Royal Courtship Read online

  'And was content to leave the Court when you decided to run away.'

  'Poor Amy! How can men be so despicable!'

  'I rather think your cousin has realised where his true happiness lies,' Charles said drily. 'Shall we help promote a match? Do you wish to have your friend married to someone willing to intrigue against you?'

  'If she loves him, why not? Besides,' she added mischievously, 'if he is safely wed Thomas cannot constrain me to marry him now the King has apparently lost interest in me.'

  'Has the King said so?'

  'According to Thomas. In between cursing me and his horse, during that most uncomfortable ride, he said if I agreed to marry Pedro and make it appear I ran away to him, he could placate King Henry and the Davenports would be back into favour. Not such high favour, naturally, but not banished from Court. Oh, look, aren't those your saddlebags?' she added, pointing.

  Charles retrieved them from the ditch where they had been discarded, and there was no time for more speech. They soon reached the tiny, thatched inn, and Charles went to help Pedro with Amy.

  The girl was stirring, and the wound on her arm seemed to have stopped bleeding, but Pedro insisted on having a feather mattress carried down to the main room of the inn.

  It was fortunately empty, and Pedro permitted the innkeeper's wife, a homely and sensible-looking woman, to cut away the sleeve of Amy's gown and attend to the wound.

  'This elder-leaf wash be freshly made this morning,' she said as she worked. 'It cleans the wound, see. Girl, fetch me the crushed lavender, then make a brew of bergamot,' she added, and a child of about ten who was hovering nearby ran away to the kitchen.

  A fragrant poultice of crushed lavender leaves was spread over the cut, which was fortunately not deep and had almost stopped bleeding. By the time a fresh strip of linen was bound round Amy's arm, she was conscious.

  As she opened her eyes she saw Pedro leaning over her, and smiled. Gently he laid his finger on her lips and spoke.

  'Do not talk yet, my love. All is well, and I shall never again leave you.'

  Amy nodded, permitted the innkeeper's wife to raise her while she obediently drank the tisane of bergamot, and soon afterwards was fast asleep.

  Pedro reluctantly laid the hand he had been holding on the covers. He looked across at Bella and Charles.

  'I should explain,' he said with a sigh, rising and crossing towards them.

  'I think we understand,' Charles said. 'You never wanted to marry Bella.'

  Pedro looked embarrassed.

  'It was a family plan, made many years ago,' he said, sitting on a stool opposite them. 'I thought it would serve, but then I met Amy and we fell in love. I tried to forget her. I did not want to be in love, it interfered with plans made long ago. Thomas expected me to keep the promise made by my family. Then when the King began to show Bella his favour, Thomas urged me to encourage a match. Until then my main thought had been how to prevent such a disaster, but Thomas saw it differently. He said the King could not live more than a year or two, long enough for Bella to get with child. He said I could still marry her after the King died, but by then I was so distraught at the thought of losing Amy I saw it only as a way out of my promise, an escape which would allow me to approach Amy with honour.'

  'Honour!' Bella spluttered indignantly. 'You call it honourable to thrust me into the arms of that bloated monster!'

  Pedro shrugged. 'I was so distraught, cousin. I did not consider you,' he said apologetically.

  'How did you find us?' Bella asked.

  'Thomas was summoned home by his wife, who heard from the village priest that old Lady Davenport had only a few days to live. He was too late. He came the day after she died. I came with him because I hoped to find Amy. We suspected you had run away together, though the King would have it you had been abducted by a jealous rival who shared his own fascination for you.' Pedro grinned, and relaxed. 'Thomas was planning for me to play that part, I believe, and if the King was obdurate and refused to accept you back at Court, he would revive the notion of our marriage.'

  'And you? What were your plans?' Charles asked.

  'I do not know,' Pedro confessed. 'I thought I could forget Amy, yet I hoped to see her, especially after we heard you had all left and it seemed you were heading for her home.'

  'So you followed us there?'

  'Yes. Two of the King's men had been left there to watch the house, but they were careless and did not see you. We discovered from the villagers her parents were in London, and you had been there but left again. It seemed likely you were making for London. We rode fast and caught up with your trail last night. We'd been following at a distance for an hour or more, but that was the first chance we had to do anything.'

  'And now?' Bella asked softly.

  'I cannot risk losing Amy again,' Pedro said simply. 'If she will forgive me, and her parents will accept me, I want to marry her. Bella, please understand.'

  'And Thomas, if he deigns to return? Will he understand?' Bella demanded.

  'That matters naught. He will need to go home to see to the disposition of his grandmother's estate. Jane was most reluctant to permit him to come with me.'

  'I expect he will be halfway to Oxford by now,' Bella said scornfully.

  'But what will you do? Shall I escort you back home?' Pedro offered.

  Before Bella could begin her reply, Charles said, 'Bella is betrothed to me, and will come with me to France. We will hire more horses and travel together to Amy's sister's house, and then take our leave of you.'

  ***

  Chapter 9

  An hour later Amy awoke from her sleep ravenously hungry, and wondering whether she was dreaming that not only was Pedro there by her side, but he was declaring undying love for her.

  Charles and Bella, feeling superfluous, left the room and sat outside on a bench underneath a large tree.

  Bella sat quietly, her gaze pensive, and Charles, after a swift glance at her, remained silent. When they went back inside, Amy smiled mistily at them, holding tightly to Pedro's hand. Her arm was sore, but she declared she was quite capable of riding the rest of the way as soon as she had eaten.

  The innkeeper's wife provided pies and ale, and afterwards, they set off. Charles had been out and hired another couple of horses, for the two they had could not carry double burdens for very far. By mid-afternoon they were once more riding towards London. Bella scarcely glanced about her, she was too deeply engrossed in her own problems.

  Only when they had passed Smithfield and were riding through the narrow, crowded streets of the city did she begin to take notice of the scenes crowding in on them.

  'It smells!' she exclaimed in disgust, wrinkling up her nose.

  'It is partly the river, partly the Fleet ditch which is nearby, and because it is so hot,' Charles explained.

  'Where does your sister live, Amy?' Bella asked her friend.

  'Her husband is a goldsmith, they have a big house in Goldsmith's Row, in Cheape which runs near St Paul's.'

  'Near the friends I had intended to stay with,' Charles commented. 'It will be convenient while I make arrangements for Bella and me to go to France.'

  Bella glanced quickly at him. She had made no mention of leaving him, of refusing to marry him. It would be soon enough to start what she suspected would be a fierce argument when she had decided what she intended to do. At the moment she had not the slightest idea.

  'I will visit this friend of mine, a merchant from Bordeaux, as soon as I have escorted you to Amy's house. He has lived here for many years. He will tell me all the news.'

  'You do not mean to go back to Hampton Court Palace? What about your clothes, everything you left there?'

  It was the first time Bella had even considered that in his headlong dash to rescue her he had abandoned all his possessions. Now he had only what he had purchased during the journey.

  'I shall send a message to someone to pack them and send them to France. Do not worry, I always travel light. There is
nothing irreplaceable.'

  Recalling the expensive doublets and other clothes she had seen him wearing at Court, Bella was dubious, but she accepted this.

  An amazing bustle ensued when the party arrived at Amy's sister's house. Servants were called to carry in the saddlebags while others took charge of the horses. Amy's mother, Lady Clifford, summoned from an upstairs room, fell upon her daughter with so many hugs and kisses and questions Amy did not have a chance to reply.

  Eventually a tall, commanding man, slim, with an austere face and thick grey hair, appeared. Lady Clifford subsided, and Amy ran to greet her father.

  'Come and eat, child. But first make me known to your friends.'

  Sir Ralph Clifford's mere presence seemed to create order, and within seconds, it seemed, they were seated in an upstairs room, plied with wine and small sweet cakes, and Charles was explaining the situation.

  'You poor child!' Lady Clifford exclaimed to Bella. 'I am not surprised you ran away from such a fate!'

  'That is understandable, but I do not see why you, Amy, must desert your mistress, the Lady Mary,' Sir Ralph said calmly.

  Amy flushed. She could scarcely admit to an unhappy love affair when Pedro was there and planning to ask for her hand.

  'I wished to give Bella some company and support,' she said slowly. 'I was not happy at Court, Father. It was so busy with intrigue and unseemly scrambling to obtain advancement or the royal favour.'

  'I would not have thought your position high enough to be concerned with such matters,' he said mildly, and Amy flushed again and hung her head.

  Lady Clifford broke in on the awkward silence.

  'I am sorry about your grandmother, Bella. But it must have been a great comfort to her to have seen you before she died, and to know you were now safe with the Comte de Nerac.'

  Before Bella could think of how to announce she did not intend to marry the Comte, Sir Ralph turned to him and began to question him about his plans for obtaining a passage to France.

  'The ships are crowded. Many of your countrymen are leaving London.'

  'Why is that? Is there more trouble?'

  'The Emperor and Francis are once again at war. Now King Henry turns his attention to France in support of the Emperor. The English students in Paris are being recalled, and French merchants are being sent from England. Some troops have already been sent to Calais.'

  'And the marriage between poor Lady Mary and the Duc d'Orleans is now unlikely,' Lady Clifford said. 'The King refused to give as big a dowry as King Francis wanted. Poor lady, she seems destined never to wed, unlike her father.'

  'Why everyone should assume marriage to be such a desirable state, I cannot think!' Bella said later, when she and Charles were alone.

  Charles chuckled. 'It presumably depends on the two people involved. Now you and I, my love – '

  'Monsieur de Nerac, I am most grateful to you for all your help, but there is no need to continue the pretence. I have no wish to hold you to a promise made under duress.'

  'There was no duress. I offered freely.'

  'But I did not accept freely! I have no wish to marry you! I am not coming to France,' Bella said firmly.

  He raised his eyebrows.

  'Then what is your intention? To return to Hampton Court and the King's embraces? I suspect you would be unwelcome by now, my dear.'

  'My plans are none of your concern!' she snapped. She dared not tell him she hadn't the faintest idea what she could do, and began to wish she had not been goaded into this argument.

  To her relief, Lady Clifford and Amy then returned, and in high spirits Amy declared they were to go out at once and buy cloth to make gowns.

  'You must replenish your wardrobes, immediately, or I will be heartily ashamed of you both,' Lady Clifford said cheerfully.

  This was the opportunity she had waited for. She would be able to ask Lady Clifford's advice while they were out of the house, away from Charles. He took the opportunity to visit his French friends, a Monsieur Brossard and his wife.

  Bella saw the sense of buying more clothes, even though they would not be her bridal attire. She had no wish to be a charge on Lady Clifford, however, and insisted on selling one of the smaller buckles from her grandmother's legacy in order to pay for her purchases.

  To Bella's chagrin, both Amy and her mother were so absorbed in selecting silks and damask and fine woollen cloth, and discussing the designs of the gowns the girls needed, there was no opportunity for explaining her position to Lady Clifford.

  In bed that night, she tossed and turned. Going home was out of the question. So was imposing on Lady Clifford, now Amy was to be married. Amy seemed to have forgotten this plan in her joy at being reunited with Pedro, and Bella did not wish to spoil her happiness by reminding her of it. Besides, although she maintained an air of civility towards Pedro, she had no wish to have to live in the same house with him and Amy.

  As she fell asleep just before dawn, Bella had decided her only choice was to go to her aunt's convent. She knew now she could not bear to marry anyone but Charles. The convent life was not one she would have chosen, but her aunt had found contentment there, and perhaps she could, too.

  The next morning Charles came back from the Brossard house with news.

  'There is a boat leaving tomorrow, on the first tide. I have booked passages for us and the Brossards. We must be there by six in the morning, all of us. Soon, Bella, my love, you will be safely in France.'

  And then, she thought, I can tell him I will not marry him.

  The boat was small and crowded with Frenchmen and women returning to their native land, banished by King Henry because of his quarrel with Francis. There were no cabins, everyone having to find space where they could for sleeping.

  The first part of the journey was uneventful as they sailed down the Thames and followed the Kent coastline.

  'Two days, if we are fortunate with the winds,' Charles said cheerfully. 'When we reach France, would you like to go to Paris first? Perhaps be married there?'

  Bella shook her head. The time had come to tell him the truth.

  'You only made that foolish suggestion because Grandmother expected it of you. It's not what I want.'

  'She did not ask me to do it, Bella. It was quite my own idea.'

  'But she must have made her wishes clear. Charles, it was kind of you to say it and make her last hours contented, but I have no wish to hold you to it. I will marry only when I'm sure a man loves me for myself. I would hate to have any sense of obligation between myself and a husband.'

  'Would it make any difference if I said I did love you?'

  Her heart gave a leap of anticipation, then she shook her head. He was only being gallant. Besides, she told her rebellious heart, nothing he did now excused the fact he had tried to use her to spy on her mistress.

  'You sought me out because I was one of Lady Mary's attendants,' she said coldly. 'I know the people on your embassy were trying to discover everything they could about her. I don't like spying.'

  'Is that what you thought?' he asked in astonishment.

  'Why else would you seek me out? There were many girls at Court prettier and more willing to flirt than I.'

  'I wonder why you caught the eye of the King then?' he demanded angrily. 'I am no spy, and any questions I may have asked about your mistress were but attempts at polite conversation on an interest we had in common.'

  Bella wanted to believe him, but a stubborn streak refused to let her. She shrugged, and turned to gaze over the rail of the ship at the white cliffs lining the coast. When she glanced back, Charles was conversing with several other young men on the other side of the ship. He did not return all the rest of the day.

  When darkness fell Bella found herself a corner wedged between some of the packages the Brossards had brought with them, and tried to sleep.

  By morning Bella was stiff and cold and her head ached. Charles, she saw, was some way off, but now he was talking animatedly with a delicately pretty, blon
de girl whose smile was, even to Bella's prejudiced eye, enchanting.

  She turned away and tried to ignore Madam Brossard's sly attempts to probe. Where were they on their journey? For a moment she felt some panic, for there was no land to be seen in any direction. Then she looked more carefully and realised there were several ships in the distance, gradually drawing nearer. Company would be welcome.

  The wind seemed stronger, and the ship was rolling more. A few of the passengers were looking pale and apprehensive. Bella saw sailors scrambling about in the rigging and hoisting more sails. The ship was gathering speed, the sails billowing.

  Monsieur Brossard looked worried, and turned to a man on his far side.

  'Why have we changed direction? We're heading eastwards, when surely France lies to the south?'

  The other shrugged. 'I no longer know where I am or why!' he said angrily. 'I have lost my home and my ship, am being sent back to a country I left when I was but three years old, and all because our rulers want a little more power.'

  Half an hour later, an incredulous Bella was hearing frightened rumours that the ships now rapidly overhauling them were English and threatening.

  'They have been hunting French ships in the Channel for some time,' one well-informed man said.

  At the same moment there was a bang, a whistling sound, and suddenly one of the sails was flapping wildly. Some of the ropes which tethered it to the mast had been severed by a lucky shot from a cannon. Bella could see a fine plume of smoke from one of the ships now openly pursuing them.

  Many of the women screamed, and children, affected by the panic, cried and whimpered. Sailors tried frantically to prevent the loose sail from collapsing on to the frightened passengers, but they were only partially successful. It subsided like a giant sheet over part of the deck.

  There were more screams as the people trapped fought wildly to escape its enveloping folds. Gradually the sailors managed to remove the sail.

  There had been several more bangs, but with the confusion on board, little notice had been taken of them. The ship gave a fearful judder, and the boards creaked, splintering noises mingling with the general uproar.