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vanished.
    ‘He was just asking me to convey his compliments to the Lady Elizabeth on her dancing,’ I finished lamely.
    Alejandro did not believe a word of my explanation, I could tell by his frown. He must have already been warned away from me by his masters and knew their disapproval of our relationship. But the danger had been averted for the moment, and at least the Inquisition did not seem aware that I had once been accused of being a witch. They merely saw me as a threat to one of their young Spanish novices, an upstart nobody who must be removed before she ruined a promising career in the priesthood.
    ‘I see,’ he said drily.
    He raised my hand to his lips and touched his lips to my skin. I remembered how passionately he had kissed me before the banquet, and felt my cheeks flare with heat again.
    His voice was deep and exasperated. ‘Don’t wander off on your own like that again, do you hear me? I was frantic. I didn’t know where you’d gone. With the Inquisition on every corner, looking for ways to trick
la princesa
into some confession of Protestant guilt, you can’t be too careful.’
    ‘Yes, Alejandro,’ I said meekly, pretending to agree, but I knew he was not deceived.
    ‘The Queen only allowed her sister to return to court so she could humiliate her with the birth of this new heir to the throne. Do not be deceived into thinking the Lady Elizabeth is a free woman. The slightest indiscretion could see her back in prison – and you with her, Meg.’ His gaze burnt into mine. ‘Your lack of caution terrifies me. I know these men. They will
hurt
you, and enjoy their work.’
    Slowly, Alejandro kissed my hand again, his mouth lingering on my skin, then released it. My hand tingled with the invisible imprint of his kiss, and I found it hard to breathe. Suddenly I could not look him in the eye, fearing the intensity of the emotions his touch stirred in me.
    Alejandro insisted on escorting me back through the torchlit maze of courtyards and passageways to the Lady Elizabeth’s apartments, and for this I was secretly grateful. In my heightened state of anxiety, it seemed to me that one of the darker shadows had detached itself from the palace wall and slithered behind us most of the way. But I chose not to look at it too closely.

TWO
The Inquisition
    ‘On days like this, I almost wish I could be back at Woodstock Palace. At least there I was permitted to roam the grounds with a single guard. Here I am free in name only. I must ask permission even to descend to the courtyard gardens. And then it seems I must make my intention known to the Captain of the Guards and wait for proper accompaniment, whatever that entails!’
    The Lady Elizabeth turned from the elegant leaded windows to look across at me with small hooded eyes that seethed with frustration, like a hawk kept too long on the wrist. Beyond the castle walls, it seemed summer was almost at hand. May sunlight lay in golden strips across the rushes between us. I could see the river gleaming brightly at the princess’s back while young lambs played in the lush green fields on the far bank.
    ‘And I miss my old governess, Kat Ashley. More than a governess, for in truth we are so close, she has been like a second mother to me. I had such a nightmare last night,’ she shuddered, ‘and when I tried to wake Blanche, she just snored. Kat would have known how to comfort me. But my sister’s advisors consider Kat too Protestant a companion for me. So they keep her away from me.’
    ‘A nightmare, my lady?’
    Her face was a little flushed that morning, as though she had indeed slept badly, but she had tamed her hair into shining tresses and looked remarkably calm considering the danger of her position.
    Since her sister the Queen had relaxed the terms of her imprisonment, Elizabeth had blossomed into a regal lady of the court. She still wore the most sombre gowns among those offered to her by the Queen’s wardrobe mistress, declining to outshine her