I turned over then, able to relax, and wanting to sleep so I could be well rested for the next day’s masque.
This was one occasion when I had been given leave to wear one of my finest gowns and I was again thankful of my father’s pride in attire. My gown was claret colored, overstitched with gold thread, and had matching slippers. I arranged my hair in an elaborate knot with pearl pins embedded within. Mistress Dorothy and I walked to Lady Latimer’s rooms together, whence we all left for the great hall.
We arrived at the dining table and one of the king’s men showed us where we were to be seated. Kate was notably placed at the table in front of the king and the Lady Mary. After the supper there was a grand dance with a dozen musicians. The hall was ablaze with light and rich with the alchemy of sweat and perfume and ambition and lust, and the acrid wisps of burnt candle wicks.
I looked for Jamie but I did not see him. I had depended upon his being there because I knew Sir Thomas was. I was therefore sorely disappointed, but I heard another’s voice behind me. “My lady, a dance?” A fine young man with a tousled head of long blond hair came to where I sat with Dorothy and several of the other ladies.
“Yes, of course, sir …”
“Tristram Tyrwhitt,” he said. He took my hand and led me to the dance floor. His friend, mayhap not quite as finely wrought as this Tristram, followed behind with Dorothy. I was glad she’d been invited to dance as well but her eyes were not on her partner; rather, she fixed her gaze on Sir Tristram.
“I’ve not seen you here before,” Sir Tristram said.
“No, I have only been in Lady Latimer’s household for nigh on six months.”
He nodded approvingly. “My aunt Lady Tyrwhitt is a good friend of Lady Latimer’s.”
“I have met her!” I exclaimed. “She is a most devout woman.”
Sir Tristram rewarded me with a smile. “She is. And I suspect you are, too, mistress. Lady Latimer would not have her household be otherwise.”
We made pleasant conversation about court and he danced with me thrice that evening, though keeping me at an arm’s length. I did not have time to decide whether that was respectful modesty or an indication of his dislike of dancing before another young man approached.
“My lady, might I be so bold as to ask you to dance?” he asked. I looked up into the face of a tall and broad man a few years older than I. His green eyes gleamed in an unsettling but compelling manner. “Sir John Temple,” he said. “Of Gardiner’s household.”
He wore the badge of his association and it did not sit well with me because I was not overfond of braggarts. He swept me out to dance and I had to admit that he was a fine dancer and kept good conversation. He drew me much closer than Sir Tristram had and while the sensation wasn’t entirely unwelcome, it wasn’t wholly welcome, either.
“Are you new to court?” he asked.
“I am, sir,” I replied. He smiled with approval at my seeming subservience. “From Marlborough.”
“You must watch your company then, my lady. Mayhap you do not know that the Tyrwhitts are reformers. A lady’s reputation is made—and lost—quickly here.”
“I thank you for your warning,” was all I said, though a half dozen tart retorts begged for liberty.
“I would that our king would rid us of their pestilence. His Grace Stephen Gardiner makes continued efforts in that direction. Ad maiorem dei gloriam.”
I restrained a smile and translated. “‘For the greater glory of God.’ I suspect the reformers feel likewise.”
Sir John held me at arm’s length as the song ended. “You must have had good tutors. You speak Latin well,” he said approvingly, but looked befuddled at my response, perhaps wondering if I was a reformer.
I curtseyed slightly and gave him a demure, ladylike smile. “Thank you for the dance, Sir John.” I ended our time together.
He bowed in a courtly manner and moved on. “My pleasure, mistress.”
While we watched the other dancers I had occasion to notice that His Majesty, a great bear of a man who completely dominated the room and still, somehow, exuded charm, danced with Lady Latimer as often as his demanding leg would allow. He did not unfasten his eyes from her whilst she was partnered by another. The other she was most often partnered with was Thomas Seymour. Her high color, her steady gaze into his eyes as they danced, and the frequent warm laughter they shared indicated that she was as besotted with Sir Thomas as he was with her. I grudged her not. Lord Latimer had long been ill and they had oft been separated by time and chance afore then. But now she was free.
I was nearby when the king stepped in. “May we intrude?” he asked Sir Thomas, as though there could be any answer but yes.
Before Sir Thomas could answer, the king made a point to ask Lady Latimer, “Is that one of the gowns we bought for you, Kate?”
She indicated that it was and he said, “We shall have to make for you a fine girdle of rubies and garnets for when you next wear it.”
As I was next to Sir Thomas he looked at me and, though clearly discomfited by the discourse between Kate and the king, let a smile waggle his beard.
“Mistress St. John?”
“’Twould be my distinct honor, Sir Thomas.”
“How do you like your stay in Lady Latimer’s household?”
“I am very happy, thank you, Sir Thomas. I have oft written to my mother to tell her about the kindness you’ve bestowed upon me.”
Sir Thomas smiled, and apparently noticing that I continued to look about me, he asked, “Whom do you seek?”
“One of your men, sir,” I said. I had no choice but to divulge my intent if I wanted an answer. “James Hart. Has he accompanied you this evening?”
Sir Thomas laughed. “He has. I expect if you look for a circle of ladies you shall find him at the center.” He pulled away from me. “You’re taking on the sheen of the court, Juliana.”
’Twas the first time he’d spoken to me in such a familiar manner, but it was brotherly and seemed to hold no ill intent so I warmed to it. “I hope that is a compliment, Sir Thomas.”
“’Tis,” he said, “and a warning.” He bowed and I curtseyed and our dance was done. He took time to kiss my hand and as he did, I spied the gold and black onyx signet ring he always wore. It gave me pause, as it always brought my prophecy back to me.
I noticed that he next chose another young woman to dance with. She looked delighted, perhaps enchanted, to have been chosen to dance with him and her enthusiasm radiated outward from her countenance. Sir Thomas, like a man who’d long tarried in a gray season, absorbed that bright enthusiasm with apparent pleasure and repaid it in kind. He glanced at Kate, I assumed, to see if she took note of him with the pretty maiden. By her glance and grimace, she had.
I took a seat and a cup of watered wine and watched Dorothy on the dance floor, in the arms of Sir Tristram, who appeared slightly wearied in contrast to her rapt attention to his every word. I closed my eyes for a moment and rested. I’d have returned to my rooms but I’d agreed to help the Countess of Sussex assist Lady Latimer after the masque. Her sister, Lady Herbert, normally assisted but had left early because her mercurial husband had stalked out in anger at a perceived slight.
“I thought I’d never get my chance,” said a voice from my side. I looked up. It was James. “May I keep you company, Juliana?”
“Of course,” I said softly. His eyes were deeper than I recalled; I turned away from the intensity of them for a moment. If I had any doubts about his being a man afore he went to war, there were none present who could question it now.
“You look tired. And ’tis no surprise. Thrice I have sought to partner you at dance only to find you firmly in the arms of another.”
I could hardly tell him that I had sought him as well. “The king’s minstrels have played countless songs, so mayhap you did not try hard enough. Or mayhap you were already absorbed in the company of others.”