AN: Well, I've survived the first two weeks of my Sixth Year - just -, so to celebrate, here's another chapter of Daughters. Hopefully the first scene will satisfy all you Elizabeth/Edward Brandon fans! Enjoy and please review! :)
Chapter 18
Edward came to dine with me that night, walking in carelessly without much ceremony. As I saw him, I moved to put my lute away, but he shook his head.
"I love hearing you play."
"And I love playing for you." I laughed, brushing my fingers over the strings so that the first notes of our song, the song he had written for me back when we were just fourteen, hovered in the air between us.
"Anne tells me that you were quite the lioness defending me in the Privy Council meeting this morning." His hands found my shoulders and he rested his chin briefly on the crown of my head.
"Aye. You deserve it." I leaned back against him as I spoke.
"Oh Elizabeth." Edward sighed. "You're fighting your own people over me. You don't have to, you know. I don't have to become King Consort. I'm your husband, that's enough for me."
"But not for me. You will have a title, Edward, if it is the last thing I do. You have been loyal ever since we met and it's time I rewarded you."
Tipping my head back, I offered him my mouth for a kiss, effectively silencing the rest of his protests.
However, just because the matter of his future title was closed, it didn't mean that Edward and I didn't discuss our future. When, after the meal, I took up my lute again, he glanced across at me.
"I hope our daughters are as beautiful and as musical as you are, Elizabeth."
"Daughters? Planning our family already, are you?" I asked, hiding my surprise by teasing him. Edward leaned back in his chair nonchalantly, cupping his hands behind his head. "Somewhat."
"All right. Tell me." Rising, I handed Lady Lucy my lute and then dismissed her with a wave of my hand, waiting for the door to shut behind her before I slipped down to sit on Edward's lap, my legs stretched out over the arm of the chair. Edward took my hood off, unpinned my hair and sat with one arm around my waist, the other hand toying with my hair.
"Well, I know we'll have to have a boy, preferably two, but I could see us with a few daughters too. Two or three, I think. What do you say?"
"Katherine. We're calling our first daughter Katherine. I always wanted to name my first daughter Katherine after my mother."
"And mine." Edward reminded me.
"Then we're agreed. Princess Katherine of England."
"Yes. But one girl we're naming for her mother." Edward replied firmly, squeezing me gently. "Princess Elizabeth."
"If we must. It's just that there are so many Elizabeths. And I'm England's first Queen Regnant. The poor girl would have so much to live up to. Can't we name her Blanche for my sister?"
"Blanche-Elizabeth. Princess Blanche-Elizabeth of England. Or do you have any other ideas?"
"Well…there is one name…it's rather French, but I've always liked it."
"What is it?"
"Madeline. Princess Madeline of England. What do you think?"
"What's the inspiration?"
"James V's first wife. The Queen of Scotland who married for love but died just months after her wedding. I was seven at the time and I just thought it was so sad that she never got to have a family with the man who loved her. I had considered honouring her memory by naming my daughter for her."
"There." Edward murmured, after a brief pause, kissing my cheek lightly as he spoke. "We have our daughters then. Katherine, Madeline and Blanche-Elizabeth."
Edward's voice was suddenly thick. I could sense the desire mounting between us and, all of a sudden, it made me uncomfortable. Edward and I had sort of fallen into love and marriage. We'd been so young when we were first attracted to one another than sexual arousal had scarcely come into it. And now we were married. Everyone expected us to produce an heir for England. What if we couldn't? What if we weren't ready for it?
Struggling to keep my voice light and carefree, I toyed with Edward's hair, running a hand through it as I spoke.
"And our boys, Lord Lincoln? Have you thought of them? England needs her Prince of Wales far more than she needs her Princesses, yet we have still to name our sons."
"A strong name, definitely." Edward replied easily, capturing my wandering hand in his.
"Edward." I answered decidedly, touching my lips lightly to his. Edward smiled into our kiss, but then shook his head.
"Not for our Prince of Wales, Elizabeth."
"Why not? What better name could there be for him than his father's?" I asked, knowing my voice was coloured with disappointment.
"Our reign's a new age, Elizabeth. Even your motto signifies that. According to that, love and justice conquer everything. Don't give our son a Tudor name – a name he'll have to live up to. Choose another one for him."
"So I suppose Arthur's out of the question, then?"
"Absolutely. Look further afield. What about Robert, for instance? Or John, for John of Gaunt?"
"William, maybe. Or David?"
"Christopher?"
"Mark?"
"Saul! Herod!"
"Solomon!"
At Edward's last suggestion, I collapsed into peals of laughter, shaking my head. "We are never naming a Prince of ours Solomon!"
"Nor Herod or Saul!" Edward retorted, tipping me playfully off his lap. Catching my hand as I sprang aside, he breathed into my ear.
"If we're going to have that many Princes, we'd better get started."
At his words, I felt a tremor go through me. Edward looked up.
"Do you consent?" His voice was barely more than a whisper.
"Both for myself and for England."
With that, I led him, for the first time, into my own bedchamber.
The way I had reacted to the Bishops' proposal that I annul my marriage to Edward may have silenced them, but it hadn't been in accordance with the justice part of my motto.
I knew it hadn't and so, when Anne asked to see me, I had no qualms about going straight to her rooms. We needed to discuss it.
"Anne." No longer obliged to curtsy to my cousin, now that I was Queen and she just Queen Dowager, I strode straight over to her and clasped her tight in my arms.
"Elizabeth." She warmed to my embrace, clearly slightly surprised at first. "I wanted to talk you about your coronation. Have you any plans for it? Other than ennobling John Dudley, of course?"
"Well, I'm leaving a great deal of it up to you, but I know that I want to enter London on horseback, just like I did the first time. And I'd like Lady Mary to hold the sceptre before Cranmer hands it to me. Like my father's other bastard did with you."
My voice hardened with disgust at the necessary mention of the Earl of Nottingham. Anne nodded.
"All right. And we'll dress you in cloth of silver trimmed with gold velvet for the procession. You'll accept the robes of state from the Dean at Westminster, won't you?"
"Of course. It's tradition." I smiled, before asking "What of the pageants? Will I be required to do anything in particular?"
"No. Just watch them and thank the players afterwards. To let you know roughly what we've gone planned, there will be one depicting you as the Saviour of England, delivering her from the possibility of tyranny under your half-brother. There will be another playing on your family – both sides, including how you'll be England's jewel of womanhood, being descended both from the Peacemaker marriage of Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York and the Rosa Sine Spina."
"The Rose Without A Thorn." I murmured, remembering my father's old endearment for my mother.
"Exactly."
"But what of Edward, Anne? I told you that I wanted him crowned at my side. Where are the pageants celebrating him? His ancestry?"
"I thought you might ask that. Don't worry. We've got one pageant planned that will compare you both to Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville and another comparing you to Edward III and Phillippa of Hainault. And there's the St. Anne pageant at Cheapside too. But as for crowning him, I'm not sure that's such a good idea. It might cause too much resentment among the nobles. So I've been talking to Lady Mary and Cranmer and the other Privy Councillors and we think we've come up with a compromise. What would you say to creating Edward the Great Lord of England and Wales?"
"Instead of King Consort?"
"Instead of that, yes." Sensing my disappointment, Anne put her hand over mine. "I know it's not what you wanted, Elizabeth, but it's the closest the other nobles would accept. They fought for Queen Elizabeth, not for King Edward. In fact, they fought against a would-be King Edward for you. They don't want, nor will they ever accept, a King Edward. But they will accept a Lord. A Great Lord of England and Wales. He'd be addressed as "Your Grace "or "Your Highness" in public."
"Like a Prince, basically." It was more of a statement than a question, though I was still struggling to adjust to the idea in my head. Anne nodded again.
"That's it. And, since I know you wanted a double coronation, we'll do the next best thing we can. I'll commission a special coronet for Edward. Gold, like a Duke's, but set with rubies and emeralds. For passion and fidelity. We can invest him at the same time as you're anointed, if you like. Or you can ennoble him from the dais. Whichever you'd prefer."
"I'll have to think about it. It all sounds perfectly well and good," I admitted, "but…"
"Yes?"
"Will Edward really be deemed worthy of me? If he's just a Lord, even a Great Lord, while I'm a Queen…I intend for us to be equal partners in our marriage, Anne, or as near equal as we can get. I wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea."
"Don't forget, Edward's Earl of Lincoln in his own right, Elizabeth. He'll be Duke of Suffolk one day. No one can take that from him. Ever. It'll be fine. As long as you don't alienate your supporters over him, it'll be fine."
"You don't blame me for the other day, do you?" I couldn't help the question. Anne's face, which had been ever so slightly tense throughout our whole conversation, softened.
"No. I know you were upset and that you had to prove to your Councillors that, though you're only sixteen, they couldn't overrule. So no, I don't blame you. But it can't happen too often, Elizabeth. Which is why I'm asking you to please accept the compromise and go to your coronation smiling."
"I will," I promised, before, tired of politics and wanting to relax for a while, seized upon Anne's chess board and challenged her to a game.
Upon leaving Anne's rooms, I went in search of my younger sister. I wanted to talk to her about the future.
However, when I found her in her rooms, she was with the twins, who had been permitted to accompany Mary Stafford, who was spending the day at Court, as a special treat. They looked up as I entered.
"Bessie. This is a pleasant surprise. I was beginning to think our Queen was too grand to spend time with her little sisters." Blanche teased.
"Never. It's just been a bit of a busy time."
Leaning down, I kissed her head, catching sight of the cards in her hand. "What are you doing?"
"We're playing Pass the Lady." Nora informed me grandly. I smiled at her vanity.
"I haven't played that in a while. Can I play?"
"I don't know. Can she, Jessie? Nora?" Blanche enquired of the twins. They glanced at each other, then nodded.
"Give me your cards, then. I'll have to redeal."
As the twins did as they were told, I sat down between them. Despite themselves, they nestled against me, delighted to have me back with them. I put an arm around each of them, hugging them close as Blanche dealt out seven cards to each of us.
"All right, Jess. You start."
Our youngest sister did as she was told, but, excited as they were to be back in our company, it wasn't long before we gave up even the pretence of the game and just settled back into some chairs, chattering like sparrows; without a care in the world.
Nora climbed into my lap, happily confident that I would receive her there, which I did, though not without a twinge of guilt at the flicker of disappointment that crossed Jess's face as she realised that there was no longer room for both of them on my lap.
Thankfully, Blanche, ever sensitive to the emotions of her close relations, said quickly "Come here, Jessie. I'll brush your hair, if you like."
Jess's eyes lit up and she sprang over to sit cross-legged in front of Blanche, who called for a brush and then dismissed her maid again.
Potential trouble averted, I had no qualms about asking Nora "So you're happy with Lady Stafford, then?"
"Oh yes, Beth! Mama's wonderful! She bought us both ponies for our last birthday and Papa taught us to ride them. I called mine Starlight."
"That's a lovely name. What did you call yours, Jess?"
"Daisy." Jess refused to meet my eyes as she whispered her pony's name.
"But she never rides her. Katy and I ride all the time, but Jess never does. She just stays with Mama. She's a scaredy-cat!" Nora said scornfully.
"I don't like it, Nora! And Mama says I'll be a better wife than you one day, because I've learnt more about the household affairs!" Jess snapped back.
"All right! All right! That's enough! Nora, just because Jess doesn't like horse riding doesn't make her a scaredy-cat. Blanche prefers singing or drawing, but I don't call her a scaredy-cat for it. I'm pleased you like riding, though. We'll have to go together some time."
"Oh yes!" Nora's eyes gleamed at the thought. I stroked her hair.
"It's a deal then. But what do you like to do, Jess?"
Jess met my gaze for a brief instant, then blushed and slid hers away.
"Jessie?" Blanche put down the brush and cupped our younger sister's chin in her hand. "What's wrong? You can tell us. We're your sisters. Whatever you enjoy, we'll understand."
"Nora doesn't." The little voice was thin, petulant. Blanche smiled.
"Nora's only seven, like you are. We're older. We've seen a lot more of the world than Nora. We won't laugh, I promise."
"Hey!" Nora was indignant; I clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Well…I like embroidery. And Mama's teaching me to do the household accounts. She says I'm good at it!" Jess cried out her last sentence defensively.
"I'm sure you are." Blanche soothed, plaiting Jess's dark hair with swift gentle movements.
"Have you got some of your sewing with you, Jess? I'd like to see it." I assured my younger sister. She hesitated for a moment, but then pulled a handkerchief out of the pocket of her skirts. She handed it to Blanche.
"I did it myself."
Blanche smoothed the fabric out with the flat of her hand.
I knew from the way her mouth fell open that we had something pretty special on our hands. And when she passed it to me wordlessly, my guess was verified.
The design was a fairly simple one of Jess's initials, J.C., surrounded by birds and flowers, but the strength and confidence of the tiny stitches far surpassed any I remembered making at that age. If I was right, then our little sister had the makings of a master seamstress.
"This is beautiful, Jess."
"Really?"
"Really, Jessie. In fact -" I used Blanche's nickname for Jess, as I always did when I was trying to be especially tender with our youngest sister. I also nudged Nora off my lap and got up, walking over to my other sisters and kneeling down to Jess's height as I continued, "Will you embroider me a ribbon that I can hang a jewel from? One with roses on? I'd wear it round my neck at my coronation."
"At your coronation? And you want me to make it for you?" Jess sounded almost disbelieving. Blanche secured Jess's braid as I nodded.
"If you would. Please. I can think of no one better."
"Yes! Oh, Beth, yes! Yes! Yes!"
Jess jumped into my arms, shrieking with delight. Staggering slightly, I adjusted to her weight and began to spin her in circles, relishing the way she giggled.
We spent the rest of the afternoon together, only parting at suppertime, when Lady Stafford came to Blanche's rooms to fetch the twins and take them back with her to their London home.
Blanche and I went to the window as they left, preparing to watch them out of sight. Blanche leaned against me as we stood together.
"I'm missed them."
"Me too. It was nice to spend some time with them for once." I agreed.
"When can I have them in my household, Bessie? You promised I could when you were Queen, but you've been Queen nearly two months and I still haven't been allowed to have them in my household."
"I know, I know." I sighed, knowing it was futile trying to persuade Blanche that the rest of our courtiers wouldn't accept her wishes. This might be one of the rare occasions I would have to foist my, or rather my sister's, wishes on to them and face the consequences. "I've just been a bit busy, Blanche."
Before my sister could protest, I hurried on "Anyway, I need to talk to you. You know Papa made you Lady of Ireland before he died?"
"Of course." Blanche raised her eyebrows at me, as if to say "How could I forget a thing like that?"
"Well, how would you like to go to Dublin for me and rule it as my Lady Lieutant?"
"Now? Before your coronation? I wanted to be here for that." Blanche pouted and for the briefest instant, I was reminded of the adorable little girl she had once been. Waving to the twins as they got into Lady Stafford's carriage, I wrapped my arm around her waist.
"Of course not. I wouldn't dream of sending you away before my coronation. You're my sister; I need you at my side for that. I meant afterwards. You're almost twelve, after all, and, until I have a child of my own, you're my heiress. It might be wise to give you some practical experience at ruling so that you're not quite as thrown in at the deep end as I was; whatever country you end up ruling."
"Hmm…Would I be able to take the twins with me?"
"I don't see why not."
Blanche fell silent, considering. Glancing towards the window, I saw her reflection bite her lip and knew that she was torn. We'd never been separated for more than a few days at a time before. The child in Blanche wanted to stay at my side for as long as she possibly could.
Yet, at the same time, I was no longer just her sister. I was now also her Queen. I was her Queen and she wanted to be useful to me. Now that I had suggested her going to Ireland, she was wondering if she could serve me better there. Not to mention that even Blanche liked a certain measure of independence. Being away in Ireland would give her that.
"You don't have to make a decision now." I reassured her. "Just think about it and let me know."
At my words, Blanche slumped, clearly relieved that I wasn't going to push her. I hugged her again.
"And for Heaven's sake, don't worry. I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do. I promise. I'd never do that, my darling. My darling, darling sister."
Blanche suddenly turned and buried her face in my shoulder, trembling. I held her silently for a few moments, letting her relax in the warmth of my embrace, before I tipped her head up so that she was looking me in the eye.
"Now, do you want to come and have supper with Edward and me? I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
"Sounds like a good idea." Blanche nodded and let me link our arms as I led her out of the room.
We talked easily as we went, for once not Queen and Princess, but sisters, pure and simple.
Just the way we used to be.