“What a day it has been!” Lady Morgan exclaimed with a gusty sigh. “Who would have expected such a day when it began so simply? Three of my grandchildren off to court, and two more granddaughters than I had when the sun arose.” She settled herself into a large chair by the fire, and turning to Bliss, said, “And just when was it decided that you go back to court?”
“Indeed, madame?” Owen FitzHugh said mildly. “I was most amazed, nay, surprised, myself, to hear you say it, though I should not have contradicted you before the king. We had not discussed it, Bliss. It has been years since we went to court. I am not certain we belong there now.”
“Oh, Owen, do not be such an old fuddy-duddy,” his spouse returned airily. “It is the most fantastic opportunity for Nyssa. She will be seventeen December thirty-first, Owen, and she is not even betrothed yet! She is going to be an old maid if something is not quickly done. Court is a perfect place for a young woman of Nyssa’s background, and wealth, to find a good husband.
Besides, with Philip and Giles having been appointed pages to the new queen, Blaze will need a surrogate for her children. We will take our young Owen and Blythe’s Edmund with us! It will be such fun!”
“What?” her husband said, startled.
“Take Edmund?” Blythe cried.
“Of course,” Bliss replied. “Philip Wyndham, young Owen FitzHugh, and Edmund Kingsley have been friends their whole lives. They were all born the same year, within months of each other. They’ve never been separated, and even though Philip will have his duties, there will still be time for him to be with his cousins. They’ll have an absolutely wonderful time,” Bliss finished, smiling broadly at her relations.
“I think it an excellent idea,” Lord Kingsley agreed, his eyes twinkling merrily. “ ’Twill be good seasoning for the lads.”
“What you mean,” his brother-in-law said pointedly, “is that you shall get rid of that young hell-raiser of yours for a few months!”
“They are not going to embarrass me, Aunt, are they?” Nyssa fretted. “Philip and Giles going to court is one thing, but if you are to bring Edmund and Owen as well, Uncle Owen is correct. Together those three scamps are really quite wicked. I cannot have them teasing me like they do here at home. Ohh, why did Mother ask for places for the boys too!”
“Do not be selfish, Nyssa,” Lady Morgan chided her granddaughter.
“Ohh, Grandmother, you are always taking the boys’ part! You know how hard it is for me to put a bridle on my temper. A queen’s maid of honor must show dignity and decorum. If I am constantly being hounded by my brothers and my cousins, how can I maintain such traits?”
“Why do you assume that they will tease you?” her grandmother asked.
“Because they are little savages,” Nyssa declared heatedly. “They have spent their lives torturing me.”
“If you were not such fun to torture, sister dear,” young Philip Wyndham said, grinning at her, “we should have stopped long ago.”
Lady Morgan laughed indulgently. “You are such a naughty boy, Philip,” she murmured. “You really must show some respect for your elder sister. Hers is the most important position a woman in our family has ever held. To be a queen’s maid is a great honor.”
“I would have thought to be a king’s mistress was a greater one,” the heir to Langford said blandly.
Lady Morgan paled. “Where did you ever learn such a thing?” she demanded, scandalized. “Who has been telling tales?”
“Oh, Grandmother,” Nyssa said, “we have known forever about Mother’s little adventure at court. She always said if she did not tell us, that someday someone else would; and depending upon what they wanted from us, they would put an unhealthy slant upon it. Papa agreed. Because we know the truth, we can never be hurt by the fact that mother was King Henry’s mistress for a few months. There were no bastards, after all, and no harm has ever come of it. Indeed, had the king not felt he owed our mother a debt, we should not be going to court. After all, the Wyndhams of RiversEdge are hardly an important family.”
“Well!” Lady Morgan said. “Well!”
“Oh, Mother, do not fuss so,” the Countess of Marwood said. “Nyssa is absolutely correct, and very practical in her thinking, it seems to me. As soon as it is known who her mother is, the gossip will begin, and Blaze’s tenure in the king’s bed be relived in minute, and probably incorrect, detail. It will be a great deal easier for Nyssa, Philip, and Giles to know the truth than to fall prey to cruel gossip. There is very little to do at court for those not involved with the powerful. They gossip more to pass the time than to be deliberately unkind. It is a way of life for them.”
“And you would return to such a life, and leave your children behind to servants?” Lady Morgan said dramatically. She had never been far from her home, and had not even seen London.
Bliss laughed. “I’ve given Owen three sons and a daughter, Mother. He promised me that we would go back to court when the children were able to manage without me, and they certainly can.”
“And I will always be there for them,” the countess’s identical twin sister said. Blythe was ever the peacemaker.
“Am I to have new clothing?” Nyssa asked. She was somewhat irritated by her grandmother and her aunts. She was to go to court! Yet here they sat by the fire arguing back and forth over nothing, as far as she could see. Aunt Bliss’s children would be fine without her.
Blythe immediately understood her niece’s anxiety, and turned the conversation to Nyssa’s advantage. “I should think an entire new wardrobe would be in order for Nyssa. Her gowns are those of a country girl, and not a young woman of the court. What think you, Bliss?”
Bliss, the sisters’ fashion expert, nodded emphatically. “She’ll need everything from the skin out,” the countess declared, “and we do not have much time either. The new queen will be here within the next two months, and the king did say he wanted Nyssa at court beforehand. We must start tomorrow if we are to have Nyssa properly rigged out for court.”
“I’m not very good with my needle,” Nyssa admitted, shamefaced.
“Neither was your mother.” Her aunt Blythe giggled. “When she married your father, most of what was in her hope chest had been made by us. Do not worry, Nyssa. You will have a fine wardrobe in time. We will help, and your mother has always kept a seamstress in her household. There will be plenty of fabric in the storeroom for our use.”
The following day, while her mother recovered from the birth of her new sisters, Nyssa, with the help of her aunt Bliss, chose the fabrics from which her court clothing would be made. In her sixteen years she had never traveled beyond the bounds of her extended family’s estates.
“Surely not these, Aunt,” she protested as Bliss put aside several bolts of rich, heavy fabrics. “They are far too elegant for me.”
“They are exactly right,” the Countess of Marwood told her niece. “Everyone at court is dressed to the teeth, my dear.” She peered closely at the girl. “You have excellent skin, Nyssa. It is fair and clear. You’ve inherited your mother’s violet-blue eyes and her heart-shaped face, which is to the good. It is surprisingly attractive with your dark brown hair. That you have from your father.”
“Mama says my hair is a bit lighter than my father’s was,” Nyssa noted. She could not remember Edmund Wyndham at all, for he had died when she was not even two years of age. His nephew, Anthony, who had later married her mother, was the only father she had ever known.
“You do have rather attractive golden lights in your hair,” her aunt told her. “Your father did not.”
“I do look like him, Heartha says,” Nyssa noted. “Sometimes I stand before his picture in the gallery and just stare, but he seems a stranger, Aunt. Still, I can sometimes see the resemblance I bear to him.”
“He was a wonderful man,” the Countess of Marwood said. “You can be proud that you were born of his loins, Nyssa, and thank God you have his nose, not that little retroussé one of your mother’s.”
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p; Nyssa laughed. “Mother’s nose is sweet,” she said, “but I agree with you, Aunt. I like my nice straight nose quite well.”
The Countess of Marwood chose fabrics of velvet, taffeta, brocade, silk, satin, and damask weaves for her niece’s gowns. Some were plain, and others woven with metallic threads. Lengths of black, gold, and white lace were selected to trim the gowns. There was silk, wool, cotton, and linen for undergarments. Nyssa’s hose would be of silk, or wool, cut and sewn for a perfect fit. She would have cloaks of silk, wool, or linen, some lined in fur. There would be delicately embroidered nightrails of linen and cotton, nightcaps, caps, and hoods of velvet. Her newly made shoes and boots were of the best leather, and to her great excitement, some of her shoes were decorated with real jewels. She would have jewelry not only sewn to her apparel, but jeweled ribbons, necklaces, and rings of her very own as well.
“I have never had such magnificent clothing!” she exclaimed when at last her wardrobe was complete. “Do people at court really dress like this all the time?”
Blaze, who had recovered from the twins’ birth, laughed. “You will be a little sparrow amongst peacocks, my darling,” she told her eldest child. “It is not required, however, that you outshine the mighty. You are a beautiful young girl, Nyssa, and your clothing is exactly what it should be, thanks to your aunts’ kindness.”
“Ohh, Mama!” Nyssa told her mother. “I am so confused! One moment I am excited to be leaving RiversEdge for court, and the next moment I am absolutely terrified over the prospect. I’ve never been anywhere in my whole life. What if I make a mistake before the king? What if I disgrace the family by my actions? Perhaps I should not go.” Nyssa was suddenly pale.
“Did you know that your aunt Bliss took me to court when I went for the first time?” Blaze told her daughter. “Your father had died in late autumn. I loved him so much. His death and that of your infant brother were a terrible shock to me. Your aunt, however, decided I must not mope about. Shortly after New Year’s I went with Bliss and your uncle Owen to Greenwich. The farthest from Ashby that I had ever been was RiversEdge. I cried. I was very frightened. I felt awkward and quite gauche, despite the fact I was a widow, not a maiden. I just wanted to hide, but your aunt would not let me.
“Bliss had taken to court after her marriage to Owen FitzHugh like a busy duck takes to a millpond. It is her natural milieu. She will guide you safely through the maze of manners and morals there. If you are wise, Nyssa, you will trust her, and listen well to what she has to say.”
Blaze put an arm about her daughter. “There is one piece of advice that I must give you, however, my dear. Guard your reputation carefully. Your virginity is the greatest treasure that you possess, Nyssa. The gift of it is yours alone to give, but I would hope you should give it to the man you will marry one day, for he will appreciate it far more than any other. Because I was the king’s mistress for a short time, there will be fools crass and coarse enough to believe that you are an easy prey. Remind them sharply, for I know you will not have to remind yourself, that you are the virtuous daughter of the Earl of Langford, not some common drab. You are not to be trifled with by any.”
“Was the king in love with you, Mama?” Nyssa asked. She had never before dared to voice the question.
“He was enchanted with me for a brief time,” her mother replied, “but I do not believe he was ever really in love with me. We became friends, however, which was to the good, Nyssa. I have ever been the king’s most loyal servant. So I hope you will be as well.”
“I had always heard it said, Mama, that the king was the handsomest prince in Christendom, but I do not think him handsome. He is quite fat, and the stink from his sore leg the day he visited us was quite dreadful. I do not imagine even a crown could make me want to marry such a man. I do not envy the Princess of Cleves, poor lady. Yet I could see the king thinks himself quite grand. I cannot believe you loved him.”
Blaze smiled. The young were apt to be quite harsh in their judgments of their elders. “The king has gained a great deal of weight since our time together, Nyssa. He was in his youth a very handsome man. Time, I fear, has not been particularly kind to him. We do not see ourselves age as others see us. In his own mind the king still thinks himself as a very dashing gentleman. It would be wise for those about him to treat him as such. No one enjoys getting older, my daughter, and even a king is not safe from the ravages of time.”
“I shall miss you, Mama, and Papa too!” Nyssa told Blaze.
“I shall miss you also, my darling,” the Countess of Langford replied, “but it is time that you began your journey into life. Court will offer you wonderful opportunities. You are certain to find a husband there, Nyssa. He might be a man of stature, or perhaps the brother of a friend that you will make. There is so much ahead of you!”
“I will only marry for love, Mama,” Nyssa said.
“Love often comes after marriage, my dear,” her mother replied. “I laid eyes on your father only once, and quite briefly at that, before I married him. I didn’t even know him, but Edmund was so good. I very quickly fell in love with him. He was an easy man to love.”
“But what if you hadn’t fallen in love with him?” Nyssa said with firm logic. “It would have been horrible for you! I think I should rather love the man before I marry him, and not leave such things to chance, Mama. Mistress Fortune can be a fickle creature.”
“As long as he is a suitable match,” her mother said. “It must be a proper marriage that you make, Nyssa.”
“But I will first love him,” Nyssa insisted.
Blaze smiled at her eldest child. “He will be a very lucky gentleman,” she said.
Chapter 2
The king was planning a gala Christmas wedding. His mood was gayer than many had ever seen it. The festivities would be held at the monarch’s favorite palace of Greenwich. There would be twelve full days of joyous celebration following the marriage ceremony. The new queen would make her formal entry into the capital city of London on the first day of January. Her coronation was already tentatively planned for February second, the feast of Candlemas. Westminster had been chosen as the site for the coronation ritual.
The king was currently at Hampton Court. Each day he issued more orders regarding his wedding and the convivial days that would follow it. Henry Tudor had thrown himself wholeheartedly into the preparations. Several times each day, and always in the presence of others, he would draw Holbein’s miniature of the Princess of Cleves from his tunic, where it nested against his heart, gaze dramatically upon it, and sigh gustily like a young lad seriously involved with a woman for the very first time. The king fancied himself in love again. This Anne, he declared to his intimates, would be far different from the other Anne. This Anne would be gentle, wise, and loving. She would ease his old age when it finally arrived in some far distant future. Perhaps he would even have more children by this pretty German princess with her sweet face. That would be to the good, he assured them. Some among the court wished the king well in this new marriage. Others silently thought him a fool that he continued to believe in romantic love at his age.
A messenger arrived at Hampton Court on the fifth day of November. The Princess of Cleves had departed her brother’s ducal seat at Dusseldorf, and would arrive in approximately three weeks, or by the end of the month at the latest, according to all reports. She traveled with a large, stately retinue of 263 people, along with 228 horses. There were coaches for the ladies, and over fifty baggage carts. The progress of so great a retinue was very slow, however. The king finally sent to Calais for news of his bride’s arrival when word came that she was overdue. Now it was believed she would reach Calais by the eighth of December. The king’s brother-in-law, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and the lord admiral, the Earl of Southampton, Sir William FitzWilliam, departed for Calais to escort the bride across the Channel to England. The Duke of Norfolk and the king’s chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, were ordered to stand by to greet Anne of Cleves at Canterbury.
Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, was not pleased by the match. Most, including Bishop Gardiner, believed it was because the bride was a German Protestant. Actually, Duke Thomas hated Cromwell, and equally disliked being out of the intimate power structure surrounding the king. The Duke of Norfolk was England’s premier noble. He was used to being part of the decision-making process of the Privy Council. He had opposed this marriage from the start, for it was Cromwell’s great plan. It would be Cromwell, responsible for lifting this German princess from obscurity, who would influence this new queen, not Thomas Howard, whose foolish niece, Anne Boleyn, had once worn England’s crown. If Anne had but taken his advice, she would yet have her crowned head.
He sighed deeply. Was it not bad enough that he had seen Anne replaced by that whey-faced Jane Seymour? That he had been forced to endure the arrogance of Jane’s two brothers, Edward and Thomas Seymour, those upstarts from Wolf Hall? That he had seen a Seymour succeed where a Howard had failed? At least this bride was royal. It was his only consolation. That, and the fact he had miraculously managed to retain his position as Lord Treasurer, despite his family’s failures and the king’s displeasure.
The retinue from Cleves did not reach Calais until December eleventh. They were escorted into the town with much grand celebration, but once there, they were detained for the next two weeks by storms of horrendous proportions that were wracking the coasts of France and England. It was simply not possible until December twenty-sixth to make the comparatively brief crossing from Calais to Deal.
Anne whiled away her time learning to play cards. She did not know how, but quickly picked it up. Her teacher, the Earl of Southampton, had told her that the king loved to play cards. Anne was eager to learn all things that would endear her to her husband. The court of Cleves had been a somber one. Cards and music and dancing were considered frivolous. Anne wondered about it. She found gaming, particularly for money, most stimulating.
Love, Remember Me Page 3
