“You will have the title,” I agreed, “but the right to acquire a countess is by no means certain. Without the assurance of marriage, how can I permit you to court me?”
“Will you banish me from your company?”
“I cannot,” I admitted. “I . . . care for you, too, Will.” And we were both at court. Meetings were inevitable. “But—”
He stopped further protest with a kiss. His lips were soft but firm and oh so talented. Lost in sensation, I kissed him back. If he had been a less honorable man, he could have taken me there on that rocky surface. I’d not have resisted. Instead, he let me go.
“We had best rejoin the others.” His husky voice and the light caress of his gloved knuckles along my cheek made me shiver with desire.
I managed to nod and I stood on legs that did not want to hold my weight.
“We will speak of this again,” he promised as he lifted me into my saddle.
11
In mid-December, with Yuletide fast approaching, the king and queen moved to Hampton Court. There the queen’s apartments were located on the east side of the inner court. The queen’s privy kitchen and her wardrobe were on the ground floor, linked by a small spiral stairway to the chambers above. Heat from the kitchen helped warm the upper rooms. Unfortunately, cooking odors also made their way in. The sweet-smelling herbs Queen Kathryn ordered strewn on the floors did not quite mask the smells of roasting meat and, on occasion, burnt sauces.
Alys, Mary, and I sat and wrought in the presence chamber. I had nearly finished embroidering the collar of a linen shirt with silver thread, my New Year’s gift for the king. For the queen I had used my modest winnings at cards to purchase a pair of white stockings embossed in gold. “I wonder what Queen Kathryn intends to give His Grace,” I said.
“I’ve no idea,” Alys said. “Do you know what Lord Parr plans as a gift for the queen’s grace?”
“A crossbow case and a dozen crossbow strings,” I replied without thinking. The queen was an excellent shot with a crossbow. Will had mentioned it the previous day. I looked up to find both Mary and Alys grinning at me. “What?”
“It is no secret that he pursues you, Bess.”
“Catching me is another matter entirely! He has a wife, Alys. He cannot offer me an honorable marriage.”
I told myself so daily. We had seen each other often since the hunt, but always in company, and I’d taken pains since our arrival at Hampton Court to spend as much time with Harry Dudley as I did with Will. Harry had been happy to oblige me. We’d danced together, been partners at cards, and gone for long walks in the gardens . . . during which I’d spent far too much time comparing Harry to Will, to Harry’s detriment.
Alys lowered her voice. “Why not enjoy him for your pleasure, then? Is there any man more charming or better to look at in all of the court?”
“A dozen at least,” I lied. “Your cousins the Dudleys, and Ned Brydges, not to mention Davy Seymour. And if you prefer older gentlemen, there are many to choose from, too.” I rattled off a half dozen names at random.
Alys laughed and launched into a wickedly accurate, slightly ribald analysis of each of those gentlemen’s attractions. Mary and I laughed so hard that Lady Hertford temporarily banished us from the presence chamber for making too much noise.
That same evening, as Lord Lisle was leaving his wife’s lodgings, he paused to send a piercing stare my way. I had little to do with the viscount, although he often visited Lady Lisle in the evening. Harry took after his father for looks, although Lord Lisle had a more prominent nose and wore a forked beard that called attention to his heavy underlip. I shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny and was glad when he continued on his way without speaking to me.
A short time later, Lady Lisle bade me sit beside her by the fire. “My lord tells me that Lord Parr has spoken to him about you, Bess. He hopes to make you his wife.”
I sighed. “He says he is in love with me.”
“Has he spoken to your father?”
“I doubt it.”
“No, I do not suppose he has. I feel sorry for the man, Bess, but he’s not for you.”
I bristled at her tone but I nodded. “I know. He is already married.”
“And you have more suitable prospects near at hand. My own son, for example.”
“I . . . I enjoy Harry’s company. And Jack’s, too.”
“But Harry is his father’s heir.” Lady Lisle pursed her lips. I was certain she was about to say that he could look higher than a baron’s daughter for a wife. She surprised me. “I would be pleased to have you as my daughter, should matters fall out that way. I hope you already count me as a second mother.”
“I do, my lady. And if I am not too bold, I would like to count you as my friend as well.”
My parents, I knew, would be delighted if I made a match with either of the Dudley sons, but how could I agree to marry either one when I had such strong feelings for Will Parr?
“I have four more boys at home,” Lady Lisle continued, “Ambrose, Robert, Guildford, and our second Henry. They are all younger than you are, but that is of little importance when it comes to making alliances.”
“I do not believe I would care to be married to a child.”
“And I am certain you are in no hurry to wed. There are many unmarried girls your age and older here at court.”
The transition was so smooth it slid past me without causing a ripple of disquiet. Only later did I realize that she’d warned me against rushing into any alliance.
12
The king kept his word. He made Will Parr Earl of Essex. He also put him in charge of the gentlemen pensioners, the fifty gently born men assigned to guard His Grace’s person at court. Will’s new duties kept him busy throughout January and into February. I spent far more time with Harry Dudley, but it was Will who was most often in my thoughts.
Life at court continued to offer a wide variety of activities. Women did not play at tennis or bowls, but we were welcome as spectators. And everyone turned out to witness spectacles. On a Sunday in mid-February, Queen Kathryn entertained her first important foreign guest, Don Juan Estaban Manriquez de Lara, third Duke of Najera. I joined the other courtiers crowded into the queen’s watching chamber, eager to see what amusements Her Grace would provide.
Soft music played in the background, provided by the Bassano brothers. When I glanced his way, Jasper Bassano winked at me. I hid a smile. If I were to choose a suitor purely by his appearance, I decided, I’d have to add Jasper to my list of candidates. His exotic looks had an undeniable allure.
The Spanish duke was escorted by two English earls. One was Will, looking very fine in black velvet embroidered in silver and sparkling with jewels. The other was Henry Howard, the poetry-writing Earl of Surrey. I had heard that he had regained the king’s favor, but this was the first time I had seen him at court.
I studied him with interest, remembering that Will had told me they had been educated together in the late Duke of Richmond’s household. I remembered something else, too—that Surrey had led my cousin, Tom Wyatt, into a drunken rampage that had led to a lengthy imprisonment for poor Tom.
Surrey had a pleasing appearance. His hair and beard were auburn, his eyes hazel. His face, a perfect oval, was dominated by full, sensuous lips, but there was an arrogance about him, a certain air of self-importance, that I could not like. I wondered that others were not put off by that superior manner, but perhaps they had grown accustomed to his attitude. Or else they accepted without question his innate superiority. Surrey’s father was the Duke of Norfolk, one of the most powerful noblemen in the land. No doubt he had been raised from the cradle to think that the Howards were second only to the Tudors.
The queen advanced, smile radiant, to greet her noble guests. She wore heavily brocaded crimson. Two crosses and a brooch, all studded with diamonds, caught the light. Her robe was cloth-of-gold and had a train more than two yards long. She was flanked by the two highest-ranking ladies in the land, her stepdaughter, Princess Mary, and King Henry’s niece, Lady Margaret Douglas, the daughter of his older sister.