“That does not sound too vile to me,” Francois said. “He was horrid afterward. And even worse when he came to Eltham.”
“Poor man,” Francois said, shaking his head. “After all his effort to avoid you in France, he comes home to find you here.”
When she failed to laugh, Francois turned and gave her a penetrating look. It could be both good and bad to have a twin who could read you like a book. She turned her face away to make it more difficult for him.
“I am sorry if he was unkind to you,” Francois said in a soft voice. “The two of you tore each other apart. By the saints, I could never see the cause for it.”
“Well, ’tis clear he places all the blame on me,” she said.
“Five years gone, and he is still that angry.”
“Aye, he will hate me forever.”
“Nay, hewantsto hate you,” Francois said, raising his forefinger and smiling. “That, my dear sister, is not the same thing at all.”
Chapter Four
Praise God, the queen had agreed to leave for Windsor in two days. Jamie would rather fight a dozen battles than remain at Westminster Palace.
From morning till night, he traversed the dangerous no-man’s-land between Gloucester and the London merchant guilds on the one hand, and Bishop Beaufort and the Council on the other. The two camps were locked in a struggle for control over the kingdom—and a child-king not yet four years old.
Jamie felt out of his element in this palace fight. Give him a sword in his hand, any day. Still, he was doing his best to keep the queen from being trampled in the melee.
If that was not more than enough trouble for any man, Linnet was here. She moved between the camps with ease, courted by men from both sides of the conflict. And Jamie had to watch it.
He turned to find two of the queen’s French ladies-in-waiting hovering nearby. Though both were vaguely attractive, he could never remember which was which.
“Good day, ladies,?? he said and bowed. “May I escort you to the table?”
The women would likely starve before one of the other men would take them. How could anyone suspect these silly women of being spies?
“Merci, Sir James,” the ladies twittered as each took an arm.
He took his seat between them for another insufferably grand meal. When he looked up, he saw that his ill luck was holding. In this gathering of notables, both he and Linnet were seated “below the salt,” at tables perpendicular to the high table. She sat directly opposite him.
And Edmund Beaufort, whose status surely afforded him a place at the high table, was sitting next to her.
“Do you see that gown on Lady Eleanor Cobham?” one of his dinner companions said, leaning forward to whisper across him to her friend. “If she sneezes, her breasts will fall out.”
“And that headdress,” the other replied in a low voice. “A high wind, and she shall be carried out to sea.”
Jamie pulled at the neck of his tunic and wondered if he could leave now without insulting them. To avoid looking at Linnet, he turned his attention to the high table and saw that the ladies did not exaggerate about Eleanor’s gown. But then, Eleanor never had been subtle.
Her lover, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, sat in the seat of honor next to the boy-king. Though it was not yet noon, Gloucester was soused. He had won this round against his uncle and was celebrating. Because Gloucester was Protector and Defender of England, the bishop’s threat to use force to prevent his crossing the river could be interpreted as treason. Consequently, the bishop had been forced to apologize for the confrontation on the bridge.
But Jamie thought Gloucester celebrated too soon. Gloucester was full of bombast and bluster, but he lacked his uncle’s perseverance. While he was here making a drunken fool of himself, the bishop was across the river plotting his next twelve moves.
Jamie would put his money on the bishop every time. ’Twas fortunate, indeed, that Bishop Beaufort’s interests coincided with the kingdom’s.
Jamie felt sorry for the queen, who sat on the other side of her son, looking pale and cowed. It annoyed him to see how Gloucester’s gaze kept settling on Linnet. He reminded himself, yet again, that she was not his concern. If any woman could fend for herself, it was Linnet. Besides, her brother was here. Francois was used to the onerous task of looking out for his sister.
“Why is Lady Eleanor looking at Linnet as if she’d like to put poison in her soup?” one of his companions whispered.
Behind her hand, the lady on his other side said, “She has a stare that would shrivel plums to prunes.”
Apparently, Gloucester’s mistress had noticed his wandering eye as well. Knowing what he did about Eleanor, Jamie found that even more worrisome. He would have to warn Francois.
Gloucester rose from his chair, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall. “Sir Guy! Welcome!” His voice rang out as he raised his cup in greeting. “Come join our fine feast!”
