Chapter Text
10th April 1538
Rose
I look up at the sun in the sky. Soon it will be sunset, when I can slip away to meet Jack. I am a court lady, and I cannot be seen with a man with such a lowly status as Jack, much as I want to. My mother would separate us forever to stop a court scandal and the Dewitt Bukater name going up in flames. Lady Rose Dewitt Bukater being caught kissing a mere farmer son? Shocking! I don't think of the future much, it is uncertain, and I cannot even think of a life without Jack. The hours pass slowly. I try to pass the time by writing a letter to my aunt, who lives miles from court. She used to be a court lady, but then she married and left court. The few times I've seen her since, her life scares me. Her marriage is not a happy one, it was arranged by her parents- my grandparents- of course. She is nothing but a pawn in their political schemes. Not so different from me, I suppose, my mother is trying to arrange for me to marry Lord Caledon Hockley. She is terrified that if I don't get married within the next year, before I am eighteen, I will be labelled an old spinster. In that way I am lucky, some girls-royals in particular- are married off at twelve. I have managed to escape the fate of an arranged married up until now, I am seventeen which is older than most unmarried girls are.
But I will not be able to get out of it much longer, I fear. Lord Hockley has shown an interest in me, to my mother's relief and my horror. He has sent me gifts of roses from the palace gardens- which he thinks are very original "Roses for my Rose" each note says. Jack has managed to sneak into the palace once or twice, and each time has left wild roses outside my door. I tell my mother that I don't know who they are so she starts rumours that I have a secret admirer, to make me seem more appealing to the Court men and also to make Lord Hockley feel threatened so he will try all the harder to win me over and propose. I admit, Mother does know what she's doing. She would know of course since my father, who died a few years ago, was one of the most eligible, and richest might I mention, bachelors around until he met her. Now that he is dead, we still have most of his money, however, with no men left in our immediate family we are quite vulnerable, as women are considered helpless and in need of a man to look after them. That is why Mother is so desperate for me to marry and why she would hate Jack so much. If she found out about us… I shudder to think of the consequences.
Jack worries about our future too but for different reasons. Ironically, he like my mother is worried about money, in a way. He worries that if we were to escape and run away together, we would live the way he does, sleeping on benches, having to go a day or two without food, even begging sometimes. To me this sounds terribly daring and exciting and I have told him this on many occasions, but he worries that he would not be able to give me the life of comfort he thinks I deserve. His fears are silly, I hate being treated like a delicate little flower that could collapse at any time and endlessly having to worry about the Court fashions, I want to run free, not caring if my dress got dirty or I got tanned in the sun.
I am jerked from my thoughts by the sudden realisation that the room is filled with the gentle light of sunset. I can sneak away to see Jack now without anyone noticing.