then tore off a piece of bread, chewing it slowly and deliberately while his rival glared at him, waiting for a response. When he had finished the mouthful, he took a sip of wine. ‘I meant only that you have both suffered the loss of those close to you – as have many others at this court,’ he drawled as he set down his glass. ‘I cannot imagine what insult you thought I was levying at you.’
The earl’s jaw tightened as he scowled at his rival. His wife remained still and her eyes never left him. James leaned forward in his chair, no longer troubling to conceal his excitement. After a long moment, Somerset turned to his royal master and gave a stiff bow, then stalked from the room. Frances heard Lady Somerset exhale softly before she rose to her feet, curtsied and followed in her husband’s wake.
CHAPTER 9
19 September
‘Must you leave?’ Frances murmured, as Thomas bent to kiss her.
It was still early and the light in the chamber was dim. She could hear the patter of rain against the casement window and the room felt colder than it had for the past few days.
Her husband sat on the edge of the bed and pulled on his riding boots. ‘Believe me, I wish I did not have to ride out in this. The roads beyond the city will already be treacherous. It has been raining for hours.’
Frances stroked his back. ‘You slept ill again?’
‘It is my own fault – I indulged too much at last night’s feast.’
She knew it was a lie. The dark shadows under his eyes told of the restless nights he had spent this week. It pained her to think that the comfort she had offered had proved so fleeting. What little she had seen of Sir George Villiers had convinced her that he was the cause of her husband’s anxiety. Thomas spoke of him only seldom, but she could guess at the daily taunts and sideswipes he had to suffer at the favourite’s hands. It must make his position intolerable, as it was for all others who were close to the King – Somerset in particular.
The hostility between the two men had deepened since that evening in the King’s privy chamber. Thomas had told her how Villiers had delighted in taunting his rival with hints about the controversy surrounding Overbury’s death, without ever naming him directly. Everyone at court now knew of it. There were whispered conversations at dinner about apothecaries and poison, which stopped abruptly whenever Somerset entered the room. Frances suspected that Villiers had spread most of the gossip.
‘How long will you be away?’
His shoulders sagged. ‘I wish I knew. A week? Two, perhaps, if we have to wait until the weather improves.’
Frances moved closer and circled her arms around him, laying her head against his back. ‘I shall miss you,’ she whispered.
‘And I you,’ he replied, trailing his fingers over her warm skin. ‘More than I can say.’
He made no move to go, and for a moment Frances hoped that he might stay with her in the quiet chamber, cocooned from the dangers of the world beyond. But he rose to his feet and slowly pulled on his cloak.
‘Promise me you will stay out of mischief while I’m gone.’ His smile did not quite reach his eyes as he leaned over to kiss her again.
She held his face in her hands. ‘And you must promise to come home safe to me.’
After passing through the gatehouse, Frances stood at the entrance to the vast courtyard and gazed around her. She had passed Denmark House – or Somerset Place, as it had been then – many times when she had served the princess. It lay on the south side of the Strand, which was one of the busiest thoroughfares of the city, leading east to the Tower and west to Whitehall and St James’s. The high wall that ran along the northernmost end of the courtyard meant that little of the mansion within could be glimpsed from the street. It had once belonged to Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, but upon his arrest for treason it had been forfeit to the Crown.
Frances had heard that Queen Anne had made a number of improvements to the house, but she had not expected it to be so grand – or so extensive. To either side of her, an elegant two-storey building stretched the length of the courtyard, and the low wall at the far end afforded a