Free Prisoner of the Queen (Tales From the Tudor Court) by Eliza Knight, E. Knight Page B

servants following, through the myriad corridors until we reached the door to the gardens. I hurried through the flowery scented paths we meandered, the quay in sight.
    The two duchesses disembarked with the support of several footmen. Their clothing and jewels sparkling in the sunshine, the women stood tall, stoic, a fearsome duo, and beside them, the young Lady Jane Seymour, Lady Anne’s daughter.
    I was jealous of her—that this Jane, named for the late queen like my sister, should stand there free.
    The sharp eyes of the Duchess of Somerset found me and looked me over. A hint of a smile touched her lips. My step-grandmother, too, considered me, albeit her gaze more gentle and even somewhat guarded.
    “Your Graces, I am honored to have you visit me here at Baynard ’s,” I said with a deep curtsy.
    “We are most pleased to join you,” the Duchess of Somerset replied with an incline of her head.
    “Let me see you, child,” Lady Katherine said, twirling her finger to indicate that I should also do so.
    I turned in a delicate circle, not wanting to trip on the length of my gown.
    “I see marriage has treated you well, dear,” she said.
    “As well as could be expected for one who is still a maid,” I replied quietly.
    The women nodded, and Jane looked at me with eyes as sharp and questioning as her mother ’s.
    “We have heard the rumors of Pembroke seeking the queen’s permission to annul your marriage on the grounds it was never consummated,” Lady Katherine said.
    I pressed my lips together and swallowed hard. Rumors were already flying around court about such things? How could I ever face anyone if they were to think me so disgraced?
    “Perhaps you might plead the marriage was consummated if you wish to stay married,” Lady Anne stated. “If it were said, then the queen—indeed the pope of Rome, for that is where we shall be headed—could not offer an annulment, and she would not grant a divorce.”
    The i dea had merit. I wondered if Henry would want to plead such a case with his father. He was such a tenderfoot, though, that I was not positive he would. And we’d not spent enough time together in truth to develop a deep relationship. I did not abhor him, and in time could perhaps enjoy his company, but he was weak when it came to his father’s demands.
    I chose not to answer her suggestion and instead changed the subject. “Should you like to walk in the gardens before we dine, or would you like to retire to your rooms for a short rest?”
    Neither of the duchesses looked at one another, their gazes steady on me, but they each seemed to come to the same conclusion and did not press me.
    “Let us walk.” Lady Katherine linked her arm with mine, and behind us walked Lady Anne with her daughter. “Baynard’s is very beautiful. Did you know it was built by a man named Baynard who was a follower of William the Conqueror?”
    “I was not aware , Your Grace. It does have quite an Old World feel to it, with its dark towers and arrow-slit windows, so I had suspected it was quite aged.”
    “Even the two princes of the Tower lived here for a time before they were taken prisoner.”
    I was struck numb for a moment with the irony of it. Those two young boys, the sons of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville, a future king and a spare, seen as a threat to the crown, had shared the same roof as I did. Was it a sign of things to come?
    “Did you see many courtiers roaming about Baynard’s while your sister was queen?” Lady Anne asked as she came up beside me.
    I thought back to those days that were so bleak , and fear filled for me.
    “Yes, his lordship did have many men coming to the castle to discuss things in private. Secret meetings, missives being passed, messengers in the middle of the night.”
    The two women exchanged a glance over my head that looked quite meaningful as if I had spilled some news they wished to hear. A part of me had wondered whether I should share those details, but