"This is very good!" When Andrew gave her a look of dubious amusement, she giggled. "Truly! I like this food extremely well."
"At least they're not fish," Rupert put in.
Casting about for a topic that might be bearable, Andrew inquired, "How fares my sister Cicely?"
"Her health is fine." Suddenly he was intent on his half-eaten pike.
"And otherwise?"
"Well, you know I don't like to carry tales, but I have to say that Cicely hasn't been particularly agreeable lately. Patience, who is unwaveringly sweet-tempered, as you will remember, has tried to interest our sister in the coming wedding, yet the girl continues to sulk about the castle. I must say that she hasn't done your case with the duke any good, for Cicely continues to insist that you won't be getting married. She says that you didn't want any part of it, and that you were very angry about the whole situation." Flushing under Sandhurst's cold stare, he cleared his throat. "Don't suppose that was very tactful of me, what? My apologies, Micheline."
She gave him a charming smile. Dinner had begun to take on the proportions of a comedy as far as she was concerned, and nothing could penetrate her amusement.
"Take heart!" Rupert reassured her. "There's at least one person at Aylesbury Castle who will be kind to you, and that's my dear wife, Patience. She has already begun airing her wedding dress in case you didn't bring one from France!"
"We will not be needing Patience's gown," Sandhurst stated flatly.
Looking offended, Rupert tried to thrust out his nonexistent chin. "She wishes only to help."
"Please, tell your wife that I appreciate her kind thought," Micheline said. This fellow might be a twit, but clearly he couldn't help it. She wished that Andrew would not make his loathing quite so apparent, at least in Rupert's company!
Candied oranges and green walnut suckets, which had been made by dipping the nuts in boiling syrup, finished the meal. After a while Sandhurst suggested they take their spiced wine outside to the garden.
"I suppose you'll want to be on your way back to Yorkshire this afternoon, Rupert," he said when they were in the sunshine. Micheline winced a little.
"I thought I might go to Hampton Court first. The duke would want me to pass along the news of your return to King Henry."
"Don't bother. I plan to take Micheline there myself within the next day or two, and I will speak to the king then."
Rupert glanced up at his half brother's face, about to protest, when he saw a telltale muscle flex in Andrew's jaw. "Well, all right, then. I meant only to save you the trouble."
"I have said this to you over and over, but it doesn't seem to sink in." Sandhurst stopped on the pathway and stared hard at the smaller man. "It's my life, Rupert. I'll take care of my affairs as I see fit, whether they involve my father, the king, or my marriage, and I would appreciate it if you would turn your attention to your own life."
For a moment Micheline was afraid that Rupert might begin to cry. His chin trembled as he nodded in reply, then looked away toward the river. She found herself pitying him in the same way she pitied children whose high spirits were doused by hard-hearted parents. She wished she might appeal to Andrew, but he was walking away from them down the path, and the taut set of his shoulders told her that he would not soften on this issue.
In the next instant Rupert seemed to forget the unpleasantness. "Look!" he cried in a shrill voice, pointing downriver. "It's Anne Boleyn's new barge!" Excited by the fact that he knew something Sandhurst didn't, he rushed forward to provide instruction. "You see, it used to be Queen Catherine's. Anne, I hear, grew so angry because the queen won't accept her new position as princess dowager that she had her chamberlain seize Catherine's barge on the Thames. The king knew nothing about it! Anne gave instructions that the queen's coat of arms should be erased, so the barge was then decorated in Anne's heraldic colors—blue and purple, with her own new coat of arms. Oh, my, how exciting! Can you see her at all? This has all happened in just the last two days. London is buzzing!"
Micheline shaded her eyes against the sunshine and tried to catch a glimpse of the barge's occupant as it passed Weston House. The boat was filled with