Raven Queen (13 page)

“The King is dead!” she cries. “My poor little brother is dead!”

I bow in sympathy. “But how can Jane be the Queen?
You
have first claim to the throne.”

“Dudley! The traitor Dudley!” she shouts. “He forced Edward to agree before he died. A clever little plan. Now Dudley has all the power through Guildford.”

My heart aches for Jane.

A pawn in a power game. How will she bear it?

In her anger, the Lady Mary amuses herself by attacking Jane. “I used to love her very much – the eldest daughter of my dear cousin Frances, the favoured wife-to-be of my dear brother the King. How could I not love her? I forgave her new faith as I had to forgive Edward and prayed to God to bring them back to the old ways.” She leans towards me, her eyes distant. “She once mocked my faith, and in my own chapel.”

“She was young and foolish then,” I reply. “She would not say such a thing today. She would be ashamed…” I stopped, recognizing that the Lady Mary could be a powerful enemy. “It was wrong of her.”

“In truth, I never loved her so much from that day, Ned. But she is family. And she has been tricked by her father-in-law.” Her face grows serious. “There are going to be difficult and dangerous days ahead for her, and for me,
pequenito
. I am my brother’s heir. But Dudley does not want a Papist on the throne. My life is in danger.” She seems to be speaking words she has rehearsed many times. “Dudley should have captured me before Edward died. That was his mistake.”

She laughs suddenly. “The people
like
me, Ned. Many of them remember my father when he still loved my mother. The other wives counted for nothing.”

Will Mary let me stay? After all, I have come from the enemy. And if she does not, where will I go?

Reassurance comes quickly. “It is not your fault, Ned,” she says. “I know that. Stay with me and become a priest. The Catholic Church needs men like you. Yes, stay,
pequenito
! I like you.”

I stay. But I am lonely. I am the only young man in her small entourage. Her ladies-in-waiting are jealous because she likes me, and angry that I do not flirt with them. Her advisors – only a handful – regard me with suspicion because I have recently come from the traitor Queen.

They think I am her spy.

They stop talking whenever I appear. But it suits me here. This is the nearest I can get to Jane and, if I am honest, a thrill runs through me when I remember that I am witnessing history in the making. When I am older, I can say to myself: I was there.

I do not know the Lady Mary well enough to guess what she will do. During the day, she broods in front of the fire; but in the evenings, she amuses herself by racing greyhounds sent by her supporters.

She loves them like the children she longed to have. I hate them – their thin backs bowed like old men, their ribs sharp under their skin. I back away, disliking their rough tongues on my hand.

But it is magical outside in the summer air. Flaming torches line the lawns leading to the orchard where canopies hang between the fruit trees. The dogs bark softly as I walk them out for a race. A young boy follows me carrying a bundle on his shoulder. “No hares are killed here,” he tells me. “The dogs chase a hare skin stuffed with rags.” Nor does the Lady Mary gamble for money, but for trinkets like handkerchiefs or ribbons or charms.

It cheers her. For the first time, I see her cheeks become soft and pink, her eyes shine with pleasure. I see the happy child she once was.

But my mind sees only one thing: Jane sitting on the throne of England.

I was so full of fear that I needed strong potions to stop me from shaking. Ellie bound my arms so that I could not bite them. So I bit the back of my hands. They bled, staining my wedding ring red, and my father-in-law ordered me to wear gloves. When I ran my fingers through my hair it came away in my hands and my skin tingled as if a hundred wasps had left their sting.

What had happened to the Lady Mary? There were rumours that she had smelled the snare and fled to Norfolk. Her face shadowed with sorrow haunted me.

“What will she have left, Ellie? I have taken away her hope and if you do that to a person you condemn them to unhappiness.”

“You cannot change what has happened,” she replied. “While you wait, it would be better to ask for God’s help to accept the situation.”

“Accept it?”

“What did the raven do when it was caught in the net? Did he struggle?”

“At first. Then he lay still. But he was waiting for death.”

“No, he was waiting patiently so that he wouldn’t damage his wings. You must do the same. You came along and freed him. God will do the same for you. The Lady Mary is no fool. She wants to be Queen as much as you do not want to be. Be calm as you wait.”

“But if she has gone to the coast, what has happened to Ned?”

“You don’t know that he’s gone to her.”

“Then where is he?”

She had no answer.

That night, as I slept, I soar through the sky as you do in dreams. Blood-red clouds tumble around me, releasing the sunlight over the white tower below me and I let myself drift towards it. A row of heads hangs over the Tower gate. Most are almost stripped of flesh, revealing yellowing bones. But one is new and the ravens settle on its tangled curls to begin their dirty work, perching on its forehead, leaning forward to pluck out Ned’s eyes.

It is the custom in England for a new King or Queen to be shown to the people at the Tower by the River Thames. It is said to be one of the prettiest buildings in England, set between gabled houses and lawns sloping down to the water. Fields and forests enclose it. We arrived by barge in a small procession. I tottered through the gates. My mother had forced me to wear chopines tied to my shoes. I had let her because, for one moment, I had wondered what it would be like to stand three inches taller. But I could not walk in them without stumbling and, at a nod from my mother, Guildford steadied me. I hated his fat fingers on my arm, but he would not let go and I had to bear it.

It was not worth the trouble. There were few people waiting to greet us.

The royal apartments were in the White Tower and Catherine was there to welcome me. She sank before me in a deep curtsy.

“What was it like?” she asked, giggling. “You could be with child, Jane!”

My cheeks turned scarlet. “A marriage conceived by the devil and consummated by the devil’s son fills me only with dread that I, too, may spawn a two-headed child.”

She drew back from me in horror.

The evenings were the worst. Guildford and I ate under the royal canopy between my father and my father-in-law. Across the table sat our mothers. The relationship between two families is always difficult. After all, blood is thicker than water.

On the third evening, my father asked when the coronation would take place.

“When Guildford’s crown is ready,” my father-in-law replied.

I gasped. Only now did I fully understand Dudley’s plot. I turned to Guildford. “You have no right to the crown and you will never have it.”

“Guildford must be King,” his mother insisted. “It is your duty to make him King.”

“I have done more than my duty already,” I said. “Guildford will
never
be King.”

“I can see that my husband chose unwisely,” she went on. “I warned him. Your parents should have beaten you harder.”

My parents sat in silence and I hated them. I could not bear it any longer. I pushed my hands against the table, pulled myself to my greatest height and stared at the Dudleys until they all fell silent, one by one. My father-in-law was the last to stop speaking.

“Stop your squabbling!” I shouted. “I do not want to be Queen! You, Dudley, have deceived me as you deceived the poor King as he lay dying. You know that the Lady Mary is the rightful Queen. I shall hand the crown to her.”

His face paled. “She is already in Norfolk, looking for a ship to take her to Spain.”

“So you underestimated Mary’s cunning!” I laughed. “The men of Norfolk never forgot your savage slaughter. She knew where their loyalty lay.” I stared at them all. “The path we are treading is a dangerous one. We are walking through an unknown forest full of wild beasts who wait patiently for us in the dark. Did you not think of
me
? Go! All of you! Leave me alone.”

They rose. My mother was the last to reach the door. “You have the makings of a fine Queen, Jane. That is what John Dudley saw in you.”

Rage filled me. I heard Ellie take in a deep breath. I heard the rustle of her dress as she slowly rose to her feet. “How dare you!” I cried. “I do not want a man like that to admire me. He has made my worst fear come true.
He
has made me Queen of England. May God forgive you all!”

As my mother came back into the room, her arm raised to slap me, Ellie placed herself between us, quietly holding my mother’s gaze until she left. Only then did I crumple and Ellie held me, her cheeks glazed with tears.

In the moonlight, I noticed for the first time a young oak tree planted on the green close to the White Tower. Its crown was thick with leaves and when the wind blew it leaned low, but it always sprang back straight and strong.

“Don’t stand too firm, My Lady,” Ellie said, “or
you
will topple over.”

I walked alone every morning on this green. My weary brain played its tricks. I thought I saw Ned darting between the trees, laughing, beckoning, his hair silver in the rising sun.

One morning, I saw John Dudley in the distance coming towards me. Why was
he
here? I had to pass him because there was no other way to go.

He bowed. “Do you not have anything to say to the man who has made you the most powerful woman in England?” His clothes were different – more opulent, more regal. His short cloak was fastened with pearl buttons, his hat heavy with plumage. But I noticed as he straightened that a twitch on his left cheek betrayed his exhaustion.

I walked on. “Nothing that is fit for a Queen to say.”

He laughed. “I like your spirit, Jane. I was not sure when I saw you again at Christmastide. You spoke too much to God for my liking. But you are strong-minded and that is the sort of woman my son needs. And so do the people of England.”

“They want the Lady Mary.”

“NO! They must not have a sickly queen who will persecute us of the new faith. She will destroy England.” His eyes softened dreamily. “We can do great things for our country, Jane. Forget Guildford. He is a mother’s boy. Work with
me
. Make England strong again.”

“I did not know that it was weak,” I replied. I began to walk away but he put out his hand to stop me. I paused. “Is it true that you plan to send men to capture the Lady Mary?”

He nodded.

I was alone for the first time with the man who had plotted and murdered, who was destroying my young life to satisfy his obsession for power, and who had taken me away from Ned. I raised my arm and pulled back my sleeve. As he watched, puzzled, I scraped the nails of my right hand across my skin. Blood bubbled from it. I wiped my hand in it. Then I smeared John Dudley’s cheek. “You have used my royal blood!” I spat.

He glanced down at my stomach and then back to me and his lips parted in a taunting smile. “You could be with child.” His eyes shone. “Imagine! A new dynasty of Dudleys! Then we shall have no need of you.” I raised my hand to slap him, but he grasped my wrist.

I did not hear the raven until it was above us. It circled above Dudley’s head, its wingbeat stirring the feathers in his cap. “Be off with you, devil bird!” he cried. The raven swooped towards Dudley’s hands and stabbed at them with its beak, over and over again, until he cried out in pain and let me go.

John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, the President of the Privy Council, my father-in-law: beaten by a bird.

She reminds me of Jane – determined and decisive. When word comes, two days after my arrival, that Dudley, four of his sons and three thousand men have already reached Cambridge, the Lady Mary prepares to leave for Framlingham Castle in Suffolk.

I do not realize the danger she faces until I see her dressed in black, hidden by a thick cloak although the sun blazes, crucifix and rosary and jewels all concealed. Her voice is strong as she calls me to her side. “Ned! Will you come with me on this dangerous journey...?”