Reception Side Thread: Chapel Royal Rendezvous

[Charles Whitehurst]

He had asked to meet Susan in ten minutes at the chapel and the minutes had ticked by slowly for Charles.  He had watched the encounter between Davina and Darlene, and then took his leave.

It had been with the gait of a soldier on assignment he used, rather than that of a skulker.  Both he and Susan Herbert had unquestioned access to the chapel, so why should he be anything but confident.  The only challenge was getting to the chapel without encountering the Earl of Pembrooke.  His eyes monitored for the lord as he approached, hoping to find his sister instead.

[Aria]

The servant returned with Lord Langdon’s message, and Susan nodded without looking in his direction, hoping that he would know that she understood. She paid more attention to her friends’ gossip after the plans were made, not because she enjoyed gossip but because she wanted to make certain her mistress the Queen was not on the receiving end of nasty rumors. All talk of her and the new royal heir was cheerful and positive.

 

Time seemed to move at a snail’s pace, though only about five minutes passed before Susan excused herself and left the reception in the midst of a crowd of courtiers. She kept to the shadows until she reached the chapel, her heart pounding in her chest. At any moment, she expected to see Philip appear from around a corner and accuse her of sneaking away to meet someone … which she was actually doing. It was only when she slipped inside that her heartbeat returned to normal.

 

Moving to a middle pew, she sat down. The sunlight shining through the stained glass windows cast muted multicolored shadows upon her blonde hair. Lord Langdon should be able to spot her easily. Susan heard approaching footsteps, but did not turn around. Hopefully, those footsteps belonged to the gentleman she sought rather than the one she did not.

[Charles Whitehurst]

All seemed quiet in the chapel.  Charles moved calmly down the aisle and entered the pew in front of the one occupied by Susan Herbert.  It was best to not be seated next to each other if someone might enter and get the wrong idea.

Sliding to the middle of the pew as well, so that they could converse more easily, the young officer had to hold his sword scabbard up as he went.  "I would like to say it is lovely to see you again my lady, but as I am sitting in front of you, I cannot claim the pleasure yet," he offered as a light way to begin an urgent meeting.  "I trust you had a lovely recess though you likely stayed with the Queen all these months.  Hopefully you found time for some pleasure."  

 With pleasantries aside, it was time to move to the matter at hand. "I received your letter and it seems your brother is upset.  What is it that he thinks we did together?"

[Aria]

 

If the footsteps had belonged to Philip, he would have spoken to her as soon as he entered, probably in a very loud tone of voice. Still, Susan held her breath as they came closer and only exhaled when she saw Lord Langdon slide into the pew in front of her. That was quite a smart move, for if somebody else entered the chapel to actually pray, it wouldn’t look as if they were together.

 

She folded her hands and bowed her head to make their ruse look more realistic, chuckling a bit at his greeting. At least he seemed to bear her no ill will for what had happened. “Perhaps not, but at least I can say that I’m glad to see you’re back.” She was certain that he would get the joke.

 

“Yes, I remained with the Queen, though I was not allowed into the birthing chamber, of course. I hope you fared well during recess too.”

 

Susan was glad that Charles couldn't see the frustrated expression on her face. “You can imagine what he accused us of. Sometimes I talk in my sleep. Maybe I mentioned your name and an enterprising servant heard me and hoped she would be rewarded if she told him. Even though I don’t dream of you,” she was quick to add. In truth, she did dream of him occasionally and if those dreams became reality, he would feel the full effect of her brother’s wrath.

 

“I told him that we met accidentally in the library’s archives and I had helped you research the origins of a very old dagger you found. He knows how much I enjoy mysteries, but I’m not certain if he is convinced. There is a possibility that he might ask to see the dagger to prove the truth of my words, though you should avoid him if you can.

 

“I really don’t know what he will do. Did you hear that he beat Dorset to within an inch of his life? I wonder if he took his initial anger out on him because you weren’t around, though for all I know he has something against Dorset too.”

[Charles Whitehurst]

With the tension in the air, Susan's joke resonated all the more.  The young officer began laughing.  "Seeing your back." It was a good one.  It helped cut the tension.

"How could he get upset over helping me research an old dagger?" he asked rhetorically.  "So nothing about me taking you in dusty catacombs and talking with a ghost?" he sought to clarify.  He had kissed her playfully in the library but nothing more than that.  As far as he was concerned, he was innocent ... or at least relatively so.  Maybe her brother had forgotten the perceived slight.  There was a rational explanation after all.

"Your other brother is not upset I trust?  How do you recommend I handle Phillip?"

The beating of Dorset had made its rounds through the court.  Fortunately, the Dorset seemed recovered.  "I heard it was over pending litigation.  The court case must have created intense dislike."

[Aria]

Charles’ laughter lessened some of Susan's stress. “If I had told him that, he would have been even more suspicious and believed I was making the entire thing up.” She remembered well that playful kiss, which, along with the love letters they had read to each other, might have inspired those lovely dreams she had. Dreams that would never come true, as she didn’t think Lord Langdon had any intention of marrying her.

 

“I told the truth,” she remarked, “just not all of it.”

 

Susan frowned. “He thinks I was foolish to meet with a gentleman unchaperoned,” she said about Thomas. “I think you should stay away from Lord Pembroke. He is so unpredictable and volatile that it is impossible to know what he thinks or what he’ll do.” She rather doubted her brother would beat one of the King’s Life Guards black and blue, but he could have somebody do it for him.

 

“Oh, I didn’t know about that.” Distressing news rarely made it to the Queen’s household during her pregnancy, nor now when she was a new mother. She still thought that his anger over her perceived betrayal might have contributed to Pembroke’s violent reaction.

 

“Have you discovered anything else about the dagger and the ghost since we last spoke?”

[Charles Whitehurst]

It seemed to Charles that matters were not as bleak as they could have been. other than the lunatic that was the Earl of Pembroke.  If Pembroke knew only of unchaperoned visits to the library, Charles was relatively safe.  Of course, if her brother was a suspicion person, Phillip might imagine all sorts of scandals in his mind.

"We must play the cards we are dealt.  There must be no mention of the passageways together, or the ghost, or your brothers will think we have concocted a wild story to cover a large scandal between us," Langdon stated quietly.  "I will avoid your older brother and will be happy to speak with your younger brother."

"Let us keep apart for a few days and show no unusual interest in each other unless an emergency.  When we next meet, bring your maid as a chaperone, or another lady, so we can demonstrate propriety between us."  He had planned a few secret rendezvous in the past but he was not much of a schemer.

"If we need to meet again privately, we can meet here, during the day, so it draws little interest."  He had not worked out the details of a clever way to send notes without notice.

"I have learned nothing further on the dagger and our villain, but I hope to learn whether our target has returned to London.  When he does, I will close the net on him," he declared with quiet determination. 

[Aria]

Susan nodded, though it was unnecessary to remind her not to mention anything about a secret room in the passageways that contained an actual ghost. She had planned on suggesting that they only meet when she was accompanied by a chaperone and Lord Langdon was thinking along the same lines. The chapel was a safe place to speak with each other.

 

“Perhaps we can decide on a date and time to meet here again. Otherwise, we’ll need to send notes to each other, which might be confiscated.” She was not entirely sure that her eldest brother was not having her watched.

 

So Charles had not discovered anything about the dagger during recess. “I had no time to do any research either, but I’m hoping I can find out more at the library here. I did discover something about the Swan last season that I did not have time to tell you about. Her family’s estate was not far from Windsor, though I’m not sure it is still standing. She grew up in this area so I’m hoping to find out more about her life and her descendants.”

[Charles Whitehurst]

The plan seemed straight-forward:  avoid Pembroke; avoid direct notes; meet with Susan only with a chaperone; and hope for the best.  "If I did need to send you a note in an urgent matter, who might I pretend to be to avoid suspicion? I suppose I could send a note pretending to be a merchant in town and that would mean that I wish to meet you urgently in either the chapel or the library."  He was seeking her guidance. "Let us meet here Saturday at noon if we can.  Otherwise, I will see you on Sunday at the chapel in the company of your brothers."

The new information was interesting.  "Perhaps we could ride to the ruin together, with several ladies as your chaperones," he laughed.  "Do you have ladies you trust for their discretion?"

 

The time was slipping by.  "We best get back to the reception, lest the King and Queen arrive without us nearby."

[Aria]

“I’m not sure if sending me a note is a good idea. I have to share a room with another of the Queen’s ladies and I’m not sure if I can trust her yet. She’s one of the newer girls and she’s very ambitious. There is a chance that she might tell Her Majesty if I receive any messages.  Or she could even be my brother's spy."

 

Susan thought for a moment. “We could designate a place to leave them and I could check it every day. I’m not familiar enough with Windsor to suggest a location. If you can think of a place, let me know when we meet on Saturday. I should have no trouble getting away.”

 

Susan chuckled. “Do I really need more than one chaperone to protect me from you?” Charles wouldn’t be able to see her smile, but maybe he could sense it. “As soon as I locate it, we can ‘accidentally’ run into each other there. I’m not sure if the house is in ruins. It would be fortunate if the Swan’s descendants still live there. I don’t know if she married again or had any more children, but I would think that her son with the Lion would have had a family of his own.”

 

Charles was right. They needed to get back to the reception before the King and Queen arrived. Both would be expected to be in attendance. “Yes, we have lingered here long enough. You leave first and I shall follow a few minutes later.” His duties were more important than hers and he needed to return to the reception before she did.

 

[Charles Whitehurst]

Saturday was two days away, so there would be time to think on a plan and it would be soon enough to know whether he had trouble with Pembroke.

"I think we know that you need no chaperone to be with me," he replied with a chuckle.  "No chaperone would have allowed us to visit the depths of the palace together and learn one of its great secrets." Of that he was sure.

"No, I was thinking that an army of chaperones might convince your brothers that I will never do you any harm.  How could Philip object if you had four chaperones?" he laughed.  "We still need a chaperone for our accidental meeting I fear.

"I will take my leave now then.  I shall hope I can get away at noon Saturday.  If I am not here, it is only because I could not slip away and will see you at chapel Sunday instead.  You'll be surrounded by chaperones then."  He chuckled again as he slipped out of the pew and made a brisk exit.