Page 58 of Heart of Snow
The count lifted his hand to take up a piece, but withdrew it, tucking his fist with the other under his chin. “I might,” heanswered, still studying the board. Deciding on a piece, he made his move, capturing my pawn. His smile was self-satisfied.
“Well done.” I moved my black rook to capture his pawn before answering his smile with a smug one of my own. We watched each other for a moment, each waiting for the other to concede defeat, but he finally broke into a chuckle, shaking his head.
“Very well, I’ll admit that, in private councils, Queen Mary has expressed concern regarding Prince Felipe. I suspect she feels a great deal of pressure, maintaining the dignity of the Habsburg family with a nephew reported to be haughty and distrustful of his foreign councilors.” He moved another piece on the board. “The Habsburgs may rule the Netherlands, but they do it with the support and input of our noble families. Should the prince come here and disregard his Netherlander councilmen, he will upset a delicate truce, and the queen is wise enough to know it. I worry her nephew, the prince, is not.”
“Have you met Prince Felipe? Is he everything he’s rumored to be?”
“Your turn.” Egmont nodded to the chess board. “No, I haven’t met the prince yet. I suppose we shall each have the chance to form our opinions of him tomorrow.”
Tomorrow. The day I’d see Samuel again. He would surely be with the kaiser this time, and I could hardly heel my excitement. “Perhaps once we’ve formed our opinions, we can meet to discuss them. At another round of che—” A page entering the room behind Egmont caught my attention. His movement was fluid, his build and dark hair strikingly familiar.
“Friedrich?” I whispered.
The count turned to look behind himself. “Who?”
Squinting to study the page more closely, I realized he couldn’t be Friedrich. Too short. Nose too pointed.
“It’s no one.” I smiled at the count but couldn’t stop myself from giving the page another studious glance before returning toour match. “Can I count on you for another game of chess on the morrow?”
His cheek tucked with the hint of a smile. “I am at your service, my lady.”
Chapter 27
Margaretha
The ladies-of-honor dashed across thecourtyard with hands over heads, shielding themselves from the rain as they made their way to the waiting coaches. I trotted along behind, wrestling down the nerves and excitement that had kept me awake half the night. For the first time in years, I was going to see Samuel.
Pressing into the coach, I smashed down Lady Jakelina’s gown to make a seat for myself.
“Margaretha, you’re pinching my leg,” she complained.
“Then it will pair nicely with your nose,” I snapped, earning dark glares from the other ladies.
Mistress Helena pursed her mouth. “You’ll not impress the prince with your saucy talk.”
“Do you think he’ll be handsome?” Lady Anna asked, pinching her rounded cheeks for color.
“Not if he looks anything like his aunt,” Mistress Dorthea muttered.
Helena elbowed her in the ribs. “You cannot speak of the queen that way.”
The coach lurched forward, and we clattered over cobblestone on a steady decline toward the city’s streets before twisting our way through town. With the window sashes pulled, every breath of air became saturated with the stink of damp slippers, yet no one seemed eager to brave the rain when the coach finally rolled to a stop at the city gates. We waited, stone still, listening for any happenings outside. Mostly we heard only rain tapping on the roof or horses’ hooves shuffling over cobblestones. Occasionally a man’s voice carried on the wind, but the words were diluted in the air until they were only sound.
A sturdy breeze raced by, slapping the window sashes against the coach and affording me a flashing view of men hunched withtheir backs to the rain. Count Egmont was among them, looking handsome perched atop his steed. He was a good and kind man, blessedly. The sort of man I felt certain would speak for Samuel, once I’d secured his proposal. Thus far I’d only procured his commitment for another game of chess after supper. Or had I? I couldn’t remember anything after the shock of seeing that page boy.
The sudden burst of trumpets made us all jump.
“They come!” someone yelled. A groom opened our door, and we poured out of the coach, blinking against the gray daylight. The cool air made my teeth chatter as I followed the other ladies toward the shelter of the queen’s canopy. We tucked in behind the ladies-in-waiting, no one seeming to mind the close quarters for the warmth it provided.
A surprising number of spectators had turned out, enduring the wet weather in their eagerness to greet their sovereign. Subjects of all ages stood on the sides of the street with excited smiles while they hid under capes and blankets. In front of them, noblemen astride their horses split into two opposing rows, as though pitted in combat. I scanned their faces until my eyes met with the steady blue gaze of Count Egmont. He looked away but didn’t repress the smile that came to his lips. I smiled too, glancing down at my hands before looking back to find him watching me again. This time he didn’t turn away, and we held each other’s gazes.
A movement at the gate stole my attention as two men on white steeds rode in, each bearing the unmistakable yellow flag emblazoned with a double-headed eagle of pure black, the imperial banner of Kaiser Karl V. And just behind them came the royal father and son. The son, dressed from shoulder to toe in satin and velvet of blood-red scarlet, sat atop an impressive battle charger, staring straight ahead and showing interest in no one. He was everything I expected him to be, save for his looks,which were striking. His wide, dark eyes were framed by even darker lashes that matched his neatly trimmed beard and the black curls peeking out from under his cap. The kaiser shared his son’s fine dress and imposing steed, though where one was youthful and handsome, the other was graying and haggard. His body rocked with each clop of his horse’s hooves, and his eyes matched his sister’s for their heavy lids.
Catching sight of Queen Mary, the kaiser raised his hand, signaling the train behind him to halt. I lifted myself onto my toes, peering around the royals to spot my brother, but there were only courtiers and servants as far back as I could see.
With the men and horses now at a standstill, the young prince looked around himself for the first time, his eyes going straight to the queen’s retinue to study the faces of the women in his aunt’s service. When his gaze came to me, he leaned forward in his saddle, resting his forearms across his pommel and giving me a rakish grin. I returned his smile but briefly, shifting my eyes back to his father and hoping my neglect would discourage the prince. I didn’t need a decidedly Catholic prince ruining my hopes with Egmont.
The kaiser crossed his arms over his left knee, resting while the queen went forward to greet him. She clasped his hand, and though she spoke quietly, her words carried in the breeze. “You are not improved.”
