“I am,” Crispin said, “but I cannot refuse the cardinal. He speaks with the king’s voice, little one. I must go. We shall travel north as soon as I return.”
“When will that be?” she demanded to know.
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Why do you not prepare for our travels while I am away? Peter will pack for me.”
“He is not coming with you?” she asked.
“The cardinal has some scheme or business he wishes to discuss with me, Philippa. I do not need a valet with me. I will ride quickly with my men, and return as quickly. The cardinal knows I cannot serve him any longer. If the truth be known I am not certain how long he will remain in favor. He has been the king’s own man for many years now, little one,” the earl told his wife. “No one retains a king’s favor forever.”
“If you are not back in seven days I shall travel north without you,” Philippa said.
“You will remain here at Brierewode until I return, little one,” he replied. “I have told you that you will go to your sister’s wedding, and I always keep my promises. But if you disobey me, so much the worse for you, Philippa. I will be the master in my own house, madame. Do you understand me?”
The earl departed the following morning with the cardinal’s messenger and a small troop of his own men-at-arms for protection. Reaching Hampton Court, he was kept waiting for two days until the cardinal could see him. Wolsey was very busy in his master’s service even as the king was on progress. Ushered into the cardinal’s presence at last, the earl of Witton bowed and was waved to a chair. He sat, and waited.
“I need your eyes and ears again, my lord,” the cardinal began.
“I can be of no help to your grace in the country,” the earl replied, “and my estates are where I intend remaining. At least until my wife and I have heirs. I apologize, your grace, but I am past thirty, and I cannot get an heir on Philippa if I am not at Brierewode. The king would understand, I know.”
“It is the king’s business I am about, Witton,” the cardinal said sharply. “What I say to you this day must not be repeated. Buckingham and Suffolk and several others are under suspicion. Some of those involved with them, men of lesser rank, are your neighbors. Henry Tudor has no male heir. There are some who would attempt to overthrow the Tudor throne and put another in its place. Buckingham descends from Edward III. He and his ilk have always been ambitious. And it is said by some that his claim is stronger than the king’s.”
“It would be foolish to voice such a thought aloud, your grace,” the earl replied.
“Aye, but then the court is peopled by foolish men. You must be my eyes and ears in Oxford, my lord. I need a man I can be certain of, Crispin.”
“Suffolk? But he is the king’s friend. His brother-in-law,” the earl mused.
The cardinal laughed a harsh laugh. “He married Mary Tudor without the king’s permission, didn’t he? And remained in France until his wife had gained her brother’s forgiveness, didn’t he? Suffolk has no loyalties except to himself.”
“So all you seek of me is to report anything I hear which might cause the king difficulty, your grace?”
“That is all,” the cardinal replied. “I did not dare trust my wishes to parchment lest it be read by the wrong people. Even I have spies in my household, although I do try to have them weeded out regularly. You are not the only one recalled to my secret service, my lord.” Then he engaged the earl’s gaze and said, “And how is your fair wife? Is she proving satisfactory? Was Melville worth the wench?”
The earl of Witton smiled, and nodded. “Aye, it was, and she is proving most satisfactory as a mate. Her mother and the queen taught her well.”
The cardinal nodded. “Then go home, Witton, and my thanks for coming,” he finished. “I know I can trust in you.”
Crispin St. Claire stood up, bowed, and left the cardinal’s privy chamber immediately. It was not yet the noon hour. There was no need to remain. He gathered his men up, and they took the road to Oxford. Arriving home several days later, however, the earl of Witton learned that his wife had departed two days previously for her mother’s home at Friarsgate. He swore angrily, and Mistress Marian looked askance.
“My lord!” she exclaimed, having never heard him utter such foul words before. She waved to one of the servants in the hall to bring their master a goblet of wine.
The earl snatched it from the servant and drank it down. “How did she go?” he asked his housekeeper. “Who was with her?”
“Lucy and my brother among others, my lord, but they did ride with six men-at-arms. It was all she would take, and Peter had to insist at that. I do not know what possessed her ladyship, but from the moment you departed she grew more and more agitated. She told me that she had to see her mother. That she needed her mother, my lord. I think she would have gone the day after you left but that Lucy dissuaded her.”
“What did she take with her?” the earl asked Mistress Marian, growing a little calmer now.
“She took nothing but a small saddlebag, my lord. She said that Friarsgate was not a place for fancy gowns, and she needed to get there quickly. She could not be kept by a baggage cart trailing behind her. What will she wear to her sister’s wedding, my lord? I cannot believe the wedding will not be a grand one,” Mistress Marian fretted.
“Lord Cambridge will supply her with a gown, I have not a doubt. His family, especially my wife, seem to rely upon him for such things.”
“You have ridden long, my lord. Come to the board, and I will see that you are fed,” the housekeeper coaxed her master.
“I must ride north,” he said grimly.
“Aye, my lord, you must, but it will soon be dark. The days are shorter now than a few weeks ago,” Mistress Marian said. “A good supper, and a good night’s sleep in your own bed, my lord, and you will be ready to go in the morning.” She gently drew him to the high board, signaling the servants to hurry to the kitchens for food.
“Ah, Marian, though she drives me to distraction I love her,” the earl said softly.
