My Enemy, the Queen (19 page)

er Majesty realizes that most homes must seem so after this, and I think mayhap she prefers it so because it pleases her to know that my uncle has the finest estate in the country. So cast aside your qualms, Lady Essex. I have no doubt the Queen will enjoy a short stay at Chartley.

y husband, as you know, is in Ireland on the Queen business.

ou will prove a most charming hostess,he assured me.

have been away from Court so long,I explained. only rejoined Her Majesty shortly before we began this progress.

f I can be of any use to you I shall be at your service,said Philip, and Lady Sidney smiled.

t was for that reason that I asked you to come to me,she said. hen Robert told us that the Queen proposed visiting Chartley, I reminded him that the Earl of Essex was not in the country. He said that he was sure Lady Essex would do the honors with charm and grace, and suggested that if you needed help, Philip should accompany you back to Chartley and do anything you wished him to.

Philip Sidney smiled at me and I knew at once that I could rely on him.

We would leave together for Chartley, and there would set about making the castle fit and ready to receive the Queen.

Robert would be with her. I should have a chance of talking to him at last, on my own ground, and this I was determined to do.

Disclosure

As the thing is publicly talked of in the streets, there can be no harm in writing openly about the great enmity between the Earl of Leicester and the Earl of Essex, in consequence, it is said, of the fact that while Essex was in Ireland, his wife had two children by Leicester.

The Spanish Commissioner, Antoine de Guaras

The next day I left for Chartley with a few of my servants, accompanied by Philip and his retinue. I found him a most agreeable companion. The journey was less irksome than I had believed it would be, for I was naturally not pleased to leave Robert behind with those two who were clearly besottedly in love with himhe Queen and Douglass Sheffield. I could laugh to compare themur imperious, demanding, all-powerful Lady Elizabeth, and poor shrinking Douglass, who was afraid, as they say, of her own shadow. Perhaps in the latter case it was the warning ghost of Amy Robsart. Poor girl! I could understand it, though. I could well picture her nightmares about Amy, for she could be in a similar position to that unfortunate ladyf her story was true.

In due course we arrived at Chartley. This time I was not depressed to see it as I had been on the last occasion when I had returned to it from Court, for very soon Robert would actually be within these walls.

I had managed to send a messenger ahead of us to proclaim our arrival, and the children were waiting at the gates to greet us.

I felt proud, for my little darlings were a handsome quartet. Penelope had grown; she was going to be a beauty, and now she was like a lovely bud on the point of bursting in flower. Her skin was smooth and childlike, and she had beautiful thick fair hair and the dark attractive Boleyn eyeser coloring inherited from me. She would develop early and the signs of womanhood were already showing themselves. Then Dorothyess noticeable perhaps, but only when seen side by side with her more flamboyant sister. And my darling of them ally Robert, eight years old nowuite a man, adored by his younger brother Walter and tolerated by his sisters. I embraced them all with fervor, demanding to know whether they had missed me and, being assured they had, was gratified.

s it true, my lady,asked Penelope, hat the Queen is coming here?

t true indeed, and we have to make ready. There is much to be done and you will all have to be on your best behavior.

Little Robert bowed low to show us how grandly he would greet the Queen and commented that if he liked her he would show her his best falcon.

I laughed at that and told him that it would not be a matter of whether he liked her but whether she liked him. If she did, I told him, he might graciously inspect your falcon.

doubt she has ever seen such a falcon,cried Robert hotly.

doubt she has not,I told him. don think you realize that it is the Queen who is coming. Now, children, this is Mr. Philip Sidney, who will stay with us and show us how we must prepare to entertain the Queen.

Philip had a word with each of the children and when I saw him talk to Penelope it occurred to me that he would make a very suitable husband for her. She was too young as yet, for the disparity in their ages was too wide at this stagee being a young man ready for marriage and she but a childut when they were a few years older it would not seem so. I would tell Walter that while Leicester remained in such high favor it would be an excellent idea to marry our daughter to his nephew and link ourselves with that family. I was sure my husband would agree with this.

My servants had already started to work on the castle. The privies had been emptied and I noticed with relief were not evident by their odor. The rushes were swept out each day and a large quantity of hay and straw had been laid in so that on the day of the Queen arrival everything could be renewed. Wormwood seed was mingled with the rushes, for it was well known that fleas could not live with it; and sweet-smelling herbs were used to scent the air.

Beef, mutton, veal and pork were being prepared in the kitchen. Pies, decorated with royal symbols, full of meats seasoned with the best of our herbs, were being baked in the ovens. Our table would be loaded with dishes, otherwise it would be considered a repast unworthy of royaltylthough the Queen herself would, I knew from past experience, eat sparingly. I had already ordered that the best of our wines be brought out; Walter was proud of his cellars, where he kept the products from Italy and the Levant. I was not going to let anyone say I did not know how to entertain the Queen.

Through the days of preparation the musicians practiced those songs and tunes which I knew to be Elizabeth favorites. It was rarely that there had been such excitement in Chartley Castle.

Philip Sidney was an ideal guest. His easy manners and charm had quickly made him a favorite with the children; and the servants were eager to do some service for him.

He read the children some of his poems, which I feared might bore the boys, but even young Walter was content to sit and listen, and I noticed how they all watched him intently while he read.

Over meals, he told them of his life, which, to my children, seemed very adventurous; days at Shrewsbury School and Christ Church, Oxford, and how his father had sent him out to complete his education by three yearstravel on the Continent. Penelope rested her elbows on the table and watched him as though she were in a trance; and I thought: Yes, I should like this very attractive young man as her husband. I will certainly talk to Walter when he returns and perhaps we can make a match of it.

Some of Philip adventures had been lighthearted, others somber. He had been in Paris staying at the house of the English Ambassador on that fateful August night of 2, the Eve of St. Bartholomew; he had heard the tocsins sound in the early hours of the morning and, looking from his window, he had seen the terrible sights of bloodshed and massacre when the Catholics had risen against the Huguenots and slaughtered so many of them. He did not enlarge on this although young Robert urged him to.

hat night,he said, as a blot on the history of France, and is one which will never be forgotten.Then he turned the occasion into a gentle lesson on the need for tolerance of the opinions of others, to which the children listened with an attention which astonished me.

Then he told them of the festivities at Kenilworth, which we had just left, and the fairylike scenes which had been enacted on the lake at midnight; he spoke of the mummers and the dancers, the plays and the pageants; and it was like seeing it all over again.

He spoke often and affectionately of his uncle, the great Earl of Leicester, of whom the children had of course heard often. Robert name was known everywhere. I hoped they had not heard the whispers of scandal attached to it or, if they had, they would have the sense not to speak of it before Philip. It was clear that the young man regarded his uncle as some sort of god; and it pleased me that such a clearly virtuous person should have an entirely different picture of Robert from that of the envious scandalmongers who longed to believe the worst.

He told us how clever his uncle was with horses.

e is the Queen Horse Master, you know, and has been from the day of her accession.

hen I grow up,announced my son Robert, am going to be the Queen Horse Master.

hen you cannot do better than follow in the footsteps of my uncle Leicester,said Philip Sidney.

He explained to us all the art of manege, which Leicester had mastered, and that there were certain tricks which were practiced by the French to perfection. After the St. Bartholomew massacre, he went on to tell us, Leicester had sounded out Frenchmen who had worked in the stables of murdered noblemen and who he thought might be seeking employment, but they all had too high an opinion of their skills and the payment demanded was excessive.

n time,Philip said, y uncle decided to go to Italy for his horsemen. They had not such high ideas of what they were worth as the French. In any case, there is little any man alive can teach my uncle about horses.

s the Queen going to marry your uncle?asked Penelope.

There was a brief silence while Philip looked at me. I said: hoever told you she might?

h, my lady,said Dorothy reproachfully, verybody is talking about them.

here will always be gossip about people in high places. The best thing is to shut one ears to it.

thought we were to learn all we could and never shut our ears and eyes to anything,insisted Penelope.

ars and eyes should be open to the truth,said Philip.

Then he started to talk again about his adventures in foreign places, and as usual he fascinated them.

Later I saw him in the gardens with Penelope, and noted afresh how they seemed to like each other company in spite of the fact that he was a young man of twenty-one or two and she but a girl of thirteen.

On the day of the Queen expected arrival, I was on the lookout. As soon as the cavalcade was sightednd there would be scouts who would give me some warning must ride out with a little party to welcome her to Chartley.

I received the warning in good time. I was dressed in a very fine coat of mulberry-colored velvet and a hat of the same shade with a cream-colored feather which curled down at one side. I knew that I looked beautiful, not only because of my elegant well-chosen clothes but because of the faint color in my cheeks and the sparkle in my eyes which the prospect of seeing Robert had put there. I had dressed my fair hair simply with a love lock falling over my shoulder fashion from the French which I much fancied because it called attention to the natural beauty of my hair, which was one of my greatest assets. This would contrast with the Queen frizzed, puffed style which had to be augmented by false hair. I promised myself I must look far younger and much more beautiful in spite of her splendornd that should not be difficult because I was.

I met them halfway from the castle. He was riding beside her and in the brief time since I had seen him I had miscalculated that overwhelming magnetism which swept away every desire I had except to be alone with him and make love.

His Italian style doublet in which rubies had been set, his jornet about his shoulders of the same deep red wine color, his hat with the white featherll these were of matchless elegance; and I scarcely noticed the glittering figure at his side who was smiling benevolently at me.

elcome to Chartley, Your Majesty,I said. afraid you will find it somewhat humble after Kenilworth, but we shall do our best to entertain you in a manner which I fear cannot be worthy of you.

ome, Cousin,she said, riding beside me. ou look in good spirits, does she not, my Lord Leicester?

My Lord Leicester eyes met mine, earnestly pleading, conveying one word: hen?

He said: ady Essex does indeed look in good health.

he entertainments at Kenilworth were such as to excite us all and revive our youth,I replied.

The Queen frowned. She did not want it to be said that her youth needed reviving. She must be seen as the perpetually youthful. It was about such matters as this that she was pettishly foolish. I could never understand that trait in her character. But I was sure she thought that if she behaved as though she were perpetually young and the most beautiful woman in the worldept so by some divine alchemyveryone would believe it.

I could see that I must be careful, but being in Robert company went to my head like strong wine and I felt reckless.

We rode at the head of the cavalcadeobert on one side of her, I on the other. In a way it seemed symbolic.

She asked about the countryside and the state of the land, and showed a rare knowledge and interest; she was gracious and declared that the castle was a fine sight with its towers and keep.

Her apartment satisfied her. It should have, for it was the best in the castle and the bedchamber which Walter and I occupied when he was at home. The bed hangings had been shaken and repaired where necessary and the rushes on the floor gave off the fragrance of sweet-smelling herbs.

She seemed well pleased and the food was excellent, the servants all being excited by her presence and eager to please and humor her. She treated them with her usual grace and had them ready to grovel if need be in her service; the musicians played her favorite tunes and I had made sure that the ale was not too strong for her taste.

She danced with Robert, and as the hostess it was fitting for me to take the floor with himut briefly, of course. The Queen would not have him dance for long with anyone but herself.

The pressure of his fingers on my hand was full of meaning.

must see you alone,he said, turning his head and smiling at the Queen as he did so.

I answered, with a blank expression, that I had much to say to him.

ou must have someplace here where we could be alone to talk.

here is a room in one of the two round towers. We scarcely use that tower now. It is the west one.