Free This Heart of Mine by Bertrice Small Page A

betrothed?”
    “Why?” Velvet demanded, looking at him suspiciously.
    “Because, you silly puss, I would like to know what my chances are of being called out.”
    “He’s in Scotland, my lord, and for your information I haven’t even the faintest idea of what he looks like, so to be overly discreet about you and Sir Walter would be a waste of my good time!” Velvet replied pertly.
    The two gentlemen laughed delightedly, and then Ralegh, who was Essex’s eider by some fifteen years, said, “Will you give us leave to call you Velvet? And you must call us Wat and Robin.”
    “I have a brother, Robin, so, my lords, I shall call you Wat, and you Scamp, for you my lord earl I suspect of being a wicked fellow.” She pierced Robert Devereux with a sharp look, and he had the good grace to flush.
    Ralegh chuckled. “You are young, Velvet, and I suspect far too innocent for this fast and sophisticated court of Elizabeth Tudor’s; but you have a sharp eye to go with your quick mind. You are, I think, a survivor.”
    At that moment, two young women came hurrying up to them, one a sweet-faced girl with long, poker-straight dark blond hair and calm gray eyes; the other a glorious creature whose thick golden blond curls ran riot and who had incredible turquoise-colored eyes. The darker-haired girl smiled shyly at Velvet and curtsied politely.
    “I am Elizabeth Throckmorton, called Bess, one of the queen’s Maids of Honor. Her Majesty has put you in my charge, Mistress de Marisco. This is my friend, Angel Christman. We welcome you to court.”
    Velvet returned the curtsy, saying, “Please call me Velvet, and I hope we shall be friends.”
    “Lord, have mercy, what an innocent!” cried the beautiful blonde.
    “Angel! You must not frighten Velvet, for this will be her first time away from home.”
    “Are you a Maid of Honor, too?” Velvet asked the blonde.
    Angel laughed. “Nay,” she said. “I am merely a royal ward. My father was the younger son of a fairly respectable noble family who married the younger daughter of an equally respectable noble family. Sadly, they had no money, and when Papa discovered my mama engaged in less than circumspect behavior with a wealthy farmer, he killed her and her lover, then killed himself. He provided for me by asking in his will that the queen take me under her protection. Of course she could not refuse, and so I have been raised very nicely at court, and I shall have a much better dowry than if my parents’ families had taken me in. Positions such as you have obtained, Velvet de Marisco, are reserved for far nobler lasses than I.”
    “Ah, but you’ve a noble spirit, Angel love,” murmured Essex, lecherously slipping an arm about her tiny waist.
    Angel harrumphed and slapped his arm away. “Unhand me, you satyr, lest you destroy my chances for a decent marriage. Strange as it may seem to you, my lord earl, no respectable man wants your leavings!”
    “Angel!” Bess Throckmorton looked shocked.
    “Well, it’s true, Bess. You’ve a powerful family to protect you, but I must guard my own virtue and good name!”
    “No man wants a shrew with a sharp tongue,” countered Essex, “and that, my dear Angel, is what you are in danger of becoming.” He looked extremely put out by her words, and Velvet hid a smile.
    In an effort to change the subject, Bess Throckmorton said, “The queen has asked us to accompany you to your home tomorrow so that we may aid you in packing what is necessary for court. Is it far?”
    “Nay, just a few miles. Do you ride?”
    “Aye,” both girls chorused.
    “Good! Let’s start early then,” said Velvet enthusiastically.
    “We shall accompany you,” Sir Walter promised. “Three maids riding alone is not wise.”
    A contradiction sprang to Velvet’s lips, but then she considered how marvelous it would look to return to Queen’s Malvern in the company of two elegant gentlemen of the court. “Are you used to getting up so early?” she teased