‘Are you cold?’ he says.

Hardly, I am buried in my sables, but I look up at him and say: ‘A little.’

‘Let me warm your hand,’ he says, and tucks it under his arm so that it is pressed against his jacket. I have such a longing to open the front of his jacket and put both my hands inside. His belly would be smooth and hard, I think. His chest may be covered with light hair. I don’t know, it is so thrilling that I don’t know. I know the scent of him, at least, I can recognise it now. He has a warm smell, like good-quality candles. It burns me up.

‘Is that better?’ he asks, pressing my hand to his side.

‘Much better,’ I say.

We are walking beside the river and a boatman goes past and shouts something at the two of us. With only a handful of ladies and courtiers before and behind us, nobody knows that I am the queen.

‘I wish we were just a boy and a girl walking out together.’

‘Do you wish you were not queen?’

‘No, I like being queen—and of course I love His Majesty the king with all my heart and soul—but if we were just a girl and a boy we could be strolling to an inn for some dinner and dancing, and that would be fun.’

‘If we were a girl and a boy I would take you to a special house I know,’ he says.

‘Would you? Why?’ I can hear the entranced giggle in my own voice, but I cannot help myself.

‘It has a private dining room and a very good cook. I would give you the finest of dinners and then I would court you,’ he says.

I give a little gasp of pretend shock. ‘Master Culpepper!’

‘I would not stop till I had a kiss,’ he says outrageously. ‘And then I would go on.’

‘My grandmother would box your ears,’ I threaten him.

‘It would be worth it.’ He smiles and I can feel my heart thudding. I want to laugh out loud for the sheer joy of him.

‘Perhaps I would kiss you back,’ I whisper.

‘I am quite sure you would,’ he says, and ignores my delighted gasp. ‘I have never in all my life kissed a girl and not had her kiss me back. I am quite sure you would kiss me and I think you would say, “Oh, Thomas!” ’

‘Then you are very sure of yourself indeed, Master Culpepper.’

‘Call me Thomas.’

‘I will not!’

‘Call me Thomas when we are alone like this.’

‘Oh, Thomas!’

‘There you are, you said it, and I have not even kissed you yet.’

‘You must not talk to me of kissing when anyone else is near.’

‘I know that. I should never let any danger come to you. I shall guard you as my life itself.’

‘The king knows everything,’ I warn him. ‘Everything we say, perhaps even everything we think. He has spies everywhere and he knows what is in people’s very hearts.’