In the Shadow of the Crown - By Jean Plaidy Page 0,149

not to him but to me. She said, ‘I am most unhappy, Lady Tyrwhit. Those I love have cared not for me. They mock me. They laugh at my love. They wait for my death so that they may be with others.' It was pathetic to hear the poor lady. The Admiral tried to soothe her but she would not listen. He said he would never harm her, and she answered that she thought he did not speak the truth. He begged her to remember that they loved each other and how they had wanted to be together more than anything else. She said to him coldly… oh, so coldly, ‘You have given me some shrewd taunts.' Then she turned to me and said, ‘I do not think I shall live. I do not want to live.' He wanted to lie beside her on the bed and hold her hand and tell her he loved her, to beg her to live, but she turned from him, and I told him he must go for he disturbed her rest.”

Lady Tyrwhit had wept when she told this, and when I heard it I myself felt near to tears. Very soon after that Katharine Parr passed away—such a good woman, who had never done harm to any. Life had been cruel to her.

There was change all about us, and no one knew from one day to another what would come next.

THOMAS SEYMOUR WAS one of the most reckless men I ever heard of. It was certain that he must sooner or later come to disaster. He should never have risen to such a high place—nor would he but for the charms of his sister. He lacked the good sense of his brother Edward. His were the handsome looks, the dashing personality, the ability to attract people to him; but without good sense such attributes can be dangerous.

They certainly were in his case. He had sought to charm the King and become his favorite uncle, and this he had done. That was when Edward was a child, but having had kingship thrust upon him, he had now come to a certain maturity. Frail he might be, but he was learned beyond his years; he had the pride—and, yes, the arrogance of a Tudor; although attracted by good looks he was not entirely bemused by them.

After the death of Katharine, Seymour appeared to have his feet firmly set on the slippery path to disaster.

He should have been content with his spectacular rise. His brother Edward had become the Protector of the Realm and was therefore the most important man in the country; and he himself had received great honors. But, as I said, the man was a fool and like most fools he estimated himself too highly.

He had begun his reckless acts by his marriage before the King was cold. It had been said that, if the marriage had been productive from the start, there might possibly have been a doubt as to the paternity of the child, and that could have been a very grave matter. However, that did not arise. But Seymour was a man who made wild plans and acted on them before he had had time to consider them. He had resented his brother's supremacy and had tried to win Edward's affection for himself alone. All his misdemeanors were revealed after he had gone too far and was under restraint.

Before the death of my father, Thomas Seymour had been a constant visitor to Edward's apartments; he had supplied the boy with pocket money and treated him with mingling respect and affection in a manner which had won the boy's affection and rendered Thomas the favorite uncle. When Edward was King and Somerset Protector, Thomas had talked slightingly of his brother and had tried to persuade the young King to take the government into his own hands. He, Thomas, would be beside him to help in the task. Edward listened, but he was not the simple boy Thomas evidently believed him to be.

Thomas had thought it would be a good idea if Edward married Lady Jane Grey, who was being brought up in his household. Naturally it occurred to him that, with two such children, whose affection he had won, the government of the country would be in his hands.

As soon as his wife was dead, he renewed his courtship of Elizabeth. Thomas Seymour's greatest weakness was in underestimating the intelligence of others.

How I wished I could have talked with my sister