In the Shadow of the Crown - By Jean Plaidy Page 0,168

den. Men had overcome great odds before, and because God had been with them they had prevailed.

I prayed that God would stand beside me. I must succeed. If I did not, I should have lived and suffered in vain. It would all be so pointless. But if I could do this wonderful thing, if I could succeed in what all Catholics were willing me to, then everything that had gone before would have been worthwhile.

Then it was like a miracle, and after this I believed that God was with me and in my heart I was going to fulfill my destiny.

I was blessed with some loyal followers, and one of the most trusted of these was Sir Henry Jerningham, who had been the first to come to me at Kenninghall, bringing with him his tenants who, he assured me, were ready to fight to the death for me.

He had followed me to Framlingham, but he did not stay there. He went on to Yarmouth to guard the coast and to raise men as he went.

Northumberland had just taken action to prevent my leaving the country and had sent to Yarmouth a squadron of six ships to intercept me if I should attempt to leave. There had been some fierce gales along the coast, and the ships lay at anchor in the harbor. When Sir Henry arrived at Yarmouth, the captains were ashore; and Sir Henry had an idea that, though they might be Northumberland's men, the crew members might not necessarily be so. He decided to find out in which direction the crews' sympathies lay, so he rowed out to the ships with some of his men and talked to the sailors.

He told me later what he had said. It was, “The King is dead. The rightful heiress to the throne is the Princess Mary but Northumberland is setting Lady Jane Grey on the throne.”

They had never heard of Jane Grey but they all knew who I was. I was the King's daughter, next in succession to the throne after my brother Edward was dead. Then I was the rightful Queen. Did they agree? They did, to a man.

“Then,” said Sir Henry, “will you fight for Queen Mary?”

“Aye, that we will,” they replied.

“But your captains, who are the tools of Northumberland, will command you to stand for Jane Grey.”

“Never,” they cried. “We are for Mary, our rightful Queen.”

“Then come ashore and join the Queen's men,” said Sir Henry.

So they did, and Sir Henry was able to confront the captains with their decision. They could join us or be his prisoners, he told them. They chose to join us.

Not only had the astute Sir Henry brought the seamen to my aid, but with them all the ordnance which was on the ships. It was a great victory.

Sir Henry returned to Framlingham filled with enthusiasm.

“This is a sign,” he said. “God is with us.”

“We shall have to fight,” I said. “Can we do it?”

“We will, Your Majesty,” he said.

“Northumberland has his army with him.”

“There will be many loth to turn a hand against the Queen.”

“But they will do so because he has the might.”

“We shall have the might, Your Grace. We will have stout hearts, and it is God's will that will prevail. The men will feel more loyal if they see you. You must come out and review your troops. I think you will be pleased with them.”

So I rode out and, as Sir Henry had said, I was amazed at the numbers who had mustered to my aid.

As I rode along the lines, they called, “Long live good Queen Mary!” My heart was lightened and I thanked God that I had been strong so far, and I prayed for His help and guidance that I might work His will and succeed in the task which I was sure now He had laid down for me.

There was comforting news. I had always known Sir Henry Bedingfield was loyal to me, so I was not greatly surprised when he arrived with his followers. But I was delighted to see that Lord Thomas Howard, whose grandfather, Norfolk, was still in the Tower, and all the chivalry of Suffolk, were flocking to my banner.

Northumberland was universally disliked. He had removed Somerset, who, although not liked by the people, was preferred to himself; he had forced Lady Jane Grey to marry his son Guilford and had had the temerity to set her up as Queen. He had gone too far.

His mistake was not to realize