Her ready vanity was stimulated at once. ‘Why, you would be my knight errant!’ she exclaimed. ‘Gardener Tradescant on a quest for his queen.’

‘Yes,’ J agreed, hating himself for the play-acting even as he let the masque sweep on.

‘And there must be gold and silver somewhere there,’ she said. ‘The Spanish got enough from it, as our Sweet Lord knows. If you could bring back some precious stones it would help His Majesty. It is a wonder to me how much it costs to buy a few pictures and to keep the court.’

‘Indeed, Your Majesty,’ J said to the earth beneath his knee.

‘You will bring me back pearls!’ she exclaimed. ‘Won’t you? Or emeralds?’

‘I will do all that I can,’ he said cautiously. ‘But I will certainly bring you back rare and beautiful plants and flowers.’

‘I shall ask the king to give you a letter patent,’ she promised. ‘He will do it at once.’

Such was the erratic detail of the Stuart court management that there could be riots and rebellions about the collection of ship money up and down the country, and proud men accused of treason and flung into gaol alongside criminals and beggars and the king scarcely aware of it. But the queen was excited about Tradescant the young gardener visiting Virginia, and she told the king, and that became the business of the day.

‘You must bring back some fine p … plants,’ the king said pleasantly to J. ‘Flowers and trees and shells, I hear they have precious sh … shells. I shall give you a letter of authority. Anything you see that would profit me, or the k … kingdom, you must have, free of charge, and bring it back. I shall give you a patent to collect. My loyal subjects in the new world will help you.’

J knew that a good proportion of the king’s loyal subjects had fled to the Americas determined never again to live directly under such a ruler, and paid their dues to England only with the most irritated reluctance.

‘You must come back with r … rarities too,’ the king said. ‘And see if you can bring Indian corn to grow here.’

‘I will, Your Majesty.’

The king gestured and one of his yeomen stepped forward. ‘A p … patent to collect in Virginia,’ the king said, his lips hardly moving. The yeoman, new at his work, had not yet learned that the king hated giving orders. Half of his servants’ work was guessing what he required. ‘Have it written up. To Mr T … Tradescant.’

J bowed. ‘I am obliged to Your Majesty.’

Charles extended his hand for J to kiss. ‘You are indeed,’ he said.

December 1637