CHAPTER III
Somerset House
Somerset House, the English home in which Agnes now found herself, was very different from the magnificent but sombre Louvre she had left.
It stood almost in the centre of a great bend of the Thames, so that from its fine terrace could be seen, on one side the city of London, with its countless spires and its old bridge, on the other the king's palace and gardens of Whitehall and the great Abbey of Westminster.
Built by the Protector Somerset, it had been greatly improved for Queen Henrietta Maria, who had furnished it with consummate taste.
On its charming south front, looking out over the river, in full sunshine, were the queen's principal apartments: her presence-chamber, private sitting-room, and her bed-chamber, all protected by the guard-room. Her windows looked down on wide, trim lawns, in the centre of which was a basin and fountain, while beyond was a broad terraced walk, the walls of which were at each high tide washed by the Thames.
A handsome flight of steps led down to the river, where the queen's barge was moored. The Thames was a high-road full of life and movement, for every nobleman kept a splendid barge, rowed by many men in fine liveries.
Beyond the queen's apartment were the smaller rooms occupied by the Princess Henrietta and Agnes Beaumont, who, though she was but twelve years old, was raised to the dignity of maid of honour to the princess, thus establishing her right to be always beside her in private and in public. Agnes was tall for her age and slim; the golden curls of her childhood had darkened to a rich auburn; her features were delicate but very marked; her complexion fair, with a soft pink colouring which suited well with the brown eyes and dark, long lashes. She had been a beautiful babe, and now she was a fair girl, little more than a child still, but giving great promise of a beautiful womanhood.
Young as she was, there was a stateliness in her carriage which betokened high birth. More than once the queen laughed with Patience:
"We cannot hide her dignity if we would," she said; "she carries her head too high for common folk."