“I shall miss it,” he agreed, pushing aside the thick tresses and kissing the nape of her neck. “Do not linger longer than you must, sweetheart. I am lost without you, I fear, and not ashamed to admit my weakness to you.” He lay the brush down and, coming around to face her, drew her up into his arms. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known,” he told her passionately. “I cannot believe some courtier did not snatch you up when you last danced attendance on the king.”
“My blood is not blue enough. My estates are in the far north. I had no great name or useful connections,” she explained to him. “That is their way, and I was not unhappy, Baen.” She reached up to caress his face. “I will come back to you,” she told him. “The court holds no fascination for me.”
“Yet you go,” he responded.
“Aye. You know why. I am commanded by the queen, and for no other reason. Do you not understand that Anne commanded because she knew that if she had simply asked I would have cried off, Baen? ‘I will not beg,’ she wrote. Instead she commanded.”
He sighed. But then she reached up and drew his head down to hers. They began to kiss slowly, deeply at first, and then as the heat of their passion began to increase in intensity, more fervidly. Two tongues, wet and hot, danced together with each other. He held her face between his hands, covering it with kisses. She returned those kisses eagerly. Her chemise and his long-tailed shirt fell to the floor. He was hard with his need for her, and she hot with her need for him. He bent her over the settle, her palms flat against its seat. His hands gripped her hips as he entered her in a single smooth motion, driving himself deep into the hot maw of her sex.
Elizabeth arched her back. His eagerness had but matched her own. She closed her eyes, relishing the ardent motion of his lust for her. Small mewling sounds escaped her as the pleasure he was offering them began to spread at a leisurely pace throughout her body. “Don’t stop!” She gasped.Dear God!How could she do without his passion in the next few months? She wouldn’t think about it. She would simply enjoy the here and now with him. Her thoughts melted away. Only the sweet sensations of their pleasure remained. And then he cried out sharply, and she felt his juices flooding her.
For several long moments his fingers continued to grip her tender flesh. She was going to be bruised there, Elizabeth knew, but she didn’t care. Finally he straightened himself up, which allowed her to stand as well. He said not a single word to her, but led her towards the bed that they would share tonight. Falling into it together they began to kiss and caress once again. The night was yet young.
Chapter 17
Elizabeth Hay reached Bolton House in London to find her eldest sister, Philippa, there. Both were surprised to see each other. “What are you doing here?” Philippa wanted to know. She looked tired.
“The queen commanded me to court,” Elizabeth answered her sibling.
“The queen is not at court,” Philippa said, and then the realization of her sister’s words hit her. “Oh.” She made a face. “That woman who attempts to usurp the queen’s place called you. I cursed her recently in Queen Katherine’s presence, for it is forbidden to say a bad word about the king around her. Do you know what that sainted woman said to me, sister? ‘Do not curse her, Philippa. Feel sorry for her. Feel sorry for that wretched wanton creature who has taken another woman’s husband, and now proudly displays her belly to all.’ I hate her! I shall never feel pity for her! I hope she miscarries!”
“Philippa! Philippa!” Elizabeth put comforting arms about her eldest sister, who now began to sob. “The king needs a son, and your patron cannot bear him that son. He is not the first king to put aside an infertile queen for a more fecund and younger queen. Your loyalty to Queen Katherine is admirable, but do not let it blind you to the reality of what has happened. Continue to love and serve your mistress, but do not hold Anne responsible for Katherine’s inadequacies,” Elizabeth advised.
Philippa shrugged off her youngest sister’s arms and comfort. She pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped her tears away. “Anne Boleyn will never be my queen, Bessie. Never!”
“But she is Henry Tudor’s queen, sister, and please, please do not call me Bessie,” Elizabeth said quietly.
“How long are you going to be here?” Philippa asked. “The court is at Greenwich, as you know.”
“I wanted to rest a day before I must fling myself into that maelstrom you so enjoy,” Elizabeth said with a small smile. “The queen sent me an escort. I have ordered them on to Greenwich to tell her I will be with her in two days. I will go downriver by barge, and have already sent my baggage and my horse with my royal guards. Now tell me what you know.” She drew Philippa into a window seat overlooking the river.
“Very little,” Philippa said. “There were rumors all winter. Then at Easter the marriage was revealed. I am not certain when it was celebrated. After Christmas, I have heard. You will know more when you reach Greenwich. They waited for Cranmer to be approved archbishop of Canterbury by the pope. Once that was done Cranmer declared the king’s marriage to Queen Katherine null and void, and his marriage to Lady Anne a true one. Now she parades her belly, the little whore!” Philippa’s lips were set in a bitter line, and her eyes were hard.
“How are my nephews?” Elizabeth asked quietly. There could be no reasoning with Philippa over this situation, and she felt sorry for her eldest sibling. Yet she admired her too. Philippa had never known when to give up.
“Henry is still with the king, but he is getting too big to be a page. Owein remains in the Duke of Norfolk’s household. He tells me Norfolk is surprised that the king finally married his niece. He does not entirely approve, but he will use the Lady Anne to his own advantage, for that is the way he is. They are an ambitious family, the Howards. Hugh lost the place he was to have in the princess Mary’s household. The king has pared her staff to the bone, as he has my mistress’s. But Crispin cajoled the king to take Hugh into his service, as Henry will soon have to leave it. Actually ’tis a better position for my son. I am grateful he was given it.”
“And your daughter?” Elizabeth asked. As long as they spoke on the family Philippa could not become so agitated.
“She turned three in December.” Philippa’s face was now relaxed and glowing. “No mother could have a sweeter daughter, Bess... Elizabeth. And Mary Rose is intelligent too. Why, she can already recite her ABCs and count to twenty. I have high hopes for her, sister. Crispin adores her, and she quite has him wrapped about her little finger. I should be very jealous of her but that my husband loves me.”
“I am happy for you, sister. You seem to have everything you always wanted.” Elizabeth’s gaze went to the river. “I do not really like the city, but looking downriver I can see the beauty in it. And is it my imagination or is the town creeping closer to Bolton House, Philippa?”
“London grows,” Philippa admitted. “Now tell me of your family.”
“Young Tom is almost two, and Baen is the perfect husband for me,” Elizabeth said with little sentimentality, but she smiled as she spoke.
“A Scot,” Philippa murmured. “How like our mother you are. But I am glad you are content. Have you seen Banon?”
“Briefly on my way south. She thrives as always. Her bairns are as noisy as ever, and her Neville as devoted to her as he ever was, if not more.” Elizabeth chuckled.
“And you are happy with Friarsgate?”
“Oh, yes!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “I hope you do not regret your decision.”
“Never! Brierewode is my home. My life should be perfect if it were not for poor Queen Katherine’s lot. She is so noble, and so brave. And none can say a word against the king in her hearing. She is still devoted to him despite his unkindness and that of his wretched whore.”
“Anne is not an unkind person, Philippa,” Elizabeth defended her friend.
