Chapter 14 #2
Once their baggage was loaded onto packhorses, they mounted their steeds and rode west. On the journey, Francis told her more about Greys Court.
“The manor house was built about two hundred years ago, but there was a castle there before,” he said, giving her a loving, intimate glance, showing her that he too was thinking about the night they had just shared.
“Before us, Greys Court had been owned by the Lovell family, but the last Lord Lovell fought for King Richard at Bosworth and then disappeared, so it was seized by the Crown. The King granted it to my father for an annual rental of a red rose, which is paid every Midsummer Day. It’s near Henley, which is a nice town. ”
“What happened to Lovell?”
“No one knows.”
They trotted on, leaving London behind them, and then broke into a canter as the countryside opened up before them.
“Oh, it’s so good to be going home with you, my darling!” Francis cried.
—
Kate thought the rolling Chiltern Hills beautiful. And when she saw Greys Court nestling among them, she drew in her breath, for it was a beautiful place, set in downland filled with trees.
About twenty servants were lined up, ready to greet them.
Francis’s steward, Bilkins, signaled to the men to take care of the horses and unload the luggage.
Kate smiled at everyone, aware that they were going to play a large part in her life, and that she would need to rely on them at first, so it was wise to be friendly toward them.
Francis proudly showed her around the property. “That tower there is all that remains of the castle. You can still climb it and get a good view of the gardens and the deer park. The well is just as old, but take care, for it is two hundred feet deep.”
On the opposite side of the broad paved courtyard stood a substantial fortified timber-framed house with a jettied upper story, a crenellated parapet, and octagonal towers at each corner.
“That is Greys Court, where we will be living,” Francis told Kate.
“The Lovells extended it about ninety years ago.”
He held open the arched front door and Kate walked into a lofty beamed hall with three tall bay windows, a large fireplace, and trestle tables set up on either side. Above the dais was a big wooden panel painted with the Knollys arms: a white chevron with three red roses on a red ground.
“That is not unlike my coat of arms,” Kate said. “I have a black bend sinister with three white roses on a white ground.”
“We must have a new coat painted with our joint arms,” Francis said, drawing her to him and kissing her.
At one end of the hall, a flight of stairs rose to a minstrels’ gallery, which led to a spacious chamber.
“We call this the solar,” he told her. “It will be our private chamber. And here is our bedchamber.” He opened an inner door to reveal an ornately carved four-poster bed with embroidered white hangings and a crimson velvet counterpane.
The curtains at the mullioned window matched the hangings.
With its polished oak chests and shining pewter, it was a charming room.
“You can stow your clothes in that chest,” Francis said. “And there are pegs on the wall. I hope you like it.”
“I love it!” Kate enthused, and flung her arms around him.
“I would make good use of it right now,” he muttered, his eyes twinkling into hers, “but the servants will soon be here with our gear. I fear we’ll just have to contain ourselves until tonight.” His words gave her a deep thrill.
They broke apart and went down the stairs.
There was a door at the far end of the hall.
“The kitchen and other offices are through there,” Francis said.
He led Kate through, into the bustle of activity that was the large kitchen; it was hot in there, for a fire was crackling in a vast brick fireplace.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and bowed or curtseyed.
Now, Kate thought, was the time to establish herself as mistress; she was remembering Grandmother, Lady Bryan, and Lady Troy, and she was determined not to let Lettice Lee down, for she was sure that Lettice had ruled this house well.
She took a deep breath. “It is a pleasure to meet you all. I look forward to getting to know you better, and I hope you will find me an approachable and kind mistress. Now, do not let us interrupt your work. My lord here is just showing me around the house, and I’m sure you have much to do.
Thank you all.” She smiled at them and was met with smiles in return as they resumed their duties.
Then she dimpled at Francis, aware that this was the first time that she had called him “my lord,” and saw he was beaming at her.
He wasn’t a lord, of course, but he was her lord, and she was proud to call him so.
When he had shown her the steward’s room, the larders, the boiling house, the buttery, and the pantry, they went outside again and walked beyond the tower to the gardens.
“This area was once the lower courtyard,” Francis explained.
“The upper courtyard—which we call the Base Court—was created when the house was built.” Looking about her, Kate saw several buildings in various states of ruin.
“The Lovells let this place rot. My father was going to attempt some restoration, but he died before he could start. It would take a lot of work to put all this range to rights.”
“Do you need all these buildings?”
“No. We have everything we need around and behind the Base Court.”
“Then I would leave them be. They look mysterious and rather charming.”
He smiled at her. “I think you have it there. And leaving them would relieve me of a great burden.”
As they returned to the house, Kate asked what was in the turrets.
“Guest chambers, the old nursery, lumber rooms. Over there are the gardens and the fishponds.” Francis turned and steered her back toward the stables. “Come, let us ride into the village. I want to show you the church.”
It wasn’t far to Rotherfield Greys. The village was a cluster of cottages with an inn and the church in their midst. In the cool of the church, Francis showed Kate the tombs of his ancestors.
There were Greys and Lovells there, too, previous owners of Greys Court over the centuries.
Kate knelt beside him for a few moments of quiet prayer, and was touched to see him so deeply in communion with his Maker, whereas she was too distracted by his nearness.
He seemed so devout; she hoped he’d realized he needed to put aside all that dangerous nonsense about Luther’s heresies.
When they arrived back at Greys Court, a substantial supper awaited them.
They took their seats at the table on the dais, while the household seated themselves at the trestle tables.
Kate noted with approval the thick linen tablecloths and napkins, the polished silver and pewter, and admired the salt cellar in the shape of a ship.
“We do things the old-fashioned way here,” Francis told her as he rose to carve the roast beef. “We eat in the hall, with our people. But if you would prefer sometimes to dine privately in the solar, pray give the order.”
“I will do whatever pleases you, my lord,” Kate said. He smiled at her and placed three slices of meat on her plate. She poured some sauce on them and took a mouthful. “That is delicious!” she called across to Matthews, the cook, who bowed his head, blushing.
She spent the meal talking to Bilkins, who would be her right-hand man when Francis wasn’t here, and learning more about how the household was run.
“I will take you around tomorrow, Madam, if it pleases you, and show you where everything is. You have no need to worry. The staff are very efficient.”
“Nevertheless, I would like to understand how everything is done. And I want all the servants to know that if they have any concerns, they can come to me.”
Bilkins’s expression suggested that he was asking himself what an ignorant sixteen-year-old girl could know about running a great house. “That is most kind of you, Madam. But I usually deal with any worries the servants have.”
“But I would like them to know that they can come to me, too,” she said firmly, resolved to assert herself. “Especially the women. There may be matters they do not wish to discuss with a man.”
He nodded slowly. “As you wish, Madam.” She sensed that she had offended him in trespassing on his territory.
But this was her house now; she felt it keenly.
It had opened up to her and invited her in, and she had every right to be here and impose her will on it.
The only person who could gainsay her was Francis.
And he, perhaps having heard the conversation, although he had seemed to be talking with his huntsman on his other side, turned to them.
“You will find my wife wise and capable beyond her years,” he told Bilkins.
“I am sure that she will be a great help to you.” He squeezed her hand beneath the table.
“Of course, Sir,” Bilkins said, quelled. Kate smiled at him.
More dishes were served, then jellies and custard.
She sat there, dizzy from the strong wine she had drunk, longing to be in bed with Francis so that they could revel in that special joy again.
When he caught her yawning, he squeezed her hand again and stood up.
“My masters, it grows late and we will retire, for it has been a long day. Madam?”
He held out his hand and Kate gratefully took it; then he led her up to the solar, as the servants began to clear the tables.
—
A fire was burning on the hearth in their bedchamber. Hot bricks wrapped in flannel had been placed in the bed, and an ewer of water stood next to a basin on a small table. Kate’s night-rail and Francis’s nightshirt had been laid out on the bed.