I also did not sense the danger in their silliness that had existed in Seymour’s attempts at a dalliance. Elizabeth and Robert were old friends—it was natural that some flirtation had grown between them.
“Your ladies will be searching for you,” Robert said, as though he sensed me hovering at the end of the gallery.
“They do fuss,” Elizabeth agreed. “They forget that they work to my demand.”
“Ever the imperious princess, are you not? I am certain they quake in their shoes.”
“Your tongue speaks nothing but nonsense, dear Robin,” Elizabeth said in mock severity. “It is silver coated.”
“Then stop my tongue. Kiss me, to wish me good luck on the morrow.”
“I wish you all the good fortune in the world,” Elizabeth replied, and then she went quiet.
I turned in worry to peer at them through the gloom. Robert had bent to Elizabeth, his tall frame curving over her smaller one. Their faces hovered an inch apart, and then Robert closed the space and let his lips touch hers.
Elizabeth flowed into him as the kiss deepened.
This was not a friendly buss for luck, but a kiss filled with a passion that had grown between them. I suspected this was not the first time they’d kissed—they seemed familiar with each other, even comfortable in the embrace.
When they at last broke apart, I stepped back into the shadows to hide myself.
Elizabeth must have heard some rustle, for her crisp voice rang down the hall. “You may attend me now, Eloise.”
She commanded in a tone I dared not disobey. I moved on numb feet along the passage to the window, holding my skirts still.
The pair stood apart now, Robert lounging against the embrasure’s carved stone arch, his smile firmly in place.
“’Tis only Eloise,” Elizabeth said as I halted and curtsied deferentially. “She knows how to keep her thoughts to herself.”
“The pretty seamstress.” Robert reached out and gently tugged a lock of my hair. “Would you like a gift, pretty seamstress?”
“No,” I said abruptly, then at his surprised expression I softened the word with another curtsy. “No thank you, my lord. You are most kind.” One was not rude to the Lord Protector’s son, even if he’d just been wantonly kissing an heir to the throne.
“She does not need you to shower her with gifts, Robin,” Elizabeth said, annoyed. “She is a dear friend who can keep her own counsel.” She held out her hand. “Walk with me to my chamber, Eloise. The halls might be filled with lecherous gentlemen.”
Robert laughed out loud. He gave my hair another tug before he waved me away.
“Take care of my lady,” he said, and winked. “Stay ever vigilant by her side.”
Elizabeth seemed to tire of the game. She frowned at Robert and pulled me to her side. “Good night, Lord Robert. My felicitations on your nuptials.”
She started swiftly down the gallery, and I had to stride quickly to keep from being dragged along with her. Behind us, we heard Robert’s laughter lingering in the darkness.
“Not one word,” Elizabeth said to me. “No tales to Kat or your uncle, do you understand? And never speak of it to me.”
“Of course, I will say nothing.” I was offended that she’d even think so. “But tell me, Your Grace—are you in love with him?”
Elizabeth bathed me in a glare that seared. “Do not be ridiculous,” she said with her usual ice.
Then she towed me at a near run all the way to her chamber, and I could ask no more questions.
Robert and Amy married the next day. Robert was red-eyed, an indication he’d not retired after I’d last seen him but likely had remained awake to drink more. Elizabeth sat serenely in the seat set aside for her comfort, her expression never changing as Amy Robsart became Amy Dudley.
After the ceremony Elizabeth coolly kissed Amy, now risen in rank, and wished her good fortune. She bestowed an equally cool kiss on Robert. Throughout the banquet and the ball that followed, Elizabeth kept her gaze on Robert, but the pair never made any sign that they were more than childhood friends.
Once, when I’d paused to refill her cup of wine, and we were relatively alone, Elizabeth snapped at me, “Close your mouth, Eloise. You gape like a fish. When I asked for your discretion, I did not mean for you to frown upon us like a disparaging nursemaid.”
My temper splintered, and I leaned to whisper into her ear. “You put yourself in danger, Your Grace. Have you forgotten how close you came to arrest and ruin?”
