LITMIR.BIZ

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were marvelous, and I took part in many of them.” She sat back and closed her eyes, not speaking again for the rest of their journey back to Greenwood House.

      “Why does Grandmama not want Uncle Charlie and Aunt Barbara to know the king approached Fancy?” Diana asked when they were home again and seated in Fancy’s dayroom with their shoes off.

      “Because Papa would probably speak to the king invoking family obligations. Then the king would not approach Fancy again. He would forever be annoyed at Papa for having interfered with his desires and with Fancy for not having said yes to his first offer. If the king invites our cousin again, and she pleases him, her fortune here in England is made.”

      Diana sighed. “I’m glad the king did not approach me,” she said. “All the young men who importune me but confuse me. If the king made advances toward me, I do not know what I would do.”

      Cynara laughed. “The day her parents left her here to be civilized from a Highland wench into a lady she said she could not wait to meet the king,” Cynara explained to her other cousin.

      “Well, I have met him,” Diana said. “But I wouldn’t want to be his mistress. I want a husband. I just can’t make up my mind upon whom to concentrate.”

      “We are just come to court,” Cynara said. “There is time to make those decisions. For now it is our duty to have fun.”

      “When shall we go back to court?” Fancy asked.

      “Why tomorrow as soon as we are rested,” Cynara said. “Perhaps we should get there in time to accompany the king on his afternoon walk along the riverside. Fancy, can your Bess bring our gowns for the evening? Then we will change our clothing in my father’s apartments. I know he and Mama will not mind. It is such a convenience that he is housed at Whitehall,” she noted.

      “I’ll bring the gowns, and I’ll remain to help you all dress,” Bess spoke up. “But now you must go to your own chambers, my ladies, and get some rest. You shouldn’t have no purple circles beneath your beautiful eyes if you want to be the most beautiful young ladies at the king’s royal court.”

      “You are so sensible!” Cynara said. “I wonder Bess that our grandmama did not give you to me instead of to Fancy.”

      “She didn’t give me to you, my lady, because she knew I wouldn’t put up with your nonsense like your good Hester does,” Bess said pertly.

      Fancy and Diana laughed, but Cynara looked very aggrieved.

      “You are probably correct, though you are much too bold that you say so,” Cynara snapped as she flounced from the room.

      Diana kissed her cousin good night and, green eyes twinkling, followed after Cynara.

      When they had gone, Bess escorted her mistress into her bedchamber saying, “Was you the belle of the court, mistress?” She began to unlace the turquoise velvet and the silver lace bodice.

      “The king asked me to supper,” Fancy said softly, “but it must remain a secret for now, Bess Trueheart. You cannot gossip to your friends about anything I confide in you.”

      “You have my word, mistress,” Bess replied.

      “I think I shall be uncomfortable confiding in my cousins should the king’s invitation come again, and I accept it, which I will. Diana is a little shocked that I will go to supper with His Majesty.”

      “And Lady Cynara is full of self-importance, and all advice based on her experience,” Bess noted with a small smile.

      “Exactly!” Fancy responded. “Oh, Bess, I knew that you would understand! I am not a fine lady like my two cousins. I was not raised that way. You and I have more in common, though we be mistress and servant, than I have with my two cousins. I love them dearly, but I am not like them at all. You are a practical and prudent girl, as am I.”

      Bess nodded. “Aye, I am, and that is a truth, mistress. Your two cousins have the advantage of being known by society. Their lineage and their dowries are no secret. They’ll find husbands quick enough when they wants ’em and decides to settle down. But you—well, to be frank, and meaning no offense, mistress—come from the Colonies, surrounded by scandalous tales. Most ain’t yet discovered that your grandsire was the marquis of Lindley. That your pedigree is as good as that of your cousins. You need a little advantage with the court. If you decorates the king’s bed and afterward retains his friendship, you will have that advantage,” Bess concluded.

      “Precisely!” Fancy said. “Ohh, I’m so glad that someone understands. And there is something else too, Bess. Cynara says the king’s reputation as a lover is great. Is he a good lover, or do they say it of him because he is the king, I wonder? My . . . husband”—she shuddered visibly as she said the word—“was not a good lover. I might have been a virgin, but women know this instinctively about a man. I should like to have a good lover.” Fancy loosened the tapes holding her velvet skirts up, and they fell to the carpeted floor.

      “Well, mistress, from what I have heard,” Bess began, “the king’s reputation is the truth. His mother was a French lady, a princess, and she had some famous kings known to be great lovers in her family. And when the Stuarts come down from Scotland, they were also known to enjoy the company of the ladies. They have many cousins born on both sides of the blanket and recognized as family every one of them. Your uncle, the duke, is a fine example.” Bess lowered her voice now, and leaned closer to Fancy. “Lady Cynara was born on the wrong side of the blanket, you know, but when her pa returned to England he wed with her mother and formally legitimized her in the courts. Now don’t say I told you that. I mean it only as an example of the king’s family, and how they approaches the folks about them. The Stuarts are good-hearted. The king has several sons and daughters by several ladies, not just my lady Castlemaine. He has acknowledged and provided for them all. His reputation as a lover is well deserved, I’m thinking.”

      “When he spoke to me tonight,” Fancy said, “there was something about him. I felt I would not be able to resist him.”

      “It is lovely to fall in love,” Bess admitted, “even if it is only for a brief time.” Then suddenly she became her practical self once more. “Let’s get you out of the rest of these garments, mistress, and ready for your bed. You want to look beautiful again tomorrow if you are to attract the king once more.”

      The next afternoon Fancy went back to Whitehall with her cousins. She was wearing a teal blue silk gown with an underskirt of teal brocade with silver threads that was looped up on either side so that it showed. Her sleeves were full, the top being teal, the lower half cream, and ending in soft lace cuffs. The puff sleeves were tied with narrow silver ribbons in two places. The top of her chemise, which came to her neck, was sheer lawn and edged with a pearl choker. She wore a tall-crowned hat trimmed with ostrich feathers.

      The three cousins joined the king’s party as they strolled along the walk bordering the Thames. At the very front of the troupe of walkers, they could see the king. He wore full breeches gathered into a band at the knee and decorated with red ribbons. His long black velvet coat was buttoned to the waist and his large black felt hat was decorated with white feathers and red ribbon trim. His red leather shoes were high-heeled with square toes and high tongues. They were decorated with large buckles of pearls and paste gems. He carried a long ebony cane topped with a carved ivory ball.

      “ ’Odsblood,” Cynara said softly, “he is so damned fashionable. I almost wish we were not related so closely.”

      “Cyn!” Diana’s green eyes mirrored shock and disapproval.

      “Don’t be a ninny, Siren,” Cynara said. “To be sought after by a king is an honor, but then I forgot,” she teased her cousin, “the royal Stuarts bring misfortune to the Leslies of Glenkirk.”

      “Grandmama says it is true,” Diana defended her family.

      “But I’m not a Leslie of Glenkirk, and neither is Fancy,” Cynara astutely reminded her cousin.

      They suddenly realized as they walked

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