A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith

Author:Anne Easter Smith
Language: eng, eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A Touchstone Book
Published: 2006-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

15

Suffolk, Winter 1468 to July 1469

Ateam of workers toiled for months over the meticulous dismantling of Kate’s new house. Every timber was duly marked and carefully placed on a pile that would be carted to Tendring. The slates from the roof were passed from hand to hand down the ladders, and the beams taken apart to be built again at the new site. Kate liked to walk across the meadow beside the church to watch and often took the laborers refreshment of ale, cheese and bread. Before the work began, she had received permission from Sir Anthony Wingfield, the landowner, to visit the house. It had a large kitchen on the ground floor with a tiny enclosed staircase that led into the larger and sunnier of two rooms on the upper floor. In this solar, she decided, she would spend much of her day and sleep in her tester bed at night. The other room could be used for spinning and a dispensary.

Jack came to look the house over and told her he had grand plans for its improvement. “I have a mind to put in a central chimney. ’Tis common in France and keeps a house of this size warm all through. And we will fit it with better windows.” He rattled open a casement and several horn panes fell out.

“Sir John, I have money, and I would dearly like to put in glass windows, if you think it is practical.” Kate picked up one of the horn panes and studied it.

“Aye, Kate, ’tis possible. I will tell the master builder, and he will give me an accounting. We cannot have Gloucester’s bastard growing up in the dark, can we?”

Kate laughed. Jack could not take his eyes off her and could not blame the young duke’s passion, for pregnancy agreed with her; her skin glowed and her fuller figure gave her the ripeness of a plum. Jack’s respect for Richard had grown over the summer, he told Kate. As treasurer of the king’s household and one of the great shipowners in the country, Jack had been tasked to prepare and victual a fleet that was to take an expeditionary force to France under Lord Mountjoy. However, Edward was forced to retire, and the army never landed. But Howard had carried out his duties to Edward’s satisfaction, and he wanted Jack to spend much of the autumn in London serving him. The earl of Warwick was also much in London, and Richard remained under his auspices, despite the continued rumblings of dissension between the earl and the king. During that time, Richard and Jack had several opportunities to have discourse, and they talked of Kate and the progress on the house. Richard stayed away from talking politics with Jack and never tipped his hand one way or the other with respect to his opinion of Warwick. Jack admired his prudence, and his trust in the young man grew.

Jack helped Kate down the steep staircase, as her condition made it difficult

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