[ she is surprised but also very pleased to be referred to as a dear friend. it warms her inside, and it reaches her smile as well as her eyes. ]

I will be very much in your debt then. I confess to not having been interested in such things. But compared to being at the whim of men, I find it necessary.

You have my eternal gratitude for this.

[ meaning she has developed a necessary interest in it now. it's either that or go home and blindly wed herself to her brother's murderer. ]

Yes, I do wish to know what becomes of it all. The last I had heard was that King Charles would be giving Henry Tudor men to cross the channel and invade.

[ her mouth sets itself in a firm line. ] From what you have told me of him, I no longer doubt the veracity of that rumour.