Vixens. Bertrice Small

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СКАЧАТЬ “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 that while they had begun at the back of the line, they were now in the front, and the king was just ahead of them. He turned his head slightly, smiled, and then beckoned them to join him in leading the court. Cynara moved quickly to the forefront with a flirtatious smile, half-dragging Diana and Fancy with her. Fancy wasn’t quite certain how it happened, but the king was suddenly tucking her small hand through his velvet-clad arm.

      He smiled down into her face. “Tell me about my colony of Maryland, Mistress Devers,” he said to her. His black eyes were hypnotic.

      Somehow she found her voice and, looking directly back at him, said, “It is a very beautiful land, Your Majesty. The Chesapeake is a series of deep blue bays coming up from the ocean. They are filled with all manner of sea life and game birds. The shores are forested in many places, but not so much now, my mother says, as when she first arrived. We call our estates plantations. My father grows tobacco, but not as much now as when he first came. He prefers raising horses. Slaves are needed for tobacco as it is very laborious work. My papa does not hold with slavery. He buys blacks, civilizes them, and trains them to serve us, or farm properly, and then he frees them. They usually remain with us and are paid for their work. He is thought odd by our neighbors, but I have seen the slavery system myself. It is inhuman in many cases. We also purchase the bonds of the English, the Scots, and the Irish who have been transported for crimes of one kind or another, or for debt. We have a lot of Irish at Bayview,” she concluded. “My father is sentimental for the land of his birth.”

      “Bayview is the name of your plantation,” the king said.

      “Yes, Your Majesty,” Fancy replied.

      “And your father, if I recall the gossip, is Irish-born,” the king remarked, “and a Catholic?”

      “Yes, Your Majesty. That is why my parents left Your Majesty’s Kingdom,” Fancy replied.

      “Prejudice is an evil thing,” the king said. And then, “Did you know that you have the most extraordinary eyes, Mistress Devers?”

      Fancy actually blushed. “I have my grandmother’s eyes,” she murmured softly.

      “Your grandmother is an extraordinary woman,” the king noted. “Was she really expecting you last evening?” His eyes twinkled at her.

      “Ohh, yes, Your Majesty!” Fancy replied. “She was awaiting us in her coach in the Great Court so she might escort us home.”

      “Will she await you again tonight?” he wondered softly.

      Fancy’s heart hammered nervously, but she said, “No, Your Majesty, she will not. My grandmother says that she is too old to come to court every night, and now that we have been properly introduced she says it will not be necessary, although she will come sometimes.”

      “A most discreet lady, your grandmama,” the king noted wryly. Then he said, “So if I were to send Mr. Chiffinch to escort you to supper you would come, Mistress Devers?”

      “I should be honored to take supper with Your Majesty,” Fancy said, and she smiled up at him, but it was not a flirtatious smile. Just a warm and friendly look.

      The king took her small hand from his arm and kissed it. Their eyes locked. “I shall look forward to this evening,” the king said. Then he released her hand.

      “As I will, Your Majesty,” Fancy answered him, and she curtsied before moving back to join her cousins who had now fallen behind into the midst of the troupe of courtiers. She felt strangely exhilarated. He was not the most handsome man she had ever met. Indeed, she was not certain he would qualify as handsome at all, but he did indeed have incredible charm, and again there had been that impression of kindness.

      “What happened?” Cynara hissed.

      “Later,” Fancy responded.

      “They are already gossiping that he singled you out,” Cynara said. Her blue eyes were sparkling with curiosity.

      Fancy remained silent, causing Diana to smile to herself. Diana fully approved of her older cousin’s discretion. While she wasn’t certain she favored Fancy’s obvious course of action, she did appreciate her discretion. But if the king took her cousin to be one of his mistresses, there would be little prudence involved.

      They napped in the apartments of the duke and duchess of Lundy. They ate a light meal that Bess had ordered from the palace kitchens. They bathed their faces and hands, and then prepared for the evening’s entertainment. СКАЧАТЬ