body to him and began unclasping his doublet as quickly as she could, sweeping down the ties of his shirt once his doublet was open. Robert released his hold on her bare hips to unfasten his dagger, which allowed her to unclip his breeches and let them to fall to the floor, closely followed by his hose as he slid his feet from his boots. Pushing his shirt and doublet off his powerful shoulders, Lettice gave a little jump and clasped her legs round Roberts hips. He groaned, feeling the heat of her on his belly, and she pressed her face into the crook of his neck and whispered,
‘Now you have unwrapped your gift, my Lord, take it to bed and let it give you pleasure.’ He fastened his lips to hers and carried her to the bed, sighing with contentment. Lettice realised she was no longer nervous.
Chapter 28
ove, honour and obey as long as you both shall live?’
‘I do.’
‘Then I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride, my Lord.’
Raleigh bent forward and kissed Bess soundly on the lips, then felt in the purse on his dagger belt for a gold piece. He pressed
this into the hand of the priest and gave him a hard stare.
‘Not one word of this, Father. Remember, no-one must know.’
‘No-one will know, my Lord. The banns were called in a parish far in the north, where no-one knows either of you, and I shall stand as witness. I promise you, no-one will find out from me, but it is a binding marriage, my Lord. Legal and binding, before God and the law.’ Raleigh laughed shortly and hugged Bess to him closely.
‘Neither of us wish to go back on the marriage, Father. But we do not have royal permission, so we need to keep this a secret until we petition the Queen for her blessing.’
‘Ah, young love.’ The priest nodded his understanding and Bess burst into a fit of giggling. Raleigh took her by the hand and led her out of the tiny chapel and down the cloister until they were out of sight of anyone who might be passing in the garden.
He towered over her and took her hands in his, kissing them gently and gazing down into her upturned face, then claiming her lips in another, more passionate kiss.
‘Oh, Bess. I wish we could be together properly now we are married, but here I have to share my lodgings.’ His lips travelled down her neck to the start of her ruff.
‘I too, my Lord. I share with the Devereux girls.’
‘And you are sure they don’t know you carry my child? You haven’t said anything, and you dress unobserved.’ Raleigh was concerned that his promised funding would vanish if he incurred the Queen’s displeasure. Bess gave an irritated sigh.
‘No, my Lord. I have told no-one, and they wouldn’t notice if I walked around without my shift. They are too full of their own woes to pay attention to me.’ Her brows clenched together in indignation.
‘What could they possibly have to be woeful about, I wonder?’ Raleigh muttered and Bess gave a short laugh, and looked at him incredulously.
‘Nell has been betrothed to someone against her will, my Lord. Have you not heard?’ Raleigh shook his head thoughtfully and raised his brows for Bess to continue.
‘I can only tell you what I know, through my own observation, and from what my father has said. I forget you haven’t been here that long, to know such things.’ She smiled and he kissed her lips gently, wanting her to carry on with the gossip. It might prove useful when he needed to ask for further funds.
‘The Devereux girls have no money of their own, you understand. Only their dowry. All the rest was left to their brother, who got the land and the wealth with his title.’ Raleigh interrupted his kisses down Bess’ neck to mutter, ‘Wealth he is gambling away as fast as he can, the young idiot.’ Bess sighed with pleasure at his kiss.
‘Nell is completely in love with her cousin Philip Sidney, but they have sold her nobility to Robert Riche, whose family used to be merchants!’ Raleigh bit back a retort at such blatant snobbery, deciding that he might ask the Riche family for support if they could afford to marry into the aristocracy.
‘So now she sobs all the time, and Thea comforts her, or she isn’t there at all. Thea says she is with the Queen, but then I will see her later and she will be wearing a colour, so I just know Thea has told me an untruth.’ Bess’ voice was trailing away as Raleigh had started kissing the tops of her breasts and she was squirming inside her gown.
‘My Lord, I am to be with the Queen after she has woken. I cannot mark my gown.’ She ran her fingers through Raleigh’s dark hair and brought his head up so she could look at him.
‘After the noon meal, my Lord, I can meet you in my room. Those dreary girls won’t be there, and we can bar the door and be alone.’ Raleigh groaned in the back of his throat and kissed her nose quickly, making her giggle.
‘Then we must wait to consummate our marriage, Bess. We must sacrifice our desire on the altar of propriety.’ He laughed at the blank expression on her face, and he rephrased the statement, ‘We will be good until we get to your lodging?’ Her puzzlement cleared and she nodded enthusiastically.
‘After the noon meal is over, my Lord,’ then she dropped him a brief curtsey and hurried along the cloister to the palace door. Raleigh sauntered after her, in no particular hurry and wondering how he could get into a card game with the Earl of Essex and make sure he won. He could put the Earl’s unwanted inheritance to good use supplying his next adventure.
***
Nell sighed her contentment and relaxed into Philip’s embrace, trying not to give in to the tears that kept threatening. She had no idea how much longer they would be able to meet, as the morning of her wedding drew inexorably nearer, and she didn’t want to mar the brief time they had together with her sorrow.
‘I’m just so pleased my mother will be able to attend, Philip. I will need all my family around me just to bear the day.’
‘And you think she wouldn’t attend, my love? How could she not?’ Philip drew patterns on her skin with lazy fingers, and Nell felt her stomach turn over at his touch. She couldn’t see him without wanting him, and when they lay together in his apartment, as they did now, she wanted him again.
‘She is disgraced, Philip. Banished by the Queen. It is only because Aunt Kit is hosting the wedding that she might attend, as Aunt Kit’s guest.’ Philip’s lips followed the path of his fingers across her midriff and onto her belly, and she twirled his hair between her fingers and sighed quietly.
‘I shall have to attend too, my love. I will have to escort Aunt Kit, as Uncle Henry is escorting you.’ Nell squeezed her eyes closed at this thought, tears rushing quickly as she realised her lover would watch her become someone else’s wife. She pressed her lips together to try and still their trembling, and so she could speak without her voice breaking.
‘And I shall ignore you. I cannot look at you, Philip, without everyone seeing what I feel in my heart. I shall ignore you at my wedding, and hope to see you privately at some point afterwards.’ She let a trembling breath out as Philip began to work his way back up her body to find her lips. He stopped and leaned on his elbow, gazing into her eyes.
‘But the week after your wedding comes mine, my love. And you shall be attending that with your new husband, no doubt.’
‘No doubt. I imagine we shall have plenty of practice at ignoring each other in the coming weeks, Philip. But before you go to the Low Countries and leave me, I would be with you as often as I can.’
‘We shall have to find a solution then, my love. Leaving you will break my heart, and it will be unhealed until I come home to you.’
‘To your wife.’
‘In my heart, sweet Stella, you are my wife. Our families may compel us to marry elsewhere, but in our hearts we each belong to the other. No-one can change that.’
He bent forward and kissed her lips gently, then with ever more passion until there were no more words between them.
***
Meg settled herself into the crook of her husband’s shoulder as they sat in the love seat facing the hearth. She sipped her ale and Ralph took a swallow of his wine.
‘I am glad to be home, my love. And I won’t stay long in Lancaster, I promise.’
‘But you still have to go away again, Ralph. I had hoped you would be able to stay for longer.’ He shrugged and put his wine on the side table, then picked up her hand and kissed her palm, folding her fingers over the kiss.
‘The threats never stop, Meg. The excommunication the Bishop of Rome set on the Queen has meant that any Catholic in the land might kill her and be forgiven the sin.’
‘And lose their head, Ralph. They would be severely punished.’
‘They would get their reward in heaven, my love. That is what the forgiveness means.’ Meg snorted derisively.
‘But I thought young Norfolk was already imprisoned. Are there more plots now?’
/> ‘Whispers, my love. Rumour and innuendo. Plots are like the hydra; chop one down and three spring up in its place. We have to be vigilant, and tireless. There is currently a whisper, and it is only a whisper at the moment, that Philip of Spain wants to invade England by sea and put his daughter the Infanta Isabella on the throne, and she is but a small child.’
‘All these threats of war, Ralph, just because we want to worship God in a different way?’
‘Wars are about power, my Meg. Men might speak of a holy cause, or a divine purpose, but the real reason is power, and the real purpose is profit. Wars are about power and money, no matter whether the rallying cry is patriotism or popery.’
‘Can we talk of something closer to home then Ralph, before you disappear again to thwart more plots?’ He burst into laughter and had to cough and calm down before he could speak again.
‘It isn’t I that thwart the plots, my love. I just find the funds with which to thwart them, and then claim the property and goods for the Crown of the plotters when they are imprisoned. But what do you wish to talk to me about that is closer to home? Our children?’ Meg smiled. They had been married so long and he knew her so well. She nodded happily.
‘Tom wants to marry one of Lettice’s ladies. Ursula Sherrington. Her father is in Parliament, so you might know him.’
‘I do. He is a good man, well thought of, principled and honourable. And if the girl has been in Lord Robert’s household, she must be pleasant and agreeable.’
‘Jane likes her very much.’
‘And Tom obviously likes her very much too?’ Meg nodded happily and Ralph shrugged.
‘He is his own man, my love. We can advise him, but we cannot force him into marriage, or make him give up his plans. Should I speak to her father, or will Tom?’
‘I think Tom would like to speak to him, Ralph. But he wanted to know you approved before he did so. He values your opinion highly, you know.’ Ralph smiled.
On the Altar of England (Tudor Chronicles Book 4) Page 22