The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir

Author:Alison Weir
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: , Historical - General, History, Elizabeth, Queen of England, I, Biographical, 1485-1603, 1533-1603, Fiction, Great Britain, Historical, Tudors, American Historical Fiction, General, Queens, Childhood and youth, Fiction - Historical
ISBN: 9780345495365
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2009-05-18T04:00:00+00:00

“Lord save us, the Duchess of Somerset is here!” Kat whimpered, bursting into the bedchamber.

“Am I discovered, then?” Elizabeth whispered, thinking the worst.

“I think not, mercifully,” Kat replied, “but my fine lady has gotten wind of some scandal and is no doubt come to satisfy her curiosity.” Her tone was tart. “She wants to see you.”

“She cannot…I dare not…” Elizabeth was terrified. She feared that her condition stood little chance of escaping the eagle-eyed Duchess’s gaze.

“You have no choice,” Kat told her. “Get up and dress.” She surveyed her charge’s slightly swollen body as Elizabeth reluctantly pulled her nightgown over her head. “There’s nothing for it, I’ll have to lace you tightly,” she told her, fetching a clean shift.

When Elizabeth appeared in the great parlor, she looked as slender as ever in her pink damask gown, its stiff stomacher flattening her bulge. She was in misery with the constraint, and light-headed with the effort to breathe shallowly and maintain an erect posture, keeping her shoulders high and her stomach in.

The Duchess Anne came toward her and made her curtsy.

“My Lady Elizabeth, I rejoice to see you in health,” she said stridently. “My Lord the Protector sends his greetings.”

“Welcome, madam,” Elizabeth said distantly, seating herself gingerly in the fireside chair that Sir Anthony had just vacated. “What brings you to Cheshunt?”

“I came to see my old gossip, Lady Denny here, and to inquire after your health, my lady. Rumor has it that you have been indisposed.”

“A summer chill,” Elizabeth said airily, noticing that her hosts appeared distinctly uncomfortable. “I am better now, I thank Your Grace.”

“Better in more ways than one, I wist,” the Duchess agreed. “You are far better out of the Queen’s household.”

“Begging your pardon, madam,” Elizabeth bridled, “but Her Majesty was very good to me.”

“It was not Her Majesty of whom I spoke,” Lady Somerset said, her tone implying that Her Majesty was no doubt responsible for the laxity at which rumor had hinted. Their quarrel over which of them should take precedence at court and wear the Queen’s jewels was notorious.

“I know not to what Your Grace refers,” Elizabeth said innocently.

“I think you do, my lady,” the Duchess replied firmly. “And I say that you were very wise to come here. Or were you constrained to it?”

The atmosphere in the room grew tense. Elizabeth was furious at the woman’s temerity. Furious, and at the same time frightened. What rumors had the Duchess heard?

“I invited my sister, Mrs. Astley, to visit, and my Lady Elizabeth was happy to honor us with her presence,” Lady Denny said, a touch too hastily.

“I have been made most welcome,” Elizabeth added. “Cheshunt is a beautiful house.”

“Hardly as beautiful as Chelsea or Sudeley,” her ladyship retorted sharply.

“Ah, but the Queen was tiring easily with the child on the way, and I did not wish to weary her at this time,” Elizabeth said, feeling as if she was engaging in armed combat. “Her Majesty writes to me regularly, and I expect to see her after she has been delivered.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.