Philippa by Bertrice Small Read Free Book Online Page B

miseries.”
    “Ceci said you were a true gentleman, and she did tell me that you were pledged to another. Besides, it is unlikely anyone will offer for me now. I am fifteen, and my estates are practically in Scotland they are so far north. My stepfather is a Scot, and he and my mother spend part of the year in England and part of the year in Scotland.”
    “But you are very beautiful,” Sir Roger told her. “Certainly the right man will come along for you.”
    Philippa shook her head in the negative. “My mother will want a man who will live at Friarsgate, and husband it as well as me. She never enjoyed the court as much as I do, and she loves her lands. I, on the other hand, do not want to live at Friarsgate. I want to live at court, or at least be near enough to visit it regularly,” she told him. “If only my estates were nearer London.” She sighed. “I have not a great name, nor important family connections.”
    “How came you to court?” he asked, for he was curious.
    “My mother was the heiress of Friarsgate. She was orphaned at three of both of her parents, and her older brother. Her father’s uncle came to be her guardian. He married her to his five-year-old son, but when mama was five her little husband died. Several families would have had her for their sons, but her uncle wanted Friarsgate for himself and his heirs. He married my mother off to an elderly knight in order to keep her from anyone else. He meant to marry her to his younger son eventually. The old knight, however, thought of mama as a daughter, and taught her how to manage her own estates. Then before he died he wrote a will, and he put his widow into the care and keeping of King Henry VII. Mama’s uncle was foiled, and most angry about it, but it was then that my mother came to court. She was first in the care of Queen Elizabeth, and after she had died she went into the household of the Venerable Margaret, our King Henry’s grandmother. Her two best friends were Margaret Tudor and the princess of Aragon.”
    “How fortunate for her,” Sir Roger murmured, impressed.
    “Mama went home again when Margaret Tudor became queen of Scotland, but first a marriage was arranged between her and my father, Sir Owein Meredith. My father was Welsh, and had been raised in the Tudor household, serving them since he was six. He was well thought of by all. They traveled much of the way home to Friarsgate in the queen of Scotland’s wedding train. My father loved Friarsgate every bit as my mama. They were a good match, and it was a tragedy when he died so suddenly in a fall.”
    “And your mother remarried?” Sir Roger inquired.
    “Several years later,” Philippa said. “Mama and the two queens always kept up their friendship, which is why I was given a place at court. Mama brought me to court when I was past ten. I loved it right from the beginning, and Queen Katherine said I should join the maids of honor when I turned twelve. And so I did.”
    “No wonder some of the girls are jealous of you, Mistress Philippa. For a girl of little importance you have traveled high up the social ladder. The loss of an earl’s son is a serious privation for your family. I can understand your difficulty, but I will wager that if your estates were nearer London it might be easier to find you a suitable match,” Sir Roger said.
    “I know,” Philippa agreed sadly.
    Seeing her attitude flagging he said, “Come, lass, and let us dance. The lanterns are now lit, the air is soft, and the evening fair. I know you like to dance, for I have seen you with the other maids at other revels.”
    They joined the circle of dancers forming, and Philippa was soon caught up in the music and the rhythm. She danced well, and when Sir Roger lifted her high and swung her about Philippa laughed happily, her sadness gone now. She was totally unprepared when, the dance finally ended in much merriment, Sir Roger quickly kissed her pretty lips.
    “Oh!” Philippa gasped in surprise,