“But that is exactly what she is,” Elizabeth said with perfect logic. “Well, you and Crispin will decide between you what your consciences will allow. Where is Hugh?”
“In the kitchens,” Philippa said. “I’ll send a servant for him.”
“Don’t bother,” Elizabeth told her. “I’ll fetch him on my way.” And, turning, she was gone from the hall. Finding her nephew, she told him they were leaving immediately.
“But I’ve not finished eating,” he complained.
“You’ll be fortunate to find time to eat at court,” Elizabeth told him. “Come along now, or I will leave you behind. Take what you can carry, Hugh!” She hurried off as the cook stuffed several scones into the boy’s hand with a wink. Once inside their barge she questioned him. “What brought you to the queen’s attention?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I was with Henry, for I was to take his place. He is going home after the coronation. He has gotten way too tall to be a page, and he is eleven now. If he weren’t so tall he probably could have remained until he was twelve.” Hugh St. Clair gobbled the scones in his possession.
“Give me one of those,” Elizabeth said, snatching a scone from his hand. “I’ll not be offered a meal when we arrive, but expected to attend the queen. God knows when we’ll get to eat again. What was her mood when you left her earlier?”
“Sometimes I thought she was angry, but then she would cry,” he said.
Elizabeth sighed, and considered her next words carefully. “Listen to me, Hugh. If you serve Queen Anne you must be completely loyal to her. If you overhear anything that might be of help to her you must share it. This does not mean you are to be a telltale. People will say things about the queen they should not, for many are still loyal to the princess of Aragon. Do not repeat harmful gossip, for it will hurt her feelings. In time this will pass. Anne’s heart is a good one, nephew. She will have her moods, and some are very dark, but if you can you must lighten those moods.” She stroked his smooth cheek. “Do you understand me at all, Hugh? You are still such a little boy to have so great a responsibility placed upon your shoulders.”
“My mother does not like the queen,” Hugh said.
“It is not that she doesn’t like the queen, Hugh. It is that she is very loyal to the princess of Aragon. You know your mother came to court as a young girl in that lady’s service. You know that your grandmother Rosamund was her friend when the two were raised in the court of King Henry VII. Change is difficult for your mother. Be patient with her, Hugh.”
“Change is not difficult for you, Aunt,” the boy observed wisely.
“I live with nature, Hugh, and nature is always changing, usually when you least expect it to change,” Elizabeth told him. Then she laughed and ruffled his hair. “You are actually a very wise little man.”
“I like the queen,” he told her.
“Good!” Elizabeth responded. “I will be with her until she births her bairn. We will conspire together, you and I, eh?” And she gave him a tickle.
Hugh St. Clair giggled. “Aye,” he agreed with her. And then he took her hand in his, and they were rowed down the river to York Place.
“Where have you been?” the queen cried as Elizabeth entered her apartments. “I am lost without you, Elizabeth! Ah, here is my adorable new page. I do not even know his name, but he is so pretty I could not resist stealing him from the king.”
“His name is Hugh St. Clair, your highness, and he is my nephew,” Elizabeth informed the queen. So Anne had not known. Good!
“Your nephew?” The queen looked genuinely surprised.
“He is the youngest son of my sister and her husband, the Earl and Countess of Witton,” Elizabeth elucidated further. “And he is delighted to serve you.”
“I am, your highness!” Hugh declared fervently with an elegant bow.
The queen giggled girlishly. “Do you love me, Hugh St. Clair?” she teased him.
The boy blushed. “Aye, your highness. I will serve you forever!”
The queen’s usually sharp features softened. “How sweet you are,” she said. “Can you play and sing, Hugh?”
“Yes, your highness,” he told her. “I have brought my lute with me. Shall I fetch it and play for you now?” He looked quite eager.
Anne smiled. “Aye, I need to sleep tonight so I am prepared for my crowning. Music would soothe me. Do not be long, lad.” She waved him off.
Hugh St. Clair ran from the room.
“There is a wee bit of a closet with a pallet off my privy chamber,” the queen said to Elizabeth. “See the boy’s possessions are brought to it. He will sleep there. I want him near me. He is untainted by the court, being fresh from the country. How old is he?”
“Eight,” Elizabeth answered. “He is really quite taken with you, your highness.”
Several of the nearby ladies snickered at this remark. They were, as Elizabeth well knew, quite offended that the queen showed her such favor. Elizabeth spoke softly to them, however, and pretended not to notice their pique. Driven by their own and their families’ ambitions, none of them understood the meaning of the wordfriendship. A place in the queen’s household was greatly to be desired. Spanish Kate was gone. Anne was queen, and to be near her was a great honor for them. It also permitted them to be near the king, and the center of everything important at the court. They cared not for their mistress. Only the prestige that being in her household brought them.
