The question of sweet Robyn

*Smiles a little more warm*. Perhaps the man for me is right in front of me. Perhaps I'm staring at him right now. *Laughs* Imagine if it's you? *Laughs*.

*forces a laugh* imagine that indeed

Thou finding true love in a pennyless nobleman that can offer you nothing but


a fine jest indeed *paints on a charming smile*

Oh, Nicholas. I did not mean to make thee uncomfortable, I was only joking. Please forgive me.

*smiles* you did nothing of the kind my Lady, there is nothing to forgive

I know my station in life, I knew it was only a jest

Dearest, I married the King of France, a Prince of England and Scotland, and a Powerful Scottish Nobleman, in that order.

Notice the downward pattern?

*laughs loudly*

indeed I do

So perhaps there would be hope for a wretch like me *laughs*

Notice also cousin how thine happiness, safety and carefree hours deminished with each match.

When one hath responsibilities of state such as ours and the future of a whole realm can be alterred and threatened by one bad union, love is but a folly and one I myself shall not risk.

I envy dear Elizabeth Woodville's happy love greatly, but have found in every waking hour of mine life that peril, pain and misfortune lay in the hands of every dear fickle minded husband.

And so, though I doth love dear Robyn dearly I bow to the advice of mine ministers when they advise me that I can never marry him... and know deep down in my soul I shall never marry another.

The safety of my England doth require my head sit firmly on my shoulders and so I shall not risk loosing it for the sake of love.

*looks to Elizabeth, his eyes shineing with a profound sadness*

That my Dear friend is both sad and courageous. Though it saddens me to know you should never have the love of a husband, it is your willingness to lay suchs matter aside for your people that swells my heart with admiration for you.

*that has always called my heart to love and respect you more, he thinks but does not say*

But I am content in the knowledge that you do have love, love for your people, your kingdom, your Country.

The irony is that any man who found himself to love you as a husband wud and wud try to sway you from your descion could not truly love you at all.

Sir Nicholas of Rhodes wrote:

The irony is that any man who found himself to love you as a husband wud and wud try to sway you from your descion could not truly love you at all.

Never a truer word said my lord.

There is no greater love than that of my people.

I am sure that I am precisely the wrong person to give advice on this topic, as my wifely experience was brief and estranged, but I find myself agreeing with your mother. Some women do get lucky in their marriages, but so many find the whole arrangement to be nothing but trouble. I have missed out on many things, but I do not regret that I take orders from no man.

AHEM! Save, of course, my good brother His Majesty, from whom I do take the occasional order, for on them is predicated my continued household allowance!

Ah, Aunt Anne, thou dost always make me smile. For that I thank thee greatly.

Yes, dearest cousin, Robert Dudley is not the one for you.

He is ambitious, philandering, unscrupulous, manipulative and may have killed his wife (though of course I will NOT judge possible spouse killers for the obvious reasons).

However to dismiss the entire male race is an act quite apart from your normal levelheadedness, in that it is based entirely on thine emotions. Why not marry a powerful man who can bring you wealth and power?

I suppose if one can not marry for love, then power iand wealth is all that is left. Though I think I should rather live my life alone than marry someone I did not love.


*laughs* but what do I know, I am but a hopeless and foolish romantic

Dearest Nicholas,

Those sentiments are fine, but naive. As a nobleman surely thou must have had to marry against thine will, correct?

No My Lady, I have never been married

Never? *Jaw drops open and hangs there for a good 5 minutes*. Do you mean never as in "So long ago that I can barely recall" or as in "Never in my life"?

*smiles a slight blush rises to his cheeks*

Never in my life My Lady

Why not? Are you a sodomite?

*looks disgusted*

absoulutely not!

But it is as I said before, I am a hopeless romantic. In the past I have not found anyone I wished to marry, save one, and that was never to be.

I should like, I think, very much to be married, but I have little to offer a wife now.

Who was she? Or would you rather not tell?

her name is of little consequence as she has been in her grave for several years hence, it pains me still to think of her and what might have been but since it is you who asked, her name was Elaine.

Elaine. What a beautiful name. That does not sound English though. Where was she from?

She was Welsh my Lady

I am intrigued by this tale my lord, and saddened to hear your lady is no longer with us.

Wudst it be too much hardship to tell us more of this great lady that didst manage to hold your heart? For if thou wudst speak of her I should be glad to listen.

I find that poetry doth ease my heart greatly when I look back upon lost love. Either writing it or reading it there is great comfort.

I wudst share with thee a piece of mine in the hope it should offer some comfort through like minded emotion:

I grieve and dare not show my discontent,
I love and yet am forced to seem to hate,
I do, yet dare not say I ever meant,
I seem stark mute but inwardly do prate.
I am and not, I freeze and yet am burned,
Since from myself another self I turned.

My care is like my shadow in the sun,
Follows me flying, flies when I pursue it,
Stands and lies by me, doth what I have done.
His too familiar care doth make me rue it.
No means I find to rid him from my breast,
Till by the end of things it be supprest.

Some gentler passion slide into my mind,
For I am soft and made of melting snow;
Or be more cruel, love, and so be kind.
Let me or float or sink, be high or low.
Or let me live with some more sweet content,
Or die and so forget what love ere meant.

Alternatively my lord, I wudst reccomend to you the work of John Donne for he hath great tenderness, wit and understanding...

*she doth speak now in a whisper*
...and I find the poetry written for his mistress upon going to bed doth make me blush!

Thank you for the poetry my Lady, it doth ease my heart * forces a smile*

and in return for your kindness and Marie's curiousity, I shall tell you both oand any here you care to listen, of my Lady Elaine ...

I met my Dear Elaine at a spring bazzar, it was love at first sight, I can still see her eyes sparkling like saphires, her long blonde tresses caught up in sunlight *smiles fondly at the memory*

We spent that day and many more in each other’s company. I wished more than anything to ask her parents for her hand but I never got the chance. To our horror her parents and mine had arranged a marriage between my sweet Elaine and my elder brother. We thought many time to flee together but in the end niether of us could shame our families honor so.
So my Lady love moved into our castle and into my brother’s marital bed. If he had loved her and cared for as I, then perhaps things would not have ended in such tragedy.

My brother was a womanizing drunkard, he left my sweet Elaine more and more while he laid about with his drunkin whores. When I tried to speak to him about his behavior he chatised my dear Elaine for having not given him a child, he claimed she was barren and wished to be rid of her but knew that was not possible. And I knew my brother, it mattered not if Elaine filled the castle with his offspring his lust for other women would not be sated.

Elaine and I tried to resist temptation, oh how we tried, but in the end our love was too great. We lain together but one night and the guilt of our sin was too much. And she paid for our sin with her life. For nine months later my dear sweet Elaine was taken from this world in child birth, taking what was surely my child with her. Oh the agony of that night, hearing her screams of pain and not being able to go to her… I set sail as Captain on one of my Father’s tradeing vessals as soon as she was burried.

I will never forget … and I will never forgive myself.

*tries to control his shaking hands and tears that threaten to fall*