Виктория Холт - The Rose Without a Thorn

She inspected all the children who stood before her, inarticulate and fearful lest we should give the wrong answers when she addressed us. Her eyes lingered on me and I was greatly alarmed, fearing there must be something particularly wrong with me which had displeased her. Therefore it was with trepidation that I later received a summons to appear before her in the hall.

My father was with her, and he smiled at me encouragingly. He had always a kindly smile for us whenever he saw us, but I never failed to feel that he was rather vague about us. He knew we were his children, but I doubted whether he could put a name to most of us.

Now he said: “Katherine, Her Grace would speak with you.”

I curtsied in her direction and waited with apprehension.

“Come here, child,” she commanded.

I approached. Although aging, she was quite handsome, and clearly took pains with her appearance, for she was most elegantly dressed. There were several rings on her fingers, and she was holding a stick, the handle of which was set with stones which looked like emeralds.

“Come closer,” she said.

I obeyed and she went on: “H’m. Pretty child. And knows it, I doubt not. Do you, child?”

I did not know what to say to that, so said nothing.

“Do you? Do you?” she went on with a hoarse chuckle.

“Yes, Your Grace,” I answered meekly.

That made her laugh. “Truthful, eh? That is good. But what a state you live in, Edmund. No way to bring up children. I hope the child remembers she’s a Howard. Do you?” she demanded of me.

“Yes, Your Grace,” I said again.

“Come closer.”

I obeyed.

“Sit on the stool where I can see you.”

Then she addressed my father.

“This matter will have its effect on the family.”

“Do you think it will come to pass?”

“Of a surety it will. The King has set his heart on it, and none will dare gainsay him.”

“And Anne?”

The Duchess smiled complacently. “I have spoken with her.” Her eyes shone. “I am proud of her. She will have her way. He is dancing to her tune. We shall have the coronation soon. Think of it, Edmund. My granddaughter, Queen of England. She is a girl in a million. They knew that well enough at the French Court. I’ve heard Francis himself had an eye on her. But she knew how to deal with that. I tell you, she is a clever girl. That affair with Northumberland, that would have been a good match in itself. But this … this is beyond all our hopes.”

My father said: “There are many against it.”

“Edmund! That’s the trouble with you and always has been. You are timid. That is why you are here … in this place. Controller of Calais!” She gave a short, derisive laugh. “This will change everything. You will see.”

“Shall you go back to Horsham?”

“For the time. Then, when it is all signed and sealed, my plans will doubtless change.”

I was wondering why she had sent for me that I might sit on a stool and listen to this conversation between her and my father, of which I had no understanding, when she said: “This little Katherine reminds me of her in some degree.”

“What?” cried my father. “She is not highly educated … unaccustomed to Court manners, I am afraid.”

“That is indeed so, but there is something. I shall not forget little Katherine. Come here,” she added to me.

I rose and stood before her. She touched my cheek lightly with her finger.

“Yes,” she said. “There is that certain quality with the Howard women. I saw it at once here in this one.”

I was so bewildered that I had no idea what was expected of me when my father intervened suddenly, saying: “You may go now, Katherine. Her Grace is tired and will wish to rest.”

I curtsied and, as I turned to go, I noticed that the Duchess was watching me, smiling and looking rather pleased.

It was all very strange and, although I felt it meant something, I could not be sure what; and, as I was apt to think only of the moment’s pleasure, I very soon ceased to think about the visit of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk.

* * *

My stepmother sent for me. She wished to talk to me. She was smiling and looking rather pleased. I felt she was almost a stranger to us. She had been with my father in Calais for much of the time since her marriage and only now was she getting to know the family into which she had married.

“You are very fortunate, Katherine,” she said. “Indeed, I would say you are a very lucky little girl.”

I waited expectantly.

“Your grandmother, the Duchess of Norfolk, has taken a liking to you. She feels that it is not good for you to stay here.” She lifted her shoulders and looked disparagingly round the room. “So … she is offering you a home with her.”

“With my grandmother!” I cried in dismay, remembering the autocratic old lady, sitting upright in her chair, addressing me.

My stepmother nodded. “It is a great opportunity. You will find Horsham very different from here.” Again there came that disparaging look.

“You mean, I am going away … from home?”

It had suddenly become very dear to me, with all its squalor and deprivations—and its comforting freedom.

“You will look back on this place and wonder how you could have endured it.”

I was surprised that she could talk thus of her new home and the family which she had willingly accepted as her own; or was it willingly? Had the Troyes thought it good for their daughter to marry into the Howard family? Even to such an impoverished member of it?

“I would rather stay here,” I said.

“My dear child, you speak with folly! The Duchess has a fine establishment in Horsham. She also has a mansion in Lambeth, but it is to Horsham you will go.”

“Oh, no … please …”

“It is your father’s wish. He has long been anxious about you children, and hoped that one of the illustrious members of your family would help in this way.”

“But why me?”

“Because Her Grace took a liking to you. Come. You must not be foolish. You must rejoice in your good fortune.”

“I like being here with my brothers and sisters.”

“There is not one of them who will not envy you.”

“Must I go?”

She nodded. Then she laughed.

“Oh, you are indeed foolish to be the smallest bit downcast. This is great good luck for you. You will grow up as a Howard should. I know it is great distress to your father that he could not give his family what by right of birth should be theirs. You must never forget that you belong to the Howard family, which is one of the foremost in England. The Howards have been close friends of kings and would have remained in favor if they had not been true to the House of York. They have always been loyal upholders of the Crown, and if York had not been defeated by Tudor, they would have continued in their glory. It was a Duke of Norfolk who carried Richard III’s sword of state at his coronation.”

“I know,” I said. My mother had told me that many times. Were they not always reminding me of the importance of the family?

She was not to be diverted. I expected she had had to listen to such talk when she had been persuaded to marry a man who could offer her, along with a ready-made family and a life of poverty, a famous name.

“Your grandfather was committed to the Tower because he was loyal to a king to whom he had sworn allegiance, and you know he was robbed of his titles and estates because of this. Fortunately for him, King Henry VII was an astute man and recognized his qualities, and after Flodden, he restored him to favor.”

It had been told to me many times, I reminded her.

“Your grandmother, the second wife of this illustrious Duke, is now offering you a home with her. You cannot be so young and ignorant as not to realize what this means. The Duchess would be received at Court. Who knows, there might be a time when you could go there. Imagine that—especially now, when your cousin might be very highly placed. So you are a foolish child indeed if you do not rejoice in this great good fortune which is to come to you.”

“When am I to go?”

“The Duchess is already sending those who will conduct you to her house. You will not take much with you.” She smiled ruefully. “What have you to take? Not those patched gowns of yours, certainly. Oh, you will find it very different in the household of the Duchess! She is sending grooms and there will be a woman to look after you. It is all settled and soon you will have said good-bye to all this.” She waved her hand disparagingly. “You will be living the life which will be right and proper for a young girl of such a family as that to which you belong.”

* * *

I was of a sanguine nature and, after the first shock, I began to look forward to the change.

My brothers and sisters were clearly envious. “Our grandmother of Norfolk,” they said. “Why, this could mean you have one foot in the Court.”

I tried to imagine what it would be like at Court. Dancing, singing, fine clothes and a glimpse of the King who, so I had heard, was big, strong and handsome. There was talk about a “secret matter,” which must be very exciting, particularly because my own cousin Anne was involved in it.

Of course, my grandmother would be there. She had changed in my imagination from the formidable old lady and become young and beautiful, exquisitely gowned, taking me to Court with her. I must make the deepest curtsy I had ever made to the King … and the Queen, the lady from Spain, who had been married to the King’s brother before he died. I was surprised that I could remember so much of that, for I had listened only vaguely in the past.

So, I forgot my fears and basked in the envy of my siblings, and on that day when the little cortège arrived at Lambeth, prepared to take me on the journey to Horsham, I was in a mood of eager anticipation.

I WAS OVERAWED BY THE GRANDEUR of my new home and, as we approached the great stone edifice with its battlemented towers and embrasures, I felt a touch of nostalgia for the one I had left.

We passed through the gates and were in a cobbled courtyard. There seemed to be people everywhere, chattering, laughing, and all very interested in our arrival.

One girl cried out: “’Tis Her Grace’s granddaughter. She is come!”

They clustered round me, laughing, familiar, friendly.

“Her Grace did say that Mistress Katherine Howard should be brought to her as soon as she arrived.”

“Marry, she did,” said another.

One of the men lifted me down from my horse. I felt tired and a little unsteady after riding far that day; but I was very excited.

They surrounded me as we went into the hall, which was like ours at Lambeth, built in the same style, extending, I imagined, the whole length of the house; but the timbers in the roof here were more elaborately carved. At one end of the hall was a dais on which was a long table; and there were big windows looking out over lawns. The weapons on the walls were highly polished and, as I looked round and compared this hall with the one I had just left, I realized afresh how dingy and neglected ours had become.

There was little time to dwell on comparisons, for I was hustled through a door and, with a girl on either side of me, taken up a staircase, through a gallery and up more stairs until I arrived at what I guessed to be the Duchess’s apartments.

She was seated and seemed as regal as she had in the hall at Lambeth. She looked as though she had just awakened from a doze.

One of the girls who had escorted me remained beside me, the other left us.

The girl who was with me curtsied to the Duchess and said: “Your Grace. Mistress Katherine Howard is come.”

The Duchess yawned and looked about her as though not quite sure where she was. Then she said: “Ah, Katherine Howard.” She seemed as though she were trying to recall who I was. “So, here you are. Pretty child. Tell me, how old are you?”

“I am ten years old, Your Grace.”

“Very young. But it was no place for you in your father’s house. You’ll be better here.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

“Yes, you do have a look of your cousin. It is hard to say what, but it’s there. The Howard look. We can hope you do as well as she has.” She laughed. “You could not do that, of course, but I see a bright future for you. Too young to go to Court yet.”

She laughed again suddenly. “You lack the grace of your cousin. You may see her one day. Then you will understand what I mean by that. But you do have a look of her. The Howard look. I saw that at once. You could have stayed there in your father’s house and been passed by. You’re too pretty for that.”