“Mistress Greenleaf, she is his lordship’s housekeeper, has assigned one of her maids to aid me. All I have to do is pull at the bell cord, and she’ll be here. Her name is Doll,” Annie informed her mistress. “I’ve hung out your gowns, and Mistress Greenleaf says that Doll will help me prepare them, especially the one you’ll first wear to court.”
“I’ll want my cousin’s advice on that,” Rosamund said.
“He’s an odd gentleman, m’lady, but my, don’t he have a good heart,” Annie noted. “I know that life would have been far more uncertain for us if it hadn’t been him that called to fetch us here. Let me help you with your hair.”
An odd gentleman.Rosamund smiled to herself as Annie scrubbed her hair. She wasn’t quite certain what to make of Thomas Bolton, but she knew that in their short acquaintance she had come to depend upon him, and she was deeply fond of him. For all of his flamboyant manners and his peacockish dress and his funny language, he was a kind man,andhe had become a good friend. He was her blood. A Bolton. For the first time she was not afraid to be coming to court again because she had her cousin to ease her way and to be her bulwark.
Bathed, clothed in a clean smock, her hair dried by the fire, Rosamund sat comfortably in her bed. Doll had come and taken away the dirty laundry, bobbing a shy curtsy at Rosamund and then going off with Annie, the two girls chattering. She felt warm and relaxed, and when there was a knock upon her door, she called, “Come in.”
“I’ve brought you a warm mulled wine,” Lord Cambridge said. “You have found everything to your satisfaction, cousin?”
“Your hospitality is wonderful, Tom. I thank you.” She took the goblet from him and sipped it. “Mmmm, ’tis good.”
“It will help you sleep. Rosamund, I would speak to you if you are not too tired to listen,” he said seriously.
“Why, Tom, what is it?” she replied.
“I would have no secrets between us, cousin. You may hear things about me at court that distress you. Perhaps you will not even understand them. Some of the courtiers enjoy being cruel, as they have little else but gossip in their lives. Dear country cousin, I am, I know, unlike any man you have ever encountered. Am I correct in that assumption, Rosamund?”
“Aye,” she agreed, wondering what he was all about.
“I am a man who likes women, Rosamund, but I do not love them. Do you understand?” His warm amber eyes were cautious.
“Nay, Tom, I do not,” she had to admit.
“I do not take women as lovers, Rosamund. On occasion, but not often, I will take another man or a boy for a lover. My behavior is condemned by the church. There are some at court who know of my predilections. If among them I have enemies, and everyone certainly has enemies, these people may seek to hurt you by revealing my habits because they believe you do not know them. I tell you this not to shock you, but so you will not be taken unawares.”
“Oh, cousin,” Rosamund replied candidly, “I do not really understand, yet I do. Still, you are my blood. You have been good to me. I love you as I love my uncles Edmund and Richard. I do not care what anyone will say about you. I know who you are, and we are not simply relations. We are friends, Tom. That is all I need, or want, to know. I will hear nothing wicked said against you.”
“I see I shall have to watch over you very carefully, Rosamund,” he answered her almost sadly. “Your heart is much too good. Now, dear girl, we must decide what you will wear to court on your first visit. Annie!” he called out, and Rosamund’s young tiring woman hurried into the chamber. “Annie, bring me both of your mistress’ black gowns. I must decide in which she will first dazzle the court on her arrival.”
Annie brought the two black gowns from the wardrobe.
Lord Cambridge made an immediate decision. “The black with the gold,” he said. “The brocade is of an excellent quality, and the embroidery quite fine. Annie, have Doll show you how to fix your lady’s hair while she is at court. She cannot wear that charming plait. And, cousin, I shall arrange for you to have an English hood with your veils. It is particularly suited to one with such a charming and young face. The more elegant French hood and the gable hood are too old for you. No, the English hood for the first visit, and then perhaps later your cap back to reveal your hair worn with a veil. Now, jewelry. The pearls with the cross are perfect, but you will need something else.” Reaching into his gown he brought forth an object and pressed it into her hand.
Rosamund looked down at a lovely broach. It was a large round creamy pearl set in gold and surrounded by tiny diamonds. “Oh, Tom!” she said, “I will be honored to wear it. You are so kind to lend it to me. Was it your mother’s?”
“Nay, I purchased it for a friend, who, as it turned out, was not a friend. It is yours to keep, dear girl.” He bent over and kissed her upon the forehead. “Good night, my dear cousin. I will see you before I go to court. Sleep well.” He arose from the bed where he had been seated. “Annie, you and Doll will prepare the black brocade with the gold embroidery for the Lady Rosamund. And see that one of her lawn veils is ready.” He exited the bedchamber, Annie in his wake, asking further questions about her mistress’ garb for court.
Rosamund lay back now in her bed, the pearl broach in her hand. She had never heard of men who preferred men as lovers. She didn’t really understand it at all, but her cousin Tom was a good man. It was all she needed to know about him. Her eyes grew heavy, and the broach fell from her hand to the coverlet where Annie found it shortly afterward. The young servant took the jewel and placed it in the velvet bag with the rest of her mistress’ few pieces of jewelry.
The sun was long up when Rosamund awoke. “Gracious! How long have I been sleeping?” she asked Annie.
“You’ve been abed for fourteen hours,” Annie answered.
“Lord Cambridge?”
“Not yet gone. These city folk keeps odd hours, m’lady,” Annie observed. “Now his lordship says you are to stay in bed today. I will go and fetch you a bit of something to eat.” She curtsied and hurried from the chamber.
Rosamund breakfasted upon lamb chops, bread, butter, cheese, and strawberry conserve. The tangy ale was of an excellent quality. She had just finished when her cousin arrived to bid her good morning. He was elegantly garbed in a calf-length velvet coat that was lined and trimmed in a rich dark fur. It was a deep claret in color. About his neck was a beautiful gold chain of small square links decorated in black enamel. She could see his gold-and-claret striped silk hose beneath his gown, and his heeled shoes were of black leather.
“’Tis early, my darling, I know,” he said, “but the best time to catch the queen’s eye is after the mass. I shall be there just in time,” he told her. “Then I must arrange with one of her secretaries to give me an audience so I may tell her that you are here.” He sighed.
“Can you not just say that I am here when you catch her eye?” Rosamund asked him. “It seems like a lot of bother just to say the lady of Friarsgate has arrived, your highness.”
“It is,” he said, chuckling, “but we must follow protocol. The queen is very particular about protocol. And that, dear cousin, is why you will remain snug in your bed, resting from your journey. I should return sometime before midnight, if I am fortunate, with news. If not, I shall see you tomorrow. I have instructed your Annie and young Doll exactly as to your gown. You are in good hands. Farewell, dear girl!” He blew her a kiss, and then turned and hurried from the bedchamber.
Annie came to remove her tray, and Rosamund found to her surprise that she was still quite tired. She slept until early afternoon when Annie woke her to say her meal was ready in the dayroom. She climbed from her bed and padded on bare feet into the next room where a little table had been set before the fire. Here her main meal of the day was laid out. There was cod in a dilled cream sauce and a dish of raw oysters, a capon stuffed with bread, celery, and apples and flavored with sage, a thick slice of ham, a pastry of minced rabbit, a bowl of tiny beets in butter, bread, and cheese. The sweet was a large baked apple dusted with sugar and cinnamon, sitting in a bowl of heavy cream.
