Chapter 34 #2
Eltham Palace, Dartford, Cobham, Nonsuch Palace…
The journeys seemed to go on and on. The babe was restless, and Kate suffered heartburn as a result of so much rich food and wine.
The lavish entertainments arranged by Arundel—who still fancied his chances as one of the Queen’s suitors—lasted for five days and were clearly designed to impress.
One banquet went on until three in the morning; by then, Kate was asleep on her chair, and Francis had to carry her to bed.
They both noticed that Elizabeth’s relations with Lord Robert were becoming increasingly intense.
With their intimacy now more and more obvious, the scandal surrounding their affair escalated.
If Dudley had been unpopular before, he was now one of the most hated men in England, the target of widespread envy and resentment among the Queen’s subjects both high and low.
Meanwhile, his many jealous enemies at court, who affected to believe him capable of any villainy, however foul, delighted in making political capital of his treacherous family background, the implication being that here was another of Northumberland’s race fleshed in conspiracy and poised to make his bid to rule England.
Kate was astonished to hear even the Queen, in a moment when she was in a pet with him, reminding him that his father and grandfather had been traitors.
William Cecil, whom Kate saw often, as he was frequently with Elizabeth, made no secret of the fact that he resented, distrusted, and feared Dudley.
He complained of him often to Francis. When the progress moved to Hampton Court, and Kate snatched an hour one afternoon to walk with her husband by the Thames, he told her why Cecil was so concerned.
“He resents the hold Lord Robert has on the Queen; he distrusts his ability to advise her on political matters, and he fears the consequences of their dalliance. Dudley is a married man, so his relationship with her Majesty can only attract the worst kind of speculation. If his wife dies of her illness, the Queen might marry him, and then—well, goodbye, Cecil! Either way, the throne would be undermined and the public weal threatened. None of the lords can bear to contemplate a future with Dudley in power. That is why Cecil is working in earnest for the Queen’s marriage to the Archduke. ”
“It will never happen,” Kate predicted. “What she loves is the game of courtship. It is the breath of life to her. I can never see her giving herself to any man.”
“But she’s no fool, and surely she realizes what this disastrous affair is doing to her reputation? She professes to care deeply about what her subjects think of her, yet she turns a blind eye to the hatred they show toward Lord Robert.”
“I think she is in love, and that it is a kind of madness.”
Francis paused and placed his hands on Kate’s shoulders, and as she gazed at him, she saw suddenly that he had aged. His face was delineated by fine lines and there were gray hairs in his beard.
“We are in love, my darling wife, yet it is not madness, it is true and right,” he said, pulling her into his embrace. “The Queen has no right to love Lord Robert. He is vowed to another. Their love is not pure and true like ours.”
And that was more or less what Kat said when one day, to the evident consternation of the Queen and the other ladies in attendance, she fell to her knees in the bedchamber.
“Bess, with all the love I bear you, and have always borne you, I implore you in God’s name to marry and put an end to the disreputable rumors that surround you.
You must know that your behavior with Lord Robert Dudley has occasioned much evil speaking, and I care deeply about your good name and reputation. ”
Elizabeth visibly bridled. “Kat, if I have shown myself gracious to Lord Robert, he has deserved it for his honorable nature and his loyalty. It is beyond me how anybody dare object to our friendship, seeing that I am always surrounded by you ladies, who can at all times see whether there is anything dishonorable between me and him. However,” and now her tone turned defiant, “if I ever had the will, or found pleasure in a dishonorable life—from which I pray God to preserve me—I do not know of anyone who can forbid me.”
Undaunted, Kat persisted. “But the rumors are very damaging to your reputation, and my deepest fear is that they might alienate your subjects or even provoke a civil war.”
“Nonsense!” retorted Elizabeth. “I must commend you for the devotion that has prompted you to speak out, but you must realize that I cannot take a husband without first weighing all the advantages and disadvantages.”
“In that case,” Kat pressed on, “should you not distance yourself from Lord Robert?”
To Kate’s astonishment, tears welled in Elizabeth’s eyes, and when she spoke, her voice was full of emotion.
“Kat, don’t you understand that I need to see him constantly?
It is because I have so much sorrow and tribulation in this world and so little joy.
” It was obvious that she was telling the truth.
—
The rumors persisted. Soon afterward, during a merry gathering of courtiers in the Queen’s chamber, an attractive young gentleman took a seat next to Kate.
They sat there for a while, listening to a lute player.
Elizabeth was sitting with Dudley, who was holding her hand and occasionally raising it to his lips.
Kat leaned in close to Kate and murmured, “I don’t think you’ve met Master Borth. He is in the suite of Baron Breuner.” Kat smiled at the young man.
Master Borth smiled; he had magnificent teeth.
“Enchanted to make your acquaintance, Lady Knollys.” They conversed for a while, making small talk, and then he grew confidential.
“I hear that you are close to the Queen, my lady. She has told my master that she is so beset by duties that she has not had time to think of love.” Kate realized he was fishing, no doubt spying for Baron Breuner.
She hesitated, watching Elizabeth flirting with Dudley.
For someone who had protested that she had no time for love, she was doing little to dispel the impression that she had already given her heart.
Yet Kate would not speak against her. “That is true,” she said.
“I can swear by all that is holy that her Majesty has never been forgetful of her honor.”
Borth’s teeth gleamed at her again. “Yet it is surely not without significance that her Majesty shows her liking for Lord Robert more markedly than is consistent with her reputation and dignity?”
“He is one of her most loyal servants,” Kate insisted. “They have been friends from childhood. That is at the root of the affection between them. Baron Breuner need have no concerns on that score.”
He left her in peace after that, evidently hoping that she was right.
—
In August, Kate was delighted to receive a letter from Dot Stafford, who, it transpired, was now back in England. The Queen herself had sent her money to aid her return from Basel, and had invited her to court to serve as a lady of the bedchamber.
When Dot arrived at Hampton Court soon afterward, Kate embraced her warmly, while Dot made a fuss of her and her enormous belly.
“I am hoping to go home to Greys Court for my confinement soon,” Kate told her, as she showed her to the chamber where she would sleep and they began unpacking Dot’s belongings. “When the Queen says she can spare me, that is.”
“But you must be near your time,” Dot exclaimed. “You should be resting.”
“The Queen does not understand normal feminine matters.” Kate sighed.
“You mean the rumors are true? That she does not function as a woman?”
“She is like every other woman, except that she does not like to think of her ladies being married and having children. These are things she would like to happen to herself, I am convinced, but which frighten her. So she is jealous.”
“Extraordinary,” Dot reflected, hanging up a good black gown on a peg.
She was still wearing mourning for Will.
“Well, she won’t have any need to be jealous of me.
I have no intention of remarrying. Will was everything to me and no man could ever replace him.
I’ve rebuilt my life, my children are well cared for, and in coming to court, I know I will never lack for company.
I mean to serve the Queen faithfully and do all the good I can for everybody. ”
“Knowing you as I do, you will do that wonderfully.” Kate smiled. She took Dot’s hand and they got on with their task while exchanging news of their children.
—
That evening, in the Queen’s presence, Kate had a dizzy turn and nearly fainted. Elizabeth stared as Kat helped her to a chair.
“I’ve told you, Bess, this poor soul has to go home to have her babe,” Kat reproved her. She was the only person who could speak so candidly to her mistress and get away with it.
“Very well,” Elizabeth sighed. “Kate, when you are feeling better, you may go home.”
“Oh, thank you, Bess,” Kate breathed, struggling to regain her equilibrium.
“But I expect you to return to court immediately after you are churched,” Elizabeth told her.
“Yes, of course,” Kate agreed, glad for now just to be going home. She would put off thinking about her return for as long as possible.
“You’ll have to arrange an escort, because I can’t spare your husband,” Elizabeth went on relentlessly. “Anyway, birthing a babe is not a man’s business, so you won’t miss him.”
Kate bit her tongue. She tried to feel pity for the Queen, who had no idea of how sweet it was to have a good husband to cherish her, yet she could only feel anger, fighting back tears at the prospect of being parted from Francis at such a hazardous time.
She did her best to hide her feelings and was grateful to reach the privacy of his lodging, where she lay down on the bed and wept.
And that was how he found her. Scooping her into his arms, he cradled her until the storm had passed, kissing her gently and murmuring words of love.
“She is not like other women,” he said at length. “She has a heart of ice.”
“She, more than anyone, should know that childbirth is dangerous. She lost two stepmothers in childbed, and she has lost friends, too. She should understand my fears and my need for your support. At such times, I care nothing for convention—I just want you near me, even if it is only in the same house. Oh, she is cruel, cruel!”
Francis harrumphed. “Indeed, she is. She is preventing me from doing my duty by you in your hour of need, and that I find hard to forgive. Once again, I feel emasculated. We are always at her beck and call; she repeatedly ignores the sacred bond between us.”
“But what can we do?” Kate cried, meeting his eyes and seeing her anguish mirrored there.
“I will find a way to come home,” he said. “You go tomorrow. I will follow, I promise.”