and in any case, the journey back would take four hours at night."
Her heart sank. Sighing, she accompanied him through two brick-paved courtyards that were surrounded by buildings. Entering a third, with a fountain in the center, Sandhurst turned into a doorway, then led Micheline up a flight of stairs. At the top they encountered a servant.
"The Marquess of Sandhurst to see the king. Is he available?"
A few minutes later, after passing through several other presence chambers en route, they were ushered into Henry VIII's audience chamber. All the rooms were magnificent, boasting fabulous tapestries, Eastern carpets, ornate ceilings, and damask-upholstered furniture. Micheline had been impressed, but when the king appeared, it seemed that all the palace riches paled in comparison to his person.
Huge and bejeweled, Henry held out his arms in greeting.
"Sandhurst! How long it has been since you deigned to grace our court with your presence!"
Andrew smiled, hearing the note of sarcasm in the monarch's jovial voice. "My apologies, sire," he murmured in mock contrition, and bowed. "It is my honor to present to you my future bride, Madame Micheline Tevoulere."
"So, for once you have done as you were told. I might flatter myself that it was because my influence was added to the duke's, but obviously that was not the case." The king held out a pudgy beringed hand to Micheline, who touched it and curtsied gracefully. "How fortunate we are to have stolen such a beauty from France! I'll warrant that my friend Francois was loath to let you go, madame." A smile spread over his beefy face at that thought. "In any case, I bid you welcome."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I am happy to be here."
The king raised his eyes to Sandhurst. "You have a gift for turning every obstacle into an advantage, my friend."
"In this case, I have only you and my dear father to thank, sire," he replied, his tone gently laced with irony. "You have presented me with the greatest treasure of my life."
Noting the glowing smile the Frenchwoman gave to her betrothed, King Henry cleared his throat in dismay. "I must say, it looks as if the two of you are in love!"
Sandhurst bit his lip to keep from laughing aloud. "Positively, sire. In fact, I can't help thinking that God must have used you as his instrument to bring us together."
The king, at odds with Pope Clement VII over his divorce, was pleased at the notion that Sandhurst might consider him a link with God. Wine and sweetmeats were served, whereupon Henry declared that he must hear the tale behind this happy romance.
Andrew recounted his tale in an entertaining manner, interrupted from time to time by his radiant ladylove, who could not resist adding an anecdote or two of her own. As the story unfolded, however, the king found himself far more intrigued by the fact that the Marquess of Sandhurst had spent two months at Fontainebleau in the company of Francois I. As soon as he could do so without appearing obvious, Henry exclaimed, "My dear Madame Tevoulere, you have so charmed me with your wit and beauty that I insist you meet my own Anne immediately! I know that she will be as overjoyed as I am to hear about your betrothal to Lord Sandhurst. I'll own we never thought this rogue could be tamed by true love!"
Micheline was loath to be separated from Andrew, but it seemed she had little choice. Minutes later she followed a page out of the audience chamber, reassured by Sandhurst's parting whisper: "I'll be with you soon."
No sooner had the door closed than Henry VIII turned to his least tractable nobleman. "I would have speech with you, Lord Sandhurst. Sit down, and heed me."
Suddenly Andrew wished that he were anywhere but at Hampton Court. Biting his lower lip, he reclined against the uncomfortable carved chair back and waited with a sense of foreboding to hear what his king had to say.
Chapter 24
April 6, 1533
Henry took a long drink of wine, then swallowed a sweetmeat. "I must be brief." His tone was deceptively casual. "There's a tennis match at hand. Will you play?"
"If you wish it, sire," Sandhurst replied affably, wondering what was really on the shrewd monarch's mind.
"How readily you acquiesce, my friend! It gives me hope! May I be frank?"
"That would be my preference, sire."
"You know, of course, that I met with the French king this past autumn. We have been striving to help each other in dealing with the Emperor