Elizabeth
“It was the hottest summer Elizabeth could remember. She had moved from Whitehall at the first outbreak of the summer epidemics in the City and left Greenwich for Hampton Court. It was her favourite residence; she loved the rich red brick, the spacious courtyards and the airy rooms with their wide views of the river and the parklands. She was especially fond of the herb gardens and spent many hours sewing with her ladies in the shaded arbour, surrounded by the sweet and pungent scent of the shrubs. She was too hot and too irritable to go out that day; the weather frayed her nerves and interfered with her sleep, and perversely she made no concessions in dress for herself or her attendants. She sat close to a window, laced into a gown of violet satin; the bodice was stiff with bead and amethyst embroidery and it clung to her tired body like a suit of mail. Her head ached under an auburn wig; her hair was now too thin and too white to cover with anything but a nightcap, and she fought the... signs of age with richer dresses, multicoloured wigs and a mask of paint which took two hours to apply twice a day.MoreLess
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