Chapter 6 #2
“I seem to drift through the courtyard, where I see that the windows have been replaced. Our kitchen has been transformed into a fine hall, the well hidden under a wooden floor. Fine wood carvings are everywhere, and there are portraits on the walls. I recognize the King, and there are two bad likenesses of Anne and your mother on either side of the fireplace. In our great hall, a fire crackles in the large fireplace and tapestries grace the walls. The tables are laid as if for a sumptuous banquet, but the dais has gone and there is no high table for the family. On the wall hangs a little painting of the hall as I know it. It is very strange!”
Kate was open-mouthed, spellbound.
“I’m having more visions as I get older, but I keep them to myself.
I saw your uncle George doing something so abominable to his wife that I can’t bear to think about it.
But there’s another vision that comes increasingly these days.
I see a young woman with red hair wearing a crown, and I wonder who it could be.
It surely cannot be Elizabeth. How can a bastard be crowned queen?
” She shook her head. “I hope Henry’s being a good father to her and seeing that she is well cared for.
She needs stability after losing her mother so tragically, poor mite.
I wish I could see her and be a proper great-grandmother to her. But she is far beyond my reach.”
Kate nodded sadly. No, Elizabeth would never be queen; nor would Mary, who also had red hair. When she looked again, the old lady had fallen asleep.
—
It was a quiet Christmas, but properly observed.
The Yule log was carried in on Christmas Eve and set alight in the hall fireplace.
Kate helped the servants to gather holly, ivy, and bay to decorate the windowsills.
The waits came from Edenbridge to sing carols, and there was roast goose and plum pudding for Christmas dinner.
Kate longed to be at Greenwich Palace with Elizabeth, enjoying the festivities.
At New Year, Great-Grandmother gave her a silver locket, and Kate returned the gesture with some handkerchiefs she had embroidered.
On Twelfth Night, a feast was served for the estate tenants, and Cook baked the traditional cake.
Kate found the bean in her slice and was Queen of the Bean for the evening, with the freedom to choose the games and set forfeits.
For the first time in her visit, she was truly enjoying herself.
Yet she was glad to leave the next day and make her way north to Hatfield, where Elizabeth, now returned from court, would be awaiting her.
When she arrived there, snow lay on the ground and Elizabeth was out in it. Lady Bryan stood shivering as the child threw snowballs, giggling excitedly. When she saw Kate, she ran to her and demanded to be lifted up.
“I had a lovely time!” she said. “The Thames froze over and after we had been to St. Paul’s Cathedral, I rode across it to Greenwich on horseback, on my father’s lap!
The people were cheering and calling out, ‘God save King Harry!’ And they called out, ‘God save Elizabeth!’ too.
They love me! It was a wonderful day.” She struggled to get down, clapped her hands, and danced through the snow.
Lady Bryan smiled, shaking her head in mock despair. “She is far too excited. My Lady Elizabeth, come in and eat your supper, and let Kate catch her breath. She has had a long journey.”
Kate was glad to be back. She hummed a tune as she unpacked, then hurried down to the hall, which was filled with the enticing aroma of roast beef. Her mouth watered.
After supper, she sat by the fire with Elizabeth, who regaled her with more stories of her time at court.
“We went outside to see the mummers’ play about St. George.
I didn’t like the dragon because it roared a lot, but St. George killed it.
The best bit was when he rescued the princess and kissed her hand.
She was very beautiful, with golden hair.
And then I was allowed to stay up and have candied fruits in the privy chamber! ”
“She ate so many that she felt sick afterward!” Lady Bryan murmured, her head bent to her hemming. Kate smiled. Elizabeth’s sweet tooth would be her undoing one day. Presently, the child fell asleep, dreaming no doubt of the marvelous revels at court, and Kate carried her off to bed.
—
As winter turned to spring and spring to summer, Kate determinedly made herself avoid thinking about Aunt Anne and that dreadful time in the Tower, or the King.
There were still moments when the sense of tragedy threatened to overwhelm her, but they were becoming fewer and fewer.
At thirteen, life was beckoning. Her body was flowering into womanhood and the admiring stares of young men were flattering.
Not that she saw many at Hatfield or Hunsdon, yet there were some visitors, and some lads in church, whose good looks made her heart race a little.
It was of the future that she thought most, a future that she hoped might bring marriage and babies.
She had stayed in touch with her mother, although Mother was not the most enthusiastic of letter writers.
Weeks could go by without hearing from her, and then she would receive a long scrawl in which Mother told her every detail of her own life but rarely asked about hers.
It did not look as if Mother and Will would be coming home any time soon.
Kate made sure to write to her brother, Harry, who was living at Syon Abbey with his tutors.
It troubled her that they had grown apart, having lived separate lives for so long, and she felt it was important to strengthen the ties of blood between them.
But Harry proved to be even worse than their mother at keeping in touch, and in the end, Kate gave up.
As autumn descended on the land, Elizabeth’s household was abuzz with excited speculation. Would it be a prince or a princess? For Queen Jane had quickened in the late spring and soon her child would be born—a child whose legitimacy could never be questioned—and an heir to England, God willing.
—
“Wake up, Kate, we have just received the most wonderful tidings!” exclaimed Lady Bryan, shaking her by the shoulder. Kate rubbed her eyes, then opened them to see the governess beaming happily in the October sunlight streaming in through the latticed window.
“England has a prince!” Lady Bryan cried. “Queen Jane has borne the King a son! Oh, this is a great day, for the King’s Majesty—and for us all!”
Elizabeth was thrilled when they woke her to tell her the news. “A baby brother? At last, I will have someone to play with!”
“His name is Edward,” Lady Bryan told her, “and he was born at Hampton Court two days ago on the twelfth of October, the eve of St. Edward the Confessor, a most auspicious day. Now we must make haste, my little lady, because we are summoned to court without delay. The King wishes you to play your part at the christening.”
“Ohh!” Elizabeth was scrambling out of bed, bursting with excitement. “What am I to do?”
“You are to take part in the procession.”
“Is that an important part?” asked the child.
“Very important indeed,” said Lady Bryan firmly, smiling at Kate. “Now, we must get you ready quickly!”
Once more, Kate was told that she must stay behind. It was not fair, she felt. She never got to go to court. Not that she wanted to see that devil the King, but she would dearly have loved to see the splendors of Hampton Court and the pageantry of the christening.
But no.
“Because of the plague, the King is limiting numbers,” Sir John told her.
“The plague has died down!” she protested.
“His Majesty is clearly taking no chances. His heir will be too precious to him. And I will not defy his orders.”
Kate tried to suppress her disappointment as she waved off an excited Elizabeth and watched the little procession disappear toward the Great North Road.
—
It was only days later that she heard the bells tolling. Kat looked up from her book.
“I wonder who that’s for,” she said, going to the window. Kate joined her. There was nothing to be seen. The house was a long way from the church.
A rider appeared, cantering up the drive. He wore the King’s livery. Kate and Kat raced into the hall, almost colliding with Sir John Shelton.
“Bad news, I fear,” he remarked.
Kate felt a shiver of fear. Not the Prince, she prayed. Don’t let it be the Prince.
The messenger was shown in and bowed. “Sir John, I bring heavy tidings. Our good mistress the Queen has died in childbed. The King orders that the Lady Elizabeth’s household go into mourning for three months. Lord Cromwell will see that you are reimbursed for the outlay.”
Kate felt the news like a blow. How cruel of Fate to snatch Jane away in the hour of her triumph and to deprive the newborn Prince of his mother!
“That is indeed tragic news, especially when the kingdom is rejoicing,” said Sir John, crossing himself. “I will order black cloth immediately.”
Kate was in tears at the thought of the poor royal baby left motherless, and imagining how Elizabeth was taking the news. At just four years old, she had experienced far too much tragedy and loss.
The child arrived home a few days later in a very subdued mood, wearing a black damask gown and a white hood.
“I asked God to save the Queen,” she said, as she stood watching Kate unpack her clothes.
“I prayed very hard, but He didn’t hear me.
” Her lower lip trembled. “Lady Bryan said she is in Heaven now. I am sorry she is dead. She was very kind to me. I will miss her.” Tears were threatening, but she did not give in to them.
Kate stroked her hair. “I expect the King, your father, is very sad.”
“He went to Windsor. I did not see him. Lady Bryan said we had to go home. I saw her, Kate.” The tears were falling now.
“I went with Mary to the chapel and I saw her lying there in her robes with her crown on her head and lots of jewels. We had to kneel down for Mass, and then we went up to her. There was a nasty smell, which I didn’t like.
Mary lifted me up to kiss the Queen’s hand, but it was cold like stone.
I wanted her to wake up so that everyone would be happy once more and my father would come back.
But I knew really that she would never wake up again. ”
She buried her face in her hands. Kate knelt down and hugged her.
Lady Bryan bustled in and stopped short when she saw them. She shook her head. “It’s been a difficult time for her. I’m glad to get her home. Now, for some distraction, I think.”
She opened Elizabeth’s toy chest.
“Come, my lamb, find something to play with and run along while we finish in here.” The child stood, gathered up her beloved skittles, and left the bedchamber.
“It would have helped if the King her father had stayed to comfort her,” Lady Bryan said, “but he was much stricken with grief and could not abide to be in the same house as the Queen’s body.”
Thinking only of himself, as usual, Kate thought angrily.
“I heard that he was framing his mind patiently to bearing his loss. It is said he has also framed his mind to taking another wife.”
Kate stared at her. “A fourth wife? And Queen Jane not even in her grave?”
“The situation calls for pragmatism, even at such a time. The life of the Prince is all that stands between stability and chaos in this realm, and many children die young. For the sake of all our futures, the King needs other sons, and he himself has clearly recognized this. And, of course, there are advantages to be gained through a new marriage alliance.”
Kate nodded slowly. “I do see that. But the Prince is in good health?”
“Praised be God, he is a lusty child, by all accounts. And so he should be, for the King is guarding his health rigorously. He has commanded that the walls, floors, and ceilings of the Prince’s chamber be washed down thrice daily, and that anyone who has been in contact with any infection is not to approach his Highness. ”
“Poor little babe,” Kate murmured. “Is he to come to Hatfield?”
“Oh no, he will have his own household. Elizabeth isn’t happy about that, but let us hope she will see him sometimes. We must do everything we can to make her forget this tragedy.”
—
There was much speculation in the household as to whom the King would marry; it was often the sole topic of conversation at dinner—when Elizabeth was not present, of course. Everyone was agog to hear what Sir John had to report when he returned from his latest visit to court.
“It was to have been a French princess,” he related, carving the roast beef, “but the French weren’t of a mind to it.
Apparently, his Majesty told their ambassador that the thing touched him too near, and that he needed to see the lady before any contract was signed.
” Sir John shook his head. “He asked that suitable French ladies be brought to Calais so that he could meet them and get to know them a little before choosing. The ambassador was furious! He said that the great ladies of France were not to be paraded like prize animals in a market. And then he dared to suggest”—Sir John lowered his voice, with an eye on Kate—“that his Majesty might like to mount them one after the other and keep the one he found most agreeable.”
Lady Bryan gasped; her cheeks had flushed rosy pink.
“Aye, you may well blush, my lady,” said Sir John, “and the King did, too. Never have I seen him so embarrassed. He is now looking to Cleves…”
Kate was blushing as well. But where was Cleves?