Chapter 27
Margaretha
The ladies-of-honor dashed across the courtyard with hands over heads, shielding themselves from the rain as they made their way to the waiting coaches.
I trotted along behind, wrestling down the nerves and excitement that had kept me awake half the night.
For the first time in years, I was going to see Samuel.
Pressing into the coach, I smashed down Lady Jakelina’s gown to make a seat for myself.
“Margaretha, you’re pinching my leg,” she complained.
“Then it will pair nicely with your nose,” I snapped, earning dark glares from the other ladies.
Mistress Helena pursed her mouth. “You’ll not impress the prince with your saucy talk.”
“Do you think he’ll be handsome?” Lady Anna asked, pinching her rounded cheeks for color.
“Not if he looks anything like his aunt,” Mistress Dorthea muttered.
Helena elbowed her in the ribs. “You cannot speak of the queen that way.”
The coach lurched forward, and we clattered over cobblestone on a steady decline toward the city’s streets before twisting our way through town.
With the window sashes pulled, every breath of air became saturated with the stink of damp slippers, yet no one seemed eager to brave the rain when the coach finally rolled to a stop at the city gates.
We waited, stone still, listening for any happenings outside.
Mostly we heard only rain tapping on the roof or horses’ hooves shuffling over cobblestones.
Occasionally a man’s voice carried on the wind, but the words were diluted in the air until they were only sound.
A sturdy breeze raced by, slapping the window sashes against the coach and affording me a flashing view of men hunched with their backs to the rain.
Count Egmont was among them, looking handsome perched atop his steed.
He was a good and kind man, blessedly. The sort of man I felt certain would speak for Samuel, once I’d secured his proposal.
Thus far I’d only procured his commitment for another game of chess after supper.
Or had I? I couldn’t remember anything after the shock of seeing that page boy.
The sudden burst of trumpets made us all jump.
“They come!” someone yelled. A groom opened our door, and we poured out of the coach, blinking against the gray daylight.
The cool air made my teeth chatter as I followed the other ladies toward the shelter of the queen’s canopy.
We tucked in behind the ladies-in-waiting, no one seeming to mind the close quarters for the warmth it provided.
A surprising number of spectators had turned out, enduring the wet weather in their eagerness to greet their sovereign.
Subjects of all ages stood on the sides of the street with excited smiles while they hid under capes and blankets.
In front of them, noblemen astride their horses split into two opposing rows, as though pitted in combat.
I scanned their faces until my eyes met with the steady blue gaze of Count Egmont.
He looked away but didn’t repress the smile that came to his lips.
I smiled too, glancing down at my hands before looking back to find him watching me again.
This time he didn’t turn away, and we held each other’s gazes.
A movement at the gate stole my attention as two men on white steeds rode in, each bearing the unmistakable yellow flag emblazoned with a double-headed eagle of pure black, the imperial banner of Kaiser Karl V.
And just behind them came the royal father and son.
The son, dressed from shoulder to toe in satin and velvet of blood-red scarlet, sat atop an impressive battle charger, staring straight ahead and showing interest in no one.
He was everything I expected him to be, save for his looks, which were striking.
His wide, dark eyes were framed by even darker lashes that matched his neatly trimmed beard and the black curls peeking out from under his cap.
The kaiser shared his son’s fine dress and imposing steed, though where one was youthful and handsome, the other was graying and haggard.
His body rocked with each clop of his horse’s hooves, and his eyes matched his sister’s for their heavy lids.
Catching sight of Queen Mary, the kaiser raised his hand, signaling the train behind him to halt. I lifted myself onto my toes, peering around the royals to spot my brother, but there were only courtiers and servants as far back as I could see.
With the men and horses now at a standstill, the young prince looked around himself for the first time, his eyes going straight to the queen’s retinue to study the faces of the women in his aunt’s service.
When his gaze came to me, he leaned forward in his saddle, resting his forearms across his pommel and giving me a rakish grin.
I returned his smile but briefly, shifting my eyes back to his father and hoping my neglect would discourage the prince.
I didn’t need a decidedly Catholic prince ruining my hopes with Egmont.
The kaiser crossed his arms over his left knee, resting while the queen went forward to greet him. She clasped his hand, and though she spoke quietly, her words carried in the breeze. “You are not improved.”
The kaiser shook his head, and Queen Mary set her hand on his face, caressing his bearded cheek with her thumb.
“Will you ride with us?” The kaiser’s voice was deep and stronger than I expected from one so frail.
“Gladly.” Mary ordered her horse.
While we waited, I glanced at Egmont, hoping to cast him a smile, but his stern features were intently pointed in another direction.
Following his gaze, I found the prince still staring unabashedly at me.
He gave me a quick wink, then shifted his attention to the queen before I had the chance to put him off with my disapproving glare.
I let out a huff of irritation.
Queen Mary mounted her horse and took her place beside her brother. “My ladies will return to their coaches and join in the train behind us.”
My irritation bled into disappointment, which left a hollow feeling in my gut. How would I ever see Samuel now?
The ladies moved in one body, catching me up in their flow so that I could only make a last desperate scan of the train of men before I was pushed into the dark depths of the coach.
***
The damp of the day hovered in the palace like my disappointment, and I couldn’t escape either, no matter how I shifted in my place on the bench.
Down the row, Anna quietly groaned and pressed her hands over her belly.
“If we ate such feasts every day, I might be sick,” she whispered over the performance of the queen’s musicians.
“Then temper yourself next time,” Helena whispered back, smoothing her skirts and painting a pleasant smile over her lips.
Anna straightened. “Prince Felipe is more handsome than I could have hoped.”
“You have no reason to hope for anything when it comes to the prince,” Dorthea whispered over the lutes closing out their madrigal. “He’s a Habsburg. They marry for advantage, and I doubt he’ll be wanting your little duchy.”
I followed the ladies’ gazes to the prince. He sat in a gold chair at the other side of the room, ignoring the conversation of his Dutch attendant and staring directly at me with that same rakish grin.
An awkward shyness came over me that I’d not had since my days in Wildungen.
Anna sniffed. “You’re right, Dorthea. He isn’t worth troubling myself over. I hear he’s nearly betrothed to Queen Mary of England anyway.” Anna cast me a sideways glance, no doubt intending to upset me had I set my cap on the prince, but I paid her no heed. My sights were on a different target.
Egmont leaned against the wall with his arms folded across his chest while he watched the prince watching me.
The muscle in Egmont’s jaw tightened, and I bent my head to conceal a smile, relishing his jealousy.
I’d succeeded in winning at least a small bit of his admiration. Now to encourage it . . .
The courtiers applauded at the close of the madrigal, and I excused myself from the ladies, sweeping up my skirts and sitting at the empty chess table with my back to the prince.
When Egmont met my eye, I used my foot to push out the chair opposite me.
His scowl lifted, and he shrugged away from the wall, making his way over to sit at my table.
“You are right,” I said when he took his seat. “You are persistent.”
He cast me a small smile that disappeared when he glanced behind me. I turned to find the prince watching us.
“And what of it?” I said, moving my chess piece.
He harrumphed and moved a piece in return. We progressed in silence, with Egmont more reserved than usual as we played.
“Are you fatigued after your long ride in the rain?” I asked.
“So it would seem. I find myself out of sorts this evening.” He moved his rook, then placed his fist beside the chessboard.
I gently covered his hand with mine. “Then I hope you’ll let me buoy your spirits.” I rubbed my thumb over his fingers until he uncurled his fist, opening his hand enough to let me caress his palm. But when footsteps sounded behind me, he wrenched his hand away to conceal it beneath the table.
A smear of bright scarlet moved in my periphery, and Prince Felipe of Spain stepped into view. Beside him, his short attendant gave us a low bow. “Pardon the interruption, but the prince expressed a wish to play against the lady.”
“Oh, I don’t think—” I began, but the attendant hushed me with wide eyes, as if anticipating my refusal and warning me against it.
I turned to Egmont, my eyes pleading with him to stay, but his countenance was already an apology. He rose from his chair, giving the prince a curt bow before leaving.
The prince took Egmont’s place, leaning back in the chair with casual ease as he moved his knight. “What is the name of this woman I am so fortunate to play against?”
My Latin was not as strong as my French. I studied the board, looking for my next move while I interpreted what he’d said. “Comitissa Margaretha de Waldeck.”
“Waldeck? That is in the German lands, yes? I had the chance to visit Augsburg when my father defeated the German rebellion. It is beautiful country. The hunting there is excellent.”
He captured my rook with his bishop.
“I wouldn’t know. I have no interest in hunting.” I took a defenseless pawn.
“Really? Yet my aunt tells me you are quite a horsewoman. Seems a waste of skill to not apply it to the hunt.”
I held my tongue, conveying my disinterest through silence while we exchanged a volley of predictable moves.
“Perhaps you will let me be your teacher,” he said, breaking the quiet. “I am no novice in the art of the chase.” His black knight slid across the board toward my key players, and I felt his eyes rest on my face. He was baiting me.
“Yes, I’m certain you’ve made many conquests of both beast and man,” I answered, cutting straight through his allusions as I put my bishop in play.
“And a woman or two.” He winked at me before capturing my other rook.
“It’s the men I’m more particularly interested in,” I persisted. “Most especially those you took in Mühlberg. As they are fellow Germans, I’m concerned for their wellbeing.”
He didn’t respond, and we moved through another series of plays as his pieces took gradual control of the board.
“You may discover the welfare of your friends next week.” He moved his king close to my queen. Far too close. I studied the board, trying to understand the advantage of such a move. “I believe they’ll be included in the parade of the Ommegang.”
“They’ll be in the procession?” The same nervousness from this morning sped through my blood. I wasn’t certain why the city would allow the inclusion of known rebels of the kaiser but was glad for it. For the chance to see Samuel.
“Your move,” the prince prompted. My thoughts were too muddled for the game now. I pulled the queen back out of instinct.
The prince smiled. “Since you are so interested in seeing the German nobles, I will ensure you a seat beside me on the platform. You’ll have a better view of them there.”
I didn’t know what to say. My gratitude weighed heavy against a sense of foreboding, but I nodded my appreciation.
“Checkmate.” The prince stood, his attendant rising in tandem. “Until next week, mea columba.” He walked away as I studied the board, searching for an exit from the square prison in which he’d bound my king.