Chapter 9

In the next day or two after my cousin's coronation, I became aware of whispers following me wherever I went, particularly when I went about with Anne and my half-sister Mary, as I often did, for Anne was determined to show the Court and England a contentedly united Royal Family.

She did all this despite the Duke of Richmond's rudeness towards her; despite the fact that he had to be banished that he had had to be banished from Court with immediate effect for the scene that he had created in the Abbey and, personally, I think it worked better because he was gone. Aside from the fact that he clearly hated Anne with a passion, my half-brother's arrogance had not made him many friends among the courtiers. They were more open to a Royal Family that didn't include him.

However, the rumours and whispers worried me. Were the Howards not measuring up now that we were centre stage once more, after three years in the shadow of treason and adultery? Who knew? In this court of wolves, one thing was for certain though. It was always best to be one step ahead. Forewarned was forearmed.

With this in mind, I sought out the only three ladies that I trusted to tell me the Court gossip truthfully; not to twist it in order to flatter either my father, my stepmother, my sister or myself in the hope of advancement. Kat, Lady Blanche and Lady Lucy Neville.

"What's going on? All I ever hear are half-stifled murmurs, rumours and unreliable suppositions. To have them in my wake, to this extent, worries me."

"Princess, it is nothing. Or nothing that you need worry about, at any rate." Lady Blanche tried to reassure me, but only succeeded in causing me more anxiety.

"So there is something. Tell me, Lady Blanche, please, for I have heard enough to know that it is something to do with the Queen. And everyone knows that Queens who do not please are insecure in this Court. If anything happened to Her Majesty…" I broke off, unable to finish. The three gentlewomen surrounding me exchanged a quick glance. Kat laid her hand on my arm.

"It really is nothing, My Lady Princess. They are only curious as to how you will react to Her Majesty's intervention on the Duke of Richmond''s behalf."

"She intervened on his behalf?" My mouth fell open in shock. "Surely she doesn't want him back at Court, after what he said of her? On her own coronation day, no less?"

"No! No! He wouldn't come anyway, if the invitation came from her. You know that as well as I do. No, your father was so angry at the scene that His Grace caused in the Abbey that he threatened to strip him of his titles."

"And Anne talked him out of it?"

"She did indeed. She appealed to your father's sense of mercy, reminding him that the Duke was but a child, a child who had known much upheaval in his life already. She may also have implied that a coronation and the summer was a time for joy and unity, not for punishment and strife."

"Clever." I breathed, admiring Anne's skill at manipulating people despite myself.

It was no wonder Father could deny her almost nothing. Even I, who detested the Duke more than anyone, could see the sense in allowing him to keep his titles. In doing so, Anne reinforced her own image as a young, kind-hearted Queen who only wanted the best for her family and her people. Edward, on the other hand, came out of this looking like a sulky, arrogant brat who enjoyed nothing more than spurning kindness and biting the hand that fed him.

Yet again, I vowed to study Anne's interactions with the Court more closely. Though she was only a knight's daughter by birth, tact and diplomacy were far more in her nature than they were in mine. I could learn a lot from her.

Anne didn't just concentrate her efforts on helping Edward and the Lady Mary, either. Even in those early days of her Queenship, my other siblings were in her mind as well.

One night, Anne invited me to dine with her privately and, once we had exhausted the usual store of small talk and had our food in front of us, she said "Elizabeth, I've been thinking about your sisters."

Somehow instinctively knowing that she didn't mean Blanche or Lady Mary, I glanced up anxiously. "What about them?"

""Well, it's not fair on you to have to look after them. The care of your mother's…"

"Don't call them bastards." I warned, before Anne could finish. "They're not born in wedlock, true, but I hate hearing people call them bastards. They don't deserve that name."

"...Illegitimate children is a burden that you shouldn't have to bear." Anne finished calmly "It puts you under stress, no matter how much you love them. I've lived with you; served you. I've seen it, even if you don't realise it. Besides which, they're a drain on your household's finances."

"But if they don't live with me, then where will they go? You know the Culpeppers will have nothing to do with them?"

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I've been talking to my sister Mary and she's willing to make them her wards, if you agree to it. You know she's got a little girl about their age and, as my sister, she has access to the funds she'll need to bring them up as befits their station as natural daughters of the niece of the Duke of Norfolk." Anne laid the plan before me as convincingly as she could, but in truth, I needed little convincing. I always felt guilty about leaving Jess and Nora behind whenever I came to Court and their presence in my household caused undercurrents of tension whenever Father came to visit. Sending them to live with Lady Stafford would solve all of that in one fell swoop. And Mary was a kind woman. Unlike most of the other people I knew, she wouldn't hold the unfortunate circumstances of their birth against them. She'd treat them exactly the same way she treated her own little girl Katherine.

In fact, as long as Sir William Stafford raised no objections to taking the former Queen's bastards in to live under his roof, I could see only one major stumbling block to Anne's plan.

"You do realise how much this is going to unsettle Jess and Nora, don't you, Anne?"

"Yes. I had thought of that. But really, it's for the best. And they're resilient little girls. They'll cope."

"True…still, would you mind if I told them myself. I don't really trust my household with the news. Even Constance…sometimes I wonder if she resents the twins for her current position in my household." I confessed, hoping Anne would understand. Luckily she did, almost instantly, in fact.

"Of course. They're your sisters. It's only natural that you should want to tell them. That's why I've arranged for you and Blanche to leave Court for Hatfield in three days time. Mary will leave for Rochford the following week so that Jess and Nora can be established in her household by the end of the month."

I nodded, lapsing into silence as one of Anne's ladies placed our desserts in front of us.

The rest of the evening passed pleasantly enough and, before long, I was rising, kissing Anne goodnight and curtsying politely to show respect for my Queen as I left to retire to bed.

Four days later, I was back at Hatfield and I knew I could put the unpleasant scene with the twins off no longer.

Therefore, I went into their rooms after lessons that morning, calling "Jess! Nora! How are you?"

"Beth!"

They sprang at me, clinging to me as though they never wanted to let go.

"How you've grown!" Clasping their warm young bodies close to mine, I kissed their dark hair, fighting back the memories it stirred, for they acted so much like I imagined Mother must have done at their age that it almost hurt sometimes.

"We're so happy you're home! No one else ever plays with us the way you and Blanche do!" Nora announced as I sent Constance and their other maids away, sitting down between the twins with an arm around each of them.

"I know, but you know I had to be away. I didn't want to leave you." I assured them, tightening my hold on them.

"Yes, but we still had no one to play with."

"Well, how would you like to have another little girl to play with? One who's the same age as you are?"

The twins exchanged eager glances. "Yes please, Beth!"

"Well, that's good, because while I was away, I spoke to the Queen and her sister would like to have you to live with her so that you can keep her little girl Katy company."

I kept it as simple as I possibly could, trying not to confuse my younger sisters too much, but they still looked stunned.

"What? But why don't you want us any more? Have we been naughty?" Nora's question stabbed my heart, but Jess's innocent plea "Don't you love us any more?" was even worse. It almost had me in tears.

"Of course I love you! You're my sisters!"

"But then, why do we have to leave?"

"Because it's easier; because I have to go away so often. If we had another little girl here, that would be harder. And besides, if Katy had to leave her Mama, she'd be too sad to play with you. You don't want that, do you?" I forced myself to sound cheerful.

"Why shouldn't she? We had to. And now we have to leave you too. It's not fair!" Nora burst into noisy tears, startling both myself and her sister. Jess was the sensitive one, not Nora. I'd expected her to break first, not Nora.

Mind you, one look at Jess told me that she wasn't far off tears either. Her little face was white and her eyes were dangerously bright, while an occasional tremor was already shaking her shoulders.

Still, Nora was my more immediate concern. I bent my head over her, murmuring "Hush, Nora, hush. It'll be all right. You'll see. You'll have lots of fun with Lady Stafford and Katy, I promise." I hugged my younger sister close, trying to calm her down. Then, keeping her on my lap, I reached for Jess's hand, squeezing it gently as I repeated to them what Mother had said to me so often "And I promise I will never stop loving you. I love you with all my heart and I bid you never forget it."

Suddenly, I remembered something that I used to do with Blanche when she was angry or upset. I'd never done it with the twins, because of the difference in our statuses, but today, I couldn't have cared less. Whatever the rest of the world thought, these harmless girls were just children. Children who were now sorely in need of comfort.

And since they were my sisters, comfort was what I would give them. Straightening up with Nora still in my embrace, I whispered to Jess "Wait here, I'll be right back" and carried her sister through my apartments to my own bedchamber.

Laying her gently on my bed, I went back for Jess, ignoring Kat's glances as I did so, though they were sharp with anxiety. As I reached Jess, I realised that she too had started crying, so I wasted no time in carrying her across to join Nora.

Shutting the three of us in my bedchamber, I lay down, wrapping them in my arms. As they cuddled close, I sang nonsense songs in a low voice, allowing myself the luxury of a smile when they reacted just like Blanche used to do.

Soothed by the heat of my body and the sound of my voice, they gradually calmed down, until their sobs had become nothing more than muffled whimpers.

Once they had eventually fallen asleep, I called Kat to help me carry them back into their own rooms and went in to do my sewing beside them.

Some people might have thought it unwise to spend time trying to console them, but I knew that it was the right thing to do. All Jess and Nora needed was reassurance that I loved them. It hadn't be so necessary before, but they were four now. The difference between the way people treated Blanche and I and the way they treated them was gradually becoming clearer to them. As it became clearer, they were becoming more insecure in themselves. That was partly why I was unsure about Anne's plan to send them to live with Lady Stafford. Moving house would not help them.

But Anne wasn't just my cousin anymore. She was the Queen. And what's more, I knew she meant well. I wasn't going to try and stop the plan she had put in motion. I would let it happen and just try to prepare my younger sisters as best I could.

Over the next week or so, I spent as much time as I could playing with Jess and Nora, getting them comfortable with the idea of moving away and making sure they trusted me when I told them that I loved them, no matter what, but the big day arrived before anyone was quite ready for it.

I had scarcely finished breakfast when Mary Norris came over to me. "A man called Nicholas Woodrow is here to see you, my Lady."

"Thank you, Mary. Let him in, please."

Rising, I extended my hand for the man who entered to kiss.

"Your Highness." I liked Nicholas Woodrow immediately. He was a sturdy, open-faced kind of man who had a sort of rugged charm about him. I instantly felt comfortable; he was the kind of man that I would trust to escort me somewhere, so I had few qualms about entrusting Jess and Nora to his care, especially since Constance was travelling with them.

Still, I wanted to make sure that he understood the situation completely.

"You're Sir William Stafford's steward?" I inquired, signing to Lady Lucy to bring a tumbler of wine.

"I am, Your Highness. I have served Sir William faithfully since I was a child and I have been lucky enough to be his steward these past five years."

"And you understand what's expected of you?"

"Yes. Lady Stafford made it clear to me that these children are to be treated with care."

"They are. They are young yet, Master Woodrow, but their lives so far have not been easy. They are – are not as skilled around other people as you might expect of children of their age of noble parentage." I explained succinctly, trying to keep my voice steady. Since he was collecting them, I had no doubt that Master Woodrow knew that Eleanor and Jessica were my half-sisters, but it was still always best to watch my words around strangers.

Master Woodrow nodded. "I understand, Princess. Miss Eleanor and Miss Jessica will be safe with me."

"I'm sure they will." I smiled at him before saying "Could you…I mean, would you mind stepping outside for a moment so that I might say goodbye to the girls privately?"

"Of course not, Princess. Good day."

Master Woodrow bowed, kissed my hand and then left, bowing to Blanche, who he passed in the doorway, as he did so.

"Can I say goodbye to them too, Bessie?" Blanche asked, almost timidly, I thought.

Suddenly, I realised that I had probably been shutting Blanche out by spending so much time with Jess and Nora. Resolving to begin remedying that immediately, I nodded, stretching a hand out to my younger sister, beckoning her over.

"Of course. They're your sisters just as much as they are mine."

No sooner were the words out of my mouth than Blanche was at my side. We stood side by side as Constance brought the twins in, dressed in soft grey travelling dresses. At the sight of the two of us, they dropped into identical, adorable curtsies. "Your Highnesses."

"No. Not Your Highness. Beth. Beth and Blanche, both of you." I caught both their gazes and reached down to help them up, before kneeling to their height.

"You look pretty, girls. Do you know what you've got to do when you get to Lady Stafford's house?"

Nora nodded. "We do this" – she dropped into another curtsy – "and say "Pleased to meet you, Lady Stafford. We're very happy to be able to stay with you. Thank you for inviting us."

My heart clenched at the sight of her, utterly solemn, pronouncing those grown up words so carefully in a voice that belied just how young she still was. For a moment, I couldn't speak, so it was Blanche who answered.

"That's right, Nora. And Lady Stafford will be just as pleased to meet you. You'll see, she'll be very nice to you. And we'll write to you, we promise. But you'd better go now."

She pulled Jess into her arms and kissed her. I nodded.

"Yes. Blanche is right. You'd better go. It'll be a long day."

Embracing Nora as I spoke, I murmured "I promised I would never stop loving you, remember? I love you with all my heart and I bid you never forget it."

I felt her nod against my chest, pressed a feather light kiss to her temple and let Blanche take her to hug her as I reached for Jessica.

"I love you, Jess. You're my rosebud, whatever anyone else says. You're my rosebud of a sister and I adore you. Understand?"

"Yes Beth." she whispered. I brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

"Good. Then stay strong for me, Jessie, and one day, we will see each other again. I promise."

I kissed her and held her close for another few precious moments before releasing her so that Constance could take charge of her again. As Blanche did the same with Nora, I looked up at Constance.

"Goodbye, Constance. See them safe to Rochford, won't you?"

"Of course, My Lady Princess. Goodbye." Constance bobbed a curtsy and then led the twins from the room.

Blanche went straight to her lessons after they had gone, but I sat down in the window seat for a while, watching the carriage Lady Stafford had sent until it was no more than a speck in the distance.

I really hoped I was doing the right thing. Anne seemed to think so, but what if they didn't settle with Lady Stafford? What would we do then?