The Quality of Mercy (13 page)

“You mean I must become pregnant, fat, and complacent. Then I will no longer be desirable.”

Dunstan smiled sadly. “That is exactly what I mean.”

“At the least, you’re truthful, if not honest.” She pushed him away. “Go home to Grace. Perhaps she’s not the wildest between the sheets, but indeed she’s served you well.”

Rebuffed again, he stood, bowed, and doffed his hat, showing her the inside of his cap — a gesture of scorn. As he left, he turned to see her gathering almond blossoms in her skirt. Her black hair was loose and long, her ungloved hands so delicate and slender. He felt the sting and cursed what he once had, what he finally realized he had lost forever.

Politics, politics, and more politics. It made Roderigo weary, and he almost wished himself a simple country doctor again. Putting down his quill, he reread the letter to Ferreira de Gama, admiring the strokes of his Italian hand, so rich with flourishes yet far easier to pen than the traditional secretary hand. Satisfied with the correspondence, he folded and sealed the letter, removed his spectacles and leaned back in his chair. Surrounded by solitude in his private closet, he tried to forget the discouraging words of his nephews. But they buzzed through the air like gnats.

What
if
Essex were to intercept their correspondence with Philip? What would it mean?

Disaster!

Blank failure from your mind, Roderigo told himself. Just use caution and worry not. There would always be naysayers. Let them say nay, he would say yea.

The fire needed to be stoked. Rather than call a servant, he got up and poked the logs himself. The embers erupted into flames, and the gust of heat warmed his stiff hands.

Roderigo regarded the hearth in his closet. The Great Hall was outdated, being warmed by only a central pit. It was time to mason a fireplace there. One that would hold a majestic mantel… a mantel carved from the finest walnut. And the hearth should be chiseled from Sicilian marble — deep green preferably, to match the view of the orchards from the leaded-glass windows. And a magnificent chimney puffing out big bellows of smoke so that all of London — and Essex — would know that the Great Hall of Dr. Roderigo Lopez was royally warmed, suitable for entertaining the most revered prince of state. He’d talk to Sarah. A dutiful wife, she’d arrange the details quickly. He had but to speak and Sarah would carry out his wishes.

Lopez heard a knock upon the door. He asked who it was and his daughter identified herself. He allowed her to enter.

Rebecca stood for a moment underneath the frame of the door. Roderigo was surprised to find her still dressed in black. He would have thought she would abandon the dark clothing as soon as her
shiva
— her first period of mourning — had finished.

Mourning. It had only intensified her beauty, and that worried Roderigo. She had become as jumpy as a kenneled hound, and God only knew what would happen when she was freed from her obligatory month of grieving. An appropriate suitor had to be found lest he find himself the grandfather of a bastard. In his mind, Miguel was still the preferred son-in-law, despite his… whatever it was. He couldn’t imagine marrying her off to anyone but kinsmen. Perhaps there existed an appropriate suitor in the Low Countries or the Levant. He’d speak at length with Solomon and Sarah. They would know who the available men were. Another detail to arrange. He sank down into a padded armchair and called to Rebecca.

“Come to me, daughter.”

Approaching with a coy smile, Rebecca took a soft velvet pillow and sat at her father’s feet, her overskirt and petticoat billowing over the floor. She curled up against his leg. He reached down and entangled his fingers in her thick, black hair, then stroked it as he would the fur of a lapdog.

“Has the Queen summoned you yet, Father?”

“You can answer your own question,” Roderigo said. “You seem to know much about my affairs.”

“You’re angry at me for telling Dunstan the words of Philip’s letters to you,” Rebecca said. “So be it. Punish me if you desire, but I did it out of love. I’m worried for Miguel’s safety. For yours as well. Essex is clever and vicious.”

Roderigo stroked his daughter’s cheek. He felt saddened by the burden that the mission had imposed upon her.

“Don’t worry about me, Becca. Worry instead about your lack of husband.”

“I need not a husband.”

“Bah.”

She said, “There’s none suitable who bids my calling.”

“Lord Holderoy?”

“You can’t be serious, Father. He’s too fat and too old. His seed is no doubt less than copious.”

“The Earl of Nottingham?”

“A pompous snot.”

“Marquis of Cumberland?”

“Father! He is a Papist!”

“He is also rich and mad for you, daughter.”

“I will not marry a Papist!”

“Aye, you truly are your father’s daughter,” Roderigo said. “Filthy swine are the Catholics. They burn relapsed conversos as readily as firewood. And the Protestants are no more gentle. Luther, who openly courted the Jews at first, became angered by their refusal to convert. The serpent recanted his praise and went on to blame all the ills of the Continent on the recalcitrant Semites. They all disgust me, the Gentiles. And yet we are completely dependent on their mercy. As much as I plot and plan, it all comes down to the good graces of a tolerant monarch. As of this moment I sit here powerless. I can do nothing until Her Grace beckons me to court.”

“Poor Father,” she cooed. “Chafing at the bit while the evil Essex schemes.”

Roderigo said, “I scold you for repeating my words, and still I talk too freely to you. Don’t mind my affairs.”

“But I care for you. As you care for me. That’s why you’ll not insist that I marry just for marriage’s sake. Besides, I’m still young—”

“Not so young anymore. Your mother had borne me three children afore she was twenty.”

“And the Lord took them all before their majority — God rest their souls. A young womb yields unripe fruit. Better to wait until the tree grows strong.”

“Bah,” he sneered once again. “Don’t prattle about unripe fruit. You desire freedom.”

“No,” Rebecca protested. “Only the proper bridegroom.”

“Which means no husband at all,” Roderigo said. “You’re true to your stars, my child. A Scorpio with the moon in Gemini — a fatal sting that’s mercurial in nature.”

“Nonsense,” Rebecca said, giving him a playful slap.

“A bellyful of children should calm you down.”

“Again nonsense. A bellyful of children will only make me fat and contemptuous to my husband. You wish not that for me, do you, Father?”

“I wish you to be happy. And a gentlewoman cannot be happy without a husband.”

“But—”

“What would you do without a husband?” Roderigo asked.

“I’d have much to do just being your daughter.”

Roderigo smiled. “That is not a sufficient position in life.”

“It is all the position I need.”

“You need to be a gentleman’s wife.”

“
I
should like to continue to help you with your patients. Spend valuable time ministering to the ill. Haven’t you said that I am your extra set of hands — skilled hands?”

Roderigo kissed those hands. “I cannot reason with you on this issue of marriage. You distract me with silly talk about your hands. If you force me to become a tyrant, I will, Becca. You will marry when I see fit, and now I’ll hear nothing more to the contrary.”

Rebecca said nothing. Silence was her best weapon against her father’s obstinacy. It had worked in the past, and it seemed to be working now. Roderigo’s face softened. He asked her how she spent the last days of her second period of mourning.

Rebecca replied, “The hours are long when one is weighted down with boredom.”

“I asked you not whether you spent your hours contentedly,” Roderigo replied. “Answer my question.”

“I sew and read.”

“And do you do what your mother requests?”

Rebecca paused a moment, puzzled. “I do all that Mother asks of me.”

“And you’ve almost completed your tasks?”

Rebecca’s face lit up with understanding.

“Marry, you mean the forged papers—”

“Quiet,” Roderigo interrupted. “Keep your voice low.”

Rebecca whispered, “I’ve finished one set and am busy penning another.”

Roderigo smiled and stroked her cheek. “Well, then. And your music?”

Rebecca replied that Grandmama said she wasn’t allowed to play music until the thirty days of her second period of mourning were over. She told her father she only had six days left, trying to sound casual, but the relief in her voice was too evident. Her father had noticed it and arched his eyebrows in disapproval.

She added, “Aye, Father, a month of mourning officially for Raphael, but for years he will live in the heart.”

Rebecca sensed that she had said the wrong thing. Her father tensed.

“Raphael was a wonderful man,” he said.

“Aye.”

“He deserves a true mourning, not simply an official one.”

“I understand,” Rebecca answered.

“I think not.” Roderigo pushed her away. “Leave now.”

“Father, I’ve always been a dutiful daughter to you,” Rebecca said. “I would have been a dutiful wife to Raphael. But I was not passionately in love with him.”

“You would have learned to love him.”

“I’m not denying that,” Rebecca said. “Some note in my voice has offended you. I pray you to pardon me.”

“I don’t want apologies, Becca. I simply want you to wed for
your
own sake. Find a suitable man that pleases you. Because if no man is to your liking, you’ll simply have to marry one you dislike.”

“Father—”

“No more said about it!”

Roderigo curled the tip of his beard with his finger, cleared his throat, then said, “I’ve received word that Uncle Solomon has safely arrived in Turkey.”

“Thanks be to God,” Rebecca answered quietly.

He sighed and tried again. “Did I tell you about the letter that your brother sent me?”

“Two times. Ben is well and is enjoying Venice. He eats a great deal — less meat, more bread.”

“Did I tell you about their eating geegaw — a fork they call it. They spear their food—”

“Aye, you told me.”

“Ben said they eat using these toys for fingers because their hands aren’t clean.” Roderigo laughed.

Rebecca was not amused. “Shall I go now?”

“No. Your beauty warms my bones,” said Roderigo. “Stay. And do not sulk.”

“As you wish.”

“Stubborn girl,” Roderigo muttered.

Before Rebecca could reply, Martino walked in the room, panting with excitement. A gentleman wearing royal livery had arrived with a message to deliver to Dr. Lopez. Rebecca stood up and looked at her father. His face held an expression of concern mixed with excitement. At last. Some word from the Queen. It was, of course, a double-edged sword. Father had been summoned, but for what purpose? Rebecca’s heart started hammering, her head suddenly felt light. Please God, let all be well.

Roderigo commanded Martino, “Let him in. But give me some minutes to make myself acceptable.” To Rebecca he said, “Dress me quickly.”

Immediately she began to truss his points, lacing firmly the ribbons of his gown.

“Where are your shoes?” she asked.

“My boots are—”

“Nay, Father, not your boots. Your velvet shoes — the ones topped with roses.”

“Need I my velvet shoes?”

“Father!”

“They are in my bedchamber.”

“I will retrieve them along with your garters. And a new ruff as well. The one you wear sags pathetically under the weight of your beard.”

She was off. He was elated. The Queen had sent for him. Was Essex out of favor? Did she desire to use his secret contact in Spain? Did she need news from Solomon Aben Ayesh’s well-connected band of Levantine spies? Did she simply desire his counsel?

Suddenly he stopped and felt a cold shiver run through his body.

Could the Queen be actually
ill?

Perish the thought! If her life ended, so would go all his power.

He picked up his bag and checked its contents. A few elixirs, a few powders. He was lacking the necessary medicines — the purges, leeches, potions, poultices. Thank God Rebecca and Sarah were so meticulous in stocking the stillroom.

Rebecca was back with a new ruff and his shoes. Quickly she placed multiple layers of lace and wire around his neck. Her father seemed calm, he wasn’t trembling or breathing hard, but his color seemed unusually flushed. Her own fingers were stiff. God give him strength, give
her
strength. Let this be a portent of good things to come.

“My medicine bag is nearly empty,” Roderigo told her.

“Tell me what you need.”

Roderigo listed the medicines: a jug of leeches, trefoil, thistle, walnut shells, cheese mold, fungus on rye — women of that age are known to have bleeding of the privates.

“Perhaps a sprig or two of parsley mixed with dragon water,” Rebecca suggested. “The condition of Her Grace’s teeth is quite poor.”

“Aye, parsley with water, and dried mint as well. And my special purge.”

“Done,” said Rebecca. “Shall I ask Martino to show in the messenger?”

“Aye… wait.”

Rebecca stopped.

“Am I presentable?” Roderigo asked.

“More than presentable, Father. Comely.”

Roderigo smiled and blew her a kiss as she left.

The messenger entered — a young man wearing the royal arms. He was just a boy, Roderigo thought, with hardly more than fuzz for a beard. Yet Roderigo quaked before him as if he were the Queen herself.

“Does Her Grace find herself in good health, sir?” Roderigo asked.

“I know not,” the gentleman answered.

“Come, sir,” Roderigo insisted. “Surely you were informed—”

“I was told to call you to court,” the boy said. “One does not inquire about the Queen’s business if one wishes to keep his head.”

Roderigo swallowed dryly.

“I shall prepare to leave at once.”

“A steed shall be waiting for you.” The messenger turned on his heels and left.

Revolting little roach, Roderigo thought. Unbecoming for a Queen to use such young rats as messengers. The little worm had a voice as cold as snow. It had sent a shiver through Roderigo’s spine. He looked up and saw Rebecca carrying an armful of vials.