That morning then, before six o’clock, Robin had said Mass in the sick woman’s room and given her communion, with her companion, who answered his Mass, as it was thought more prudent that the other priest should not even be present; and, at the close of the Mass he had reserved in a little pyx, hidden beneath his clothes, a consecrated particle. Mr. Bourgoign had said that he would see to it that the Queen should be fasting up to ten o’clock that day.
And now the last miracle had been accomplished. A servant had come down late the night before, with a discreet letter from the apothecary, saying that Sir Amyas had consented to receive and examine for himself the travelling physician from Paris; and here now went Robin, striving to remember the old Latin names he had learned as a boy, and to carry a medical air with him.
He had enough to occupy his mind; for not only had he the thought of the character he was to sustain presently under the scrutiny of a suspicious man; but he had the prospect, as he hoped, of coming into the presence of the most-talked-of woman in Europe, and of ministering to her as a priest alone could do, in her sorest need. His hand went to his breast as he considered it, and remembered What he bore … and he felt the tiny flat circular case press upon his heart.…
For his imagination was all aflame at the thought of Mary. Not only had he been kindled again and again in the old days by poor Anthony’s talk, until the woman seemed to him half-deified already; but man after man had repeated the same tale, that she was, in truth, that which her lean cousin of England desired to be thought—a very paragon of women, innocent, holy, undefiled, yet of charm to drive men to their knees before her presence. More marvellous than all was that those who knew her best and longest loved her most; her servants wept or groaned themselves into fevers if they were excluded from her too long; of her as of the Wisdom of old might it be said that, “They who ate her hungered yet, and they who drank her thirsted yet.” … It was to this miracle of humanity, then, that this priest was to come.…
He sat up suddenly, once more pressing his hand to his breast, where his Treasure lay hidden, as he heard steps crossing the paved hall outside. Then he rose to his feet and bowed as a tall man came swiftly in, followed by the apothecary.
II
It was a lean, harsh-faced man that he saw, long-moustached and melancholy-eyed—“grim as a goose,” as the physician had said—wearing, even in this guarded household, a half-breast and cap of steel. A long sword jingled beside him on the stone floor and clashed with his spurred boots. He appeared the last man in the world to be the companion of a sorrowing Queen; and it was precisely for this reason that he had been chosen to replace the courtly Lord Shrewsbury and the gentle Sir Ralph Sadler. (Her Grace of England said that she had had enough of nurses for gaolers.) His voice, too, resembled the bitter clash of a key in a lock.
“Well, sir,” he said abruptly, “Mr. Bourgoign tells me you are a friend of his.”
“I have that honour, sir.”
“You met in Paris, eh? … And you profess a knowledge of herbs beyond the ordinary?”
“Mr. Bourgoign is good enough to say so.”
“And you are after her Grace of Scotland, as they call her, like all the rest of them, eh?”
“I shall be happy to put what art I possess at her Grace of Scotland’s service.”
“Traitors say as much as that, sir.”
“In the cause of treachery, no doubt, sir.”
Sir Amyas barked a kind of laugh.
“Vous avez raisong,” he said with a deplorable accent. “As her Grace would say. And you come purely by chance to Chartley, no doubt!”
The sneer was unmistakable. Robin met it full.
“Not for one moment, sir. I was on my way to Derby. I could have saved a few miles if I had struck north long ago. But Chartley is interesting in these days.”
(He saw Mr. Bourgoign’s eyes gleam with satisfaction.)
“That is honest at least, sir. And why is Chartley interesting?”
“Because her Grace is here,” answered Robin with sublime simplicity.
Sir Amyas barked again. It seemed he liked this way of talk. For a moment or two his eyes searched Robin—hard, narrow eyes like a dog’s; he looked him up and down.
“Where are your drugs, sir?”
Robin smiled.
“A herbalist does not need to carry drugs,” he said. “They grow in every hedgerow if a man has eyes to see what God has given him.”
“That is true enough. I would we had more talk about God His Majesty in this household, and less of Popish trinkets and fiddle-faddle.… Well, sir; do you think you can cure her ladyship?”
“I have no opinion on the point at all, sir. I do not know what is the matter with her—beyond what Mr. Bourgoign has told me,” he added hastily, remembering the supposed situation.
The soldier paid no attention. Like all slow-witted men, he was following up an irrelevant train of thought from his own last sentence but one.
“Fiddle-faddle!” he said again. “I am sick of her megrims and her vapours and her humours. Has she not blood and bones like the rest of us? And yet she cannot take her food nor her drink, nor sleep like an honest woman. And I do not wonder at it; for that is what she is not. They will say she is poisoned, I dare say.… Well, sir; I suppose you had best see her; but in my presence, remember, sir; in my presence.”
Robin’s spirits sank like a stone.… Moreover, he would be instantly detected as a knave (though that honestly seemed a lesser matter to him), if he attempted to talk medically in Sir Amyas’ presence; unless that warrior was truly as great a clod as he seemed. He determined to risk it. He bowed.
“I can at least try my poor skill, sir,” he said.
Sir Amyas instantly turned, with a jerk of his head to beckon them, and clanked out again into the hall. There was not a moment’s opportunity for the two conspirators to exchange even a word; for there, in the hall, stood the two men who had brought Robin in, to keep guard; and as the party passed through to the foot of the great staircase, he saw on each landing that was in sight another sentry, and, at a door at the end of the overhead gallery, against which hung a heavy velvet curtain, stood the last, a stern figure to keep guard on the rooms of a Queen, with his body-armour complete, a steel hat on his head and a pike in his hand.
It was to this door that Sir Amyas went. He pulled aside the curtain and rapped imperiously on the door. It was opened after a moment’s delay by a frightened-faced woman.
“Her Grace?” demanded the officer sharply. “Is she still abed?”
“Her Grace is risen, sir,” said the woman tremulously; “she is in the inner room.”
Sir Amyas strode straight on, pulled aside a second curtain hanging over the further door, rapped upon that, too, and without even waiting for an answer this time, beyond the shrill barking of dogs within, opened it and passed in. Mr. Bourgoign followed; and Robin came last. The door closed softly behind him.
III
Mary was past her prime long ago; she was worn with sorrow and slanders and miseries; yet she appeared to the priest’s eyes, even then, like a figure of a dream. It was partly, no doubt, the faintness of the light that came in through the half-shrouded windows that obliterated the lines and fallen patches that her face was beginning to bear; and she lay, too, with her back even to such light as there was. Yet for all that, and even if he had not known who she was, Robin could not have taken his eyes from her face. She lay there more beautiful in her downfall and disgrace, a thousand times, than when she had come first to Holyrood, or danced in the Courts of France.
Her face was almost waxen now, blue shadowed beneath the two waves of pale hair; she had a small mouth, a delicate nose, and large, searching hazel eyes. Her hands, clasped as if in prayer, emerged out of deep lace-fringed sleeves, and were covered with rings. When she spoke, a tone of assured decision revealed her quiet consciousness of royalty. It was an extraordinary mingling of fragility and power, of which this feminine and royal room was the proper frame
.
Sir Amyas knelt perfunctorily, as if impatient of it; and rose up again at once without waiting for the signal. Mary lifted her fingers a little as a sign to the other two.
“I have brought the French doctor, madam,” said the soldier abruptly. “But he must see your Grace in my presence.”
“Then you might as well have spared him, and yourself, the pains, sir,” came the quiet, dignified voice. “I do not choose to be examined in your presence.”
Robin lifted his eyes to her face; but although he thought he caught an under air of intense desire towards him and That which he bore, there was no faltering in the tone of her voice.
“This is absurd, madam. I am responsible for your Grace’s security and good health. But there are lengths——”
“You have spoken the very word,” said the Queen. “There are lengths to which none of us should go, even to preserve our health.”
“I tell you, madam——”
“There is no more to be said, sir,” said the Queen, closing her eyes again.
“But what do I know of this fellow? How can I tell he is what he professes to be?” barked Sir Amyas.
“Then you should never have admitted him at all,” said the Queen, opening her eyes again. “And I will do the best that I can——”
“But, madam, your health is my care; and Mr. Bourgoign here tells me——”
“The subject does not interest me,” murmured the Queen, apparently half asleep.
“But I will retire to the corner and turn my back, if that is necessary,” growled the soldier.
There was no answer. She lay with closed eyes, and her woman began again to fan her gently.
Robin began to understand the situation a little better. It was plain that Sir Amyas was a great deal more anxious for the Queen’s health than he pretended to be. There had been rumours that Elizabeth had actually caused it to be suggested to Sir Amyas that he should poison his prisoner decently and privately, and thereby save a great deal of trouble and scandal; and that Sir Amyas had refused with indignation. He remembered that Sir Amyas had referred just now to a suspicion of poison.… He determined on the bold line.
“Her Grace has spoken, sir,” he said modestly. “And I think I should have a word to say. It is plain to me, by looking at her Grace, that her health is very far from what it should be—” (he paused significantly)—“I should have to make a thorough examination, if I prescribed at all; and, even should her Grace consent to this being done publicly, for my part I would not consent. I should be happy to have her women here, but——”
Sir Amyas turned on him wrathfully.
“Why, sir, you said downstairs——”
“I had not then seen her Grace. But there is no more to be said——” He kneeled again as if to take his leave, stood up, and began to retire to the door. Mr. Bourgoign stood helpless.
Then Sir Amyas yielded.
“You shall have fifteen minutes, sir. No more,” he cried harshly. “And I shall remain in the next room.”
He made a perfunctory salute and strode out.
The Queen opened her eyes, waited for one tense instant till the door closed; then she slipped swiftly off the couch.
“The door!” she whispered.
The woman was across the room in an instant, on tiptoe, and drew the single slender bolt. The Queen made a sharp gesture; the woman fled back again on one side, and out through the further door, and the old man hobbled after her. It was as if every detail had been rehearsed. The door closed noiselessly.
Then the Queen rose up, as Robin, understanding, began to fumble with his breast. And, as he drew out the pyx, and placed it on the handkerchief, apparently so carelessly laid by the crucifix, Mary sank down in adoration of her Lord.
“Now, mon père,” she whispered, still kneeling, but lifting her star-bright eyes. And the priest went across to the couch where the Queen had lain, and sat down on it.
“In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti——” began Mary.
IV
When the confession was finished, Robin went across, at the Queen’s order, and tapped with his finger-nail upon the door, while she herself remained on her knees. The door opened instantly, and the two came in, the woman first, bearing two lighted tapers. She set these down one on either side of the crucifix, and herself knelt with the old physician.
… Then Robin gave holy communion to the Queen of the Scots.…
V
She was back again on her couch now, once more as drowsy-looking as ever. The candlesticks were gone again; the handkerchief still in its place, and the woman back again behind the couch. The two men kneeled close beside her, near enough to hear every whisper.
“Listen, gentlemen,” she said softly, “I cannot tell you what you have done for my soul to-day—both of you, since I could never have had the priest without my friend.… I cannot reward you, but our Lord will do so abundantly … Listen, I know that I am going to my death, and I thank God that I have made my peace with Him. I do not know if they will allow me to see a priest again. But I wish to say this to both of you—as I said just now in my confession, to you, mon père—that I am wholly and utterly guiltless of the plot laid to my charge; that I had neither part nor wish nor consent in it. I desired only to escape from my captivity.… I would have made war, if I could, yes, but as for accomplishing or assisting in her Grace’s death, the thought was never near me. Those whom I thought my friends have entrapped me, and have given colour to the tale. I pray our Saviour to forgive them as I do; and with that Saviour now in my breast I tell you—and you may tell all the world if you will—that I am guiltless of what they impute to me. I shall die for my Religion, and nothing but that. And I thank you again, mon père, et vous, mon ami, que vous avez …”
Her voice died away in inaudible French, and her eyes closed.
Robin’s eyes were raining tears, but he leaned forward and kissed her hand as it lay on the edge of the couch. He felt himself touched on the shoulder, and he stood up. The old man’s eyes, too, were brimming with tears.
“I must let Sir Amyas in,” he whispered. “You must be ready.”
“What shall I say?”
“Say that you will prescribe privately, to me: and that her Grace’s health is indeed delicate, but not gravely impaired.… You understand?”
Robin nodded, passing his sleeve over his eyes. The woman touched the Queen’s shoulder to rouse her, and Mr. Bourgoign opened the door.
VI
“And now, sir,” said Mr. Bourgoign, as the two passed out from the house half an hour later, “I have one more word to say to you. Listen carefully, if you please, for there is not much time.”
He glanced behind him, but the tall figure was gone from the door; there remained only the two pikemen who kept ward over the great house on the steps.
“Come this way,” said the physician, and led the priest through into the little walled garden on the south. “He will think we are finishing our consultation.”
“I cannot tell you,” he said presently, “all that I think of your courage and your wit. You made a bold stroke when you told him you would begone again, unless you could see her Grace alone, and again when you said you had come to Chartley because she was here. And you may go again now, knowing you have comforted a woman in her greatest need. They sent her chaplain from her when she left here for Tixall in July, and she has not had him again yet. She is watched at every point. They have taken all her papers from her, and have seduced M. Nau, I fear. Did you hear anything of him in town?”
“No,” said the priest. “I know nothing of him.”
“He is a Frenchman, and hath been with her Grace more than ten years. He hath written her letters for her, and been privy to all her counsels. And I fear he hath been seduced from her at last. It was said that Mr. Walsingham was to take him into his house.… Well, but we have not time for this. What I have to ask you is whether you could come again to us?”
He peered at the priest almost
timorously. Robin was startled.
“Come again?” he said. “Why——”
“You see you have already won to her presence, and Sir Amyas is committed to it that you are a safe man. I shall tell her Grace too, that she must eat and drink well, and get better, if she would see you again, for that will establish you in Sir Amyas’ eyes.”
Robin was silent.
The greatness of the affair terrified him; yet its melancholy drew him. He had seen her on whom all England bent its thoughts at this time, who was a crowned Queen, with broad lands and wealth, who called Elizabeth “sister”; yet who was more of a prisoner than any in the Fleet or Westminster Gatehouse, since those at least could have their friends to come to them. Her hidden fires, too, had warmed him—that passion for God that had burst from her when her gaoler left her, and she had flung herself on her knees before her hidden Saviour. It may be he had doubted her before (he did not know); but there was no more doubt in him after her protestation of her innocence. He began to see now that she stood for more than her kingdom or her son or the plots attributed to her, that she was more than a mere great woman, for whose sake men could both live and die; he began to see in her that which poor Anthony had seen—a champion for the Faith of them all, an incarnate suffering symbol, in flesh and blood, of that Religion for which he, too, was in peril—that Religion, which, in spite of all clamour to the contrary, was the real storm-centre of England’s life.
He turned then to the old man with a suddenly flushed face.
“A message will always reach me at Mistress Manners’ house, at Booth’s Edge, near Hathersage, in Derbyshire. And I will come from there, or from the world’s end, to serve her Grace.”
VII
“First give me your blessing, Mr. Alban,” said Marjorie, kneeling down before him in the hall in front of them all. She was as pale as a ghost, but her eyes shone like stars.
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