Chapter Four

Meg was reading in her room when Hal entered and insisted they leave for Westminster castle and visit his father, advising her to pack as he didn't intend to stay here any longer.

"You're moving back?" she asked.

"My father is gravely sick, so 'tis time I threw off this loose behaviour."

"Is that why you've been drinking less?" she asked.

"In part."

"And here I thought you were taking my advice," she teased. "Surely I won't be welcome at the castle though?"

He hesitated as he considered her words. "Perhaps not," he admitted.

"You don't need to look so guilty, Hal. As soon as I've diagnosed your father, I'll be returning home anyway."

Hal nodded thoughtfully. "Then let us away, I shall send a servant for my belongings."

Westminster was very different from the place she remembered, and a reminder that this was not where she belonged. Sometimes while in Hal's company, she almost felt at home.

She followed meekly behind him, playing the part of a page boy.

"Warwick, this boy is apprentice to an acclaimed physician from the north," Hal explained to one of Father's advisers. "He comes to examine my father, see if he or his master can discern the malady which consumes him."

"Why does the physician himself not come?"

"He is too old to travel far, thus the boy goes in his stead."

Warwick nodded his acceptance of the lie.

"How doth the king?" Hal asked.

"He ails terribly. I fear this malady will be the end of him."

"If I may?" Meg stepped forward and looked at Warwick. "What are his symptoms?"

"Symptoms?"

"How does the illness present?"

"Do thou not wish to examine the king?"

"Eventually, but first I want to ask what the signs are."

"His skin suffers disfigurement and his body on occasion."

After a lot of prompting, she understood that the king often seemed unsteady, prone to bouts of paralysis, was unsteady on his feet on occasion, and then he would take between minutes and hours to recover. There seemed no rhyme or reason to the onset of attacks, although they were becoming more frequent.

"How is his memory?"

"It fails a little," John admitted. "More as time goes on."

She then went into see the king and examine him. He had recently had an attack and was tired and not very responsive, but she couldn't find any causes for his symptoms.

She looked for the most common causes of dizziness, such as an ear infection, questioned his diet in case it was low blood sugar, checked his pulse in case his heartbeat was uneven but she found nothing. It could still be a heart condition, she could not diagnose a mild heart attack without modern machinery, but there was little point focusing on what she couldn't prove.

When she had exhausted all the options she could think of, she nodded to Hal, who led her from the room.

"So?" he asked.

"I don't know," she admitted. "The skin condition is psoriasis, it isn't fatal, just uncomfortable, and it isn't causing his fainting spells."

"Can this psoriasis be treated?"

"It can be managed but not cured. Exfoliate the skin with a salt scrub then rub the dry skin and sores with emollients or oils to help ease them. I think the best cure is vitamin D though. The best way to get that is exposure to the sun, but it's a little chilly for sunbathing. It can also be found in oily fish, like salmon and mackerel, or milk and dairy products, so I recommend putting more of them in his diet. One of the best sources is cod liver oil with one table spoon having something like three times the daily allowance. If you have much cod on hand, boil the bodies up, let it cool, scoop the oil off the top and give him a little each day."

"I'll look into it," Hal nodded his understanding. "What of the apoplexy?" Hal asked.

"I don't know. Perhaps if I could see him have one of these attacks myself, I might know, but the symptoms I've been told are quite general and have a lot of possible causes."

"Then will thou stay a few days and see if thy cannot witness and name this ailment?"

She had been looking forward to going home, but she had been here two weeks already, what would a day or two more matter? Besides, it was probably too late to return home tonight, she'd find herself locked in the church or something.

"Okay, but I'll need to stay close so that I can observe the next attack."

"I will have rooms readied. Dost thou wish any belongings brought here from the tavern?"

"Only my handbag but I don't want anyone else going through that and finding the, uh, odd things in there. And I might need to borrow a new shirt while I wash this one."

"I can furnish thee with more male garments," he assured her. "Now come, you may stay in my page's room this evening, although I hope thou might share my bed once more."

"Of course." How could she leave him to sleep alone when his father was so unwell?

Meg slept better than she had since she arrived here, in the prince's comfortable and warm bed, with its feather stuffed mattress and thick blankets. Clearly the only way to live well in this time, was to be wealthy.

She was allowed to stay in the Kings room for most of the day, everyone apparently either believing Hal's story that she was an apprentice physician, or unwilling to call him on his lie. Hal had returned for her handbag that morning and brought the volume of Chaucer he had loaned her, so she sat by the window to read for the hours that the King spent in bed.

Hal didn't return for most of the day, occupied with matters of state, which surprised her a little, but it was good to see him taking up the mantle of Prince.

Of course, she worried about him, so soon after his own illness.

Yesterday was the first day he hadn't taken the antibiotic broth and, as nice as it was to have a proper bath, she had spent the day worrying that he would relapsed. Of course, that was hardly likely to in the space of a few hours, but she had worried nonetheless, and she had realised that she had come to care for him far more than was healthy, and she would miss him dreadfully when she left.

Far more even than any of her boyfriends.

Even today when she was sure he had recovered, she missed his company.

'Am I in love,' she wondered, but quickly pushed such thoughts aside, unwilling to admit it even if it was true.

The king roused himself late in the morning and she was able to question him more on his illness but wasn't able to clarify much.

She followed him as he attended his duties and she observed for herself how frail he seemed. Many times he appeared absent or forgetful but it wasn't until Westmoreland arrived with news that they had been victorious against Northumberland's rebels again, and when he collapsed soon after, she knew.

It was epilepsy.

His followers called it apoplexy and that wasn't too far off, considering how primitive medicine was in this time.

Having her answer, she left to find Hal and explain it to him. She found him in parliament hall, examining documents, and looking scholarly and regal as he stood there, quill in hand.

He smiled when he saw her but it faded when he noted her expression.

"Meg?"

"I know what's wrong with your father," she told him.

"Pray tell."

"I saw him have what I think is a myoclonic seizure, and I think the times he appears not to hear are absent seizures. They're both of a condition called epilepsy; it's a problem in the brain and there is no cure for it."

"Is there nothing that can be done for him?"

"In my time, there are drugs to manage the condition but I can't make them."

"Can thou not try? Thou brewed a potion for me, did thou not?"

"Because penicillin is naturally occurring, but I'm not a chemist, Hal. The only drug I can remember which is used to treat it is phenobarbital. It's one of the oldest and hardly used any more but even that, I wouldn't know where to start to try and synthesise it."

"How long does he have?"

"I don't know, Hal. Epilepsy affects the brain and- and-" she wondered how to explain it to him in terms he might understand. "The brain malfunctions, but there are half a dozen or so different kinds of seizures, some more dangerous than others. With time the attacks might be predictable and if we kept a diary, we might be able to identify triggers but left untreated, it causes irreversible brain damage which can increase the likelihood of attacks. His next attack could be fatal or his fiftieth, but from what people describe, they do seem to be increasing in frequency."

"You seem worried."

"He looks very frail, Hal. I can't promise anything but honestly, I don't think he'll last very much longer."

"Hours, days, weeks?"

"There's no way to tell."

Hal turned away from her and looked out of the window, his shoulders slumped. Judging from his sniffs. He was crying, so she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I'm sorry, Hal."

"Tis not thy fault." He stood tall. "I shall go to him. Where is he?"

"Resting."

He looked torn for a moment.

"Go, Hal. I'm sure seeing you will make him happy."

"I do not know if that be true."

"I'm sure it is. Go and see him, Hal, you may regret it if you don't."

He nodded. "Will you be all right alone?"

Meg nodded and he left.

Hal returned to his room, his heart broken but he was pleased he had been able to talk with his father one last time before he died.

He found Meg sitting on his bed and as soon as he entered, she went to him, enveloping him in an embrace and guiding him over to the bed, where she held him while he cried.

She knew she should return home but Hal was floundering in his new role and she felt honour bound to try and help. Besides, she needed his help to return home and it seemed inhuman to ask him to help her leave him, so she kept her own council and watched as Hal tried to cope with the loss of his father and his new duties as monarch. She tried to help him in any way she could, reassuring him when he felt unworthy, comforting him when he was sad and advising him when he worried that he would not be taken seriously

She shared his bed each night, comforting him with her love.

She was unable to watch his coronation, but she was there to see the procession from the abbey. She watched as he upbraided Falstaff and from her position in the crowd, she could see the tears in his eyes as he turned away. As unhealthy as their friendship had been, Hal had a genuine affection for the old man.

Meg couldn't help but admire his strength to turn them away, for he couldn't be a good king in the company of such men, no matter how much he liked them.

Over the next few weeks, he assembled his own court around him, his oldest brother, John, York, Salisbury, Westmorland and Exeter chief among them. He asked her opinion on many matters but she didn't know if he ever took her advice for as a woman, she couldn't attend those sessions and dressed as a page boy cum servant, she wasn't welcome at them either.

He began his rule making peace with his father's enemies, restoring estates to those his father had stripped, giving them responsibility and thus, royal trust, thereby making peace with his father's adversaries.

Meg still dressed as a boy and if anyone wondered why the physicians apprentice was now his page, no one said anything, or at least, not to her.

When he began making plans to leave for Kenilworth Castle, she decided that she had done as much as she could for him and could delay no longer. She was surprised to realise that she had been here for just over two months. Her family were going to kill her.

"Hal?" she said as they lay in bed together, both spent and relaxed.

"What is it, my dearest Meg?"

Her head lay on his chest, while his hand played with a strand of her hair.

"I… I think it's time I returned home."

His hand stilled a moment but that was the only reaction he gave that he had heard her.

"Hal?"

"Given thy silence, I presumed thou had decided to stay with me." His voice was heavy with sadness and she raised her head and turned to look at him.

"Oh, Hal, I can't. I've been away from my life for too long as it is."

"Does thou care nothing for me, fair Meg?"

Tears stung her eyes as she looked at him. "How can you ask me that? You know how much I care about you."

"Not enough to stay with me."

"Hal, it isn't that simple. I have a life back home, a family. And what of history? I have stayed her too long already, who knows what I might have changed in my time, and the longer I stay, the more damage I might do."

"God brought you here, Meg, and he means for you to be here. Who is to say that your presence here will not improve things?"

"We can't know that."

"I do not know it, but I trust in God, Meg, and I trust that he brought you to me for a reason."

"What am I to do here? Spend the rest of my days dressed as a boy and pretending to be your page? That's no life, Hal."

"I have been examining the family tree," he said, which confused her. "I thought to introduce you to court as Margaret Plantagenet, illegitimate daughter of Humphrey Plantagenet, son of Thomas of Woodstock, who was himself son of Edward III. In secret, I will settle a small fortune on thee and thus give you independent means. Thou could dress as a woman once more and given your noble blood and fortune, be accepted."

"Someone will notice I'm a fake."

"How?" He turned onto his side and resting his head on his hand so they were facing each other, and she mirrored his posture. "Your manners are impeccable and whilst thy manner of speech is odd, thou does not have a low born accent, and we can excuse your unusual language as your mother being foreign."

"All someone has to do is ask this Humphry if he has a daughter, and the game is up."

"He died some dozen years ago, dearest, and illegitimate children often remain unknown for years. We shall say your mother was Venetian and daughter of a minor aristocrat and thus being foreign and of no importance, no one shall question it."

"And what will I do here?" she asked, because reading every day while Hal worked was becoming tedious.

"I am having a room prepared in the Pleasance at Kenilworth, where thou can work in peace as a scientist." He took her hand. "Both thy council to me and thy affection for me, are invaluable and the country shall suffer for it should thou should leave."

She felt torn between following her head and her heart.

"I give you my word, dear heart, I will love and protect you for the rest of my days. So what say you, darling Meg, wilt thou remain here with me?"

"Do you love me?" she asked.

"How could thou believe otherwise? I could not lay with thee like this if I did not."

"I love you too," she smiled.

"Then stay with me."

After only a moment's hesitation, she nodded. "I will."

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you."

Before they left for Kenilworth, Meg journeyed into London one morning, dressed as a page, then at the Hog's Head she changed into the ladies clothes that Hal had originally furnished her with, then she visited a dressmaker to have quality gowns made.

She repeated this a few times until she had five full garments. Outer garments tended not to be washed, only the undergarments, those worn next to the skin, so these outfits would suffice for quite a while. She missed the versatility of her wardrobe back home but the clothes weren't too bad.

She also bought boots and other personal effects fitting of a moderately wealthy woman. A few days before Hal was to leave for Kenilworth, she spent the night in the Hog's Head and the following afternoon, she rode up to Westminster on the horse that Hal had purchased a horse for her. She was not a natural rider but Hal had given her lessons while she was dressed as a page and her voluminous skirts allowed her to ride astride, as a man would. The saddles were not what she was used to seeing, looking more like a cowboy's saddle in a western, than a show jumping or racing saddle.

Hal had left word to expect her and she was escorted through the castle and told to wait outside the throne room until called in. She sat down and waited for nearly half an hour, and she wished she had her kindle with her but finally, she was escorted into the throne room to meet her 'cousin'.

"Your majesty," she said as she kneeled before the throne until Hal bid her to rise and approach.

"I have read thy correspondence with interest, Lady Hunter. Perhaps thou wouldst repeat thy claims for the benefit of my court."

"My name is Margaret Hunter and I was born out of wedlock to Humphrey Plantagenet, the son of Thomas of Woodstock, who was son to Edward III."

"And what is your business here?"

"My mother and grandparents are deceased, I never knew my father and since I have no family left in my native Venice, I have decided to make myself known to my English cousins."

"Canst thou prove thy claims of royal decent?"

"My mother gave me a letter from my father," she said, holding it up, "proving their relationship and that he knew he had born a child by her."

Hal gestured to Exeter to take the letter.

"And what are thy hopes from this meeting?"

"Kin only, my Lord. My grandfather was greatly shamed by my mother's actions and I was raised in relative isolation with her. Now she and they are gone and I have no protector."

"And why did thou not seek a closer branch of thy family?"

"Forgive me, my lord, but I know not the intricacies of your family tree. If thou would direct me to a closer branch of it, I will gladly befriend them."

"Fear not, my lady," Hal offered her a slight smile. "You are welcome here."

She was surprised by his regal attitude since while pretending to be his page, she only saw him in idle times. He was every inch a king though, and she felt rather turned on by his bearing. It also somewhat explained his tendency to be more dominant in the bedroom, she was the teacher no longer and hadn't been for a while. The beard he had grown also gave him the appearance of being older and wiser.

"I shall have thee shown to quarters whilst we debate a while, and determine the truth of this missive." Hal gestured to the letter Exeter held.

"Thank you, my lord."

She left the hall and there was a servant waiting to take her to her rooms. She wasn't surprised to realise she had been housed near the King, so much the better to sneak into his rooms at night.

She and Hal had never spoken of marriage and in truth, it wasn't something she'd ever given serious thought to back home. She supposed she just hadn't met the right man.

Despite knowing Hal for only a few months though, her thoughts were already turning to marriage more and more often. It didn't help that she was getting tired of all the secrecy and she hoped that one day soon he might, as they said in times gone past, make an honest woman of her. Given all the sneaking around, it was a fitting turn of phrase for her situation.

Her bags were already unpacked, so after exploring, she took a book out and sat down to read.

"Cousin Exeter, what make you of the letter?" Hal asked.

"It appears to be a love letter between the parties mentioned."

"Is there a wax seal?"

"Indeed there is, mostly intact."

"Then compare it to our copy of his family's seal and we shall have our answer."

"And if it is genuine?" Exeter asked.

"We are a Christian court, so we will take her in as one of us and act as her protectors. Perhaps in time she will find a way to repay our kindness, perhaps not but either way, we will have done our duty." Hal looked to York to see if he agreed.

"She seems most pleasant and will be a welcome addition to your court, Sire."

Hal allowed himself a smile. "Do we yet have any word from France?"

"Our emissary arrived in France last night and is journeying to Paris as we speak."

"Keep me informed. I am eager to hear of their reply."

"Of course, my Lord."

Hal looked to the window. "The day is still bright. Perhaps I should offer our new cousin a ride about the countryside. If she is a good horsewoman, perhaps she may hunt with us at Pleasance."

"Tis prudent to judge her skills on horseback," York noted. "For if she is unskilled, the journey to Kenilworth shall be most arduous."