Anna mused from her desk the following morning, well after dawn had broken with no sign from Cecil or any other of our tutors. Her lips were pressed together. “Seems to me a briefing would be quite appropriate, with the Flemish court coming to England to pay homage to the Queen.”“The who?” I asked, as Jane straightened. Even Beatrice looked up at this new bit of gossip.“The Flemish court?” Beatrice asked. “But the Queen despises King Philip, especially since he married the French child. She suffers the Spaniards because Spain is so powerful. But what need has she for the Netherlands?”Anna nodded, setting some official-looking documents aside. “Well, she likes the Flemish painters well enough, and it is said Philip rules the Netherlands with a heavier hand than he does in Spain. Perhaps the Queen is looking to build alliances?” She pursed her lips together, thinking. “King Philip has not been idle, despite his love for his new bride, and with France firmly in hand, there now is whispering that he seeks to shore up his position on the Continent.
