The sheet of paper trembled in Franny’s hand as she tried to sound out the letters in the writing. She had never before received a letter, and this one was from Rose. Her lips moved slightly as she whispered the sounds of the letters on the page.

I wish Princess Elizabeth could slip you into her trunk and bring you along. I miss you, Franny. Franny read those sentences over and over again and pressed the letter to her heart. This was so exciting. To receive a letter! And Rose had said what a scriver she was! She missed Rose. What was it about her that made her think that just possibly . . .

But Franny cut off the thought. She could not even dare imagine such a thing. It was too dangerous. Her parents would be furious. They were safe here. Safe. Her mother had not been hanged, her father not crushed by stones like Uncle Giles. She needed to be happy here. She was happy. Her mum was a laundress at the palace. Franny had her job in the dairy. Her father was a farmer on their small plot. Rose would come back to Hatfield when Princess Elizabeth returned. The king always banished her for one reason or another. Most likely he would change wives again. That always caused him to exile his daughters. Honeymoon time. Of course, little Prince Edward would never be exiled. Being a boy, he was next in line for the crown. But Franny’s mum said that King Henry didn’t like Elizabeth because she was too much like him. She did certainly look like him with her red hair. Her mum said that it wasn’t only the hair. That the royal princess was so smart. “Smartest of the whole lot, Franny. He’s jealous of her, I think. He looks at the princess and sees beauty, wit, and cunning. All the while he’s getting older and fatter.”

Franny tucked the letter away. She headed up to the sheep barn where the little lamb was who had come out of season. The lamb’s mother, the ewe, had died. So it had become Franny’s job to feed her. She would sop a cloth in cow’s milk and, holding the lamb, squeeze the milk into her mouth. She was a clever little lamb, and whenever she saw Franny coming would begin hopping about with excitement in her stall. Today Franny brought a pan of milk, walking very carefully for she was not using her crutch and didn’t want to spill the milk. The lamb should be old enough now to lap it up. She set down the pan.