She sniffed loudly, her resentment simmering. ‘We demand the highest prices because our gowns are of the highest quality. I will insist that fact until the moon turns blue.’
At this point a clerk nudged my companion’s elbow and asked us to follow him to the grand master’s chamber. As we traversed the hall, I asked the clerk if he knew the name of the couple we had been standing next to. He glanced back and smiled with instant recognition. ‘Ah yes, goodwife,’ he said, embarrassingly mistaking us for a married couple, ‘that is Master Anthony and his wife. Their designs are presently in great demand by London’s richest and noblest and, because of that, they think they can break the guild’s price tariffs. They are in dispute with the Chapter.’
‘And with each other,’ I murmured and made a mental note of the name Anthony, but I had more interest in the mistress than the master. A female tailor with a reputation for style might be just what Catherine needed in the months leading up to her confinement.
On my return to the house in Tun Lane, the smell of roasting beef assailed my nostrils like a benediction. After introducing me to the Grand Master Tailor my host had left me to attend to his own business, leaving strict instructions for me to meet Walter by the Cheapside fountain at the Vespers bell.
‘I have told my son to escort you home because London is a safe city in daylight,’ he had advised, ‘but as darkness falls a good woman risks being mistaken for one of her less reputable sisters. Besides, you might lose your way and I do not wish you to miss any part of the meal my sister is preparing for us this evening!’
Elizabeth Cope was indeed a great deal better at roasting beef than preparing mutton pie and her prowess had also lightened her mood. It was a cheerful party that gathered around the long table in the hall as night fell. The smoky oil lamps of the previous evening had been replaced by beeswax candles in polished pewter candlesticks and there was manchet bread cut into thick slices as trenchers to soak up the delicious juices of the meat. Best of all there was a leek and oyster pudding as an accompaniment. Master Vintner clearly wished no expense to be spared in demonstrating to the queen’s keeper of robes what a fine household he kept.
He was also assiduous in asking after my success in the workshops of the Cheape and Threadneedle Street, so I delivered a brief account of my meetings with various tailors and the orders I had placed in a number of shops where accessories were made. I kept it short because I did not want to reveal too much before arrangements were finalised with those craftsmen I had patronised. Orders such as these could make or break reputations and when news of the queen’s favour spread, I wanted it to be accurate.
‘And did you make contact with Master Anthony in the course of your activities?’ my host enquired, rather to my surprise. I had not realised that he had heard my exchange with the clerk at the Tailors’ Hall.
‘I called at his workshop, but the apprentice told me his master was still at the Tailors’ Hall,’ I admitted. I did not add that I had gone back there later and spoken to Mistress Anthony, nor reveal anything of the conversation I had had with her. The results of that interview might become known later – or they might not.
Mildy, who had been jiggling about on her chair, could contain herself no longer. ‘Did you buy any pretty things for the queen, Madame?’ she asked excitedly. ‘Any ribbons or lace or jewellery? And if you did, may we see them?’
I smiled at her. She endeared herself to me; as curious as a kitten and twice as irrepressible. At her age I should have been as eager for them as she was, had I ever had the chance even to look at such fripperies. ‘Mostly I ordered drawings and designs to collect tomorrow, but I do have some samples to take back to her grace. You are welcome to see them later if you wish. Tell me though, what did you get up to today? I felt like a slug-a-bed for you were up and out before I broke my fast.’
Mildy’s brow creased under the turned-back brim of her white linen coif. ‘Oh yes, we rise early and today we went to market with Aunt to carry baskets. We had to get there soon after dawn in order to catch the best produce, that is what our aunt said.’
‘And so it is and so we did,’ interjected Mistress Cope, ‘as I think is proved by the quality of the beef we are eating.’
‘Indeed it is!’ echoed her brother heartily, raising his glass. ‘Let us drink a toast to the king and queen and the roast beef of England. Long may they grace our land!’
Mistress Cope spluttered and I caught my host’s eye, fighting to suppress a chuckle at his somewhat subversive conjunction of royalty and bullocks.
‘And now a toast to our guest,’ he added, drawing instant colour to my cheeks. ‘May this not be the last time she honours my house with her presence.’
Later that evening, when the girls had exclaimed over the few gee-gaws I had purchased for Catherine and been chivvied up to bed by their aunt, my host and I sat conversing by the hall fire with the last of the flagon of Gascon wine and I asked him the question I had been pondering ever since I learned of his regular trips to France.
‘I wonder, Master Vintner, if I were to write a letter to my daughter Alys in Paris, whether you would be kind enough to take it to her on your next visit? It would be wonderful to be able to tell her all my news and perhaps there might be an opportunity for her to write a reply while you are in the city.’
Master Vintner did not hesitate for a second. ‘With great pleasure, Madame,’ he said. ‘As a matter of fact, I will be making the journey very soon, on one of the ships that will carry the king’s relief troops. I believe they will sail at the end of the month so I should be in Paris in early June.’
‘Ah, the best time of year,’ I said enviously. ‘I will write the letter tomorrow and give you clear directions to her house. It is very kind of you to do me this favour.’
‘It is no favour, I assure you,’ he responded, ‘for it will give me the pleasure of hoping for another visit from you so that I can tell you how your daughter fares and of course describe the progress of your little granddaughter. And perhaps one day there will be an opportunity for me to accompany you in person to Paris to see them for yourself.’
I gazed at him, speechless, asking myself how many times this man’s warmth had brought a lump to my throat during the brief hours of our acquaintance. This last offer had taken me completely by surprise. To him it appeared to be the most natural and logical idea, but to me it suddenly seemed like an offer from heaven and I was overwhelmed by a longing to accept immediately, which merely served to tell me how much I had been suppressing my heartfelt wish to see my family again. But I knew of course that it was impossible, at least until after Catherine was safely delivered of her baby, for I had promised faithfully to see her through the momentous process of presenting England and France with their crucially important heir.
After several seconds I managed to deliver what I hoped was a serene smile and say, ‘What a kind and thoughtful offer, Master Vintner, but I hope you will not think me ungrateful if I turn it down, at least for the foreseeable future. You see, perhaps the news has not reached London yet, but the queen is enceinte and as you can imagine it will be a long time before I am able to leave her for more than a few days. I have been with her more or less since she was born and I will be with her when she brings her own child into the world. I would not be human if I absented myself from that event.’
He nodded solemnly. ‘Indeed you would not. I had heard the good news of the queen’s happy condition and of course I should have realised that there was no question of you leaving England at this time. But please remember that the offer is always open.’ He leaned forward and poured a last drop of wine into my cup before emptying the flagon into his own. ‘Let us drink to the health of the queen,’ he said. ‘May God give her an easy confinement and a healthy babe in the cradle, be it boy or girl.’
We drank and I inwardly blessed him for being among the few men in England who would not have prayed exclusively for a