Back at the Castle Monday (evening)

[Charles Whitehurst]

Having had a good meeting with Catherine Sedley at the farmhouse earlier in the day, Charles was feeling better about life at the moment.  The wind was at his back towards marrying Susan Herbert.  Only Darlene needed to be mollified, and that was unlikely.

He made his way towards the small room that qualified as the office of the Life Guard in the castle before his late supper.

[Robert Saint-Leger]

Beverley was doing a round of surveying things about the castle, making sure everything appeared in order. He took any duty his princely master gave him with utter seriousness, so whilst things about the castle were reported to him, he still felt the need to turn his eyes over things at the end of a day. 

 

It also helped to clear his mind. 

 

When he turned the corner, he came almost so near to Lord Langdon as to bump into him, but instead he stopped short with some distance yet between them.

 

"Good evening, Lord Langdon. All is well, I hope?" he asked, with a smile.

 

Beverley was not the best at making a joke, so it would be a toss up whether he seemed serious or jesting, but he was playing about with the knowledge that Langdon enjoyed seeking out wrong-doer everywhere and arresting quite liberally.

[Charles Whitehurst]

The young earl had the same sentiments about doing the rounds before the end of the evening.  Perhaps it was instinct for all soldiers.

Encountering Lord Beverley by chance was a welcome thing.  They had a limited history together.  Interestingly enough, Beverley was the only gentleman at court that had met his late wife in person.  Other than that, they had served the Crown in their military service.  Perhaps it was odd that the two did not socialize more.  They were more similar and suited to agreeable views than most other gentlemen at court.  Langdon held great respect for Prince Rupert.  Who did not?  His father had served with him in the Civil War.  Rupert had been the only hope for the Royalist cause, with his dashing cavalry assaults.  Newcastle had been the other that had given hope for the King to hold the north.  Sadly, both great men had come up short.  Yet, the King's son was restored to the throne and Cromwell would be forever viewed as a traitor.

"Lord Beverley," he greeted in a pleasant tone.  "Yes, all is well.  Perhaps we are both taking a walk about the castle to comfort ourselves that all is well with the castle too?"  He offered the question in a light moment.  "Perhaps we could walk together for a time to have a moment to become current?"

He offered to follow the path Beverley was taking.  "Congratulations on the birth of your son.  I apologize that I have not had the opportunity to say so in person earlier.  It is quite the achievement for you and your family.  How is your lady wife faring?"  Beverley had married a young lady and one needed to worry about their constitution in childbirth.

Ironically, Langdon had a son as well this offseason, but it was a scandal rather than a celebration.  He expected Beverley would not mention that bit of shame upon Catherine and himself.

[Robert Saint-Leger]

"Yes, I find it a good activity to clear the mind, although I prefer the walk when all of court is not here. At least it seems there has been a slow-down in complaints about rooms," he replied. "I think most have resigned themselves to the knowledge that they are where they are and it is not going to change."

 

The first few days of the season, he had been approached about all sorts of matters that were truly a bit beneath his dignity. His age and lack of imposing height did nothing to dissuade courtiers from giving him a barrage of requests and questions. 

 

Beverley nodded to the walk together, and Langdon joined him on his progression.

 

"Thank you. And no apology necessary." It is not as if the entire thing had happened during the season, and the off season delayed most such conversations. "Very healthy boy he is too, and my lady wife is doing very well. She has already resumed her service with the Queen. Our parents are beyond pleased as well, which is always a good state of affairs. It will do well for my wife's sisters." Capability for having sons was a highly considered factor in marriages.

 

The viscount was too well-bred to mention bastard children. That was not a topic to be discussed at court or proper crowds. Nor was he the sort to mention the other man's troubles.

 

 

 

[Charles Whitehurst]

"Ah yes," Langdon acknowledged, "I forgot that you would likely be the one approached by lords with grievances about accommodations."  His own accommodations were odd in that he was sharing with Sam Gillis, but he was not complaining.   "What has been the most outrageous complaint to date?"

Beverley provided good news.  "That is most welcome news indeed."  His own son seemed healthy, but it did not take much for an infant to pass.  "Is married life agreeing with you?" he asked, keeping up his level of interest in married life.  "My own marriage was hardly storybook, as you know.  I will need to try again soon enough."  An earl needed a male heir.  "How do you find it to be married to a Queen's lady?  Do you see each other much?"

[Robert Saint-Leger]

Beverley smiled. "Which is why I vastly prefer being at Windsor with just His Highness. Then there are no complaints, quiet halls, and plenty of time to ride the parks."

 

He contemplated what was the most outlandish request or complaint. There had been many.

 

"As Windsor does not have as big a town and accommodations as London might provide, there are more courtiers that are squeezed into every nook of not just the castle but the town. Some cannot find rooms in either place at all. Yet there are always those who think they should have more than one room or should not be asked to share a room if they are single. I have very little control over these things, but I would think it is better to have a place than none at all." As to the most outlandish, he provided, "One complained the room was so small that the odor of the chamberpot consumed it, as if that was an issue for me and not his manservant...or his apothecary."

 

Beverley was very please with married life, so he nodded and said, "Very much. I was afforded the ability of a say in my lady wife, so I find that we are well-suited as my lord father agreed with my preference. And she is very pretty and only grows more so." When Langdon said he would have to try again, the viscount asked, "Are you thinking of doing so soon? The next need not be like the first. Even with brothers, I imagine you have some anxiety."

 

It was true that the Queen's service did take up much of his lady wife's time, but Beverley was much taken up with his master's service as well.

 

"We both have our service to attend to, but it makes our shared time all the better and gives us things to discuss together. At the least, we share most our nights together."

 

[Charles Whitehurst]

 

Beverley's report was encouraging.  Maybe married life would not be so bad, especially when not married to an old alcoholic French woman that hardly spoke English..  "That is good to hear."

"Yes, I am thinking that a betrothal later this year would be well," he revealed.  "I have been sowing wild oats for the past year or so, and it has given me nothing but scandal," he confessed.  "If I were the younger brother, I might continue my merry ways unchecked, but I need to become the proper lord that my late father would want.  So, I wish to secure my legacy and reach as high as possible in a match.  Unlike you, my family, despite the title, is very minor, but with a sterling record of service to the Crown."

"The Queen's ladies are all desirable matches and I have my eye on one," he admitted with a smile.  "If I did not like her, I would hope that service to the Queen would keep her away ... but I like her." 

[Robert Saint-Leger]

Beverley was no one to mention scandalous things on the past, and so did not mention Lord Langdon's former experience whilst married. It had not seemed a good match. That was strange as the other man did not have a living father to exert pressure, or ultimatum, on a particular choice in wife. Beverley had always wondered why the elder French lady, but he had figured coin might have something to do with it.

 

"Later this year? Well, that is not a lot of time at all!" he said, eyes wide.

 

"All noble families were once in such a place, and you have the favor of His Majesty, so I doubt it is much a barrier," Beverley replied kindly.

 

The viscount did have a tendency to look down on some families with his own family history, but it was more those with little to recommend them or who acted bigger than they were and broke norms expected of station. Lord Langdon was not like that, and even if he were, Beverley would not act so to his face. 

 

"May I ask who you have said your eyes on? Perhaps she and my lady wife are friends?"

[Charles Whitehurst]

There were few people one could trust at court.  The Earl had several ladies that fit the bill, but very few men.  Lord Beverley seemed the nicest of the bunch, and most like himself in the way of career path.  Charles had been an aide to Monmouth and then returned to the Life Guard as a Major.  Beverley was a quiet man who did not seem to gossip or say unkind things about people.  In that regard, it made Robert something of a unique specimen.

There were differences to be sure.  Beverley had a strong lord as a father, whereas Charles had a military father that had thought the best path for his son was to enroll in the Navy at a young age and let the world teach you its lessons.  It was just as well because Charles had not developed the patience for reading boring books endlessly.  He would rather be arresting scoundrels and keep London, and the Crown, safe from villains.  If he had to get his uniform dirty in the process, so much the better.

"I suppose I should make you guess," Charles began, "but there are so few unmarried ladies serving the Queen these days, that it is not much challenge."  It might get Beverley's mind wandering.  "I was surprised that neither Cavendish or Howard had a maid.  Ormonde's daughters are not included," he observed.   "I am thinking of Susan Herbert.  We like each other and would compliment each other.  She comes from a storied lineage, though her oldest brother is something of a challenge and ... offputting.  What do you think of such a match?  I have already petitioned her lady mother."