“Do you really think the Spanish will invade us tomorrow, my lord?” the beauteous Angel asked Robin. She was wearing a gown of sky blue silk that was somewhat faded and perhaps a bit tight across her bosom, for royal wards, especially poor ones, were not often given new gowns. The besotted Earl of Lynmouth did not notice. All he knew was that she was the sweetest girl he had ever met.
“God forbid it,” he answered, “but you need have no fear, Mistress Christman. I will protect you.”
Angel blushed rosily, and Velvet was amazed to find her usually quick-tongued friend so maidenly and at a loss for words. What on earth was the matter with her? Velvet’s eyes met Bess’s, and Bess smiled, understanding her thoughts.
“Are you afraid, Velvet?” Alex asked her.
“Nay!” came her quick reply. “I’ll take a sword in my own hand to defend England before I’d let the damned Spanish have it!”
“Bravo,petite soeur!”approved Robin. “You’re as loyal an Englishwoman as any. Your father would be proud of you.”
Just after noon, the royal barge arrived at Tilbury, approaching the dock near Block House where Leicester and his officers were on hand to greet the queen. As Elizabeth set her elegantly shod foot onto land, cannons were discharged and a fife and drum corps began to play. Awaiting her was Sir Roger Williams with two thousand mounted knights. A thousand of these were sent ahead toArdern Hall, the home of Master Rich where Elizabeth would be staying. The other thousand horsemen escorted the queen’s carriage. The queen was in high spirits, here among the people she loved. Though she feared an invasion, she truly believed that the spirit and courage of her people would prevail over the dark might of Spain’s vastly superior forces. Never at any time would she even consider failure, though no word had yet come from the fleet.
Beside her in the coach sat the Earl of Leicester. Like Elizabeth herself, he had not been well this last year, but he had mustered what strength he had to command the army for her. Time had mellowed Robert Dudley somewhat, and his genuine affection for Elizabeth could not be doubted. It was as strong as his ambition. He had waited many years after his first wife’s death for the queen to marry him, but when it became apparent that she had no intention of doing so, he had, in a fit of pique, married her cousin, the widowed Lettice Knollys. It had been a secret marriage, for neither the bride nor the groom wished to destroy their positions at court. The queen, however, found them out and was furious. The earl and his countess were banned from court for a period of time, but Elizabeth missed Dudley and he was soon recalled. Lettice was not so fortunate and was forced to cool her heels for several years.
At first the marriage had been successful, but then, like so many hasty marriages, it began to fall apart. Dudley truly loved the queen inasmuch as he was ever capable of loving anyone. Then, too, he loved the power and the favors that only she could bestow. In that attitude, Lettice was her husband’s equal, but Elizabeth could not forgive her cousin for marrying the man that she herself loved above all others, even if she would not marry him. Neither of the Dudleys were the most admirable of characters, but both were unquestioningly loyal.
Bess had gone with the queen toArdern Hall, but the queen, ever indulgent of her godchild, had told Velvet that she would not need her that night. Velvet and Angel were to stay with the Earl of Lynmouth and Lord Gordon at one of Tilbury’s better inns, the Mermaid. Robin had been wise enough to send one of his men ahead several days prior to their departure from London to request the two best bedrooms and a private parlor for dining.
The Mermaid was located amid a green lawn on the banks of the river. A whitewashed building set with dark timbers, it had lovely diamond-paned windows and red and white roses by every door. To one side of the main building was a stable, to the other a lovely garden, its flower beds filled with spicy marigolds and gillyflowers, fragrant blue lavender and sweet rosemary. Symmetrically set within the small garden were little green shrubs, trimmed into fancy shapes like urns and birds. Nearer the back door of the inn was a small kitchen garden growing beans, carrots, peas, parsnips, leeks, and salad greens. There were also several fruit trees—apple, plum and pear—as well as currant and gooseberry bushes. It was nothing at all like the beautiful gardens atQueen’s Malvernwith its two mazes, hundreds of rosebushes, and rare lilies brought back from the Americas. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant place to walk after a fine meal.
It was twilight, and the busy river was at last calm, a faintly discernible haze hovering above it, the momentarily calm waters reflecting the mauve sky above. Swallows swooped over the surface in the pinkish light. Despite her privileged place on her brother’s barge, it had not been possible to bring many changes of clothing. Velvet was still wearing the apple green silk gown she had put on that morning, but though he knew she was annoyed at being unable to change her gown, Alex thought she looked fetching.
Velvet was surprised to find herself alone with the handsome Scot. Her brother, it seemed, had managed to move to another part of the inn garden with Angel. Determined not to show her nervousness, she turned to Lord Gordon, saying, “You have told me nothing of yourself, my lord. Speak to me of your home.”
“I thought we had agreed that you would call me Alex,” he said in his deep, warm voice.
She blushed and silently fussed at herself for doing so. “Tell me of Scotland, Alex. Until I joined the court I never lived anywhere but at my homes in England and France. Tell me of your land. My betrothed husband is a Scot, and if I do wed with him, I shall be living there.”
“My family has a small castle in the Highlands to the north and west of Aberdeen. They also have a town house in Aberdeen.”
“Do you not have a house in Edinburgh? Surely you follow the court?”
“Nay, lass, I’ve not the time or the inclination to involve myself in the Stewart court. Stewart monarchs invariably borrow money from their nobility, never pay it back, and are incredibly ungrateful. The king, however, is a cousin. We share the same grandfather, James V.”
Her green eyes widened, impressed by this revelation. “Your grandsire was the king of Scotland?”
“Aye. My grandmother, Alexandra, was the heiress to”—He hesitated an instant, realizing that he had almost said BrocCairn, then, recovering, he continued—“our family’s estates. She claimed a handfast marriage with the king, but as she died birthing my father, Angus, nothing was made of it. The king recognized his paternity, but my father bore the Gordon name. It was said that my grandmother loved her Jamie Stewart very much.”
Velvet sighed dramatically. “How wonderfully romantic! If only I could fall in love!”
It was pure madness that led him to say it, but Alex could not contain himself. “I think I’m falling in love with you, Velvet,” he said quietly.
She stopped in midstep and turned to look up at him. “You must not, Alex,” she said with utmost seriousness. “I am betrothed, and you know it.”
“Yet you tell me you fled this betrothed, that you will not have him.”
“I have not said I would not have him. I simply will not wed him until I know him, and until my mother and father return home from India. I would not, however, compromise my family’s good name, Alex. Surely you don’t think that I would?”
“Nay, lass, I do realize your honor would not allow you to shame your family, but, Velvet, would you break my heart? The heart that I would so willingly put into your gentle keeping?”
She looked so confused, and his heart rejoiced. Then she said with total candor, “I have never been courted by a man before. Are you courting me, Alex?”
“Would you welcome such a suit, Velvet?”
Her beautiful young face was grave, and for a long moment she considered. Finally she spoke. “I have said that I would marry only for love, yet how can I know what love is if I accept my parents’ decision blindly? The one freedom they have always given me has been the freedom of choice, and though they be far from me now, I know that they would allow me that same freedom in this case. Yes, Alex, I will welcome your suit provided that you understand that it may lead to nothing more than a simple flirtation. I cannot mislead you. My family’s honor binds me legally to this unknown earl though my heart might be drawn elsewhere.”
Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her roughly, leaving her blushing and breathless. She slid her arms about his neck, and his big hand tangled in her auburn hair, holding her face up while he covered it with kisses. “Ah, lass,” he murmured thickly, “you make me a very happy man!”
