The Lady Elizabeth (40 page)

Elizabeth relaxed a little.

“Fear not, Kat,” she said. “I had already come to that opinion myself. I have thought long and hard on it, and I am well aware of what is at stake.”

“I thank God for your good sense,” Kat told her, feeling somewhat calmer.

“Do not worry, I will stick to my resolve,” the girl assured her.

Yes, but will I? Kat asked herself. I had so wanted this for her. For us all.

“Maybe it would be prudent not to go to London after all,” Elizabeth said. “Give the rumors time to die down. If I stay here at Hatfield, unwed and living a virtuous existence, that should give the lie to them.”

“I think that might be for the best,” Kat agreed.

“So are you feeling better now that we have agreed on that, my dear governess?” Elizabeth asked.

“Somewhat amended,” Kat lied. Any minute, any day, the order for her dismissal might come. She did not have it in her heart to tell Elizabeth that. And anyway, she was hoping and praying she would never have to, that the Duchess would relent and spare her the agony of being parted from her beloved charge.

CHAPTER
15

1549

O
n the eve of Twelfth Night, Kat Astley and Thomas Parry sat by the fire sharing a pitcher of mead.

“I wonder when the Admiral will press his suit,” Parry said. “I have noticed that there is much goodwill between him and Her Grace.”

“I know that well enough,” Kat replied, “but I dare not speak of it anymore.” Haltingly, painfully, she explained about the Duchess’s threat. “All the same,” she added, “I have a great affection for the Admiral, who has ever been very good to me, and is the most magnificent lord, you must agree; and I was so pleased when I learned he wanted my lady for his wife.” Her eyes brimmed with tears. “I wish her his wife of all men living!” she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. “I am sure he might persuade the council if he tried.”

Parry awkwardly reached over and patted her hand. “You’re too taken with a handsome face, Kat,” he said, not unkindly. “No, let me finish. I’m not so sure about the Admiral now. He has tarried too long in this matter, and that is why people are talking. Thanks to his tardiness, the Lady Elizabeth’s reputation is blotted. And only the other day, I heard someone saying that he had treated his poor wife cruelly and dishonestly.”

“Tush! Tush!” Kat cried. “I know him better than you do, or those that speak evil of him. I know he is eager to marry my Lady Elizabeth, and
she
knows that well enough. He loves her well, and has done for a long time. I
must
tell you that the Queen was jealous of the Admiral’s affection for my lady. She confided to me that she found them together in an embrace.
That’s
why Elizabeth was sent to Cheshunt.”

Parry’s jaw dropped.

“So the rumors are true?” he asked, visibly shocked. “There
was
some undue familiarity between them?”

Seeing his reaction, Kat was horrified at herself for having said too much. She wished she had bitten her tongue out; it would be her downfall, she knew.

“I cannot say any more,” she said fretfully. “I will enlarge on this another time. Thomas, you must promise never to repeat to anyone what I have told you.”

“I won’t,” Parry said. “You know that.”

“Promise me!” Kat urged.

“I won’t say anything,” he repeated.

“Say ‘I promise,’
do,
” she begged.

“Very well, I promise I won’t repeat what you told me,” he declared.

“That is as well,” she told him, “for if this got out, Her Grace would be dishonored forever, and utterly undone.”

“I would rather be torn apart by wild horses,” Parry assured her.

The Admiral stood before his brother, simmering with anger. How dare Ned summon him here like an errant schoolboy?

The Protector was brief and to the point.

“I am told that you have spoken of visiting the Lady Elizabeth at Ashridge,” he said accusingly.

“Is it now illegal to visit one’s stepdaughter?” the Admiral sneered.

“The word is that you hope to marry her,” Ned said coolly.

Seymour laughed mirthlessly. “I? Marry Old Harry’s daughter? You must take me for a fool.”

“A fool who retains his late wife’s maids so that they may serve a new bride. A fool who has made inquiries as to the Lady Elizabeth’s fortune. A fool who, if rumor speaks truth, chased after her when the Queen was alive. Shall I go on?”

“It ill becomes you, the Lord Protector of England, to heed common gossip,” the Admiral retorted. “And that’s all it is, gossip.”

“Often, little brother, there is no smoke without fire,” Somerset reminded him. Then his manner turned glacial. “I warn you, Tom, if you go anywhere near her, I will send you to the Tower.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Tom flung at him, then stamped out of the room. “I’ll see you in Hell first!”

“Lord save us! The Admiral is in the Tower!” cried Kat, running through Elizabeth’s apartments as if the devil were at her heels.

“No!” faltered Elizabeth, rising to her feet, pale with shock. She had been working on a translation with Master Ascham, recently returned from Cambridge at her request to further her studies, and he too looked shaken by the news.

“Where did you hear this?” he asked Kat.

“John, my husband,” she said, breathlessly. “He went to London on estate business, and he heard it bruited there. People are talking about nothing else. As soon as he had the story, he raced back here as fast as he could. Oh, what is to become of us?” She could not contain her distress.

“What happened?” Ascham pressed her.

“It seems the Admiral was involved in a plot to overthrow the Lord Protector, a very dangerous and foolish enterprise, from what I hear. But that was not all. Three nights ago, he broke into the King’s bedchamber at Hampton Court, intending God knows what mischief.”

“But how did he get past the guards?” Ascham interrupted.

“It is said he had a forged key to the door from the privy garden. But the King’s dog, a good guard dog, barked loudly, and before the Yeomen of the Guard came running, the Admiral shot the dog dead with his pistol. They arrested him on a charge of attempting to murder the King.”

“That’s preposterous,” Ascham commented. “If he wanted to usurp his brother’s place as Lord Protector, he would wish to preserve the King’s life, surely. Unless, of course, he was plotting to marry the Lady Mary and seize the throne. But she is a Catholic, so that is unlikely.”

While they talked, Elizabeth had sat there silently, desperately trying to take in the news and calculating how it might affect her. At the same time, she was aware of a great void where her grief for the Admiral should be. For if these charges were to be proved true, he was a dead man, this man who was to have been her husband. Surely she should be in terror for him, beating her breast and weeping her heart out. But no. Suddenly, in the light of what had just happened, she saw him as a rash, shallow fellow who cared for nothing and no one but himself, and who had brought her nothing but troubles. Suddenly, she recognized her feelings for him as mere infatuation.

Her terror now was all for herself, for if they interrogated the Admiral, as they surely would—not to mention those who had had dealings with him—her own name might well be dragged into the mire with his. And it was clear there was far more to his schemes than she had ever suspected.

“He did not intend to marry the Lady Mary,” she said. “He meant to have me. I thought it was because he loved me.” Her voice broke. “And now I see he might have compassed a greater treason through that marriage.”

Kat wrapped loving arms around her, but Elizabeth would not be comforted.

“They will question us,” she said bleakly. “We must be prepared.”

“It may not come to that,” Ascham said, without much conviction.

“I fear it will,” Elizabeth insisted. “We must all stay firm and admit nothing.”

The next day, Elizabeth and Kat were passing through the great hall when they heard the clatter of many hooves approaching. Seconds later, to their astonishment, Thomas Parry crashed through the main door, his face puce, his bonnet askew.

“I would I had never been born, for we are all undone!” he cried, wringing his hands. “You may have these back, my lady!” And so saying, he tore his chain of office from his neck, pulled the signet ring from his finger, then threw them on the floor and dashed toward the stairs that led to the chamber he shared with his wife. Elizabeth stared after him gaping; Kat clapped her hand over her mouth and whimpered.

Almost immediately, in the open doorway, there appeared a group of finely dressed gentlemen. Elizabeth, collecting her wits, recognized them as members of the council. At their head was William Paulet, Lord St. John, Great Master of the King’s Household, and behind him there was…Oh, no, she thought. Her face visibly fell when she saw Sir Anthony Denny, stiff-faced in his somber black; he, more than anyone, she feared. With him was Sir Robert Tyrwhit, husband to the late Queen’s cousin, of whom Kat had spoken so disparagingly—Kat, who was now gazing at their visitors in mute horror.

Remembering her rank, Elizabeth drew herself up to her full height and clasped her hands composedly at her waist. Belatedly, the councillors bowed.

“Gentlemen, greetings,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“Your Grace, I fear we can take little pleasure in the task before us,” Lord Paulet told her, watching her closely. “You will have heard, I expect, that the Admiral is in the Tower on a charge of high treason. It is our sorry duty to question all those who have had dealings with him. We must crave your cooperation, for some are members of Your Grace’s household.”

“My house is at your disposal,” Elizabeth told him. “Will you sup before you begin?”

“I thank you, madam, but we stopped at an inn on the road. We must proceed as soon as possible, and begin with Your Grace. Is there somewhere Sir Robert and Sir Anthony can talk with you in private?”

“The schoolroom is empty,” Elizabeth told him, her spirits plummeting further. “Mrs. Astley here will see that we are not disturbed.”

“I wish to question Mrs. Astley myself in the meantime,” Paulet told her. “There are guards with us who will ensure we are not interrupted.”

Elizabeth’s heart began thumping. Guards? She looked hard at Kat, as if steeling the governess to discretion, but Kat seemed frozen with fear.

“Please use the parlor,” she told Paulet.

“My lady,” said Sir Anthony, indicating that she should precede him and Sir Robert to the schoolroom. “Please lead the way.” Elizabeth turned toward the stairs, marveling that her legs could still carry her.

Seated at the table before the mullioned window, she hoped she looked the picture of youthful innocence in her demure blue velvet gown, blue being the color of virginity, and unbound copper tresses, her loose hair betokening not only royal rank but the maiden state. Denny and Tyrwhit—a thin-faced, unsmiling ferret of a man, huddled in his furs—took the chairs opposite. How much did Tyrwhit know? she wondered. Had Denny betrayed her already? If so, why go through this charade?

“Tell us about your relationship with the Admiral,” said Denny without preamble.

“He was a kindly stepfather to me while I was in the Queen’s household,” she said.

“Too kindly, if rumor speaks truth,” Sir Anthony replied, gazing at her fixedly. “I am told that he led you to indulge in unseemly behavior.”

Elizabeth made herself smile.

“The Admiral has a wicked sense of humor,” she said. “He was always jesting. I was but a child, and he played silly games with me.”

“It is said that these games got out of hand,” Denny said.

“Yes, that was what Mrs. Astley thought, mistakenly, of course, but you see, she has always been overprotective of me.” She smiled wryly. “She even complained to the Queen, but Her Grace wisely made little of it. She knew these games were but harmless sport, with nothing evil intended. She used to join in herself sometimes.”

“I see,” said Sir Anthony, who saw a lot more but forbore to say anything compromising. Changing tack, he asked, “Has the Admiral ever proposed marriage to you?”

“He wrote to me suggesting it, late last year. I did not reply. I was waiting for him to approach the council. For my part, I was resolved to be guided by the council in all things.”

“Did he ever speak to you of overthrowing the Lord Protector?” Denny inquired.

“Never,” said Elizabeth.

“When he proposed marriage”—this was Tyrwhit—“did he ever hint that he proposed to make you Queen?”

Elizabeth looked suitably startled. “No,” she said.

“I think you know more than you are willing to tell us,” Tyrwhit persisted.

“You are mistaken, sir,” Elizabeth protested. “I have told you what I know, and will answer any other questions you have to the best of my ability.”

“Robert, I pray you allow me to continue this initial investigation,” Denny said. “Time presses, and there is Master Parry to be interrogated.”