Tannakin (Scene 5) Poem by John Fenton Mcleish

scene 5
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romeo
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Anne and edward are playing in the garden.Anne sits on a garden bench while edward shows off.He recreates his heroic killing of the boer.Anne sits mesmerized.She adores him.She sits awestruck watching him re enact his heroic tales.Out of one of the doors appears the boy, thomas brincknell, an apprentice cook.Thomas is carrying a tray of tarts/cakes.Anne notices thomas out the corner of her eye.She suddenly forgets edward and runs over to thomas.She laughs as she tries to steal one of the tarts.Thomas remonstrates.He tells anne these tarts are for the master and he doesn't want to get in trouble.Anne is persistant.She jumps up and tries to take a tart but thomas raises the tray above his head, out of annes reach.She continues heckling him, pulling his shirt etc.
Edward watches from where they were playing.He is jealous.Anne has hurt his feelings by ignoring him.Ignoring him for a servant.This makes him furious.He watches for a while then sulks off.
Anne in the meantime has been successful in absconding with a tart.She runs back to the bench where she and edward were playing, but edward is gone.She sits down on the bench and eats her cake, daydreaming about edwards exploits as she does so.
From an upper story window burghley, dressed in black also watches.As head of the english secret service he sees everything.Even walsingham fears burghley.Seated in the room is geoffrey fenton, one of burghleys most trusted agent provocateurs/spy.Geoffrey rises and walks to where burghley is at the window.He looks out at anne and edward playing.'how old is the boy? ' asks geoffrey.Burghley doesn't respond.Soon edward will come of age and inherit his fathers estate.The richest and biggest in all of england.This will make edward the most powerful man in the kingdom.Burghley knows edward despises him.Edward regards burghley as an inferior and beneath him.Burghley is concerned, very concerned.
Burghley advises geoffrey that soon edward will be attending the innes of court.geoffrey is to head the security detail.
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