Secrets of the Tudor Court Boxed Set

21

After Nonsuch, the court moved on to Petworth. There reports reached the king of a tempest that had caused widespread destruction in Derbyshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire. Then experts in such matters determined that the Mary Rose could not be salvaged.

“There is a great dearth of corn and victuals in some parts of England,” Will told me, “and fears that it may lead to famine. And the bloody flux is raging among sailors on the king’s ships, incapacitating entire crews.” He heard these things at the daily meetings of the Privy Council and shared them with me to discourage me from approaching King Henry.

“And yet His Grace continues to be in excellent humor.” Council business dispensed with, he spent the remainder of each day killing defenseless deer from a standing or mounted his horse, with the help of a purpose-built flight of steps, and set off with his favorite hawk on one gauntleted hand.

“King Henry’s temper is uncertain. Do not speak to him out of turn lest his anger be unleashed on you.”

I ignored Will’s warnings and continued to flirt with His Grace. The queen looked on with mild amusement, knowing full well what I was about. Her Grace did not speak to me of Will, but I was certain she would give us her blessing if only the king could be persuaded to agree to our marriage.

On the eighteenth day of August, the court left Petworth for Guildford. In spite of its name, Guildford did not belong to Lady Lisle’s family but to Will, a gift to him from the king. Will had received many gifts from King Henry, both large and small. His Grace had even parted with one of his own walking staffs when Will fell while playing tennis and twisted his ankle. It was an ornate creation decorated with silver and gilt and boasting a little shipman’s compass set into the top.

Guildford was a moated hunting lodge in a park that contained a rabbit warren and a horse-breeding operation as well as a herd of the king’s deer. Once again, tents had to be set up to house most of the court. The king continued in a jovial mood.

I decided that there would be no better place to plead our case to the king than here in Will’s own house. I spent the next two days alert for an opening to speak to the king of what was in my heart. I had not yet found one by the third morning when, as had become our habit, I met with Will following the daily meeting of the Privy Council.

“Good news, Bess,” he said when he’d greeted me with a brief kiss—the kind no one could take exception to. “The French fleet is no longer a threat. Their remaining ships have retreated all the way back to their own ports.”

“Oh, excellent! His Grace must be delighted.” This could be the moment I had been waiting for. The king would be in an excellent mood. He would be inclined to be generous.

“He is so well pleased that to celebrate he means to move on to Woking this very day.”

“He cannot!” The protest burst out of me before I could stop it. I clapped both hands over my mouth.

Will sighed and shook his head. “I was afraid you had not given up. Well, you must perforce abandon such foolishness now. The king will leave Guildford within the hour.”

“I will speak to him at Woking, then.” I started to return to the house. We had walked, as was our wont, toward the ruins of an old castle on the grounds. Only the Great Tower still stood, and behind it was a secluded, overgrown garden where we had stolen a few minutes of privacy.

Will caught my arm. “You will not be going with him. His Grace is taking only a small number of courtiers, all male. Everyone else is to remain here for another day or two.”

“Will you go or stay?”

“The Privy Council meets tomorrow at Woking. I will be expected to attend.”

“Make some excuse and remain here with me.”

“Since the Duke of Suffolk has already begged leave to stay behind, I do not think it would be wise for me to do so.”

My scheme to ask a favor of the king had been thwarted, at least temporarily. Frustration sparked a sudden, overwhelming need in me to exert control over something in my life. Desire, so long repressed, broke free.

I trailed my fingers up the front of Will’s doublet. “Would you not prefer to spend tonight with me?”

The answering heat in his gaze made my knees weak, but his words denied me. “The duke has the excuse of illness. I am not sick.”

I moved closer, slid my arms around him, nestled against him. “What good has waiting done us?” I rubbed myself against him.

“God’s Blood, Bess! You would drive a saint into sin!”

“The duke’s ill health will distract attention away from us.”

“This is not wise, Bess. Not prudent.”

“Prudence be damned!” But I released him. If lust would not convince him, then logic must. “You have always insisted that there is no real impediment to our marriage. Was that a lie?”

“How can you think such a thing?”

“Then if we were to exchange vows in private, we would be as truly wed as if we had a priest in attendance. It would not be a sin to lie together.”

My bold proposal left him speechless, but his eyes gleamed.

“We will enter into a clandestine marriage.” My body hummed with desire. I wanted nothing more than to consummate our love. We had waited months. Years. I was nineteen, far older than my mother had been when she wed. It was time to take this step. A clandestine marriage might not be sanctioned by the church, but it was irrevocable.

“Woking is close enough to Guildford that I can ride there on the morrow to attend the council meeting,” Will said. “I will tell His Grace that I have matters to attend to concerning the manor.”

An hour later, the king rode away without Will, but we still had the rest of the day and the evening to endure. We passed the time playing primero in the queen’s presence chamber. Will lost £5. Had the queen not been distracted by her concern for the ailing duke, she might have been made suspicious by that.

The long hours of waiting were agonizing, but at last Alys fell soundly asleep. I crept out of the bed we shared. Wearing a night gown to cover my nakedness, I left the tent that served as the maidens’ chamber. Will was waiting for me. Since Guildford belonged to him, he had a room inside the house and knew the best way to spirit me there without anyone being the wiser.

Lit by candles, the bedchamber smelled of roses. He’d ordered masses of them cut and brought inside. Taking my hand, he led me to the foot of the bed, an enormous carved and gilded object hung with crimson brocade.

“Are you certain, Bess?”

I nodded. “What must we say?”

“We commit ourselves each to the other by words of consent uttered per verba de presenti.” He held my gaze as he made his vows. “I, William Parr, Lord Parr of Kendal and Earl of Essex, do take thee, Elizabeth Brooke, to be my wedded wife. Now you.”

“I, Elizabeth Brooke, do take thee, William Parr, to be my wedded husband.” The smile I gave him was tremulous. My heart was full to bursting. I felt light-headed, too, but my thoughts had not yet scattered. “Do we need a witness?”

“The words are enough. We are married.”

At last, I thought as he kissed me deeply. Then I did not think at all for a very long time.

Will had the patience to be gentle with me my first time, and the experience to give me so much pleasure that I barely felt it when he took my maidenhead.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered afterward. He took my hand and placed it over his heart. “I am yours, Bess. Forever. No one will ever force us to part.”

“And I am yours, Will. Forever.” Tears of happiness filled my eyes as I embraced him. I kissed his chin, his cheek, even his eyelids, and all the while my fingers explored, learning the hard planes and solid muscles of his body.

Fearless in the arms of the man I loved, I gave myself to him again and again through that blissful night. After the last time, toward dawn, we lay together still joined. He was, I thought, the other half of myself. My smile stretched so wide that my cheeks hurt. I ducked my head, nuzzled the underside of his chin, and began to inscribe tiny letters on his bare chest.

“What are you doing?” he asked in a sleepy, contented voice.

“Writing my initials. You belong to me now.”

When he laughed, I felt it across every inch of my body, inside and out.