Page 5 of Love, Remember Me

"I must go and congratulate my little country girl," he said, his eyes misting with sentiment. He turned to Anthony Wyndham. "May I offer you my congratulations, sir, on your fine family!" He shook Anthony Wyndham's hand heartily.

Blaze awoke to find the king at her bedside beaming down at her. She blushed, remembering a time past when his visits to her bed had been of a more intimate nature. Henry Tudor's eyes twinkled back conspiratorially, but his words were of a most proper nature.

"I am pleased to see you looking so well after your travail, madame," he told her, and he kissed her hand.

Blaze smiled up at him warmly. "There was little travail, Your Grace. I am like an old tabby cat. I've birthed my babies quickly in recent years. Still, it was good of you to return to see me."

"I have looked on your lasses, Blaze. They are as pretty as their mother. What will you call them?"

"With your permission, Hal," Blaze said, "I should like to call the firstborn Jane, after her late majesty. The second I will call Anne, in honor of the Princess of Cleves, who will soon be your new queen and helpmeet. It seems fitting, as you were here this day, the day my little girls were born into the world."

The king, a sentimental man who enjoyed his role as a benevolent monarch, grew teary. Whipping a large square of white silk from his doublet, he dabbed at his eyes. Then turning to Lord Wyndham, he asked, "Have you a priest in the house, Tony?"

The earl nodded. "Fetch him, then," the king commanded. "He is to baptize your daughters this day, and I will stand godfather to them both. This is my desire, my little country girl," he said to Blaze. "Now I shall always have you and your good family in my life."

"Oh, Hal, you honor us so greatly," Blaze said, near tears herself.

A servant was sent to fetch Father Martin. The priest had been with the family since the time of Edmund Wyndham, and had grown old in the service of the Earls of Langford. When he was told that the countess had delivered twin daughters that very afternoon, and that the king himself would stand godfather to them, and that the baptisms were to be performed immediately, he hurried to find his best vestments, telling the servant, "Find Master Richard, and tell him to light the altar candles. I will expect him to serve."

"Aye, Father Martin," came the respectful reply.

Blaze was carried to the family's private chapel on a litter, that she might see her daughters christened. Bliss rolled her eyes in disgust, and Blythe was hard put not to giggle when they were asked by the priest to name the infants now being held by their third godmother, their elder sister, Nyssa.

"Jane Marie," Blythe said sweetly.

"Anne Marie," Bliss almost snapped.

The king beamed effusively, and taking each baby in turn from Nyssa, handed it to Father Martin for baptism.

When the sacrament had been completed, the Countess of Langford was returned to her bedchamber, where a health was drunk to the newest of the Wyndham offspring. The king then took his leave.

"A messenger will be sent to tell you when Mistress Nyssa is expected at court, my dear little country girl," the king told Blaze. "I will want her to come early that she may be familiar with her duties before my bride arrives. She must know where to go, and what to do, and who is who, if she is to be of true service to Princess, ah, Queen Anne. I expect the lady late this autumn. You will not have a great deal of time to prepare your daughter, but I promise you, I will see no harm comes to her in my care, or my queen's. She will be safe, Blaze Wyndham."

She took his hand up and kissed it respectfully. "I thank you, Hal, for your kindness to us all," she told him, and then, exhausted, fell back against her pillows asleep.

Smiling, the king arose from her bedside and, returning to the Great Hall, took his farewell of the Wyndhams and their kin. "I shall look forward to seeing you at court, Mistress Nyssa. Your brothers too. Serve the queen well, and you will always have my friendship." He then departedRiversEdge.

"What a day it has been!" Lady Morgan exclaimed with a gusty sigh. "Who would have expected such a day when it began so simply? Three of my grandchildren off to court, and two more granddaughters than I had when the sun arose." She settled herself into a large chair by the fire, and turning to Bliss, said, "And just when was it decided that you go back to court?"

"Indeed, madame?" Owen FitzHugh said mildly. "I was most amazed, nay, surprised, myself, to hear you say it, though I should not have contradicted you before the king. We had not discussed it, Bliss. It has been years since we went to court. I am not certain we belong there now."

"Oh, Owen, do not be such an old fuddy-duddy," his spouse returned airily. "It is the most fantastic opportunity for Nyssa. She will be seventeen December thirty-first, Owen, and she is not even betrothed yet! She is going to be an old maid if something is not quickly done. Court is a perfect place for a young woman of Nyssa's background, and wealth, to find a good husband. Besides, with Philip and Giles having been appointed pages to the new queen, Blaze will need a surrogate for her children. We will take our young Owen and Blythe's Edmund with us! It will be such fun!"

"What?" her husband said, startled.

"Take Edmund?" Blythe cried.

"Of course," Bliss replied. "Philip Wyndham, young Owen FitzHugh, and Edmund Kingsley have been friends their whole lives. They were all born the same year, within months of each other. They've never been separated, and even though Philip will have his duties, there will still be time for him to be with his cousins. They'll have an absolutely wonderful time," Bliss finished, smiling broadly at her relations.

"I think it an excellent idea," Lord Kingsley agreed, his eyes twinkling merrily. " 'Twill be good seasoning for the lads."

"What you mean," his brother-in-law said pointedly, "is that you shall get rid of that young hell-raiser of yours for a few months!"

"They are not going to embarrass me, Aunt, are they?" Nyssa fretted. "Philip and Giles going to court is one thing, but if you are to bring Edmund and Owen as well, Uncle Owen is correct. Together those three scamps are really quite wicked. I cannot have them teasing me like they do here at home. Ohh, why did Mother ask for places for the boys too!"

"Do not be selfish, Nyssa," Lady Morgan chided her granddaughter.

"Ohh, Grandmother, you are always taking the boys' part! You know how hard it is for me to put a bridle on my temper. A queen's maid of honor must show dignity, and decorum. If I am constantly being hounded by my brothers, and my cousins, how can I maintain such traits?"

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