enough to tempt a ruler as rich as Croesus to do her bidding – enough to raise an army, even. More and more, Frances was convinced that the late Queen had known the true worth of the jewels she had bequeathed her son. She thought back to Anne’s words as she had lain dying at Hampton Court. There are those who have agreed to do my bidding. Was the prince embroiled in all of this? Frances knew that his physical frailties had led most courtiers to dismiss him as a hapless bystander, entirely subject to his father’s will. But his visits to the Queen had grown ever more frequent towards the end of her life, and the prayers he had uttered in his father’s chamber made her suspect that he kept much hidden from the world.
‘Does the King know?’ she asked.
Bacon nodded grimly. ‘I thought of concealing it from him until I had better news to report, but I could not risk his hearing it from other lips than mine. His suspicion is so easily ignited, these days.’
Frances knew that well enough. It was one of the many things of which Buckingham had taken advantage. ‘What will happen now?’
‘The King has dispatched a number of trusted attendants to take up residence in Saint-Omer. He means to smoke the lady out, as he would a fox from its lair. But I fear she has long since fled from that place – the jewels with her.’
Frances found herself hoping he was right.
1620
CHAPTER 35
26 January
Frances rubbed the windowpane, which was misted with her breath. The heavy grey clouds overhead threatened more snow. So much had fallen over the last two days that the roads were barely passable, and the gardens too thickly covered for walking.
‘Ouch!’
She turned back to her companion, whose head was bent over her embroidery.
‘It is no use,’ Kate said, setting it down. ‘There are more holes in my fingers than in this cloth.’
Frances smiled. ‘The light is very poor in here. Perhaps I should fetch some more candles.’
‘Please, do not do so on my behalf. It will make no difference. My thoughts are too distracted today.’ She glanced at the clock again. ‘They should have been here long before now.’
Frances came to sit next to her. ‘Try not to worry. This weather is bound to have slowed their progress. They will be here soon enough, I am sure.’ She pushed down her own anxiety. The journey from Belvoir was hazardous at the best of times, with some of the roads little more than narrow, muddy tracks. That Lord Rutland should attempt it at such a time was testament to his desperation. Frances prayed that his young son would survive the ordeal so that she might attend to him, as she had promised.
‘If only my father had heeded your counsel and remained at Belvoir until the spring. I cannot but think my poor brother would have fared better there.’
Frances was inclined to agree. ‘Shall we read for a while?’
‘I fear the words would not come easily today and you would think me a poor student after the care you have lavished on my education.’
‘You are a good deal more accomplished than most ladies here at court,’ Frances replied firmly. Kate had flourished under her tutelage and Frances had taken great pleasure in seeing her sense of wonder at the worlds that had been opened to her through the numerous books that now lined her shelves. It was one of the many things that had brought them closer since her return to court.
‘Tell me, how was the play that I missed two nights ago?’ Frances asked. She had pleaded a headache upon hearing that Doctor Faustus was to be performed. The King’s obsession with the demonic had deepened since the disappearance of his late wife’s jewels the previous year. He had become increasingly convinced that the theft was part of some wider conspiracy, and that the sickness with which he had been afflicted had been the result of a bewitchment. Frances prayed that her attendance on him would remain hidden. He would not hesitate to have her arrested, even though he owed his recovery to her.
‘I can hardly remember it,’ Kate replied.
‘What is it?’ Frances asked softly.
‘It is nothing – truly,’ her friend replied, not meeting her gaze. ‘I should be grateful, for it was meant as a kindness, I am sure. It is just . . .’ She bit her lip and fell silent.
‘Kate?’ Frances prompted.
The young woman at last raised