my Prince, my sister, Lord Seymour?”
Characteristically, I imagined, Seymour answered for them all.
“We are well, are we not? And we trust the Lady Mary is in the same happy state.”
I assured him that I was.
“I seem to have interrupted some frolic,” I said.
“There is always frolic when my Lord Seymour visits us,” said Elizabeth. “Is there not, brother?”
Edward lifted his shoulders and giggled. He looked younger—more like an ordinary little boy than I had ever seen him before.
“The Prince is always gracious to his poor uncle,” said Seymour.
“He calls him his favorite uncle,” added Elizabeth.
“Which gives me great delight, but I fear he flatters me.”
“He does not. He does not,” cried Elizabeth. “And you know it, Lord Seymour. You are his favorite uncle.”
I thought: How fond Edward is of him… and Elizabeth, too. It was understandable. He had charm and good looks, and they went well with his somewhat flamboyant manner.
“It is a great honor for our sister to visit us,” said Elizabeth demurely.
“Even when she interrupts a merry game?” I asked.
“But you are most welcome,” said Elizabeth. “Is she not, Edward? Tell her she is welcome.”
What presumption! I thought. She is telling the heir to the throne how to behave… she, who, though she may be recognized as the King's daughter, is his acknowledged bastard. Yet Edward seemed to like it, and Seymour was amused.
“I have brought news for you,” I said. “Though you may have heard it. It is not really unexpected. Perhaps my Lord Seymour has been imparting it to you and that is the cause of your merriment?”
They were looking at me expectantly.
“You are to have a new stepmother.”
Silence. Consternation. Edward's face puckered. He had known two stepmothers already—although never his own mother. Anne he liked very much, and he still visited her; Catharine Howard's beauty and easy manners had won his heart; he had been very sad to lose her. And now there was to be another!
Elizabeth was alert; and so was Seymour. Did he guess? I wondered. How much did he care for Lady Latimer? Not as much as she cared for him, I speculated.
“Who is it who will be our new stepmother?” asked Elizabeth impatiently.
“It is Lady Latimer.”
My eyes went to Seymour's face. I saw it pale slightly, and for a moment the mask of high spirits and favorite uncle slipped. He was disturbed.
“Lady Latimer!” said Edward. “She is a lovely lady.”
“I like her well,” added Elizabeth, as though that in itself was good enough reason for the marriage.
Seymour said nothing.
I looked at him and said, “For some time the King has been showing his interest in this lady, but I think she was as surprised as you are that he has asked her to be his Queen.”
He still did not speak. Elizabeth and Edward chattered about Lady Latimer and how they would welcome her as their new stepmother. I was sure they were both remembering Catharine Howard, for it was such a short time ago that she had held that unenviable position.
Seymour then said quietly, “My Lady Mary, you are sure of this?”
“I have had it from both Lady Latimer and the King himself.”
“Then it is so,” he said.
“The marriage will take place shortly. You are to be in attendance, Elizabeth.”
“Oh!” She clasped her hands together in ecstasy. There was little she liked better than to be present at royal functions. Showing herself to the people, Susan called it. Susan shared Margaret Bryan's view that Elizabeth would come to either great triumph or absolute disaster. There would be no half measures with Elizabeth. “When will it be?” she demanded.
“Very soon. The King wants no delay.”
She was smiling secretly. She turned to Seymour. “You hear that, my lord? I am to be present at the ceremony.”
Her look was almost defiant. I wondered how much she knew of the love between Seymour and Lady Latimer; she was teasing him in some way; he gave her a strange look, too. He seemed to be recovering fast from the effect of the first blow and it was something in Elizabeth which made him do so, I fancied. It was almost as though there was some secret understanding between them.
I said to her, “You will have to be prepared.”
“Yes. What shall I wear? What am I to do?”
“You will just be there. You will do nothing. It is just a gesture…to show this is a family matter.”
She clasped her hands and looked ecstatic. Edward was smiling, well pleased. I could not fathom Seymour's expression; but I felt