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Chapter 10

Rhoslyn's voice was high and strained. Harry jumped to his feet and drew her to the table, where another chair had appeared.

"You look so tired, Rhoslyn," he said, urging her wordlessly to be seated.

"I am tired," Rhoslyn admitted with a sigh. "I have been riding with Mary since she had warning on the evening of July sixth that Robert Dudley and three hundred men were preparing to take her prisoner."

"Who?" Elizabeth asked eagerly. "Who sent warning? We had no word and you know Cecil is usually faithful. Denno and I agree that he must have known spies were set on him to prevent him from telling me of Northumberland's plans."

"I think Cecil was 'discouraged' from leaving the palace for his own home," Denoriel said. "I tried once to see him and sent my man by his house to other places on Canon Row. Cropper said he thought Cecil's house was watched."

"The man who came with the warning was a goldsmith from Greenwich," Rhoslyn said, replying to Elizabeth's question. "He said he had the warning from Sir Nicholas Throckmorton and made no secret of the fact that Throckmorton and he were Catholics."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I do not remember him from my time at Court."

"I imagine he would stay clear of you, sweeting," Harry said. "Dear sweet Sister Temperance was not likely to look on him with favor."

"Even Mary does not remember Sir Nicholas, but she did remember his father, Sir George, and that her father had trusted him. The men of her household, thank the Mother, were already fearful for her safety and among us we convinced her to leave her household at Hoddesdon, take the few fresh horses we could find, and steal away." Rhoslyn closed her eyes. "But we have been riding ever since."

"And on mortal horses too."

Pasgen's sour comment drew everyone's eyes. He had just come from the entrance to stand behind his sister's chair. He put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Opposite her place at the table, a chair appeared to Aleniel's left. Pasgen patted Rhoslyn's back and went by to seat himself.

"But I will say," he continued "that Lady Mary has a far more iron will than I had ever suspected. She is not well or strong, and yet she rode with us without faltering."

Rhoslyn sighed again. "We did over twenty miles that night, riding until we could not see at all and then resting until the moon rose and riding again. We stayed with Master John Huddleston—also of Mary's faith; they look to her to bring back the Catholic Church in its entirety and are truly devoted. He found us fresh horses and we heard Mass at first light—Huddleston has a Catholic chaplain—and rode on again."

"But Mary is safe now?"

Rhoslyn raised her brows as she looked at Elizabeth, who had asked the question. "You seem very concerned. I must warn you that Lady Mary is . . . is not at all certain what she feels about you."

Elizabeth shrugged. "I know that. Mostly she dislikes me. That is nothing to do with my concern. If anything ill befalls Mary, I will be blamed, no matter that I had nothing to do with it. I am worried about my own reputation." She hesitated, then went on. "And a little for Mary. I remember that she brought me gifts of toys and clothing when she had next to nothing herself."

Everyone at the table was now looking quizzically at Elizabeth, Denoriel in particular with a slightly cynical smile. Elizabeth sighed. "Oh, very well, and because I am so sure that Mary will make a right shambles of ruling. She is convinced that the realm will joyfully follow her back under the pope's authority and will so welcome the return to the old rite that they will gladly restore the Church to what it was."

Harry groaned. "She cannot believe that, can she?"

"She will do it." Elizabeth said.

"The Council will not, nor will the Parliament permit it," Harry remarked, shaking his head. "All the gentry will resist violently if she tries to take from them the Church lands my father distributed, and the common folk will resist paying Peter's Pence to the pope. Nor will they willingly accept again the summoners and pardoners who so befouled Catholic practices."

Elizabeth nodded, a small smile just lifting the corners of her mouth. "Before Mary is done, the people will eagerly be looking toward me to be queen as to a bright salvation."

She could say Underhill what would have her executed in the mortal world, and she did say it, looking challengingly around. Pasgen shrugged, indifferent. Rhoslyn bit her lip; she was very fond of Mary but suspected Elizabeth saw more clearly how the people of England would react than Mary did or ever would. It was Harry who frowned and shook his head.

"That may be so," he said. "But do not make the same mistake as our sister. I agree that Mary has not the disposition nor the understanding to rule—neither did I have it. But there will be many who benefit from her mistakes, and they will not look to you. And worse, Bess, the more you become a focus of the discontent against Mary, the greater will be your danger."

That silenced Elizabeth, who bit her lip and shuddered. Denoriel leaned across the table and took her hand. Harry put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her, but turned his head to gesture at a server, a very ordinary kitsune, whose dark eyes were very bright in her fox face.

"Wine," Harry said. "Human rumney or white malmsey. Or, if you have both, a bottle of each."

"That will do for us also," Denoriel said, then looked at Aleneil. "Unless you want mead or nectar, Aleneil?"

She shook her head. "We are all being corrupted by living so much in the mortal world. White malmsey will do well for me. Which is your preference, Rhoslyn? Pasgen?"

"I want nectar," Pasgen said. "I need something to wash away the sour taste of restoring the memory of the guardsman whose place I have been taking." He grimaced. "I must feed the memories slowly so that they seem the man's own."

The server nodded and strode away, her handsome red-fox tail swaying behind her. For the next few minutes everyone concentrated on what they wanted to eat and by the time the server returned with the wine and nectar they all had made selections. When the kitsune was headed toward the kitchen, Elizabeth remembered what she had asked Rhoslyn and not been answered.

"If Mary is free, why did you say you do not know for how long?" Elizabeth asked, and then, with widening eyes, "Is she being attacked?"

"Again I must say not yet, but she has cast her gauntlet in Northumberland's face and he must do something, and that soon."

"Cast her gauntlet . . ." Elizabeth's eyes blazed golden. "She has declared for the throne!"

"Yes." Rhoslyn sighed. "Two days ago, when we reached Kenninghall we had news of Ridley's sermon declaring you and Mary bastard and unfit to rule. She sat down at once and wrote a letter to the Council, rating them harshly for not sending her immediate notice of her brother's death and not proclaiming her queen as set by law in the Act of Succession. She stated clearly her right to the throne and her intent to take it."

"Thank God for that," Elizabeth breathed. "If she had yielded her right, my own would be worthless."

"Oh no. Yielding was never considered," Rhoslyn assured her. "Mary might have fallen into Northumberland's trap, but that was because she wished so much to save Edward's soul. She was so sure once he knew he was dying that he would turn to the 'true' faith."

Elizabeth shook her head. "How was she turned from that good work?" she asked rather tartly.

Rhoslyn spoke just as dryly. "Jane Dormer pointed out that if she fell into Northumberland's hands in the attempt to save her brother's soul, she would surely lose the chance to save the souls of all the English people."

"Mine, too, no doubt." Elizabeth sighed and closed her eyes.

Denoriel squeezed Elizabeth's hand and spoke hastily to distract her; there was no sense in Elizabeth worrying about how to deflect Mary's desire to make her accept Catholicism until she knew how intense Mary's attempt would be.

"So, how did you escape Northumberland's troop?" he asked.

"That was rather strange," Rhoslyn said. "We were riding hard for Kenninghall disguised as John Huddleston's servants when a troop burst out of a wood behind us. We thought we were lost as our horses were weary and they were many more than we, but they never tried to overtake us merely riding along behind, matching their pace to ours. And when we arrived at Kenninghall they stopped a quarter mile or so from the gate. One man alone rode to the gate, naming himself Mary's devoted servant, Francis Howard."

"Francis Howard?" Harry said. "I don't remember any Francis Howard. I remember far too many Howards, but no Francis."

"Mary did not remember any Francis Howard either," Rhoslyn continued. "Fortunately he did not ask to be admitted. We would have been in a quandary if he had asked. He said he and his troop would do their best to divert Northumberland's men and to bring to Lady Mary those who would support her, and then he rode away."

The kitsune returned with the food on a tray that floated in the air. When it had to consult a tablet on the tray to see which dish went to which person, Pasgen said, "Where is the other server who is usually here on mortal Tuesdays?"

"You don't like my service?" the kitsune asked, the fox tail beginning to lift.

"Your service is fine," Aleneil said quickly. "We are just curious about what form the other server would take, since it has been different each time we came."

The kitsune wiggled her shiny black nose. "It is aestivating or undertaking some other kind of renewal." The tail lowered and wagged slowly from side to side. "I will tell it you were asking for it."

When the kitsune had moved away, Pasgen sighed. "There is one single thing I like about the mortal world. When you eat or drink at an inn or an alehouse, the servers just serve. They do not make clever remarks nor take offense at whatever you say."

Denoriel laughed aloud. "You must tell me where you eat and drink. I've never found the servers in the places near Bucklersbury to be backward about coming forward, specially the women."

Elizabeth sat up straighter, her eyes growing bright. "Denno! For what do you need—"

"What I need," Denoriel said hastily, "and that most urgently is to know more about Francis Howard and his troop."

"I cannot help you," Rhoslyn said. "I assure you we would like to know more also, but by the time we had settled Lady Mary in bed—we had ridden altogether near sixty miles—and explained to the master in charge of Kenninghall what we wanted, the troop was long gone. I suppose if he has something to say, this Francis Howard will come again or send a messenger."

"Or send a larger troop to take Kenninghall," Harry said slowly. "Oh, it is not very likely, since you say they could have overtaken you on the road and did not, but there may be some reason for that. Perhaps this Francis Howard wishes to ingratiate himself with the Dudleys and is not certain just how far he could go to take Mary prisoner. Now that her presence in Kenninghall is known, I just do not think it is safe for Mary to stay there. Kenninghall is moated; it is somewhat defensible, but not really a castle. An embattled queen should be in a castle."

Rhoslyn closed her eyes and her shoulders slumped. "I do not want to believe you, but I do. Only Mary is exhausted. I do not think she can go farther right now. She needs a few days of rest."

Pasgen frowned. "If we are attacked, she must and she will go on. But while there is no threat, I agree she can be allowed to rest. I will see that the captain sends out scouts to warn us of any body of armed men approaching." He grimaced. "I have some influence since I killed that assassin."

"And I will suggest to Mary that her consequence will be greater if she takes residence in a place of importance, like Framlingham. It is not far away and is almost as strong as a royal castle."

 

By July 18 Albertus was quite at ease when he activated the amulet that would take him from Otstargi's house in London to Caer Mordwyn. He was confident that his master and mistress would be pleased with his report, for Francis Howard—he had dropped the Mowbray from his name as soon as Edward died—had done very well indeed. Far more than Albertus had known enough to advise.

Francis must have personal reasons to want Mary to be queen, Albertus thought as he followed the Sidhe who often greeted visitors to the palace toward Aurilia's apartment. Albertus  suppressed a smile; that Sidhe had several times teased and once physically tormented him, when he arrived, but would do so no more. Aurilia had "instructed" that cruel, beautiful monster that she and she alone had rights over Albertus's person. His thoughts returned to Francis's personal commitment to Mary. There was no need to admit that he had not known of it when he chose Francis to lead the troop.

Aurilia was seated at her dressing table rather than stretched out on her long-seated chair. She turned her head when Albertus entered and watched him bow low.

"So you have good news," she said.

"Yes, my lady, very good, very good indeed. The mortal armsman hired performed better than I expected."

"Very well." Aurila gestured and a chair appeared near Albertus's leg. "Sit and tell me." Aurelia said.

Although he was flattered by being offered a chair, Albertus was disappointed when Aurilia turned her back on him and returned her attention to her mirror. He was annoyed that she would not look at him and he could not see her expressions. Usually he was terrified and had all he could do to hide his fear and all he saw on her beautiful face were scowls and scorn. Now when he could expect praise and pleasure, she looked only in the mirror.

In that Albertus had misjudged Aurilia. Her mirror showed not her face but his. When he was reporting failure or disappointment, she did not need to look for nuances in his expression. Today when he said he had good news and his carriage and movements also showed his confidence, she needed to catch any unguarded look of doubt or private satisfaction.

"So?" Aurilia urged when Albertus did not speak at once.

"You know, of course, about Ridley's sermon calling Lady Mary a bastard and you know that I learned by listening to those who attended on King Edward's deathbed that Northumberland intended to set Lady Jane Grey on the throne. I wished to warn Lady Mary, but there had been attempts on her life—I have no proof but I think by Northumberland's direction—and there was no way I or any messenger from me could have approached her."

"It was a good thought, but unnecessary. Prince Vidal had a warning arranged from high in the Court."

"I wish I had known," Albertus said mildly. "I was so alarmed by the plot that I felt it worth the risk to try to reach Mary, say I was a physician and I had come to tell her of her brother's death. I all but compromised myself by trying to get a horse and leave the palace as soon as Edward was dead."

For all the mildness of the voice, Aurilia saw a flicker of expression, swiftly suppressed, shade Albertus's look of satisfaction. Clearly Albertus did not love Vidal. Aurilia's lips twitched toward a smile; that Albertus should hate Vidal was all to the good. If she wanted something Vidal did not approve, Albertus would not deny her.

"As it was, however," Albertus continued, "the attempt was fortunate. While I was hiding myself in the stable, I heard Robert Dudley, who is Northumberland's fifth son, speaking to the head groom about the need for three hundred horses on the next day for a troop to ride north. I guessed that Dudley had been instructed by his father to take Lady Mary prisoner, so I returned to the outer chambers of the king's apartments and sent my little page, the boy who fetched medications for me, out with instructions for Francis Howard to gather up his men and ride to Hunsdon."

Aurilia turned on the cushioned stool before her dressing table to frown at him. "This was the day the king died? I am not certain of mortal time, but surely that was many days ago in their terms."

"Yes, my lady, but when the king died I had nothing to report to you, so I did not come. I know Prince Vidal bade me go with Howard but I was forbidden to leave the palace and I did not think it wise to hold back Howard and what protection he could give Lady Mary until I was free to go."

"No. You are right about that. Sometimes Prince Vidal does not foresee all the conditions surrounding an order. Was your man successful in protecting Lady Mary? Surely he did not have as many men at his command as did Northumberland's son."

"No, but he has more years and more brains than young Dudley. He set out a full half day earlier but he and his men did not ride into Hunsdon. He set the troop to rest and wait just outside the town and himself rode into the manor alone, claiming to be a messenger with an urgent letter for Lady Mary. What he would have done if she was still there, aside from warning her about Dudley and the three hundred men, I do not know, but she had left already. Those few left behind to care for the house made no trouble in telling him that Lady Mary had ridden south toward Greenwich, according to a summons from Northumberland, and intended to stop in Hoddesdon."

"So they rode to Hoddesdon?" Aurilia frowned and turned back toward her mirror, her nails clicking impatiently on the table top. "Am I going to need to listen to every single hoofbeat along the road? What is this news of yours that is so good?"

For one moment fury surged up in Albertus, but then he bowed his head, swallowing a laugh at himself. He had been relishing the notion of telling Aurilia of Howard's cleverness and the fact that Howard had responded so brilliantly and achieved far more than he himself had expected or, truly, intended. But there was no need for him to lose the credit of how Howard had tricked Dudley into camping before Hoddesdon and negotiating terms with Engelfield for Lady Mary's surrender while she made good her escape or how Howard had fooled Dudley into believing that many more men had come to support Mary in Kenninghall than actually had come.

"No, of course not, my lady."

"You still have not given me this good news."

"The first part of the good news is that Lady Mary is safe in Framlingham castle and that a number of gentlemen—I know for certain of the earl of Bath, the earl of Sussex, Sir Thomas Wharton, Sir John Mordant and Sir Henry Bedingfield—are already with her, together with a host of common folk."

Aurilia's eyes brightened with pleasure. "Are there enough men supporting her to have a battle against Northumberland's forces? That will provide a tasty supping for me and my lord."

"About the battle, I do not know. Northumberland intends to try to take her prisoner or kill her, but the matter still could be settled without fighting. I heard that the people of Norwich were on their way to Mary and just before I left I learned there was a muster in Tothill fields in London, but the number who replied to the summons, despite a promise of ten pence a day payment, was disappointing."

"No battle?" Aurilia sniffed and turned around again, showing her lower lip protruding in a dissatisfied pout.

"I do not think so," Albertus replied, "but the second part of my good news likely means Mary will be queen. Is that not what you and Prince Vidal desire, my lady?"

"Oh, yes," Aurilia replied with no enthusiasm, "but a battle with lots of killing and looting . . .  So what is the second part of the good news?"

"That the six ships of the navy Northumberland sent to prevent Lady Mary from fleeing the country to her uncle, the emperor, are now Lady Mary's. I was riding north to meet Howard as soon as I was allowed to leave Greenwich palace, and I fell in around Colchester with a Sir Harry Jerningham, who was riding south. He urged me to bring my services to Lady Mary and told me how the sailors mutinied against their captains unless the captains would turn the ships to Lady Mary's service."

"Oh well." Aurila stood up. "I suppose you had better come with me to give this news to Vidal. But I am disappointed that this clever Howard of yours could not arrange a battle."

Aurilia's dissatisfaction made Albertus uneasy, but Vidal received the information, which Aurilia transferred in a long, thoughtful look, with greater enthusiasm than Aurilia had.

"Very good," he said to her, smiling. "The creature is more useful than I thought he would be."

"His man should have arranged a battle," Aurilia complained, seating herself in the chair that had appeared near Vidal.

"No, not unless he was certain he could win. Once Mary is on the throne, we will be well fed on misery." Vidal smiled at Aurilia again, thinking that her childish greed was a weakness he could use and forgetting that before his imprisonment he was as greedy and short sighted.

When he turned to Albertus, however, the smile was gone. His dark eyes ran over Albertus as if he were a piece of offal left in the middle of the floor. Briefly Albertus closed his eyes. Creature was he? Somehow, someday, he promised himself, he would get his revenge.

"Your work is incomplete," Vidal snapped. "Even the surrender of the ships does not ensure Mary's accession."

"That is true, my lord, but now that the king is dead, I have no more excuse to be at Court. No simple physician would be listened to if he gave advice on political matters. One higher than I must spread the news of the mass defections in Mary's favor, must describe the fate of all those who continue to support Northumberland, and must hint of Lady Mary's compassion toward those who escaped Northumberland's influence and brought the Council to proclaim her queen in London."

There was an infinitesmal pause while Vidal realized he had not thought of the need to induce Northumberland's supporters to desert him. He had been thinking of using the men Albertus had hired to attack Northumberland himself. But that would likely waste the force this Howard commanded, which according to what was in Albertus's mind was far fewer than Northumberland's. It would be much easier to have Rich convince the council to proclaim Mary.

His hesitation was brief enough that Albertus would not have noticed and Vidal said smoothly, "No, of course not. I have those bound to me at Court. I was thinking that now that they are free of needing to protect Mary, this Howard of yours can busy himself with removing Elizabeth."

Albertus frowned. "I doubt it, my lord. The last time Howard examined Hatfield, he reported that it was closed so tight he wondered the air could get through. No one is allowed in—"

"They must eat and drink, I suppose," Vidal snapped.

"Victuals and drink are left by the gate. The victualers must draw off as far as the town before the guards open the gates and the servants bring in what they left. This much Howard told me the month before the king died, when you bade me order him to take Lady Elizabeth. He said it would take an army to break into Hatfield."

"My lord," Aurilia said, "why would you bother with Elizabeth now? She is not setting herself up as a rival to Mary, and once Mary is on the throne, she will remove Elizabeth. All her advisors will agree that she can never rule in safety while Elizabeth lives."

"Whatever she herself does, there are others who will contest Mary's rule over their idiotic differences in religion."

Aurilia's eyes opened wide. "So much the better. I have been hoping all along for a civil war. Let Mary and Elizabeth fight over the throne."

Vidal sighed heavily. "Were we assured of Mary's victory—as I said before—I would agree. But we are not so assured." He turned away from Aurilia to look at Albertus again. "Send Howard to test Hatfield's defenses. They may be relaxed now that Elizabeth knows Northumberland's attention is fixed on Mary."

 

That same night Elizabeth was Underhill at the Inn of Kindly Laughter. A great deal of her anxiety had been dispelled by the news she had from Denno already. London was abuzz with talk, and the merchant community, whose well-doing depended on peace and a steady government, was gathering every scrap of news.

They knew already that the Council that Northumberland had left in London to protect his interests and Queen Jane was rapidly tearing apart. Some had secretly hoped Northumberland would restore Catholic practice when they first supported him, but he had become radically reformist. Now with the temptation Mary's accession held out to them, only fear had bound them to Northumberland. When he left London to oppose the forces gathering to Mary, the grip of fear loosened.

Others truly indifferent to what rite was observed grew more and more uncertain about the highly questionable device Northumberland had used to set Queen Jane on the throne. They knew, the whole realm knew, the succession had been long established and the realm, according to the news of those flocking to support Mary, was rejecting Northumberland's devise.

There was no longer a great secret to hide. Queen Jane had been proclaimed. The tight control of the servants was loosened and interesting tales trickled out to those who did business with the Council.

The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports—from where the ships that had declared for Mary had sailed—and the earl of Pembroke were making ready to slip out of the Tower where the Council was supposed to remain all together. The lord treasurer, the old, clever marquess of Winchester, had escaped; his fellow councilors sent a force to bring him back, but Sir Edward Peckham, Treasurer of the Mint, had gone beyond recall and taken with him all the money from the king's privy purse to make over to Mary.

Cropper, sent to deliver wines to the Tower in the late afternoon of July sixteen, only two days after Northumberland had left, did not return to the house on Bucklersbury until after dark. He told Master Clayborne that the clerks coming and going from the chamber in which the Council had gathered whispered that there was already argument about saving themselves by declaring Northumberland a traitor.

On the afternoon of July 18 Denoriel heard the outcome of that argument from a grim-faced Cecil, who stopped by the house on Bucklersbury. Cecil had resigned his office as secretary of state in protest when Northumberland had Jane proclaimed queen, but he still had eyes and ears inside the Tower. Master Clayborne showed him at once into Denoriel's parlor.

"This may be the last news you will have from me," Cecil said, shaking his head at the offer of a chair and a cup of wine. "I kept hoping Northumberland would come to his senses. If he had publicly demanded that Mary accept the reformed religion and she refused, he could have declared her a papist unfit to rule, and presented Elizabeth as the proper heir."

Denoriel shrugged. "He knew that Elizabeth would be rid of him as soon as she could manage to call a parliament. Her will is as strong as that of Lady Mary, and Elizabeth has her father's ability to judge the possible and make others obey her."

"It will take all the skill she can muster to stay alive when her sister is on the throne," Cecil said, "and I will not be able to help in any way." He uttered a dry, mirthless chuckle. "Likely I will not survive Queen Mary's crowning."

"Now that is an appeal for unnecessary sympathy." Denoriel snorted gently. "You are not even in office and signed the devise only as witness, not supporter. You will be in no danger from Queen Mary who, I have heard from very reliable sources, is gentle and compassionate, not naturally vengeful. What irks you is that you may not be employed by the Catholic queen. Just be quiet, do not openly parade your reformist inclination. There are those who will return to power under Mary, like Norfolk, with whom I have some influence, which you may be sure I will exert on your behalf. You will soon have a place."

Cecil nodded. "It is not only for myself that I am concerned. Lady Elizabeth will need all the help she can find. She is, I am sure, too wise to involve herself in any intrigues against the crown, but there will be those who use her name without permission and, unfortunately, those who Lady Mary trusts far more than she should will make such use known to the queen."

"I know. I have warned her, but I am no more than a rich merchant." That was a bald lie, but even Cecil could not be allowed to know the truth. Denoriel went on without a blink. "If the warning comes from someone deeply involved in the government, it will stick more firmly in her mind. But we are talking as if Mary had the throne already."

"She has," Cecil said. "I have heard that the Council has written a proclamation offering a reward for the arrest of Northumberland for treason. That was not long after word came from Framlingham that Mary's army has swelled to near twenty thousand. The Council, or at least those not fanatic reformers, will have her proclaimed Queen tomorrow."

The increase in Mary's army and the likelihood that it could stand successfully against Northumberland, who was England's best soldier, was the news being discussed in the Inn of Kindly Laughter. That Mary would fight if she must was promptly confirmed by Rhoslyn, who had the further information that the forces Northumberland had brought with him from London were deserting. He was arrogant and still unable to recognize the nation's antipathy to him. His eldest son quarreled with Lord George Howard, who promptly rode off to join Mary at Framlingham. And when Lord Grey opposed Northumberland's orders to burn and loot the property of Mary's supporters, Northumberland shouted Lord Grey down. It was unwise; the burning and looting took place, but Lord Grey and the force he had brought with him were riding north to join Mary.

"I am glad to hear it," Elizabeth said although she sounded rather uncertain. She was glad Mary would be queen because that increased the likelihood that she, herself, would reign, but she foresaw the problems she would face. With a sigh she added, "But as you all know, Mary does not love me." Her eyes went to Harry FitzRoy. "What should I do now, Da?"

"Summon every gentleman who owes you allegiance, love," Harry said, his eyes gleaming. "They will have, I think, about two to three weeks to make ready and gather at Hatfield or Enfield. Bid them all be arrayed in Tudor colors, the green and white of your father and grandfather, and be sure that each message you send says in plain words that you ride in support of your sister, Queen Mary, and to do her honor and service."

Elizabeth frowned. Ever since her faith in Parry's ability as controller had been shaken, she checked on her accounts and, seeing the cost of her household, had become quite frugal. Denoriel could ken gold for her, more than enough to help with the expenses of a young girl living retired in the country, but there was no chance at all that he could provide gold enough to support a queen. Elizabeth was well aware that she must find the lion's share of her expenses out of her own income.

"That will be expensive, Da, and will not Mary feel threatened if I come with a great concourse of followers to London?"

"I do not think Mary will notice your followers. In the rosy glow that will surround her from hearing herself proclaimed queen and hearing and seeing the joy with which she is welcomed, I think your people would need to fire an arquebus at her to cause her alarm. However, many others will notice—her people and the foreign envoys will note you have support and are not defenseless."

"Is that not a double-edged sword?" Denoriel asked. "Those who desire Mary be followed by another Catholic may not like a show of Elizabeth's strength."

"Poor Mary," Rhoslyn sighed. "She has not even come to rule and you are talking of her successor."

"She is near twenty years older than Elizabeth and has never been strong," Pasgen said.

Elizabeth shook herself briskly. "You are right, Rhoslyn. It is unwise to talk this way. I must consider how to live while Mary rules, not even think of a most unknowable future. And Denno, you are right about the double-edged sword, but I think I know how to deal with that. I will discover how many attend Mary, and if my attendants are more numerous, I will dismiss some so that our numbers are near equal. That will also reduce the cost to me."

Harry nodded. "Some you will have to supply with suitable garments, but many will provide their own finery. And sending away some of your followers is a wise thought." He hesitated and looked from Rhoslyn to Denoriel. "Will one or both of you be able to tell us when Mary will arrive so that Elizabeth will be perhaps a day earlier and able to adjust her numbers?"

"I hope we are all not dreaming a future to our liking," Aleneil said. She had been very quiet, and now everyone looked at her with worried frowns. "When last I looked into it, the great lens still showed an image of Jane. And Northumberland is not yet taken. He has fought before against forces larger than his own and triumphed, and most of Mary's army are untrained peasants."

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