LITMIR.BIZ

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A page took Marguerite to a seat at the middle curve, where she was between Roger Tilney and Dona Elena’s husband, the Duke of Bernaldez. Dona Elena, across from them, greeted her happily, telling her husband of their afternoon walk by the river.

      “And she listened to me prattling on about Marc, and about how you and I met, mi corazon, with nary a complaint!” Dona Elena said. “Such great patience.”

      “Not at all, Dona Elena,” Marguerite answered. “I enjoyed our meeting very much. It can get lonely, being in a strange country, and your wife, Don Carlos, is so very amiable.”

      He gave her a cordial smile, and Marguerite saw that he matched his wife for fine looks and kind eyes. Despite the stark formality of his black velvet clothes and thick white hair and beard, his glance was most gentle when he looked at Dona Elena. “She is indeed amiable, Señorita Dumas, and I am grateful she has found a new friend here. It is not easy for her to be so far from her son at this time. I’m happy for any distraction you can provide for her. Perhaps you would do us the honour of joining us for a small card party in our apartment after the banquet?”

      “Oh, yes, do say you will come, Señorita Dumas,” Dona Elena urged. “It is only a few friends for a hand of primero, and will be much quieter than these great feasts. I would enjoy knowing you better.”

      “Merci, Dona Elena. I happily accept your invitation.”

      That was even easier than she expected. Marguerite sat back, satisfied with her progress. Then she felt a sharp, stabbing prickle on the back of her neck, like a sewing needle jabbing at her skin. She laid her fingers over the spot, under her hair, and glanced down the table to find Nicolai watching her.

      For an instant, she caught him unaware, and his mask of merriment was down. His face was hard and serious as he looked at her, his eyes hooded. Even thus she could feel the force of them, like celestial blue daggers. She felt caught, pinned in place, unable to move or think. The entire vast, crowded hall vanished, narrowed to that one point—just him.

      He grinned at her, breaking the spell, and lifted his goblet to her in mocking salute. As the room widened out again, she saw that he sat next to one of Dona Elena’s ladies, a young woman who stared up at him with shining adoration writ large on her pretty, heart-shaped face.

      Marguerite turned away, taking a large gulp of her wine. It was fine stuff, a golden sack from Provence, that even her father, who firmly believed only his home in Champagne could produce truly fine wine, would not have scorned. Yet she hardly even tasted it.

      Across the table, Dona Elena caught her eye and gave her a wink. “My plan is working!” she mouthed.

      She could say nothing else, though, for a procession arrived bearing an enormous subtlety for the courtiers’ applause. It was a rendition of Greenwich Palace itself all in sugar and almond paste, its turrets and courtyards and windows, even a river of blue marzipan dotted with tiny boats and barges. Yet, like the wine, Marguerite did not fully appreciate the fine artistry. Her skin still prickled, and it took all her strength not to turn back to Nicolai. Not to stare at him like a dull-witted peasant girl.

      The subtlety was presented to King Henry and Queen Katherine, and followed by more practical fare of meats, fish and stewed vegetables.

      Roger Tilney laid a tender morsel of duck with orange sauce on her plate. “How are you enjoying your time in England thus far, Mademoiselle Dumas?” he asked.

      Marguerite smiled at him, and speared the duck with her eating knife. She imagined the blade entering Nicolai’s golden flesh, and it gave her a childish flash of satisfaction. “Very well, Master Tilney. You were right, Greenwich is endlessly fascinating.”

      “I am glad you find it so. I hear of nothing else but ‘the beautiful Mademoiselle Dumas’ everywhere I go!”

      Marguerite laughed, reaching for a bite of the soft white manchet bread. “I doubt that. Perhaps two people have said that, including yourself. But I do hear that I have you to thank for one thing. Thank—or curse.”

      “I am most intrigued. Ladies have surely cursed me before, but rarely on such short acquaintance. What must I beg pardon for?”

      “For recommending me to the Master of Revels for his pageants.”

      Tilney laughed. “I merely suggested that it would be a fine gesture to include some of the French ladies. Your beauty and sweetness recommended themselves.”

      “I am scarcely sweet, Master Tilney! In fact, I have often been told quite the opposite.”

      “Mademoiselle Dumas, methinks you protest too much.” He reached for a sugar wafer from one of the silver platters, offering it to her with a flourish. “These rare delicacies could not be more agreeable than you.”

      Marguerite accepted it with a smile, but the delicate flavor turned dry in her mouth as she saw that Nicolai still laughed with his pretty Spanish companion. Her sweetness no doubt far surpassed any honey or sugar.

      The banquet went on for what seemed like hours, a succession of artichokes in cream sauce, whole pigs stuffed with spiced apples, swan and peacock, lamb dressed with mint, and sweetmeats coloured pink and pale green and dusted with more sparkling sugar.

      As the wine flowed, the shrill laughter grew, until Marguerite could scarcely hear above the hum in her head. She ate little and drank less, her smile growing more pained as the revelry went on. Would her face simply crack, like one of the statues in the garden? The marble of her skin corroding under the bombardment of rain and laughter, flaking away until she was nothing at all, just a handful of white dust.

      At last, the platters and cloths were carried away, the curved table pushed forward so there could be dancing in its hollowed space. The musicians, who had been playing sweet madrigals practically unnoticed during the feasting, struck up a stately pavane. King Henry led the dance with his daughter, her tiny hand in his giant paw.

      Princess Mary was a graceful little thing, Marguerite observed, pointing her toe, turning with a flourish of her wrist. Her thin face was solemn with concentration, but her father beamed down at her. Queen Katherine watched it all with a serene smile. Would the princess truly marry the Duc d’Orleans one day, and be a credit to the French royal family? Marguerite could not yet say. It was early days yet in the treaty negotiations, and Princess Mary seemed so solemn, so—Spanish. But it could be an important, and long-lasting, alliance for François and Henry both.

      As the music ended, Henry lifted Mary high, twirling her around as he laughed. “You behold here, gentles, my pearl of the world!” he announced. Amid applause, the princess bowed prettily.

      “Pearl or not, girls need their rest,” Queen Katherine said placidly. She took her daughter’s hand as Henry lowered Mary to her feet. “I will take the princess to her apartment.”

      With the queen and her ladies gone from the hall, the music changed. From the slow, traditional pavane, the tempo increased to a lively saltarello, the newest dance to arrive from Italy. Marguerite watched closely as King Henry led a new lady on to the floor, and the other couples edged to the sides of the pattern to make room for them.

      This, then, must be the famous Anne Boleyn, Marguerite thought. Lady Penelope Percy had been right, Mistress Boleyn was not beautiful. She was small and very thin, her complexion too sallow to ever aspire to the fashionable roses-and-lilies. Her hair was almost as black as the night sky outside, thick and straight, glossy, held back from her pointed face by a jewelled band. Her dark eyes flashed with a bright, naughty wit as she smiled up at the king.

      But Marguerite saw that she possessed something deeper, more valuable than mere prettiness. She had style, and a light, lithe grace. She had self-possession and confidence. She looked at the gathering as if she owned it, as if they were all—Henry especially—hers to command. And the king in turn stared at her as if he would be commanded in an instant by anything she said.

      Non, Anne Boleyn was not someone Marguerite would care to tangle with. She would just have to take care to steer clear of her. If such a thing was possible.

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