Her Highness, the Traitor - By Susan Higginbotham Page 0,75

adequately, I have learned, and as for the second, I shall be quite happy to find out. I have been lonely since your father died, for all my resources, and I shall be glad enough to have a pair of warm feet in bed next to me once again.”

“Have you asked permission of the king?”

“Yes. I have not received a reply yet, but he is on that progress of his. I have no doubt that he—or that is, Northumberland—will approve the match, unless perchance Northumberland was minded to marry me to one of that brood of his. And that I think most unlikely, given the young ages of his sons. Now that I think of it, actually, I am surprised that Northumberland hasn’t tried to match up your Jane or Kate with one of his boys. Is Harry arranging a match for your Jane?”

“Not that I know of.” I found that although Jane was certainly of a marriageable age, I did not want to think of the matter of her wedding, of my girl lying in a stranger’s bed. “But we are getting off the topic. How did Master Bertie propose to you?”

“Well, as a matter of fact, I asked him to marry me. Oh, it wasn’t quite as bold an undertaking as you might expect. He’d been making sheep’s eyes at me for some time, although in the most discreet and proper way.”

I snorted with laughter.

“In light of our positions, I suppose he just couldn’t come out and ask, as a man of my own station might do. So I finally just called him to me on business, and after we had finished discussing the revenues of Grimsthorpe, I said, ‘Master Bertie, have you ever considered marrying me?’ And he admitted that he had. And so it was all arranged.”

“What if he had said no?”

“Oh, I doubt he would have dared,” said Katherine cheerfully. She smiled. “But I would have been very sorry if he had. For the truth is, I love him.”

***

Soon after Katherine left us, we moved to our house at Sheen, not far from London. No sooner had we arrived than it began to rain constantly, keeping us confined inside. When a clear morning finally dawned, therefore, I was eager to venture out for a ride, especially as I had developed a headache. My daughters were as restless as I was. Even Jane asked that her horse be brought out.

The fresh air, however, did nothing to ease the pain in my head. Instead, the ache spread to the rest of my body, and I found myself having to think about the simplest details of riding my horse, as if I were a novice.

“Mother?”

I blinked. “What, Jane?”

“I asked if Father had told you when he might be coming here.” Jane looked at me more closely. “Are you unwell?”

“It will pass.” I clutched the pommel of my saddle as a wave of dizziness suddenly overtook me. “If we can just rest for a moment—”

Jane brought her horse to a halt. “My lady mother is ill,” she called. “We must turn back.”

“It is really not—”

“Now,” said Jane.

Master Stokes, who had been riding a little ahead of us with my daughter Mary, wheeled around. In almost a single motion, he dismounted his own horse and swung himself onto mine, taking the reins as I slumped back against his shoulder.

***

By the time Master Stokes carried me into my chamber, I was burning with fever and had a sharp pain in my chest. “Don’t disturb Harry,” I begged as my ladies stripped me of my clothing. “He is so busy on the king’s affairs, and he will be annoyed if he is called for nothing.”

In hours, however, I was past caring if Harry, or anyone else, was called or not. I saw figures that I vaguely knew were my daughters and servants, and I was conscious of people giving me physic from time to time, but otherwise, I was oblivious to all that went on about me.

At some point, I felt someone stroking my hair, followed by the pressure of a large hand on mine. The Lord himself, I thought dreamily, and drifted off into a tranquil sleep. When I woke, the hand was still upon mine, and my mind felt clear. I blinked. “Harry?”

“The one and the same, my dear.”

“You came.”

“Of course I came. They told me you were ill. Indeed, we thought you would die. The chaplains have been praying for you, day and night. The girls have been miserable,