‘ELIN IS NOT YET twelve, Jasper!’ I exclaimed in alarm. ‘You of all people know that is much too young for a girl to marry.’

‘I am not suggesting marriage right now, Jane, merely that we consider the possibility of a betrothal.’ Jasper was using his coaxing, persuasive voice. The one he knew usually won me round in the end. ‘Church teaching recognizes that Elin is of an age when many a maid begins to experience the stirrings of desire. She may not know exactly what it is she feels but to me it is obvious that Elin has a great liking for Will Gardiner, and if you are so friendly with his mother it may be sensible for you to discuss, woman to woman, the possibility of a betrothal. He is an only son, likely to inherit his father’s business and properties. I am now in a position to provide her with a tempting dowry and his father would almost certainly see the advantage of a close connection to the king’s half brother. She would have a good life as the wife of a Merchant Venturer – a secure home and the kind of household she is familiar with. It is not an unthinkable idea.’

I pulled my chamber robe more tightly around me and contemplated the notion of bartering with Philippa Gardiner over my daughter’s future. It struck me as being unpleasantly similar to the prospect of a farmer arranging the mating of a prime gilt pig. ‘Not unthinkable to you, clearly,’ I remarked tartly, ‘but then she is not the baby you fed from your breast or the child you nursed through ague and belly-ache. She may be a little madam at the moment but she is my little madam and I love her.’

We were ready for bed but this subject was making me too tense to lie in it. Jasper moved up behind me and put his arms around my rigid shoulders. ‘But having reared her through those perilous years, Jane, is it not an act of love to give thought to her future? I am sure she begins to do so herself, or if not yet then very soon she will. Is that not why she contradicts you and kicks against the traces? In noble houses girls are often sent away at Elin’s age to live with their betrothed husband’s family, while they are still young enough to adapt easily to the ways of a new life. Perhaps you could suggest a trial to Mistress Gardiner? A short stay when they can all discover whether they get on together. You never know, she may already be on the look-out for a suitable bride for her only son. It is as important for a merchant’s family to find a good match as it is for landed gentry and you must agree that by any reckoning Elin is a good match.’