Exile (16 page)

“Do not make things worse for yourself, man!” snapped the Queen.

“I meant no disrespect, Your Esteemed Majesty,” said Sharokh. “The truth is this. Ashraf sent a messenger to me before we fled. He told me that he must have the jewel, or the people would not accept
him as king. The messenger said I was to get it for him or I would be killed. I refused. I asked, Why me? Ashraf's followers are many—they could seize the jewel at any time. But the messenger, he said Banoo Yasmine is a clever woman. If she received knowledge of any plot to take the Heart of Kings she would destroy it.”

I heard Esther gasp in horror.

“That I would never do,” murmured the Banoo gravely. She took the precious jewel from its casket and held it up so it flashed in the candlelight. “This ruby is the most powerful symbol of our monarchy. If I believed Ashraf to be the rightful king and not the murdering usurper that he is, I would have given him the jewel gladly. But see, it is still here, Sharokh. It has shown its power and protected itself from theft. The Heart of Kings chose its protectors wisely.” She looked at Rajah and me and smiled.

I felt very proud and I am sure Rajah did, too— although he hid it well by having a good scratch.

“Merciful Banoo,” wailed Sharokh. “Have pity on your loyal servant. I have profited nothing from this and put my life in great danger.”

“It is not for me to judge,” Banoo Yasmine told him coldly. “We are in England and under the rule of its noble monarch.”

I began to feel sorry for poor Sharokh. It sounded as if he had had no choice. He had been threatened by Ashraf. I hoped Her Majesty would be lenient with him.

But then the doors at the end of the chamber were flung open. The guards moved aside as Babak entered. He had a cloth bag in his hand and he looked very flustered. He bowed low before the Queen.

“What is the matter, sir?” asked Her Majesty. “For your face seems to hold news that your mouth would speak of without delay.”

“Great Majesty!” panted Babak. “Forgive the intrusion, Wise Ruler, but I found this among Sharokh's possessions.”

Sharokh turned white. “That is not mine,” he shouted. “I have never seen it before!”

“And yet it does hold a vast sum of Sharakand gold …,” said Babak.

“I do not have any gold,” broke in Sharokh. “It must belong to another.”

“… and a small key curiously similar to that which opens the casket for the Heart of Kings,” Babak continued.

“I … ah … I …,” Sharokh stammered, at a loss for words.

I saw Esther's eyes widen in amazement and relief.

Clearly, Sharokh had had his own copy of the casket key. Esther had not left the casket unlocked, after all.

But Babak hadn't finished. “And, lastly,” he said, “this document giving you, Sharokh, safe passage back to our homeland. It is signed by”—Babak turned and spat on the floor in disgust—“Ashraf, so-called King of Sharakand, may he rot in hell.”

Sharokh was silent.

The Queen stood up. She was very calm but her eyes flashed with fury. “Take this worm from our sight,” she commanded. “He will enjoy our hospitality at the Tower—but not as one of our treasures!”

Members of the Gentlemen of the Guard stepped forwards and dragged Sharokh away.

“Mr. Hatton,” said the Queen. “Send a man directly to release the laundrymaid. Have her present herself at the Privy Kitchen for a good meal, and have Mrs. Fadget informed that Ellie Bunting is innocent, but will not be able to return to her duties until she has recovered from this ordeal.”

It was as much as I could do not to drop Rajah's leash and go with the guard. I had almost made up my mind to ask permission to withdraw, when the Banoo stood up and turned to the Queen.

“I am saddened that I have brought this disgrace
to your Court, Gracious Majesty,” she said. She held out the casket. “I do hope you will again receive the Heart of Kings as surety. I know it will be safe, locked in your Tower of London.”

“The whole sorry matter is behind us, Banoo Yasmine,” said the Queen, smiling. She handed the casket to Mr. Hatton and then put her arm through the Banoo's. “Come, my dear, we will arrange the ruby's journey to its vault. Then much preparation must be made, for I have a mind to feast well tonight. And perhaps we will have you dancing the volta!” Then she turned to the panther. “And I believe that you, Master Rajah, shall have a special supper tonight of finest venison, in recognition of your loyalty to us.”

As soon as I could I made straight for the Privy Kitchen. There was no sign of Ellie, but Mistress Berry threw her arms in the air.

“Lord bless us, Lady Grace!” she declared. “Have you an identical twin? For if not, you eat a prodigious amount of food!”

“I am not here to eat,” I assured her. “But I have good tidings. Ellie Bunting has been released, for the real thief is captured! Ellie is to be brought here for a meal, and she will be mightily hungry.”

I wondered what Mistress Berry would do, for she had had some hard words to say when she thought Ellie a felon. But it seemed her memory was short.

“Oh, I'm that glad!” She beamed. “She's a good girl, that Ellie Bunting, and I won't have a word said against her. Tabitha! Fetch some broth.”

With Mistress Berry on her side, Ellie's reputation will soon be restored, and I know Masou will also spread the news of her innocence. Of course, Mrs. Fadget may still be unkind, but then Mrs. Fadget always is!

At that moment, Ellie was ushered in. She looked ready to faint and I ran to her and helped her to a bench. Mistress Berry flapped around, bringing her broth and bread and cheese and apples, and a little mead to drink.

“For you are too thin by half,” she told Ellie.

“Now, eat up before you faint from hunger. You've been given a great honour—allowed in the Queen's own kitchen!”

At last she bustled away and we could speak freely.

“Ellie!” I gasped. “I am so pleased to see you.”

“I thought I'd never set eyes on you again, Grace,” said Ellie weakly, in between spoonfuls of broth. “I believed it was the end for me when they
took me to that horrible guardhouse. I warrant I'll be having nightmares.” She looked happily at the food in front of her. “Though it feels like I've come from hell to heaven!”

“I'm so glad it is all over,” I said, wishing there was no one in the kitchen so that I could give her a hug.

“And it's all thanks to you,” Ellie said with a smile. “Mr. Twyer, the guard, told me all about how you and the panther caught that Sharokh.” She gulped some mead and wiped her mouth. “It proves one thing,” she told me. “That ruby is cursed, like I told you.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, Sharokh meant it ill and he got his punishment!”

“I'm not so sure,” I said. “He would have escaped if he had not minded being licked by a friendly panther. I think his fate was in his own hands.”

“No, it was the ruby,” Ellie insisted, nodding. “Else why would he be on his way to the Tower?”

I could not answer that one. Perhaps Ellie was right.

“Ellie, my favourite little laundrymaid!” It was Masou. He turned cartwheels around the table, much to Mistress Berry's horror and Ellie's delight.

“I'm so glad my efforts were not in vain and you are now free!”

I looked at him.

“I had a little help from Grace, of course!” he added cheekily.

“And don't forget Rajah!” I reminded him.

“Yes, the two of you did well,” he said seriously. “I don't know what I would have done if anything had befallen my friend Ellie.” He made as if to take her hand but instead pinched some pieces of bread from her trencher and began to juggle them.

“You give them back,” Ellie said in mock indignation. “That's my dinner you're playing with.”

And it was probably one of the best dinners Ellie had ever had. What a shame that she had to be nearly taken off to the Clink in order to deserve it!

“Grace,” came a voice from the door. Mary Shelton stood there. “The Queen wants you, now! She's in her Privy Chamber. You'd better not delay.”

I gave Ellie's hand a quick squeeze and followed Mary to the Queen.

As soon as Her Majesty saw me at the door of the Privy Chamber, she ushered everybody out in an impatient manner. Several courtiers gave me sympathetic glances. When Her Majesty clears a room, it
usually means a tirade is about to follow. And this suited the Queen's purpose well—no one would have guessed she wanted a quiet word with her Lady Pursuivant.

“So you have thwarted another villain, Grace,” she said with a smile, as I curtsied in front of her, “and proved the innocence of our little laundrymaid. Your loyalty to the great and the humble does you much credit. 'Tis a pity that in matters of state, the humble are sometimes but ants trodden upon unnoticed.”

I knew that this was the nearest Ellie would get to an apology for her false imprisonment.

“I am deeply thankful that Ellie wasn't trodden on in the end!” I declared.

“And I am thankful that you were not harmed in any way,” said the Queen. “It seems I may make any rule I wish to keep you safe, and yet trouble seeks you out!”

“I swear I followed your orders, Your Majesty!” I assured her.

“I know it,” said the Queen. “I should have ordered Sharokh to stay away from you.” She offered me a sugared fruit from a bowl by her side. Then she looked at me and her eyes sparkled. “A happy ending, my dear. And now you may go. We are heartily
glad that there are no more thieves abroad in the palace, thanks to your efforts. At least we can be sure that if we turn our back, no little thing will be taken— such as, perchance, these sugared fruits, which are so popular with a certain laundrymaid….” And she turned her back on me and the sugared fruits.

I took the hint, sneaked up to the bowl, filled my hands with sweet delicacies for Ellie, and made silently for the door.

As I left, I heard the Queen roaring with laughter.

GLOSSARY

Almain
—a stately sixteenth-century dance

bodice
—the top part of a woman's dress bum—bottom

bumroll
—a sausage-shaped piece of padding worn round the hips to make them look bigger casement—a window

casket
—a small decorative box

chamfron
—a piece of armour for a horse's head

chemise
—a loose shirtlike undergarment

the Clink
—a prison in Southwark, especially famous in Tudor times, and one of the earliest prisons in England

clothes press
—a large storage cupboard

comfit
—a sugar-coated sweet containing a nut or seed damask—a beautiful, self-patterned silk cloth woven in Flanders. It originally came from Damascus— hence the name.

daybooke
—a book in which you would record your sins each day so that you could pray about them. The idea of keeping a diary or journal grew out of this. Grace is using her daybooke as a journal.

doublet
—a close-fitting padded jacket worn by men dulcimer—a stringed instrument

false front
—a pretty piece of material sewn to the front of a plain petticoat so it could be shown under the kirtle

farthingale
—a bell- or barrel-shaped petticoat held out with hoops of whalebone

gossamer
—a fine, filmy cobweb

harbinger
—somebody who went ahead to announce the monarch

hose
—tight-fitting cloth trousers worn by men

jerkin
—a close-fitting, hip-length, usually sleeveless jacket

kirtle
—the skirt section of an Elizabethan dress

kohl
—black eye makeup

Lady-in-Waiting
—one of the ladies who helped to look after the Queen and who kept her company

lead
—lead carbonate, used for makeup

madrigals
—beautiful part-songs, which were very fashionable

Maid of Honour
—a younger girl who helped to look after the Queen like a Lady-in-Waiting

manchet bread
—white bread
marzhpane
—marzipan

Margaret of Angoulême
—queen consort of Henry II of Navarre and sister of King Francis I of France, Margaret was a very influential woman and famous for her writings and her interest in religion.

Mary Shelton
—one of Queen Elizabeth's Maids of Honour (a Maid of Honour of this name really did exist). Most Maids of Honour were not officially “ladies” (like Lady Grace), but they had to be born of gentry.