‘So, Sir Francis, did your prisoners give you any idea of when this attack is likely?’ Burleigh had risen again and was pacing the room, staff in one hand and lapel in the other as his voice rang out. Robert quirked his eyebrow at Elizabeth and it pleased him that she hid a smile in her goblet.
‘They didn’t know when, my Lord. Just that it would happen. But as a sailor, I must say in my opinion they won’t attack until the summer, at the earliest. We will have months to build Lord Howard’s fire ships, find crewmen and bring troops home from Ireland to fight on land if that proves necessary.’ He bowed at Elizabeth and grinned, teeth white against his tan. ‘But it won’t be, Majesty. We shall defeat them at sea, and no Spanish boots will touch English soil, I guarantee it.’
‘Very well, my Lords,’ Elizabeth’s voice rang out above the hubbub of approval from the Council, ‘we shall prepare. I shall address Parliament this afternoon.’ She looked at Burleigh who was starting to shake his head at the thought of trying to raise Parliament at such short notice. ‘This afternoon, my Lord. And I shall ask them to approve the funds we need. Then, my Lord Howard, you shall meet with your colleagues and decide what is absolutely necessary. Make no mistake, our purse is not bottomless. We shall have sufficient funds for what we need, rather than what we would wish for in an ideal world. Prepare your requirements for Sir Ralph, and once Parliament approves the funds, we can proceed.’
‘If they approve, Majesty.’ Walsingham’s serpentine voice made his first contribution to the meeting, and Robert smothered a smile at the way Elizabeth straightened, even clad in her voluminous red robe, squared her shoulders and fixed him with a glare.
‘They will approve, my Lord. I have no doubt.’ Elizabeth gazed down the table to Robert, ‘and I would have a word with you, Lord Robert.’ He smiled and inclined his head.
‘Majesty. I live to serve.’
***
Eventually all the Council and the clerks took their leave, shuffling their papers and their feet, bowing to the Queen and finally closing the door. Elizabeth remained in her chair, and Robert rose from his and strode to the wine table.
‘Do I really need their approval, my Lord?’ she asked as he poured her another cup of wine.
‘Not really, Majesty. You are Queen. But if they give their approval, then you will have them on your side, rather than using your divine right to circumvent them for your own ends.’
‘For the country’s ends, my Lord!’ Elizabeth’s tone was sharp and Robert bowed.
‘Forgive me, your Grace. I did not mean to imply that you make war for your own gratification. But you need their support. If we do have to muster troops, you will have to have their assent to what will be, after all, a war with Spain.’
‘A war of Spanish making, my Lord. I have no wish to interfere with the governance of their country, so why should they wish to interfere with mine?’
Robert snorted a laugh and raised his brow at her wryly. ‘Is that a serious question, Majesty?’ Elizabeth shrugged and swallowed some wine, then looked at Robert and nodded.
‘Because you refused Philip your hand in marriage, Majesty. You spurned him and decided to rule alone, to repeal all the religious acts he and your sister passed while they ruled, take the country forward into the Reformed church, and now you allow your ships to …… capture…..his gold and use it against him. Jealousy and profit are powerful motivators for war, Majesty, and Philip of Spain is motivated by both.’
‘Damned Spaniard,' spat Elizabeth as usual and Robert hid a smile. Elizabeth gazed at him and lifted an eyebrow, ‘Well, my Lord Robert, what should I say to the good men that form my Parliament to make them approve the funds? Tell me what to say.’
‘Tell them what they want to hear, Majesty. Appeal to them as good Englishmen, who don’t want to be ruled by Spain once more. Ask them for their advice, as a female Queen in a man’s world.’ Elizabeth snorted disdainfully and shook her head.
‘Majesty, you do not have to mean it. You merely have to say it, and convince them you mean it.’
At her swift, hard glance Robert softened his tone and continued more gently, ‘Your Grace, you remember as well as I the days when you had to pretend to be the Lioness of England when you really wanted to stay in bed with the covers over your head. Today might be such a day.’
‘You have to be the Monarch they want to see, want to support, without equivocation. You are not going to them as a common housewife, asking her Lord for an increase in the household stipend. You go as their Queen. Go to your chamber and choose the most regal gown your ladies can find, the most ostentatious wig in your collection, the brightest jewels. You must show them, just by standing in front of them, and without saying a word, that you cannot be defeated by Spain because you are the Queen of England.’
Elizabeth grunted and then stood, kicking her robe away from her feet and looking up at Robert with a wry twist to her mouth.
‘I had better begin then, my Lord. Cathy Howard and the rest of them will have their work cut out today. Tell Burleigh to make the meeting at three of the clock. I need all the time I can gather if I am to do as you say.’
He took her hand and brushed it with his lips, smiling up at her as he bowed.
‘Majesty.’
***
Robert sat in his place with the Privy Council watching as Parliament filed into the great hall at Westminster, grumbling and complaining about the lack of notice for the meeting, and hazarding guesses at the purpose of such haste.
As Robert watched, Burleigh entered the room and banged on the floor with his long gold-tipped staff, and all the Parliament and Privy Council got to their feet as Elizabeth entered the hall. She looked ablaze, he thought, the girl that had defied all the odds to become Queen, who had gained the throne of England through unwavering force of will, and was determined to keep it by the same means.
Her gown was a rich russet satin, embroidered and studded with rubies and diamonds. Her pearls gleamed around her neck and twisted through the curls of a magnificently coiffed wig, and the jewels at her throat and in her ears matched her gown. She was the epitome of majesty and Robert bowed silently as she passed and caught his eye. As she reached her throne on the dais she stood and nodded that the Council might resume their seats, and she waited until there was silence before she began to speak.
‘My Lords, I come before you today as your Queen, anointed by God to be such. But today I am not just your Queen, I am your countrywoman.’ She looked around the hall and received the nods of affirmation from the Parliament with a slight smile playing about her lips. Elizabeth nodded in response and took another breath.
‘Lord Walsingham has had intelligence that the King of Spain intends to mount an attack on England.’ She paused and waited for the gasp of disapproval to diminish, and hardened her voice for the next part of her speech.
‘This Prince tried once before to crush England beneath the heel of his Spanish boot, my Lords, as many of you remember. When he was married to my own beloved sister, he brought with him the iniquity of the Inquisition, and good honest English men and women were as fuel to the fire of his Papist beliefs.’ Elizabeth paused again to let the memories of that terrible time filter around the room, and took another breath.
‘My Lords, you well know me, I am English to my very bones, and I shall not surrender my, our country to this iniquity a second time. The God we worship in England is a kind, merciful God. He wants us to fear his wrath, but also to love him for the bounty he provides. We are all his children, as the people of England are children to me. He has a special place in his heart for England, and we shall not let this Spaniard come between us and our God.’
She looked around the room as the gentlemen agreed with her and with each other that God d
id indeed love England above all other countries, and as her gaze raked the hall and met his, Robert nodded his approval. She looked around at all the upturned faces and smiled gratefully.
‘Gentlemen of England, I ask you now to vote for the funds to enable an Armada be raised, the like of which has never been seen before. We shall equip it with our best sailors, Drake and Effingham shall command, and when it becomes necessary, it shall engage the Spanish in open water. Open English water.’
There was a deafening roar of approval from all present in the hall, with sticks and heels being banged on the floor to increase the noise. Robert watched as Elizabeth stepped up onto the dais and sat on her throne, nodding and smiling at the uproar. She glanced over to him again and tilted her head in thanks, as he smiled and nodded and applauded with the rest.
Chapter 46
eading his horse across the stable yard, Rob stopped abruptly as he saw Eliza Southwell beckoning him hurriedly from the door to the tower steps. Grinning, he walked towards her, as she hopped on her toes in agitation.
‘My Lady. What a wonderful surprise on this cold morning.’ He flicked the horse’s rein over a post and leaned towards her to slide his hands round her waist.
‘Rob, where is your father?’ Eliza’s tone was urgent, but Rob smiled his lazy smile and pressed his lips to her neck, whispering in her ear as he kissed his way down to her ruff.
‘Why do you need him, sweet Eliza? You have me.’ His mouth quirked as he felt her breathing grow shallow and her eyelids fluttered closed beneath the onslaught of his kisses. His lips found her mouth and he kissed her deeply and with rising passion until she put her hands flat on his chest and pushed him away.
‘No, Rob. Not now. My Grandmama has sent me to find your father and I must hurry. I shall be in trouble already for being tardy, and I haven’t seen him yet. Do you know where he is? Please tell me if you know.’ Her voice was becoming choked with tears and her lip trembled.
Rob blinked at her in surprise. She was not normally so easily upset, and they had shared a few stolen kisses that they had both enjoyed. To see her thus meant something was amiss.
‘He is over in the far paddock with Tom watching the grooms put the horses through their paces.’ He swept his arm in the general direction and Eliza lifted her skirts to run that way. He placed his hand gently on her arm and dipped his head.
‘I shall ride and get him for you, Eliza. It is too far for you to run in your thin gown and slippers. But why the urgency? What has happened that you need him so suddenly?’
‘Tell him the Queen is screaming, Rob. Tell him Lady Howard says only he can calm her, and he must come at once. At once, Rob.’
He leaped into his saddle and turned the horse’s head towards the far paddock.
‘I shall tell him, Eliza. But why is she screaming? Do you know, so I can tell him when he asks?’
Eliza looked at him with huge eyes and bit her lip anxiously, blinking away her previous tears. She shuddered a huge breath and, standing on tiptoe turned her face up to his, high in the saddle.
‘Grandmama says they have executed the Scots Queen without permission, and her Majesty is beside herself with fury. Do tell him to hurry, Rob. Her screaming is terrible.’
Rob kicked his heels into his horse’s flanks and rode swiftly away to find his father. Only he would be able to calm the Queen in these circumstances, Rob thought, and as pleasant as the Queen had always been with him, he didn’t envy his father the task.
***
As soon as Robert rushed into the Queen’s apartments, he was ushered into the bedchamber by Cathy Howard, as all the other ladies cowered at the other end of the Audience Chamber. He noted that Burleigh was conspicuously absent in this time of the Queen’s trouble.
Elizabeth was pacing her bedchamber like a caged lioness, tearing down the bed hangings and sweeping every surface with her arm, spilling the contents over the floor. As he approached, he had to watch his step so he didn’t crush a priceless piece of jewellery or slip on an upturned pot of salve or unguent. The room was wrecked, with every odour combining into a sweet pungent smell and the air was filled with particles of powder from Elizabeth’s cosmetic jars and tiny feathers from the split pillows that were hurled about. The Queen herself was making a furious keening sound in the back of her throat, too worked up in her temper to form proper words.
Robert stepped in front of Elizabeth and took both her hands in his, leading her to the window and opening it so she could breathe fresh air instead of the cloudy miasma that filled her room. When her breathing had slowed and she had ceased to make the awful noise, he poured her a large cup of wine and pressed it into her hands, holding it in place until she stopped shaking. After gulping the first cup down, he gave her another and then sat with her until she could speak properly, her throat scraped raw with her screams.
‘I shall have their heads, Robbie. All of them that decided to do this…. this…. obscenity without my express permission will suffer. Having their heads is too good for them. I shall impose a traitor’s death on them all. I shall have them hanged, and disembowelled, and quartered and sent to four counties, and their heads shall be displayed on London Bridge on pikes, for the crows and the ravens to feast on. I’ll bankrupt their families. I’ll confiscate their fortunes and their lands and their children shall beg in the streets. I’ll ……… ' Elizabeth finally stopped speaking and slumped in the seat, accepting the cup of ale Robert held out.
‘Majesty, why did they think this was acceptable to you? Did you agree it in the Council?’
‘Only the principle, Robbie. That she was guilty of the plot. The evidence was overwhelming and ….’
‘Did you sign a warrant, Majesty?’ Robert dared to interrupt. He didn’t want Elizabeth to work herself into the tantrum she had been displaying when he had arrived at her apartment.
‘Did you sign a warrant?’ His voice was a gentle whisper.
Elizabeth opened her eyes wearily and gazed at him for a long moment, swallowing the mild ale gratefully to soften her throat.
‘The morning of the privy Council meeting with Drake, my Lord. You saw Master Davidson whispering at me while I signed that great seal-encrusted parchment.’
‘I did, Majesty. But I didn’t realise what it was.’
‘Did you observe anything else?’ Elizabeth’s voice cracked, but her tone was urgent. Robert allowed his thoughts to return to the council meeting.
‘I saw you grab his gown and give him some sharp instructions, Majesty, and he nodded and left.’
‘Those instructions, Robbie, were not to serve the warrant unless another specific instruction, written in my own hand and not by a clerk, came to Fotheringhay Castle with my own personal seal.’ Robert’s brows rose in surprise, then he snorted derisively into his cup of ale.
‘But when Davidson left you, your Grace, you began reading something else, and Burleigh grabbed his gown as he left the room.’
Elizabeth’s dark eyes narrowed. ‘That I did not see. I was reading the report about the Spanish threat. Do you think Burleigh would dare? Dare kill my cousin without my express permission?’
Elizabeth’s voice was rising again and Robert pressed another cup of ale into her hand and made her sit once more.
‘He will say your signature on the warrant was your permission, Majesty. You only told Davidson about the second confirmation. He could not stand up to Lord Burleigh. A mere secretary disputing the Lord Chancellor?’ Robert shook his head.
Elizabeth stayed silent for a long time, gazing out of the window. Robert sat in the window seat with her, saying nothing and waiting for her to speak first. Outside the room he could hear the court filling up the Audience Chamber, but he knew they would be disappointe
d today. The Queen would have a sick headache and stay in her rooms. He was well used to Elizabeth’s way of dealing with things she found unpleasant. After a considerable length of time, Elizabeth let out a huge sigh.
‘History will blame me, won’t it, Robbie? It will say I killed my cousin. And the reasons they give will be many. I was jealous, I was afraid, I was selfish, I was a coward.’
‘Never, your Majesty. History will judge us all, but even if they say you were jealous of her alleged beauty or her child, frightened by her claim to your throne, selfish to want only one Queen in your dominion, they can never, ever call you a coward. You are the bravest woman I know. You have sacrificed yourself on the altar that is England for the benefit of every person in your realm. That is not the action of a coward.’
Elizabeth leaned forward and pressed Robert’s hand gratefully.
‘Thank you for that, Robbie. But what can I do about those that used my own signature against me?’
‘Nothing, Majesty. You cannot bring life back to the Scots Queen, and it is your signature on the warrant. They could argue they were carrying out your orders, they thought that was what you wanted, and in the end, it wouldn’t matter one jot to the outcome. You behave with dignity. You refuse to discuss it. You do not explain to anyone. You are the Queen, and what is done is done.’ Elizabeth sighed as he spoke.
‘Send Lady Howard in, my Lord. Tell the court I have a sick headache and won’t be available today. I shall go into my Privy Chamber while my ladies and the servants clear this debris.’ She gazed around as if in surprise at the wreckage of the room.
Robert rose and brushed the back of Elizabeth’s hand with his lips.
‘Majesty. I live to serve.’
Chapter 47
ook what we have here, gentlemen.’
Rob, grooming his horse in the stable, didn’t need to turn round to see who spoke. He carried on brushing, ignoring the laughter and refusing to turn round until he was addressed directly.
On the Altar of England (Tudor Chronicles Book 4) Page 36