Back | Next
Contents

Chapter 34

Vidal, sitting behind Otstargi's table, sent a light probe into Chancellor Rich's mind and smiled. It was not a mind he wished to damage so he did not tear away the surface thoughts to reach the deeper motives. In any case, Rich's mind was such a sewer that Vidal was sure of the mortal's motivation without deep probing.

Nonetheless at the moment he was not pleased with Rich. The idiot had set the hounds onto Seymour before Elizabeth was in Seymour's grasp. Now bringing about her disgrace would be much more difficult. Vidal skimmed the surface of Rich's mind again. No, there was nothing about Elizabeth in it. He did not even connect her to Seymour. The man blinked and straightened a trifle when Vidal released his mind.

"What can I do for you?" Vidal/Otstargi asked, although it was his "calling" that had brought Rich to the magician's house.

Rich frowned, bewildered momentarily because he really did not know why he had come to see the sorcerer. But before the doubt could become a solid thought, a large yellow diamond in a ring on his left hand glittered and he breathed out in a sigh, thinking he remembered.

"You can tell me whether you have foreseen any results of the exposure of Seymour's crimes."

"Why did you send in your men so soon?" Vidal asked angrily. "If your inspectors had waited six months, the case against him—"

"They were not my men," Rich snapped back. "One of the clerks in the mint became aware of what Sharington was doing and took fright and reported him."

Vidal uttered an obscenity—in Elven.

Rich shook his head and asked impatiently, "Well? Should I be concerned about Sharington's accusation of Seymour or is your fabled foresight useless?"

"Foresight is never useless, but now the evidence may not be strong enough. It may be needful to involve the Lady Elizabeth."

"Lady Elizabeth?" Rich's voice went flat; his face bland and blank. "Are you telling me that Lady Elizabeth is a party to Seymour's crimes?"

Vidal dared a very light probe and to his delight learned that Rich was an adherent of the old faith. He kept his convictions a deep secret; they had only been brought to the surface by the mention of Elizabeth, whom Rich wished dead as sincerely as Vidal did. The instant in which Vidal looked did not exist for Rich. To his perception, Otstargi answered his question immediately.

"She is certainly involved deeply with Seymour," Vidal said. "I doubt you will ever be able to discover whether she had any part in bilking the mint or colluding with the pirates. But by King Henry's will, would it not be treason for her to agree to marry Seymour?"

"Has she?"

Vidal wanted to say "yes" but he would lose too much influence if he made a positive statement that could be proven untrue. And he knew that Elizabeth had never agreed to marry Seymour no matter how often Mistress Ashley urged that as an end to be devoutly sought.

"That she desires it, I have seen, but probe as I will my glass does not show any piece of writing or any open statement of her preference."

"The preference is there? She did desire the marriage? And what more than marriage did she desire?"

Vidal did not smile because it would have been out of character for Otstargi, who could have no personal interest in Elizabeth, but he was deeply pleased with Rich who seemed very ready to blacken Elizabeth with every crime he could think of.

"I cannot tell you," Vidal admitted, pretending regret. "The images are much mingled and obscured. You will need to obtain this information from the lady herself and from her household. Not so much from the maidens, as she does not trust them to hold their tongues. It is Mistress Ashley who has the secrets of her heart and Master Parry who knows what she intends to do with her purse."

An expression of eager interest on Rich's face was soon succeeded briefly by one of irritation and then with one of satisfaction.

"I can do nothing yet," Rich admitted. "Seymour is not yet aware that we have Sharington and that the man is more than willing to talk and lay the blame for his crimes on someone else. Unfortunately the blame touches others than Seymour and it may be worth it to them to let him escape."

"Then you should change the chief point of Seymour's crime from the pirates and the Bristol Mint to his meddling with Lady Elizabeth."

Rich's lips twisted. "She has supporters, strong supporters among the Councilors."

"But you have the choosing of those who will question her and her household. Choose two men who are known to favor Lady Elizabeth and one who is indifferent. That way no one can say of you that you set out to do her harm. But make clear to the man who is indifferent that he must extract from Lady Elizabeth enough to send Seymour to the block. And you can promise him that if the evidence should so incriminate Lady Elizabeth that she must also be punished, no blame would attach to him for that honesty."

"That I can do—provided she does not enchant him as she does so many who visit her even briefly."

Vidal frowned. Could Denoriel or Aleneil or any of their thrice-blasted friends have taught the girl some spell that bound men to her? He looked up at Rich, who had said something about needing to return to work and was preparing to rise from his chair.

"Yes, my lord, of course. I know you are a busy man. But if you will return here tomorrow at the same hour, I will have a token for you. If you give that token to the man who is to question Lady Elizabeth, it will shield him from her unnatural attractions and remind him that his first duty is to you."

"Unnatural attractions," Rich repeated, softly, a look of intense interest coming into his face. "Do you imply that Lady Elizabeth practices witchcraft?"

"I would not go so far," Vidal replied.

"Lady Mary was once reputed to have said that her sister had called back the dead . . ." Rich offered hopefully

Vidal shook his head. "Such an idea would destroy me and you for consulting me. The token can do only good."

No, Vidal thought, as Rich said his somewhat disappointed farewells and left the house. It was too bad he could not go so far as to hint that Elizabeth was a witch, but that would seal his doom with Oberon. To raise the subject of witchcraft in the royal house would be far more unforgivable in Oberon's opinion than having the girl killed.

Oberon did not really care about the mortal. He had only forbidden anyone to cause her death because he wished to avoid any chance of an examination that might expose Underhill. A trial for witchcraft . . . Vidal shuddered.

 

That Cecil's warning was all too accurate became evident a few days later when Seymour sealed his fate with a stupid, ill-planned attempt to abduct the king. He had obtained from Edward's servant John Fowler, through whose hands he had often sent the king pocket money, forged keys to the king's rooms in Hampton Court. On the sixteenth of January, Seymour used his key and entered Edward's apartment. The boy's spaniel leapt at Seymour . . . and Seymour shot the dog dead.

The barking of the dog and the sound of the shot brought an officer of the Yeomen of the Guard. Even Seymour knew he could not seize the boy while the guard watched, and from the expression on Edward's face as he looked down at his dead pet, Seymour knew he could not get the boy to come with him willingly. It had been a mistake to shoot the dog; he should have saved the bullet for the guard.

All Seymour could do was to compliment the officer on his prompt response and say he had come to test how well the king was guarded and that he was well satisfied. The guard was afraid to arrest the Protector's brother and so he let Seymour go, but he reported the incident to the Council immediately. Early the next morning the Council met and decided to commit Thomas Seymour to the Tower to be held until further orders. He was arrested that night and in spite of earlier bluster went meekly to prison.

Despite this open act of treason, which together with his other crimes, was surely enough to convict Seymour, Rhoslyn sent Denoriel a frantic message that Elizabeth was to be implicated. The duchess had confided to her that it was Somerset's conviction Elizabeth intended to be queen. The Lord Protector had been convinced his brother had "devised and almost brought to pass a secret marriage between himself and the Lady Elizabeth." Somerset believed that Seymour intended to imprison or, perhaps, kill Edward and Mary and control the Council at his will.

Lord St. John, Sir Anthony Denny, and Sir Robert Tyrwhitt went to Hatfield on the twentieth of January to interrogate Elizabeth, but they were too late. On the night of the nineteenth, Denoriel had sleep-spelled Margaret Dudley, set Blanche Parry to watch for any other intrusion, and insisted that Elizabeth come with him to Llachar Lle.

There he told her what had happened. All she said when he told her of Seymour's incursion into Edward's apartment was first, "What a fool!" and then "Oh, poor Edward, he has so little to love. To lose the dog must have grieved him."

However, when he told her how she was implicated in Seymour's treason, the storm he had expected broke. She shrieked with rage, loud enough he feared to have penetrated the walls into her maidens' chambers or even through the spelled sleep in which Margaret lay. He was glad he had insisted on bringing her Underhill.

"Why did you not defend me?" she screamed. "Why did you not say I had no reason to desire that toad?"

"To whom should I say it? Who would listen to me? And what proof could I offer of your preference for me? And if I had proof, you know I dare not use it."

That was so obvious a truth that even in her rage Elizabeth could not argue with it. She spoke instead of those she thought were her enemies in terms that would have made her guardsmen blush. Denoriel let her rage except when she accused someone he thought secretly friendly to her. When she was exhausted, she said, "But they cannot believe it? I love Edward. I would never harm him in any way. I do, I do desire that he live and reign long and happily."

"I know it and you know it. The one who does not know it, or does not care if he does, is Thomas Seymour. The danger is in what he has said about you."

Elizabeth shivered. "How can I defend against that?"

"Only by ignorance. You know nothing of Seymour's ideas. You have never spoken to him except in Queen Catherine's presence or perhaps a chance meeting in passing when your maidens were with you. You have never written to him except on business. You have the letters he wrote in the queen's name from Gloucestershire?" Elizabeth nodded. "Good, be sure they are distributed among your other correspondence, not set aside as anything special."

They talked most of the night and by the time Elizabeth returned to Hatfield she was in control and able to conceal her fear. She hardly reacted to the news that Paulet, Denny, and Tyrwhitt brought. And when Tyrwhitt asked sharply if she were not surprised, she shook her head.

"No, Lord Denno rode out two days ago to tell us of Seymour's arrest."

"And why was that? Why did Lord Denno—who is this Lord Denno? It is not a title I know," Tyrwhitt snapped.

"It is not an English title," Sir Anthony said gently. "He is a very rich merchant who has been a friend of Lady Elizabeth's since her childhood."

Tyrwhitt frowned at Sir Anthony, ran his thumb over the handsome ruby ring Chancellor Rich had given him with his instructions concerning Elizabeth. For all their sakes in the Protector's government, Rich had said, Tyrwhitt must obtain enough evidence of Seymour's treasonable intention to marry Lady Elizabeth, to send Seymour to the block. He must uncover this evidence, even if Lady Elizabeth were incriminated.

Tyrwhitt turned what he knew to be an intimidating frown on Elizabeth. "And why should you care that the Admiral was arrested?" he asked.

Far from being frightened, Elizabeth cocked her head in obvious puzzlement. "He was my beloved stepmother's husband. How could I not be concerned over such evil news?"

"Surely your interest was more personal than that!" Tyrwhitt said.

"No!" Elizabeth spat, her voice rising; she drew herself up, her lips thinning to almost invisible lines. "I have not now nor ever had any personal interest in Sir Thomas Seymour. He was Queen Catherine's husband. Queen Catherine was my stepmother and a true mother to me. I loved her. I cannot tell you all her kindness to me. I owed to her the duty to live pleasantly with her husband."

"Now, Lady Elizabeth," Sir Anthony put in soothingly, "Sir Robert meant no harm, but we do wish to understand completely your connection with Thomas Seymour."

"You already understand it completely," Elizabeth snapped. "There was and is no connection. Sir Anthony, I lived with you in Cheshunt for many months. Was there any communication between me and Sir Thomas that did not concern Queen Catherine?"

"No, that is true, but in a case like this . . ." Sir Anthony turned to Tyrwhitt. "Let me speak to Lady Elizabeth in private. We are old friends."

Were friends, Elizabeth thought. I dare not think of him as a friend, but I must remember what Denno said. I must speak with easy confidence. Aside from silly Kat's romantic fantasies, there was nothing between Tom and me. Poor Tom. The clumsy puppy has bumbled into a bog. Cold ran down her spine. I only hope he does not drown me with him. She shivered as Denny gestured her ahead into her private parlor.

"Now, my dear," Denny said, "no one is blaming you. We all know that you are only a young girl. You have not been guided wisely, but that is not your fault."

No, Elizabeth thought, Kat is not wise. She loves me too much and was too eager for what she thought would be my happiness with a strong and handsome husband. Kat knows how much I love Edward and that I would never conspire against him, so she never thought ahead to the danger of an heir to the throne marrying a strong and ambitious man already close to the seat of power.

"Perhaps I should have been more definite in rejecting some of the advice given me," Elizabeth said, sighing, "but it was kindly meant. And only offered subject to the will of the king and the Council."

"But was not the Council's opinion spoken of as a foregone conclusion?" Denny suggested gently. "Come, tell me all that was said and done since you came here to Hatfield."

Elizabeth was ready enough to do so. Denny listened closely, eager to believe her but watching for any sign of uneasiness or concealment.

Meanwhile, Tyrwhitt had summoned the entire household to gather in the great hall. There he announced that the Lord High Admiral, Sir Thomas Seymour, had been committed to the Tower on a charge of high treason. On pain of being judged a coconspirator, they were to answer all questions and to offer any information concerning Sir Thomas even if no question that touched that information was asked.

First he spoke to Elizabeth's maidens. They were all very excited, very horrified, by his news. They could not believe that Sir Thomas had done such dreadful things. He was such a jolly man, so amusing and playful. But though all were open and more than willing to talk, what they said was not what Tyrwhitt wanted to hear.

Item: The last time any of them had seen Sir Thomas was when they left Chelsea.

Item: While they were living in Cheshunt, before the death of the queen, letters had come from Sir Thomas and Lady Elizabeth had been glad to receive them and to answer them, but they were all about the queen and the child she carried.

Item: No communication had been received from Sir Thomas since they moved to Hatfield and he had never visited the house.

Item: All of them had heard Mistress Ashley praise the Admiral and say that he would make a wonderful husband for Lady Elizabeth. But Lady Elizabeth had always said nay by her troth, she would not have him.

Tyrwhitt had been alert for the smallest sign of guilt, when he questioned them one at a time, a fluttering eyelid, a small change of color. And when he had them all together, he watched for the briefest exchange of glances. With even a tiny hint he would have known where to prod and pry; there was nothing. The girls were all agog, but the most eager questioner could not pretend they were hiding anything.

Questioning of the guards and the grooms had no better result. No visits and no communications had ever been received at Hatfield from Sir Thomas Seymour. The servants all sang the same song. Most of them, hired when Elizabeth moved into Hatfield, had no idea who Sir Thomas was but shook their heads when he was described. No, they said, no one who looked like the description ever came. The only gentleman who was not one of Lady Elizabeth's tutors or an official of the Council or a foreign dignitary, like the ambassadors of France and Venice and Denmark who came to see Lady Elizabeth, was Lord Denno, and he never saw her in private.

By the time Sir Anthony came from Elizabeth's parlor, Sir Robert was seriously annoyed. He had thought they would have all the evidence they needed in a few hours. However, he looked up and smiled hopefully at Sir Anthony.

"Well, has she confessed?"

"To what?" Sir Anthony said. "She is innocent. Whatever the Admiral had in mind, he has not communicated it to Lady Elizabeth. He may have hinted it to her cofferer, Thomas Parry, to whom he suggested that Lady Elizabeth request that some of her lands be changed for others in the west, near his own lands. But she would have none of it and was quite cross with her man over the suggestion. Does that sound as if she planned any permanent connection with Seymour?"

Doubt flickered momentarily in Sir Robert's eyes, but the ruby ring glinted its crimson summons and his thumb rubbed its silky surface.

"She has too much support and does not yet feel the need to tell the truth and clear her conscience. Also, we will better extract the real facts from Mistress Ashley and Master Parry when they are less comfortable and secure. We must remove them from their own chambers and their own servants. Paulet has agreed that they should be arrested. He will accompany you back to London. A few days in the Tower will loosen their tongues."

Denny frowned. He thought he knew Elizabeth well and he was reasonably sure she had no agreement with Seymour. He was equally sure that she was hiding something, protecting someone. He sighed. Likely the one she was protecting was Mistress Ashley.

It was not impossible, Denny thought, that Mistress Ashley had some agreement with Seymour and that Elizabeth knew of it. If so, Tyrwhitt was greatly mistaken if he believed he could pry that knowledge out of Elizabeth. However, Mistress Ashley herself might well be brought to confess if she were lodged in the Tower and convinced that her foolishness had endangered Lady Elizabeth.

"Very well," Denny agreed. "I will take Ashley and Parry back to London with me."

Tyrwhitt waited only until he was sure Denny and Paulet were well away. Then he let himself into Elizabeth's private parlor with barely a scratch on the door. His temper was further exacerbated by finding Elizabeth in the midst of her ladies, not weeping but listening to their excited remarks while calmly working on a lovely piece of embroidery. He drew a breath as he came closer and saw that it carried the royal arms.

Silence fell as he entered the room but before anyone could say anything, he bade the maids of honor leave; he had something to tell Lady Elizabeth in private. They went reluctantly, the last girl looking over her shoulder. As the outer door closed, the one to the bedroom opened and Blanche Parry brought a stool to the doorway and sat down. She was out of hearing distance, unless Tyrwhitt or Elizabeth shouted, but she could see everything that happened.

"You may go," Tyrwhitt snapped at Blanche. "I wish to speak to your mistress in private."

Blanche did not even raise her head. Her eyes flicked up from the piece of mending she held in her lap but then went back to the sewing.

"She will not leave," Elizabeth said. "Not on the order of some strange man. She knows that I am never to be left alone. She cannot hear what you or I say, but she can be sure that you do me no hurt."

"I am an officer of the Council," Tyrwhitt said angrily. "I have their commission to question you."

Elizabeth sighed. "I have answered all of Sir Anthony's questions. Must I say the same things all over again?"

"This time you will speak without any promptings from your household. Mistress Ashley and Master Parry are arrested and on their way to the Tower, where they will be questioned and the truth will be extracted from them."

"Arrested!" Elizabeth cried, dropping her embroidery and clasping her hands. "No," she gasped and burst into tears. "No! No! Oh, no. Not Kat! Oh, I beg you, Sir Robert, please bring them back to me. They have done no wrong. Truly they have not. Their only crime is to wish me happy. Please set them free. I will bid them to answer anything you ask, anything."

"They are long gone and I would not bring them back even if it was within my power, which it is not."

"Please, Sir Robert," Elizabeth sobbed, "please. I will tell you anything you want. Only bring Kat back to me."

"Certainly you will tell me anything I want to know. That is your duty and your own path to safety. Mistress Ashley and Master Parry have led you sadly astray and put you in great danger. Think on that. I will speak to you again when you have considered and calmed yourself."

 

Back | Next
Framed