Lady in Waiting: A Novel (20 page)

He looked down at his empty hands. “Indeed.”

“But you went back to the classroom to get them.”

“So I did.”

“And?”

He laughed. “And I had my quill and tablet in my hands, and I was about to bring them here to the music room, but I thought that if I forgot them, I would have to arrange for another meeting with you before I leave Bradgate.”

Nicholas was about to say something else when Jane swept into the room, her face radiant.

“My lady!” I said, instantly afraid she had heard everything, when I knew that was impossible. “You are back so soon!”

“Lucy! ’Tis true. ’Tis true!”

She came to me, then grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door. “Mama says you are to see to my wardrobe at once. He is coming tomorrow. Hello, Mr. Staverton.”

“My lady,” Nicholas said, bowing, his brow crinkled with amusement.

“Tomorrow?” I said.

“Yes, yes!” She dropped my hand. “We are to prepare my gowns!” Jane flew out of the room, the train I had carried wafting up about the door frame like a wave on a tossed sea.

I turned toward Nicholas and curtsied. “Until another time, Mr. Staverton.”

He took a step toward me. “I will see you tomorrow, before I leave?”

I nodded.

He inclined his head toward the doorway and Jane’s retreating footfalls. “What is true?”

I wanted to tell him. I wanted to tell him sometimes Providence shines down on you and you are allowed to marry the one your heart beats for.

“I am unfortunately not at liberty to tell you, Mr. Staverton,” I said instead. But I smiled at him, and I held his gaze, before I turned and left to follow Jane.

I think he knew I wished I could.

J
ane was awake at dawn’s light. I had no sooner dressed when a maid was sent to fetch me. I followed the young girl to Jane’s bedchamber, down hallways that were bathed in silence. No one else was awake.

I found her standing in front of the gown her mother had asked her to wear—a lovely garment of midnight blue, trimmed in ermine and Florentine gold filigree, with a matching reticulated and jeweled caul for Jane’s long brown hair.

Jane was frowning. When she saw me, I fell to a curtsy, and she motioned me forward. “I think I should wear green,” she said, poking at the deep blue fabric.

“Oh … but the duchess—,” I began.

“Yes, I know. But Edward likes green. I heard him say it once.”

I looked about the room for Mrs. Ellen, whom I knew would direct Jane’s attention back to the directive from the duchess. The dress in front of us was the dress Jane was to wear. I had been awake past midnight making sure every jewel, bit of lace, and trim was securely fastened. Mrs. Ellen was not in the room.

“This dress is quite spectacular, my lady. I daresay your young lord will not notice it is not green.”

“Do you think Edward will be happy I’ve been chosen for him?” Jane said absently, stroking the dress but seeming not to be aware of her hand on the fabric.

“Of course, my lady.”

“You say that because you must.”

I took a step toward her. “But remember when you were with His Majesty earlier this summer? Remember how you told me Edward stared at you from across the table? Remember how he wished to remind you the King would be marrying a French princess?”

The corners of Jane’s mouth drew upward slightly. “He did stare at me, did he not?”

“Yes,” I said, though I had been in my garret room at Richmond Palace the evening Jane was with the King. “He was vexed that you had the King’s attention and not his.”

“Indeed,” Jane said, sliding her finger down the dress’s jeweled bodice. “What if my father and Edward’s father do not agree on the terms? What if—”

“I wouldn’t think on things that may never require thought, my lady.”

“It is not official, you know. My father told me he is in
discussions
with the Duke of Somerset regarding my betrothal.” Jane looked up at me and smiled. “My mother told me I was to behave civilly and graciously to young Edward Seymour, no matter what I thought of him as a future husband, or she’d make life miserable for me. I had to pinch myself not to burst out laughing!”

Jane chanced a giggle, though I could see she was still nervous.

Mrs. Ellen came into the room, saw us both, and clucked her tongue loudly. “What is this?” She turned to me. “You will not be dressing her this early. The dress will wrinkle!”

“I have not asked her to dress me, Ellen.”

“Then why is Lucy here? The sun is just now breaking over the park!”

“Because I asked her here. I thought perhaps I should wear my green gown, the one Lucy made for the King’s birthday party last October.”

Mrs. Ellen pointed to the blue dress. “The duchess will have both my head and Lucy’s if you are not in this gown at noon!”

“Edward likes green.”

“The young earl will not be betrothed to your dress, lass,” Mrs. Ellen said. “Come now. I have a nice bath prepared for you. Let Lucy downstairs to eat before the house awakes.”

Jane turned to me. “You will come when it is time for me to dress?”

“Most certainly,” I assured her.

The morning passed quickly because I was summoned to Jane’s younger sister Lady Katherine after breakfast to mend a tear in the dress she would be wearing to receive the Duke of Somerset and his family later that afternoon. I could not help but wince when I saw that Katherine’s dress was a calming shade of sea green.

I could only hope that Jane would be too preoccupied with the proceedings of the day to notice.

When I was finally free to return to Lady Jane’s rooms, I found her to be strangely calm and serene.

“Are you quite all right, my lady?” I closed the door behind me so she could dress.

“I am, Lucy. Don’t fret over me, or I shall lose my composure, and I’ve spent all morning praying it into existence. Fetch that nightmare of a gown.”

I lifted the midnight blue gown from where it hung and brought it to her. “’Tis not a nightmare of a gown, my lady. ’Tis a dream upon a midnight sea.”

“You really think so?” she said as she stepped into the skirt.

“I do.”

As I continued to dress her with the bodice, sleeves, sash, and caul, Jane practiced greetings under her breath.

“My lord, how wonderful it is to see you. I trust your travel to Bradgate was pleasant. My lord, how wonderful it is to see you. I trust your travel to Bradgate was pleasant,” she whispered.

When her outfit was complete, I turned her to the looking glass in her room so she could see how elegant she looked.

“There now. You look like a princess,” I said.

She fingered the sapphire necklace that hung at her throat and cocked her head to look at the caul as it hung down her back, glittering with gold filigree rosettes and tiny pearls.

A knock sounded at the door. Mrs. Ellen came in at Jane’s bidding. “Why, you are a vision, my sweet lass!” she cooed.

Jane smiled at her but said nothing.

There was a moment of silence, and then Mrs. Ellen gently asked Jane if she was ready to go. Her parents were asking for her.

Jane turned to me. “Did you say your prayers this morning, Lucy?”

“Of course, my lady.”

“Did you pray for me?”

I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “I pray for you every morning, my lady.”

She squeezed mine back and then inhaled deeply, raised her chin, and asked me to kindly bear her train.

Our walk to the duke’s reception room, with Mrs. Ellen at our side, was nothing like the one the day before, when she wasn’t with us. Jane didn’t speak and neither did I.

Once, I did hear Jane whisper, “My lord, how wonderful it is to see you. I trust your travel to Bradgate was pleasant.”

At the door to the reception room, she turned to me. “I shall see you
in my chamber when I return, Lucy.” And with that, Mrs. Ellen opened the door, Jane stepped inside, and all I saw was the back of a young man with thick hair the color of wheat.

I made my way back to Jane’s rooms to tidy up the wardrobe after dressing her. On my way I met Mr. Staverton on the stairs. He was dressed in clothes to travel and carried a cape over his arms. I curtsied.

“Oh, Miss Day!” His tone was joyous and hopeful. “I was much afraid I would not see you again before I returned to Oxford.”

“You are leaving Bradgate, Mr. Staverton?” He was not supposed to return to Oxford until nightfall. It was just past noon. A strange and tiny ribbon of sadness wound its way through me in an instant.

“With the Duke of Somerset and his family here, Mr. Aylmer thought it best I take my leave at midday so as not to trouble Lady Jane’s parents. I hear today is a most important day for young Jane.”

“Yes. Yes it is.”

He paused for a moment. “Would you care to walk with me to the carriage, Miss Day?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

We began to descend the stairs. An awkward silence fell about us. “And how is Lady Jane this morning?” he finally asked.

“She is well,” I answered. “She is nervous.”

“Of course. Mr. Aylmer tells me she is to be betrothed to the young Edward Seymour.”

I nodded.

“Are they acquainted?”

“Yes. Jane’s guardian was Edward’s uncle.”

“Ah, yes. The unfortunate Lord Admiral.”

I stiffened involuntarily. “Lady Jane was very fond of her guardian. There was much about him she was not aware of.”

“I meant no disrespect,” Nicholas said quickly. “What happened to him was indeed unfortunate.”

“True. But he brought much of it on himself, I’m afraid.”

“I … I worry for his brother, the elder Edward Seymour. He hasn’t the same selfish arrogance as Thomas Seymour. And he is quite popular among the people. But he seems to have wound up in the same predicament as his brother. He has fallen out of favor with His Majesty’s Council.”

“But he was released from the Tower months ago,” I said.

“Indeed. But not reinstated as Protector. The elder Seymour’s position is a bit tenuous, I think. John Dudley is not overfond of him.”

“John Dudley?”

“He is a very powerful man at the moment, Miss Day. He has the King’s ear.”

We reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to make our way to the entrance to Bradgate Hall.

“What is it that John Dudley wants?” I asked. “If he has the King’s ear, what more could he want?”

“To have the King’s muscle, I suppose. He is desperate to have His Majesty marry a Reformer. He doesn’t want Rome to interfere ever again with the government of the Crown. With Princess Mary, in theory, next in line to the throne, John Dudley would have King Edward married and producing Reformed heirs posthaste. Mary would bring Catholicism back to the realm were she to rule. John Dudley won’t have it.”

“The King is but fourteen this October, and already he is rushed to produce an heir!”

“All in due time, I am sure. But still. This is the talk at Oxford. His
Majesty has always been prone to illness. It is disconcerting to those opposed to Rome. Dudley worries about the throne reverting back to Catholic rule.”

“Would that be so terrible, Mr. Staverton? ’Tis the same God that is worshiped.”