The hall was almost full now and the plates of food were rapidly being cleared. Heat was mounting from the candles and all the bodies, and Queen Catherine appeared to be tiring. It had been a long day, with wrestling and swordsmanship after the jousting, and darkness would be falling soon. King Henry was striding about, hands on hips, beaming with pride in his performance, and drenched in compliments. It was strange, thought Thomasin, that one man could be the centre of the world like this, the sun and moon, with the powers of happiness, life and death within his gift. What would a court be like, where the king was quiet, modest, reserved? Would such a man even remain king for long?
A movement drew her gaze. On the other side of the room, her mother and father were standing together, with Sir Matthew and Barnaby. Her father was beckoning, as if he wished Thomasin to join them. She had no desire for her mother’s company, and still less to come close to the odious Barnaby, so with a nod of her head she indicated to the left, where an alcove would shelter them. Her father understood at once, and made his way across the hall.
“Thomasin, I am pleased to see you,” Sir Richard sighed, apologetically. “I had no choice but to bring them, after the terrible fuss they made at being left out. You have already bid your mother greeting?”
“I have indeed, Father.”
“And I must explain, and apologise, about your awful cousin. Matthew wrote to him a while ago, asking about Ellen’s cause, and never had a reply, until he turned up at Monk’s Place yesterday out of the blue. You can imagine our surprise.”
“Ellen was most disconcerted to see him. She has made her apologies and left.”
“Poor Ellen. We did our best to dissuade him from attending, but he would not listen. The case is being heard tomorrow, and he wished to see the Astons in advance. Are they here? I will use them to distract him from the company.”
Thomasin could not wish that fate upon anyone, even the aloof Aston siblings. “Actually, I have not seen them enter the hall. They may have returned to their lodgings after the tournament ended.”
“Well, it is probably for the best. He will see them tomorrow.”
“He will.”
“I was having a pleasant conversation with More earlier. He is full of praise for you.”
There was a stir at the far end: voices, banging, excitement. Thomasin and her father turned to see what all the commotion was about. The outer doors stood open to reveal an older gentleman in travelling clothes, dusty and tired from the road. His hair was white and he had a foreign look about him, gazing around the room in surprise.
Even from afar, King Henry paused his conversation to inspect the new arrival. His voice boomed down the hall.
“And you, Sir, who might you be?”
The man bowed low and rose slowly. “Do I have the honour of addressing the King of England?”
“You do. Speak your mind.”
“My good Lord, my name is Campeggio…”
A gasp burst out from the crowd, followed by a cheer. The long-awaited cardinal had finally arrived to investigate the king’s marriage. Thomasin looked around at Catherine, but she was staring at him with a frown upon her face.
The man held up his hand and waited for the noise to die down.
“That is a most generous welcome, but do not mistake me for my brother. I am Antonio Campeggio and my brother Lorenzo, the cardinal, lies tonight at Canterbury. He bade me ride ahead to inform you of his progress, as he suffers greatly from gout in his feet and must travel slowly. He sends his best wishes and hopes to be with you soon.”
“Why, this is still good news,” said King Henry. “Canterbury is not so far; surely he will be here within days. Bring more wine — this calls for celebration. Soon we shall uncover the truth of this great matter.”
In dignified silence, Queen Catherine rose to her feet. The cardinal’s approach was good news indeed, but Henry’s blatant delight at the prospect of his separation from her stung her deeply. Thomasin nudged Lady Mary, who was still picking the spices out of a dish of custard, and they hurried out of the hall after her.
NINETEEN
“The queen will be missing you soon, I think,” said Nico, shooting a look back to the palace.
They had walked through the gardens down to the river, where the boats butted up against the wet steps. Other craft hurried back and forth, battling upstream past Lambeth to Chelsea or being carried with the current towards the London Bridge rapids.
Thomasin doubted her absence would make a difference. Queen Catherine had Lady Howard buzzing in her ear about the dresses and jewels that they would prepare for her to wear at the cardinals’ court, so she had just waved her hand at Thomasin’s request to take a walk.
“Do you wish to turn back?” Nico asked, noticing her thoughtfulness.
“No, we can stay a little longer. It’s pleasant to be out of doors.”
“My thoughts exactly,” he replied. “The fresh air, the view, being out in nature; these are all things that I long to experience more of. We used to visit the countryside around Venice, near Padua and Treviso. I had cousins with vineyards and we’d be outdoors all day long, from sunrise to sunset.”
“You must miss that.”
