Margaret said to her goddaughter as they swept their trailing skirts along the corridors of Hampton Court, where His Majesty was making a summer honeymoon jaunt of several weeks’ duration. “When a king voices a preference, it is law.”“Unless Parliament naysays him,” Zabby quipped.“You’ll not find Parliament interfering with the king’s mistresses,” Margaret said. Zabby made a choking noise of protest, but Margaret held up her hand. “I know, you need not convince me, child. You’ve told me the truth of it, and you’ve virginal eyes if ever I’ve seen a pair. But the king has a secret, and he feels the best way to keep it is to keep it close. He doesn’t want anyone to know he had plague, so we must all bend to his whim—for a time, anyway.”“But I came to England to learn, not to mince around court and fetch the queen’s handkerchiefs.”Margaret laughed. “You’ll do much more than that. You have an infinity of resources here. His Majesty’s menagerie is the finest in the world, learned men are always welcome at his court, and they say his elaboratory has advances I can only dream of.
