The Royal Seamstress | ONC2020

Chapter 17: The Poison

After three months we went back to Hampton Court. Lord Hereford was still in the Tower. Henry hadn't killed him yet, and I didn't know why. The last weeks I had planned how to kill the last three noble men. I had come to the conclusion I was going to poison one of them. It was the easiest way to get rid of one more, but if I killed more than one by poison, it would be too obvious that someone was killing on purpose at the court.

The King was going to hold a feast tonight as a celebration for the return to Hampton Court. He had invited me to be a guest. At first, I had declined. I was worried of how the Queen would look at me if she knew I was the lover of her husband.

She was going to wear one of the dresses I had made for her. I knew she had chosen the silver dress of moonlight for the feast. She had asked me to come attending her. Making sure the dress would fit her perfectly. I hadn't seen it on her yet, and she wanted me to see how beautifully the dress had turned out. I was already on my way to her. I had to ask her permission to attend the feast. I had told the King I needed her accept since she, as the most important woman in the court, had to approve my being at the celebrations.

I entered the door to the Queen's rooms. Queen Jane was waiting for me at her dressing room. Some of her ladies were already helping her into all the layers of the silver decorated fabric of the moonlight dress.

"Your Majesty," I said and curtsied. "Can I be of any assistance to you?"

Queen Jane turned to face me. She gave me a slight smile. She was always so calm. So peaceful. I didn't understand how she could contain such a manner of behaving when knowing her husband was together with other women. It was like she wasn't touched by it.

"You can help me get dressed," she answered. "I need you to check everything for me before going to my husband. He hasn't seen me any of your creations and I need to look the best."

"You always look the best, your Majesty." I curtsied. "But of course, I will help you to get ready for the feast."

The other maids drew back as I went to the Queen. She turned her back to me, letting me lace the gown for her. She stood in front of a great mirror. Looking at herself. Suddenly, I made eye contact with her inside the mirror. I felt she had something she really wanted to say to me, but on the other hand I also had something to ask her.

"Your Majesty," I started. "I have a request to make. A request from the King."

"Yes, what does he want?"

"He wants me to ask you if you have anything against me joining the feast tonight?"

The room went silent. Jane still stared me in the eyes, but not before long her face lit up in a smile.

"Of course not, I know he will be happy if you're there. And I also like for you to see your own dress worn to a feast."

"Thank you, your Majesty," I said. As I had finished lacing the dress, Jane glanced at herself once more in the mirror. She rewarded the mirror with one more luminous smile before turning towards me. I curtsied once more before taking my leave. I had to get ready for the feast myself, but most of all I had to get ready to kill the next person in line.

As I came to my room, I changed into the dress the King had given me. While dressing I considered how I was going to get some poison in less than thirty minutes. I knew all of the King's closest friends came to the lavish party and it was the perfect opportunity. I pulled out the drawer in the little table beside my bed and my heart skipped a beat. I little bottle with a note had been slipped into it. I gasped when I read who the sender was.

Elizabeth Webb

I'm proud of how well you're doing killing all those men for me. I'm truly rejoicing in your great luck – both as a witch and a murderer. In this little bottle you find a deadly potion. I don't have to explain what you're to do with it. I think you already know.

Lord Surry

How on earth had this ended up in my drawer? Had he been in here?

"Margaret," I called. I needed to know if Lord Surry had actually been in my room. If he had, he had clearly lost all sense of manners. How inappropriate it would be!

"Yes?" she said, when she finally came into my room. "Is something wrong?"

"Who has been in here?" I asked. "I have a note in my drawer from Lord Surry."

"Oh, I have put it in your drawer for him. He didn't want to go into your room without you being there."

I nodded. Good. Maybe he wasn't forsaken after all. Margaret smiled and quickly disappeared. She had to sew one of the dresses' hem done before the evening. I had told her yesterday I probably had to go to the feast on the King's request. She had offered to take my work for the evening in order for me to not have some left over work, which I had to do when I returned from the feast later in the evening.

When I had made myself ready to go, I slipped the little bottle into my sleeve. On my way to the great dining hall I thought about who I was going to kill. My choice fell on Sir Gerard. He was to sit far away from the King, since his rank wasn't as high as many of the other guests.

As the hall filled up with people, I made my way to the seat, Sir Gerard was to sit in, but the glass wasn't in its place. I looked confused around the room and saw the gentleman with his cup in his hand. I had to wait for him to leave the cup somewhere, and not before long he did. I hurried to the cup and while no one was looking I poured the content of the little bottle into the cup. Now there was no way back.

Sir Gerard came back for his cup just before the feast was to begin and drank the rest of the liquor in it. The feast went well but as the King rose to propose a toast, Sir Gerard fell to the floor. Dead.

"Guards!" Henry yelled. "Get him up from the floor and fetch his physician."

"It's no use, your majesty," one of the guards said. "He's dead."

Word count: 1170 words. 

Totalt word count: 19679 words.