House Of Shadows: Discover the thrilling untold story of the Winter Queen. Nicola Cornick
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snow, like the White Witch in the Chronicles of Narnia. But those stories had felt magical, unreal. Here was the story of Elizabeth’s life told through items she had touched and held.
Slowly now Holly walked between the display cases, taking in all the artefacts that she had previously ignored because she had been overwhelmed by the beauty of the glass. There were letters from Elizabeth to her husband Frederick of Bohemia, an astrolabe showing the celestial sphere with the earth at its centre, an engraved gold medal celebrating the couple’s marriage, a dagger enamelled and set with diamonds.
On a bed of blue velvet nestled two miniatures, one of Frederick and the other of Elizabeth. Leaning closer, Holly saw that the portraits had been painted in 1612, just before their marriage.
‘Miss Ansell? How do you do? I am Espen Shurmer.’
Holly jumped. Just for a moment she had forgotten that she had come to the Ashmolean to meet Espen Shurmer and talk about Ben.
Shurmer was standing on the other side of the display, hands in the pockets of his beautifully cut suit, smiling at her confusion with benevolent amusement. He stepped forwards and held out a hand.
‘Am I to assume that your presence here means that Dr Ansell has not returned?’ he asked. His English was almost accentless.
‘Mr Shurmer.’ Holly felt self-conscious and only just managed not to wipe her palms down her dress before she shook hands. ‘Yes, I’m afraid Ben is still missing.’
‘My sympathies,’ Shurmer said gravely. ‘I imagine that is very difficult for you.’
‘Thank you,’ Holly said. ‘Yes, it is a little difficult.’ She thought about her grandparents and the stoicism they were displaying in the absence of any news. When she had arrived earlier that afternoon, her grandmother had hugged her tightly for a long, long time as though she was afraid that Holly might vanish too. Her grandfather had told her he had spoken to the police and was trying to encourage them to open a formal investigation now that Ben had been gone over 48 hours without contact.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t make myself known to you when I arrived, Mr Shurmer,’ Holly said. ‘I …’ She hesitated. ‘I had an urge to see the exhibition.’
‘Of course.’ Shurmer smiled. ‘You are welcome.’ His eyes were a vivid blue. His face bore lines of humour and experience. It was impossible to guess his age although Holly thought he must be in his late sixties, or older. His English was slightly clipped and old-fashioned which only added to the charm.
‘Why would you not wish to see it?’ he said. ‘All these items are so very beautiful.’
‘Yes.’ Holly hesitated again. ‘I’m a glass engraver, you see, and these—’ She gestured towards the display cases, ‘well, I’ve never seen anything quite so stunning.’ She found that she had put out a hand towards the nearest cabinet as though wanting to touch the glass within. It was a rose-coloured goblet with a hunting scene engraved on it in gold foil. She knew it was called gold sandwich-glass and that it was so precious and expensive that it had probably been a gift and never actually used.
She saw Shurmer’s eyes widen momentarily in surprise. ‘A glass engraver,’ he said slowly. ‘Yes, I see.’
‘It’s wonderful to see the glass in the context of other items from Frederick and Elizabeth’s court,’ Holly said. ‘On its own it is exquisite but seen alongside some of their other possessions it has so much more meaning. I can almost imagine stepping into the palace of the Wassenaer Hof and seeing the table set for a banquet …’ She tailed off, thinking she sounded impossibly naïve, but Shurmer’s shrewd blue gaze had sharpened with interest.
‘So you know about the Wassenaer Hof? About Elizabeth and Frederick’s court in exile?’
‘A little,’ Holly said. ‘I’ve been to The Hague but of course the palace has gone now. As for Elizabeth and Frederick, my grandfather told me about them when I was a child. He was a wonderful storyteller.’
‘The Winter Queen is not well known in this country,’ Shurmer said, ‘even though she was the daughter of King James I.’
‘She was known as the Pearl of Britain,’ Holly said. She looked at Elizabeth’s portrait. ‘She looks heartbreakingly lovely. So young as well.’
It was an unusual portrait, she thought. In it Elizabeth’s auburn hair was loose about her shoulders rather than piled up in some elaborate arrangement, and the long flowing tresses complemented the bold orange and black striped gown she wore. She was a true Scottish rose with creamy white skin and pale blue eyes.
‘As does Frederick,’ Shurmer said. Holly thought he sighed softly. ‘So young and eager. It is fortunate they did not know at that stage what was to come – betrayal, loss and exile.’
The Winter King looked no more than a boy, handsome and clean-shaven. His dark eyes were lustrous and his dark hair had a jaunty curl. Holly could see why he and Elizabeth had apparently fallen in love with each other on sight. Their good looks, hopes and expectations would have been a mirror each for the other. Everything must have seemed so wonderful in the beginning.
Then she remembered that Elizabeth had lost her brother only months before her marriage to Frederick. Even then there had been dark clouds. Unconsciously she wrapped her arms about her, warding off the darkness.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I’m sure you did not invite me here to discuss this.’
Shurmer smiled. ‘On the contrary, Miss Ansell. In order to understand what it is that your brother wanted from me, it is necessary to know of the Winter Queen. But it seems that you already do.’ His gaze was intent, as though weighing up just how much she did know. ‘Has Dr Ansell already told you about his researches?’ he asked.
‘No,’ Holly said. ‘I’m afraid not.’
‘So,’ Shurmer said. ‘Why did you decide to come?’
Holly did not answer immediately and he did not prompt her. There was a quality of patience, of stillness, about Espen Shurmer that was unusual, she thought. It felt as though he would always be prepared to wait as long as was needed to get what he wanted.
‘I’m not sure,’ she said honestly, after a moment. ‘I think I came because I thought it might have something to do with Ben’s disappearance, or at least help me to work out what has happened to him.’
Shurmer nodded slowly. ‘It is important to you to find him.’
‘Very,’ Holly said.
Silence fell again. She waited for Shurmer to say something reassuring. Almost everyone she had met in the past 48 hours had told her they were sure Ben would turn up soon. She knew it was intended to help, to make her feel better, even though it didn’t. But Espen Shurmer said nothing.
‘When we spoke you mentioned something about a pearl of great value,’ Holly said. ‘I must admit it surprised me. That really doesn’t sound like Ben. He’s not into antique jewellery or history of any sort, to be honest. He’s too—’ She paused. ‘He’s more about the present rather than the past.’
‘Indeed?’ A frown touched Espen Shurmer’s brow. ‘Yet he was researching your family history?’
‘I only heard about that recently,’ Holly said. ‘It seemed weird – totally out of character.’ She looked at him. ‘I’m astonished he told you about that too. Did it have something to do with his questions about the pearl?’
She saw a shadow of something flicker in Shurmer’s eyes. ‘Perhaps.’ His tone was non-committal. ‘I do not know. All I know is that Dr Ansell wanted me to tell him all I knew about the Sistrin.’
‘The Sistrin,’ Holly said, and as she said the name she felt something shift inside her like the faintest of echoes, as though she had heard the word before. ‘That is the name of the pearl,’ she said softly.
‘It is,’ Shurmer said. ‘But before