Read Cor Rotto: A novel of Catherine Carey for Free Online Page A

fire, her eyes closed, while a musician played a lilting tune on the lute. Her lips curled into a smile. She was calm only because she had no idea of the pressure that was building around her. For her, ignorance was blissful. But like Jane, I too was terrified for her.
    Once we arrived at Hampton Court and the weather cleared, I resumed my daily visits with Richard. I loaded a basket with wine, cheese and bread, and we would ride out into the park to see the king’s stags. The young ones were in velvet this time of year and I delighted in watching them gingerly pick their way through the brush. Those were the happiest moments of my day. I felt feather-light when Richard wrapped his hands around my waist to lift me from the saddle, and every time his arm brushed mine, my skin erupted in goose bumps.
    I lay in bed, tossing and turning in frustration. I could not get Richard out of my mind. Not knowing how he felt was killing me. Katherine grunted beside me. “Stop moving, I am trying to sleep.”
    I decided to go for a walk. As quietly as I could, I dressed and covered myself in my cloak and crept out of the room, trying not to wake the other maids. The torches were still burning in the hall and I heard whispers in the dark corners. Lover’s talk, I thought to myself, and hastened down the corridor. I slipped out of the castle doors and crossed the garden to the stables. I was certain Richard was asleep in his own bed by now, but something compelled me onward.
    When I arrived, the light flickering in the open windows from the candles stopped me in my tracks, and for a moment I thought of turning back. Instead, I took a deep breath filled with the scent of fresh hay and strode confidently into the stables as though I belonged there. Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw him standing by the furnace, his back to me.
    “Richard?” I called out tentatively.
    He spun around, a look of alarm on his face. “Catherine! What are you doing here?”
    I walked towards him, hands outstretched for his. He eyed me warily, obviously confused as to why I had wandered into the empty stables in the middle of the night.
    I approached him slowly. “I could not stop thinking of you. I tried desperately to sleep, but all I could think of was the scent of your skin and the sound of your voice. I want to spend all of my days with you. Richard, please put my mind at ease and tell me you feel the same,” I said hopefully.
    Richard reached out and traced his hand down my cheek. “Of course I feel the same Catherine. I have been out here stacking hay all evening just to keep my mind off you.”
    Confused, I asked, “Why do you need to keep your mind off me? Do you not realise how happy I am with you? How I want nothing more than to be with you?” I closed my eyes and leaned towards him, wishing with all my heart that he would kiss me.
    “Catherine, I cannot do this,” he said, pulling his hand away.
    My eyes fluttered open. I could already feel the burn behind them, but I willed myself not to cry. “Richard, I know that we should not be together. My mother and William Stafford should never have been together either, but they ran away and did it anyway and they were eventually forgiven. We can do that too. My family would understand,” I pleaded.
    Richard took my hand and led me over to a bale of hay. The light from the fire in the furnace danced across his face. His eyes looked tired and for the first time I noticed the bags underneath them. He held my hand in his, tracing his finger across the palm of my hand. After a moment of silence, he looked up and said, “I cannot have you because you belong to someone else.”
    A searing pain spread across my chest and I lost my breath. The wind had been knocked from me. When I finally found my voice I whispered, “What do you mean?”
    “Catherine, you are the king’s daughter. He has found a husband for you and he is a good man. He will do right by you. He can give you a life that I never