After the quiet weeks of November and early December, Windsor had become abuzz with activity overnight. Servants scurried to and fro, hanging greenery and preparing chambers for the many guests expected to arrive for Christmas Court. Jamie preferred the castle when it was quiet and nearly empty. As he cantered past, a flock of ducks rose from the mist of the river and formed a V above him. He drew in deep breaths, filling his lungs with the cold, damp air, and felt better. A man was not meant to spend so much time indoors. What he wanted was an estate far from London—a place where he would know all his tenants and their families, as his parents did. He and Linnet could make a good life there. The Duke of Bedford was bound to reward him for his services. Bedford had hinted at an estate in Normandy, but Jamie was holding out for lands in England. They were harder to come by, but England was home. He wanted his children to be born and bred on English soil.
