“What?” she asked him.
“That we will remain lovers until you leave the progress for your beloved Friarsgate, fair Rosamund. That is the price that I will exact from you for my cooperation,” the young king said.
“I will gladly agree,” Rosamund told him, opening herself to his male member, which was now seeking to gain entry to her warm and loving sheath, “but you must swear you will do nothing that will allow the queen to learn this secret we harbor—Ahhhh, God, you fill me full, my lord king!” Her lithe body arched against him, and she felt herself beginning to lose control.
“Agreed,”he growled into her ear, grinding himself as deep into her sweetness as he could. “God’s nightshirt, fair Rosamund, I shall never get enough of you! You will forever be a sickness in my soul, and when you leave, you will take a part of my heart with you.”
Her legs wrapped about him, and her carefully pared nails dug into his broad shoulders. “I think my Annie is right, Hal. You are a demon, for only a demon could steal my heart and my soul as you have done!” Then she kissed him passionately, and together they pleasured each other until the moon had set and the morning star began to rise in the gray false dawn of the eastern skies.
Chapter 18
The king’s royal summer progress was similar to the journey Rosamund had taken north when she had first left the court as a girl, going home to be wed with Owein. That journey had had a purpose however, to bring Margaret Tudor to Scotland. The annual summer progress was simply a means of entertaining the king and his court, and keeping them from the city’s summer. It was an enormously expensive undertaking for those who were to be honored with a royal visit. And it could be extremely uncomfortable for the men and women who served the king and his company. It could be equally difficult for the courtiers who accompanied their majesties, because housing was not always guaranteed, and had to be foraged for by one’s servants or the courtier him or herself. Still, to not be invited on a progress, or to not go, was considered social disaster or a serious faux pas.
Lord Cambridge’s informant had been correct. The progress would go north into the Midlands of England. And Tom Bolton, a man who did not like being without his comforts, immediately learned the itinerary from the royal chamberlain. He then proceeded to arrange accommodations in the best inns along the route for himself and for Rosamund. And the lady of Friarsgate had now begged the queen’s permission to leave her service and return home from Nottingham.
“Are you not happy with us?” Katherine inquired solicitously.
“It is a joy to be in your majesty’s presence, and especially in her service,” Rosamund said diplomatically, “but I miss my children, madame. I have been away almost a full year now. I need to go home.”
“Are your daughters not well cared for?” the queen asked, for she was reluctant to let Rosamund go. While she certainly had closer friends, she enjoyed Rosamund’s gentle company, and she particularly liked having a woman write her correspondence. It was a great convenience.
“My daughters are in good hands, your majesty, but I am their mother. Great ladies must, of necessity, leave their children to the care of others. I am not a great lady. My uncle Edmund and his wife are no longer young, and my uncle Henry will try to force my eldest into a marriage with his odious son if I am not back soon. Mistress Blount would be so honored to take my place by your side, I vow. She would gladly, if asked, take over the responsibilities of your correspondence.”
“You do not like Gertrude Blount,” the queen said with a little smile. “Yet you would recommend her to me?”
“What I want, or who I like, is of no importance, your majesty. You need, and must have, the best person to replace me. That lady is Mistress Blount, on my honor.”
“We shall ask the king’s advice in this matter,” Katherine said, and she turned to her husband. “Henry, the lady of Friarsgate would leave the court at Nottingham for her own home. She does not want to come back. She recommends Mistress Blount to me in her stead. What think you, my dear lord?” She put a hand on his green velvet–covered sleeve, looking up into his face with a smile.
“Dearest Kate, what you decide for your household always has my approval,” the king said smoothly. “If the lady of Friarsgate wishes to go home, then release her from your service.” His head abruptly snapped up. He looked directly at Rosamund. “You have children, madame, as I recall, do you not?” he asked her casually.
She blushed, curtsied, and replied, “Aye, your majesty, I do.”
“Then you are released, with our grateful thanks, for the many services that you have rendered our dear consort and wife,” the king responded. Dismissing her as suddenly as he had approached her, he turned and began speaking with Will Compton, who was seated on his left.
“My lord and husband has spoken for us both,” the queen said mildly.
Rosamund curtsied again, saying, “I shall be happy to continue my duties until we reach Nottingham, your majesty.”
“Excellent,” the queen answered, “and you will show Mistress Blount what she is to do for me after you are gone.”
“I will, your majesty,” Rosamund replied. God’s nightshirt! Had anyone wondered why she had blushed when the king had spoken to her? She hoped that they would just think she was overcome by briefly having the royal attention, being an unimportant lady of no great family and not used to being addressed by Henry Tudor.
Gertrude Blount sidled up next to her. “Why would you do me a favor?” she demanded of Rosamund. “We are not friends, and we certainly do not like each other. I am not certain I like being in the debt of someone like you.”
“You are not in my debt, Mistress Blount,” Rosamund replied evenly. “When I leave the court I shall not return. I but spoke the truth to the queen.”
“Writing the queen’s most personal correspondence is a great honor,” Gertrude Blount said. “Whether you wish it, or not, I am now in your debt, for I cannot refuse the queen’s appointment.”
“Nay, you cannot,” Rosamund murmured, “nor can you impart anything that you write to anyone else. You are a girl who loves to gossip, but you will not be able to do so now lest you bring dishonor upon your family, Mistress Blount.” And Rosamund smiled sweetly.
“Ohhh!”Gertrude Blount’s blue eyes widened with the realization of what the lady of Friarsgate had done to her. “This is your revenge on me because I do not like you! How mean you are!”
“Mistress Blount, it matters little to me whether you like me or not,” Rosamund told her frankly. “Your family name is greater than mine, but my pride in who I am is far greater than yours is in who you are. I will not be spoken down to by the daughter of Lord Montjoy. I am the lady of Friarsgate, not by marriage, but in my own right. I have recommended you to the queen because you write a fine hand and you are already one of her ladies. It is an honor to serve Queen Katherine. You owe me nothing for this appointment. Now, on the days that the queen requires my services you will come with me and learn how the queen’s most personal correspondence is done, and how it is kept.”
Gertrude Blount nodded, temporarily cowed, but was soon bragging about the queen’s chambers that it was she who would now be taking the queen’s most intimate dictation, that she had been recommended for the position, but she did not say by whom, and no one bothered to ask her, because they did not care.
The progress departed Greenwich, moving to Richmond briefly while last-minute preparations were finalized. Then the travels began in earnest. The king had continued to visit Rosamund at night while they were still at Greenwich. He came to her one night at Bolton House from Richmond, but he had to travel via the river to reach her, which meant his bargemen knew he had left the palace and where he had gone. It was not a good situation, for Henry did not choose to be caught with a mistress again at this point in his life. While he would not be denied his pleasures, he wanted everything to appear circumspect to his world.
