Chapter 29
Keelin was nervously pacing about Rhain's study when he arrived to bring her to the queen. She had neatened her hair by pulling it back on the sides and braiding that portion, so that it hung down in a narrow rope amongst the mass of curls that remained loose. That was not nearly good enough for her. She felt very anxious about meeting the queen, especially dressed as she was. She wished she had about two hours to better dress herself and arrange her hair, but that was not to be.
"You have nothing to fear," Rhain told her with a smile when she revealed her worries to him.
"You are Her Majesty's son. What if Her Majesty does not like me? Her Majesty will not think me worthy of you and I cannot blame Her Majesty," Keelin said, her voice distraught.
"You will only torture yourself with these fears. Come with me now and you shall see that my mother is only too prepared to accept you with open arms."
She nodded, unable to say any more, and was greatly relieved when Rhain gave her a fond little kiss and then tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. She leaned against him for support, taking a deep breath as his chamber door was opened and they stepped into the corridor. Several servants stopped what they were doing and stared openly as they passed by. A knight, passing by in the corridor, stopped to bow to the king and to study the scene before him with confusion. Rhain merely smiled at them all as if nothing in the world was out of the ordinary. Keelin could feel her palms sweating and her knees trembling and wondered how she would handle it once Rhain announced their betrothal and presented her before the masses. The thought made her feel faint.
They reached the door to the queen's chamber, and Rhain nearly had to remind the servant boy there to open it for them. The boy stared at Rhain and Keelin in shock, his mouth hanging open as he finally opened the door. Rhain reached a hand out and patted him on the head as they walked into the queen's chamber.
The queen was seated in the most magnificent chair Keelin had ever seen, aside from the royal thrones, of course. It was made of a wood so dark that it was nearly black and was polished to a high shine. It had a tall back that was elaborately carved with a woodland scene. She could only imagine its cost. In fact, as her nervous glance darted around the chamber, she was amazed at the richness of all the furnishings and tapestries. She had never been around such enormous wealth before in her life. The home of her former master and mistress did not even come close to the magnificence that now lay before her. It was a strange, alien land to her and it made her feel afraid. How could she think she would ever possibly fit in amongst such splendor?
Keelin curtseyed low before the queen, resting in the position for a significant amount of time, hoping the queen would know how grateful she felt to be in her presence.
"Come, my child," the queen said. Her voice sounded kind. "Rise and come to me."
Keelin rubbed her palms surreptitiously on the sides of her dress and peeked up at Rhain from the corner of her eye. He smiled and nodded at her, encouraging her to go forth, before he released her arm from his. Keelin stepped forward until she was before the queen and then sunk into a bow once more.
"We shall not stand upon such ceremony here, my dear," the queen said to her. "I assure you that I am most flattered by your show of respect, but you need not conduct yourself in such a formal manner. Such shows are not necessary amongst friends and 'tis my hope that you and I shall soon become quite intimate friends."
"Your Majesty is most kind," Keelin said, taking the queen's hand and kissing the royal ring. "Forgive me, for I do not feel myself worthy of Your Majesty's presence. I can scarcely believe that I am here."
The queen smiled gently at her. "Pray, sit in that chair that my son has brought over for you. I wish to speak with you and I wish you to be comfortable. I wish you to think of this chamber as quite your own. Indeed, I wish you to think of the castle as your home."
She sat herself in the chair and folded her hands in her lap, staring down at them. "That is most kind, Your Majesty."
"All of this shall soon be yours," the queen said, gesturing to the objects in the chamber. "You must treat them as your own possessions."
Keelin could feel herself blushing quite furiously. "Your Majesty is most kind, but I could never consider such things as belonging to me. Indeed, I scarcely know what it is to have things, so few of them have I had in my life." Keelin then blushed even more deeply at her words. She could not believe that she had spoken them, but she had the nasty habit of sometimes blurting out exactly what was on her mind when she was uncomfortable or nervous.
The queen regarded her with a look of sympathy. Keelin glanced over at Rhain, who was standing off to the side unobtrusively, and saw that his eyes were full of compassion. The depth of his emotions showed clearly on his face and this gave Keelin courage.
"From this day forth, you shall have all that your heart desires," he said to her.
She smiled at him. "I already have all that my heart desires. I require nothing more," she said, softly.
Queen Anne smiled at this and her eyes grew misty. "You do truly love my son, then?" she asked.
"Love seems too mild a word to express what I feel for Your Majesty's son. I know that I am not worthy of His Majesty, but I assure Your Majesty that I shall do all that I can to make His Majesty happy, to be the best wife I can possibly be, and a good example for the people of this kingdom," Keelin said. She was nervous in revealing such emotions to Rhain's mother, but she truly felt them from the bottom of her heart and the strength of her emotions gave her assurance, causing her to speak the words in a confident tone.
Keelin saw a tear trail down the queen's face, but the queen quickly brushed it away with her handkerchief. "And do you feel the same?" she asked her son.
"I feel all of that and more," he said, his voice soft and warm with love.
The queen leaned forward and took Keelin's hand in her own, smiling warmly at her. "Then I think you both most fortunate. 'Tis rare to find such love in this life and 'tis my hope that the two of you will hold onto it and never let it go.
"I know that this is all strange and quite confusing to you, my dear. I believe that it would be to most anyone. I know that 'twas to me when I realized that I was to be married to the king. But I have confidence that you shall prove to be not only a most fitting wife for my son, but a most fitting ruler for this kingdom."
"I have no wish to take Your Majesty's place," Keelin said nervously. "I do not presume to believe myself capable of such an action, but I promise that I shall try my hardest to be a good example to the people and to be deserving of such an office."
"I know you do not wish to take my place," the queen said. She smiled at Keelin once more and then, leaning forward, kissed her on the cheek. "I wish that you would not address me by that title. I have always longed for a daughter. I wish that you would call me Anne until your marriage and then I wish that you would call me mother."
Keelin was nearly overcome with emotion. She had nearly forgotten what it was to have a mother; it was so long since her own had died. She remembered the sweetness of her mother's temper, how deeply her mother had loved her and how special it had made her feel. As she looked into the eyes of the queen, Keelin knew that the queen could never take the place of her own mother, but knew that she had again found a mother in the queen. She was so overcome with gratitude and joy that she could not help but burst into tears. She did not know what she had done to deserve so many blessings.
"I cannot possibly express my gratitude to you," Keelin told the queen. "You have honored me in more ways than I can number. I shall always be grateful to you for your kindness and your acceptance of me. I hope only to better myself by following your example."
The queen kissed her once again and then offered her a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. Keelin accepted it and dried her eyes as the queen spoke to her.
"We shall spend much time together for I so dearly wish to know you. You shall be a great comfort to me in these months to come," the queen told her.
"As you shall be to me," Keelin replied.
The two women stood and embraced and Keelin felt a wonderful sense of acceptance that she had not felt in many years. She felt as if she had finally found her place in the world, as if she truly belonged there in the castle with the queen and the new king. She had found what she had been searching for all these years.
"Now," said the queen briskly. "Have you thought of a new chamber for Keelin, Rhain? She will also need ladies and I have three that will be perfect for her."
"Oh, nay," Keelin protested. "I do not need a new chamber. I shall stay with the sewing women as always."
"My dear, you will soon be queen. Your feelings do you great credit, but you are now to live a new life. You must live it in a manner that is fitting," the queen told her gently.
Keelin was truly distressed once again. She supposed that, in the back of her mind, she had known that this was to happen. Indeed, it was only logical. She could hardly sleep on a pallet in the sewing women's chamber once she was queen. Now that she was the king's betrothed, her status was elevated and her style of life was to be quite different. Still, she was not comfortable with the idea, not happy with the thought that she had suddenly been elevated above the level of those with whom she had toiled these past months.
As if sensing her conflict, Rhain took her hand and looked into her eyes. "This will not be easy for you. Will you be well?"
"Aye, I shall. 'Tis all simply so new to me," she said, her voice a little weak.
"We shall be here to support you," the queen assured her.
"I thank you," Keelin said, taking the other woman's hand with her free hand and pressing it.
"I hope you will forgive me, my darling," Rhain said to her, a look of regret evident on his face. "I shall announce our betrothal to the knights and nobility tonight and I must write my speech. I must also dispatch messages to Germany and Italy immediately."
"The kingdom must always come first," Keelin said to him. "I shall be fine."
Rhain's smile was more than enough reward for her words. "I shall come to escort you to dine."
"I shall live for that moment," Keelin said, lovingly. She blushed when she recollected that the queen was in the chamber with them, but the other woman merely glanced away from them as she tried to conceal a smile. It gladdened Keelin's heart to see that their betrothal brought such joy to the queen.
Rhain took both of her hands in his and leaned down to kiss her cheek gently. "Until tonight," he said.
"Until tonight," Keelin replied.
Rhain moved toward the chamber door, stopping only once to look at her over his shoulder. His mother moved forward, pulling Keelin's arm into her own. Keelin looked at the queen and smiled and then turned to smile at her beloved. He left the queen's chamber with a broad smile on his face.
"It does my heart good to see him smile like that," the queen told her after he had left. "It has been so long since I have seen him truly happy and I know 'tis entirely because of you."
Keelin ducked her head shyly and blushed. "I feel most fortunate that 'tis in my power to make him happy," she replied.
Queen Anne smiled at her once more and tucked Keelin's arm more securely in her own. "Come, my dear. I shall show you to your chamber and summon your ladies so that I might present them to you."
Once again, servants, knights, and nobility alike were agog when they saw Keelin moving through the corridor with another member of the royal family. Arm in arm with the queen, no less! Keelin could hear the buzz of their whispered conversations as she and the queen passed, giving her but a small taste of the uproar that was certain to follow Rhain's announcement that night. She felt increasingly nervous and it seemed that the more anxious she felt, the tighter the queen held onto her, lending her strength.
Finally, they reached what was to become her chamber. As she stepped inside, Keelin could not help but gasp. The chamber was enormous, larger even than that in which all of the sewing women slept. It had a high-beamed ceiling and a stone floor. Six large, paned windows graced the wall opposite the door, allowing the weak late afternoon sun to filter into the chamber. A massive fireplace was set into the wall to the right of the door, an impressive fire already blazing, and an equally massive bed with four posts was set against the left wall. It was ornately carved out of some rich wood that fairly glowed from polishing. It was hung with heavy velvet curtains trimmed in brocaded satin in the loveliest shade of sky blue Keelin had ever seen. A matching vanity stood between two of the windows and Keelin could see that it was fitted with a looking glass, a ewer and basin for washing, and a silver handled brush and comb. A matching wardrobe, massive in size, lay just to the right of the door. Several plush animal skins dotted the floor, lending an air of warmth and comfort to the chamber and the air smelled of rosemary and lavender.
"This is all for me?" Keelin asked.
"Of course 'tis, my dear," the queen said, smiling at her. She moved to the chamber door and spoke quietly to the servant lurking there.
Keelin wandered across the chamber, brushing her hand over the velvet bed hangings and tentatively touching the tapestries that hung pulled back from each window. She had never seen such a magnificent chamber and could not believe that all of this luxury was for her and her alone. She felt a strong sense of wonder as she gazed out of one of her windows, which afforded her a breathtaking view of the forest beyond the castle.
The door of the chamber opened and three young women entered, curtseying to the queen. They were all quite pretty and dressed in simple yet elegant gowns, certainly nicer than what Keelin was now wearing. One had waves of raven hair pulled back in an elegant net. Another had a blaze of fiery curls that were arranged becomingly around her head. The last was very fair and pale with hair as fine as corn silk that rippled down her back.
"Miranda, Catherine, and Diana," the queen said, addressing the three, "I have called you here on a very important assignment, but you must keep this secret until after tonight's feast. The lady you see before you is to be your new mistress. She is the maiden Keelin, betrothed of His Majesty, King Rhain."
The three women turned to study her with bald-faced curiosity and Keelin felt her cheeks blaze. They all immediately sank into low bows before her, their heads respectfully lowered.
"My Lady, we wish you joy on this most happy of occasions," the dark one said.
The queen beckoned to her and Keelin walked over to her. "The girl who just spoke to you is Catherine. Miranda is the girl with the red hair and Diana is the fair one. These three girls are to be your ladies. Anything you need, anything you desire, you have only to ask them and they will procure it for you."
"'Tis an honor to serve you, My Lady," Diana said to her.
Keelin did not know what to say, so she stood mute while the queen gave the three women some further instruction. They were to supervise as she was bathed, dressed, and her hair was arranged before the feast. In the meantime, the queen sent one of them to fetch her dressmaker so that Keelin could be measured for some new gowns. At this, Keelin found her voice and tried to protest, but the queen would have none of it.
"You are very modest, my dear, but you must have new gowns. I insist," she said with a smile as Keelin tried to protest once more.
"Truly, Your Majesty, I know not how to express my thanks."
"Anne," the queen corrected her. "And you have no need to thank me."
Keelin embraced the woman and then asked, somewhat anxiously, "Shall you remain with me while I am measured or have you more pressing business to attend to?"
The queen touched Keelin's cheek with a fond expression on her face. "I shall stay if you wish me to do so."
"Oh, pray do, for I know not what I am about and I would most dearly value your advice," Keelin said to her.
"Then I shall stay," the queen said.
Keelin was grateful for the presence of the queen throughout the day. Everything that happened to her was so strange, so bewildering, that she did not know what to make of any of it. She could hardly believe that this was to be her life from now on and kept feeling the disconcerting sense that it was all just a dream.
