Free The Queen's Dwarf A Novel by Ella March Chase Page B

than is good for her.”
    “Why should she not have it?” Affection warmed the king’s eyes. “I have never encountered a more winning little sprite.”
    “She is all too aware that Your Majesty is fond of her. She told poor Madam Linley that you would chain the woman in the Tower dungeon before tonight was done.”
    “For what infraction?”
    “Not allowing Moll to wear the gown you gave her.”
    “A reasonable-enough request.”
    “The child wanted to wear it to bed.”
    The king chuckled.
    “Will you indulge an old friend, Your Majesty, and allow me to stay with my children until a more favorable time?”
    “It shall be as you wish.” The king kissed the duchess’s hand.
    I could feel the queen’s resentment burn hotter. “Madame Saint-Georges,” Her Majesty ordered, “tell Griggory to alert my bargemen. I need them to ferry me to Denmark House.”
    I could tell neither Frenchwoman was grateful for the duchess of Buckingham’s interference. In a swirl of satin, Madame Saint-Georges crossed to a footman who was staring at me so hard, he did not hear her call. When she snapped her second command, he stumbled toward the door, glaring as if it were my fault she had caught him off guard.
    The rest of the queen’s party prepared to depart. Velvet capes, plumed hats, and soft hoods appeared as if by magic. I thought of the trunk Uriel Ware had provided for my trip to London. Would anyone remember to send it with me? The queen had been eager to dress me. Would she want to shed all evidence I had once belonged to Buckingham?
    I glimpsed Uriel Ware standing some distance from the throng. His hands were clasped behind his back, as if to make certain no one could guess what he was feeling. I could not wait to be free of the man. Yet, if I inquired after my trunk, I could compel him to admit I had done well in my performance.
    I wound through the crowd to where he stood. “The hero of the pie,” Ware said. “From the crowd’s reaction, one would think you decimated the whole French army single-handedly.”
    “The queen seems pleased.”
    “She will spend a fortune on you, money the treasury can ill afford. But the king will wrench it out of his subject’s hands by any means he can.”
    I wanted to charge Ware with disloyalty to the Crown, but folk in Oakham also complained that the royals squeezed poor men’s purses to fund their excess. I had not realized how true it was until I had come to serve Buckingham.
    “Did you enjoy the tableau of the queen’s family?” Ware asked. “Note they did not show the part where her brother the king cast her mother, Marie de Medici, out of her post as regent and watched from the window while his guards murdered her Italian adviser. Nothing like sending one’s mother fleeing for her life to liven up a tranquil family scene.”
    I thought of the queen’s impassioned response to the tableau. Her father had been murdered, her mother ousted from power in a bloody coup. Twice her world had crumbled beneath her feet. Now, if Buckingham had his way, it would crumble again.
    “Did you have some purpose in seeking me out, or did you just wish to gloat over your triumph?”
    “I wish you to send my trunk to the palace,” I said.
    “I cannot imagine that you will need it. But delivering it will give me an excuse to visit you at Denmark House the first time.”
    “I thought you were anxious to be off messing about with ships.”
    Frustration sparked for a moment in Ware’s eye before he shuttered it away. “I am as eager to get away from court as you are to be rid of me. It seems we must tolerate each other a while longer. You will be gratified to learn we have become good friends, Jeffrey. The duke is so pleased with our combined efforts that I am to visit you when business brings me to London.”
    My dislike must have shown on my face. Ware’s lip curled. “I am no happier about this arrangement than you are. But I suggest you learn to hide your reactions now you are at