I fear it would make for tedious conversation.”
“I doubt that,” said Renard sharply, but Mary let out a guffaw.
“Now, now, Don Renard,” she chided. “Not everyone from the past is a potential enemy. Master Beecham may have served the duke’s secretary, but so did many others, and with far less integrity, I might add. I have assured him he’s welcome here.” She went silent, her brow creasing. “Perhaps we might find him a position on your staff? You, of all men, are best positioned to appreciate his talents.”
Renard’s smile vanished. The opportunity was too perfect to pass up.
“I do have experience working for men of distinction, Excellency,” I offered, “and I am literate in several languages, including Spanish.”
I was, too, at least partially. I could only hope he’d not put me to the test.
“Is that so?” The ambassador’s tone was icy. “As impressive as it sounds, I regret to say I’ve no need for another English clerk at this time.”
No, I thought, clerks, especially English ones, tend to gossip; and it would not do for there to be more speculation concerning his dealings to betroth Mary to Philip.
“Begging Your Excellency’s pardon, but I do not seek a post as a clerk. Unlike most men, I prefer to work outside confined spaces. Perhaps we could come to an arrangement?”
Renard regarded me with slitted eyes. He’d not expected me to press my suit so boldly.
Mary said, “Indeed. And I owe him a debt I wish to repay.” Her insinuation was not lost on Renard. While he’d clearly rather see me cleaning cesspits, he could not gainsay the queen. He inclined his head to her. “I am your devoted servant.”
“Good. I’ll leave you to settle it.” Mary motioned to her women. “Now, I must change for the council meeting. Don Renard, wait for me. We’ve business to discuss beforehand. Master Beecham,” she said, as I bowed once more, “it’s been a pleasure. I hope we’ll have the chance to meet again. You must let me know how you get on in your new post.”
Without awaiting my response, she swept through an opposite doorway, her women behind her, the little fleet of dogs yipping at their heels.
All of a sudden, I was alone with the ambassador.
“It seems you’ve more talents than I supposed,” Renard remarked.
“And I hope to employ them all in Your Excellency’s service,” I replied.
“We’ll see about that. Shall we say tomorrow, at around nine?” It was not a request. As I lowered my head, he abruptly crossed the space between us to seize my hand. He had an unexpectedly strong grip, more suited to a sportsman than one who made a living with his quill. “No need for that,” he said. “We’re just ordinary men who wish to serve, yes?”
I stepped back. His cordial words were anything but. He’d been maneuvered into a position of compliance, and he didn’t like it. But I had achieved my aim. I now had the chance to infiltrate his office and discover his plans.
“Rochester can give you directions,” he added, moving to the queen’s sideboard. He poured himself a goblet from the wrought-silver decanter. He did not offer me one.
It was a dismissal. I had already turned to leave when a voice said, “Master Beecham?”
I looked over my shoulder. Sybilla stood in the doorway of the queen’s private chambers, a folded paper in her hands. “Her Majesty is holding a banquet tonight for the Hapsburg delegation and hopes you can join us.” She gave me the paper, stamped with the royal seal. “This invitation from her will secure you a seat,” she explained.
As I took the note, I felt her fingertips graze mine.
Renard drew in an audible hiss of breath.
“Until tonight,” murmured Sybilla, and she retreated.
I did not realize I was still looking at the empty doorway through which she’d disappeared until the ambassador said coldly, “Are you also in the market for a noble-born wife, Master Beecham?”
I turned to him. “Alas, I cannot afford the privilege quite yet. But should my circumstances change…” I let my insinuation linger, gratified to see his eyes darken as he stared at me over his goblet.
“I suggest you look elsewhere,” he snapped. “Mistress Darrier is already spoken for.”
Though I didn’t look at him again, I felt his stare follow me as I left the room, like the tip of a dagger poised between my shoulder blades.
It did not escape me that he had issued a warning.
Chapter Five
Rochester gave me directions to Renard’s office-a series of turns and passages I hoped I’d remember-along with his effusive congratulations. “Well done! Don Renard is a fine man to work for, upright and devoted to Her Majesty’s interests. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better post at court.” He winked. “Or, I’ll wager, one better suited to make your fortune. I hear these Hapsburg officials piss ducats.”
Amused, I thanked him again for his kindness and took the staircase to the painting-hung gallery. Outside the mullioned bays, I saw the snow had stopped. A wan sun struggled to cast off winter’s pall, shedding anemic light into the courtyards.
I ruminated on what I had learned thus far. I had seen a portrait of Philip of Spain in Mary’s private rooms, a sure sign that she was seriously considering, if she had not already accepted, the Hapsburg offer of marriage. Elizabeth’s absence from the queen’s chambers was telling, too, suggesting a possible rift between the queen and her sister. Elizabeth went riding every morning with Courtenay; if he was supporting an anti-Hapsburg faction, might she be utilizing her friendship with him to indicate her own disfavor with a Spanish union for the queen? It would be typical of her: By not saying anything out loud, she was in fact stating her position quite clearly.
I turned my thoughts to Renard. He had no reason to trust me, a stranger who had arrived at court with nothing save my past actions on the queen’s behalf to commend me. I had added to his suspicions by showing influence with Mary and coercing him to offer me a post. What awaited me tomorrow at our meeting?
I also wondered about Sybilla, an Englishwoman raised abroad, newly returned to England, and, according to Renard, “spoken for.” I wasn’t the most experienced when it came to women, but I knew jealousy when I heard it, and the ambassador spoke like a covetous man. Yet Sybilla had engaged me on purpose with her subtle flirtations, and she had done it before him. Why? What connection, if any, did she have with Renard?
I quickened my pace. It wasn’t until I reached my room that I realized how fast I’d been walking, as if I were about to be detained at any moment. I had to smile. In less than a day, I’d managed to gain audience with the queen and secure an appointment with Simon Renard, the man whom Cecil believed was intent on destroying Elizabeth. I should be congratulating myself. I knew, though, how the court could enmesh one in its tendrils, how easy it was to fall prey to unseen traps. I had to watch my every step.
After checking that everything in my room was in order, I threw on my cloak and braved the maze of the palace. If my luck held up, I’d be able to get to the stables and chat with Peregrine’s new groom-friend myself. I wanted to learn more about Courtenay and his relationship with Elizabeth, but I had just crossed the quadrangle and barely approached the long, painted stable block when Peregrine came running out, his cheeks flushed from the cold. When he saw me, he skidded to a halt.
“I saw her!” he burst out. “She spoke to me!”
I didn’t need to ask whom he referred to. “Quiet!” I clamped a hand to his shoulder, looking about. A few ostlers idled nearby. “Not another word,” I said, and I hustled him back to the palace. As soon as I closed our chamber door, I turned to him. “Tell me exactly what she said.”
“Well, she came into the stables after her ride. I was tending to Cinnabar. He has a wound on his forelock; he must have been nicked by a stone on the road. Anyway, I was salving it when she walked in with a nobleman. They were laughing. He called for a groom to take his horse, and I volunteered to take it. She recognized me but pretended not to. When the lord left-she kept calling him ‘sweet cousin’-she spoke to me. She was not pleased. She said we should not have come to court without her leave.”
Relief washed over me. That sounded like her. “Of course she’d say that, but at least now she knows we’re
