A Dangerous Inheritance Read Online Free

hunt with the hare and the hounds, and if the hounds should by any chance win, he will have all the pretext he needs for breaking this marriage.”
    “That may be so,” said my father, “yet I think you are fretting in vain. Northumberland is strong, and he has the nobility and the country behind him.”
    “I do hope so, my lord. I do hope you are right. It’s a good match for Katherine. The child was much taken with Pembroke’s boy. I don’t want to see it broken.”
    I heard a rustling of silks as my mother rose from her chair, and I tiptoed back up the stairs, all thought of food abandoned. I could nothave touched a morsel anyway, for my mind was in turmoil. Was my marriage in some way uncertain? Would it not even be a true marriage? I did not sleep at all that night.
    But now it is my wedding day, and as I stand here in my bridal finery, waiting for Mrs. Ellen to make the final adjustments to Jane’s train, and for my mother to clasp around our necks the priceless jeweled necklaces sent as wedding gifts by the King, I am still in torment. Whenever I think of my Harry’s handsome face, his loving countenance, and all the promise in his fair words, I dread to think that I might lose him, or that they will forbid us to become man and wife in the truest sense.
    But there is no more time to brood on this, for the trumpets are sounding and my lord my father, dazzling in white and gold, is waiting to escort us down the grand processional stair to the splendidly arrayed state apartments, through which we must pass toward the chapel. Durham House, where we have come to be married, is a palatial residence surrounded on the Strand side by a high wall buttressed by marble pillars. The guest chambers that have been allocated to us give onto the river, and the great hall and chapel overlook a wide courtyard. This is an old building, not much used these days, but I’ve heard that King Harry VIII’s queens once lived here. It is now the property of His Majesty’s sister, the Lady Elizabeth, who has graciously allowed us to use it for the celebration of our joint wedding. I have never met the Lady Elizabeth, but I know of her by repute as a great lady, and very learned. Jane was brought up with her for some years in Queen Katherine Parr’s household, and although they were never close—being two very clever girls, they were too competitive for that—Jane did come to admire Elizabeth; indeed, she speaks often of her wit and erudition.
    Sadly, the King cannot be here today. He has sent his regrets, and has generously commanded his Master of the Wardrobe to have the house refurbished in royal style, and to supply us with sumptuous wedding attire. These rich clothes that we are wearing, the cloth of gold and silver tissue, the damasks, the silks and velvets, the exquisite embroideries, are all the King’s gifts. And as I walk in procession, my hand resting on my father’s left arm, with Jane on his other side,through the great chambers of Durham House, I marvel at the magnificent display of King Edward’s great bounty: the exquisitely woven tapestries, some of them shimmering with gold thread, the Turkish carpets on floors and tables, the brand new hangings of crimson taffeta. The vast chapel, smelling of old, hallowed stone, is royally adorned too, and I am overawed by the rich jewel colors of the tall, stained-glass windows and the altar furnishings—but even more so by the sight of my smiling but pale bridegroom, who is waiting for me in a shaft of rainbow sunlight.
    I stare at Harry in alarm. He does not look like the robust young man who came to court me at Sheen. He looks ill, in truth, and thinner than I remember him.
    The binding words are spoken over us; we make our responses, and I swear to be true and loyal all my days, and to be obedient and amiable in bed and at board; and now the blessed moment comes: we are pronounced man and wife, and kneel together for the Bishop’s blessing. I have eyes only for Harry,