Free Rose of rapture by Rebecca Brandewyne

of Gloucester by setting a niggardly table or being slow to carry out their duties. They hurried swiftly to and from the cookhouse, their arms heavily laden with platters and pitchers. No less than five courses were laid before the guest of honor (though Lord Oadby and Lady Shrewton groaned secretly at the expense).
    Ten fat suckling pigs had been slain and roasted in their dripping juices, each mouth stuffed with a single shiny red apple that gleamed softly in the brightly blazing candlelight. Twenty plump, freshly killed chickens and twenty geese apiece had been baked and glazed with special sauces. There were trenchers piled high with beef, mutton, venison, goat, and rabbit that had been brought from the cool larder. Grilled fish—pike and carp and perch— lay upon skillfully arranged beds of lettuce garnished with large chunks of moist lemons, smaller cherries and berries, raisins and nuts, and slices of hardboiled plover eggs. Great tureens of lamprey eels and all manner of vegetables steamed alongside hot bowls of thick cream gravy, which waited to be ladled upon slabs of good rich bread. Meat and fruit pies and a selection of tarts to tempt even the most jaded palate were wheeled in on carts laden with other assorted pastries and sweetmeats, as well as red currant jelly and quince preserve. All this was washed down with tankards of cold ale and chalices of the best wine chosen from Rushden's dark cellars. There were, in addition, three subtleties presented to win the Duke's favor, each of which signified some aspect of the Yorkist battle for the Crown.
    The first was an artfully crafted cheese display called Three Suns, which represented the three suns that Edward had seen in the sky before winning the throne. All cheered as they saw the three huge rounds of yellow cheese that depicted the suns. Then there was a crystallized fruit dish announced as The Crowning, which showed Edward being crowned King and that was met with appropriate shouts of "Fiat! Fiat!" And fmally, there was brought forth a towering white confection, shaped like a rose and flowing with honey, which was heralded as York Forever and to which all raised their cups in toast.
    Once the three subtleties had been carried around for all to see, they were given places of honor on the sideboard, and the meal continued.

    The great hall rang with the raucous babble of voices and laughter. Isabella, seated between Giles and Lionel at the high table, was so excited, she could scarcely swallow a mouthful from the many plates arrayed before her. Never before had she seen such a display at Rushden! It was as though they dined with the King himself, for the girl was convinced nothing could have been finer. Her eyes sparkled as she listened raptly to the conversations going on about her—tales of Court and battles and faraway places—and she felt very ignorant for knowing so little of such matters, despite her lessons and her brother's letters. She worried that Lionel would think her stupid and dull, though he flattered her expertly, outrageously, bringing blushes to her cheeks, while Giles laughed and looked on with loving approval. She felt so awkward and nervous and most unlike herself that whenever a little silence fell, she bubbled over with talk to fill it, then abruptly broke off, realizing she was chattering like one of the squirrels in her menagerie. She knew she had drunk too much wine, for her head was spinning, and she felt hot and flushed. Her pulse raced as she stole covert glances at Lionel beside her and wondered if he had guessed she had fallen madly in love with him at first sight.
    It wasn't possible; surely, such things didn't happen.
    But they do, she thought. I had only to look into his eyes to know—Oh, surely, he felt it too! 'Twas as though suddenly an arrow pierced my heart—and I thought the bards' songs of Cupid were only a myth!
    Isabella blushed again and tried to concentrate on the entertainment: the pretty maids in colorful