“I am a country woman,” Elizabeth said quietly.
“Beware the seducers,” he warned her. “They will be the most highly thought of and respectable men.”
“Why would they bother to seduce me if they could wed me?” she asked him candidly.
“They want your wealth, sweetheart, but not the responsibilities entailed. If they can seduce you, and brut it about, then they have you for no other will,” he explained.
“It’s like being one of my own lambs in a pasture of wolves, wild dogs, and bears,” Elizabeth complained. “I do not see what Philippa sees in this court of hers.”
“I will guard your back, Elizabeth,” he told her. “Stay in Mistress Boleyn’s company, and do not wander off alone with any. You should be safe.”
“Do you like her?” she asked him.
“Aye, I do,” he replied, knowing exactly whom she meant. “But she has dangerous relations. They will be the death of her, I fear. And the ambitious crowd about her. She can really trust none, but God’s wounds, she needs a friend!”
“I will be her friend,” Elizabeth said, realizing as she did that she meant it.
Chapter 6
Flynn Stewart departed back to the palace, and, gathering up her garments, Elizabeth returned to the house to bring them to Nancy.
“He likes you,” her tiring woman said.
“We met only this morning,” Elizabeth responded.
“Well, he likes what he saw then, for why else would a man go chasing after a runaway punt down the Thames to bring back your clothing?” Nancy asked in practical tones. “You’ve made a friend, mistress. ’Tis not a bad end to your first day at court. Now I’ll just take these things back upstairs and see if I can sort them out and repair any damage. Then we’ll decide what you are to wear tomorrow. Come along and take a nice nap. If Maybel is to be believed you’ll get precious little rest once you become involved in court life.” She bustled up the stairs, Elizabeth following.
In late afternoon Lord Cambridge returned to his house, and together they sat in the hall of the Greenwich house, which also overlooked the river, having a meal together. William Smythe joined them, and Elizabeth told them of Flynn Stewart’s visit.
“I could not imagine someone being so kind here,” she said. “Philippa will be pleased to learn I have those beautiful sleeves back. Why did she not return with you, Uncle Thomas? Is she still angry with me?”
“She is like one possessed,” Lord Cambridge said as he helped himself to a thick slice of ham. “She is determined to find you a husband, dear girl. She is prowling the court like a veritable tigress in search of the right man. But you were astute in your observations today. There is no one here for you. However, let us enjoy the month of May, and then we will return north. I know your mother will be disappointed, but it is obvious fate has something else in store for you.” He turned to his secretary. “And you, dear boy, was your day successful?”
“I have made an arrangement with the French merchant in London for the silk thread we want,” Will answered. “He likes doing business with us because we do not cheat him like so many others do. The thread will be sent directly to Friarsgate.”
“How soon?” Elizabeth wanted to know. “In time for the winter weaving?”
“Yes, mistress,” Will responded.
“I have been thinking of a new color,” Elizabeth said.
Lord Cambridge laughed. “Dear girl, no business at court, I pray you.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Very well, Uncle,” she said mischievously, “but what would you think of a new green?”
“Wicked creature! It would depend on the particular shade of green,” he murmured. “Now, tell me more about this handsome royal by-blow. Do you have a weakness for Scots like your mother, dear girl?” His brown eyes twinkled at her.
“Is he not unsuitable, Uncle?” she said seriously.
“Aye,” Thomas Bolton said, “and yet perhaps not. He has no lands of his own, or title. Do you think he would make a good helpmeet?”
“I think his loyalty to his king might interfere,” Elizabeth replied. “We spoke at length this afternoon, for he is indeed a pleasant conversationalist, but he owes this king his place, his honor. I do not see him as a man ready to settle down. I wonder if he will ever be, Uncle. He is that sort of a gentleman.”
“Still, we might consider him. Perhaps he is tired of being away from home all the time,” Lord Cambridge suggested.
“He told me that home was wherever he might serve his king,” Elizabeth noted.
“That does not bode well,” William Smythe noted. “Perhaps, my lord, he is not the man for Mistress Elizabeth.”
