Grace FitzRoy and Cecily Neville were two sides of one deal. On Loveday in the year 1458, when York and Lancaster came together ceremonially to reconcile their two warring factions, the Duke of York and King of England struck a deal. A daughter for...
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THE NEW QUEEN
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October 1464, Herstmonceux castle
The entire castle was abuzz with the news that arrived that morning. Servants scurried around the halls, carrying chests full of the fifteen-year-old duchess' belongings. The entire household was preparing to leave for London, and seven ladies needed to be prepared.
The young Duchess of Sussex burst from her rooms, her maids still securing a gold and ruby necklace around her neck. Although her appearance was well-kept, she felt anything but. The news that came from London was shocking, but it worried her more than anything. An idiot, Grace thought, he is an idiot.
A young, brown-haired lady strutted up to her, a mischievous grin adding to her already proud demeanour. "Is it true what they say?" Cecily Neville asked. Grace could only roll her eyes in answer.
"Unfortunately," she sighed, pushing her loose hair out of her face. She'd have to have Eleanor Percy do her hair in the carriage because their departure couldn't wait. Lady Eleanor was the second lady to join her service after Cecily. For a while, it seemed the two of them wouldn't get over the rivalry that had ravaged the relationships between their two families, but Lady Eleanor had softened over time, and Cecily had learned to accept her presence, no matter how distasteful she found it. She revelled in having a higher position than a Percy, which was probably where her newly found haughty character found its roots.
Other than those two, Grace had three more ladies in her service. Two of them were of a foreign origin, which had been her mother's idea. If the ladies had no other loyalties in England but to her, then they wouldn't be Edward's spies, and Grace would be protected. Lady Juana was the daughter of the Count of Placencia. She was his tenth child, but there had been rumours that she wasn't actually his, so it had been easy for him to send her halfway across Europe to be rid of her. He hoped that Juana would be married off to a nobleman of at least some degree and he wouldn't have to see her again.
The second foreign lady was Amelia de Valois, the illegitimate half-sister of the French king. If Grace's mother wanted to ensure Grace was free of spies, she'd certainly failed, as Lady Amelia had arrived with a letter from Margaret of Anjou. Despite not wanting to read it, Grace had done so begrudgingly upon Lady Amelia's insistence. She'd broken into tears not long after because although she thought her stepmother cruel for more reasons than one, she had still been one of the few people who'd accepted her existence without disgust. Reading the words she'd written – words of forgiveness – had been enough to make Grace want to hide away from the rest of her life.
