was what Gardiner wished to do. Face the truth, my sister. It was you whom they wanted…not poor Anne Askew.”
“How I hate that man… and Wriothesley…Wriothesley the brute who tortured Anne with his own hands. How I hate them both!”
“Do not let your hatred grow too hot. You must be cool and calm … as they are.”
“Anne…my dearest sister… what can I do?”
Anne Herbert rose and, going to the Queen, put her hands on her shoulders and, drawing her toward her, held her close.
“Kate, face the truth. When the King’s nuptial ring was put on your finger, your head was placed directly under the ax.”
“I know it, Anne. I would be brave, but I am so frightened. When I think of what happiness might have been mine…”
“Hush! You must not speak of Seymour. You must not think of him.” Anne Herbert’s mouth hardened. “You must play his game. When he looks at you it would seem he has forgotten that he ever thought to make you his wife.”
“He is clever. He thinks of me, but he knows that one careless word would be enough to send us both to the scaffold. Oh, Anne, often I think of those others… Anne Boleyn and Catharine Howard.”
“But you must not! You must not!”
“How can I help it? What happened to them will happen to me.”
“Nay!” Anne was frightened by the signs of hysteria in her sister. “We have the advantage of knowing what happened to them.”
Katharine laughed wildly, and it was laughter which aroused fresh fears in her sister. Was this calm Kate, the practical one? They had made fun of Kate in the old days at home. Dear, sensible little Kate! they had called her. How placidly she had received the news that she was to marry Lord Borough; and how quickly she had adjusted herself to life with her husbands. There had never been any sign of hysteria in Kate during those years. But she had been living at the whim of a royal murderer for the last three years, and the strain was too much. It would break through the deep composure.
“Death is a dreary subject,” said Anne. “And how do any of us know when it will catch up with us? Come. I want you to see this embroidery of mine.”
“It is beautiful,” said the Queen. After a short silence she went on: “I often think of life in Yorkshire. Long summer days and the buzz of the bees in the lavender. I would sit in the garden with my husband and we would talk of… little things; the weeding that would have to be done; the little affairs of those who labored for us. How different life was! I was a Catholic then.”
“Catholic or Protestant, none is safe, Kate.”
“You are right. From the fury of the King none is safe.”
There was a knock on the door.
“Who is there?” cried Katharine, and the color left her face.
Every knock, every sound, is to her like the death knell! thought Anne.
“Please come in,” said the Queen in a breathless voice.
The door was opened and both ladies felt an immense relief, because it was only Nan who stood there.
But what had happened to Nan? Her face was parchment color and her eyes were wild; she held her hands across her bodice as though she feared someone might force from her what was hidden there.
“Your Majesty …” she stammered; and she did not fall on her knees, but stood still, looking wildly from the Queen to the Queen’s sister.
“You are distressed, Nan,” said the Queen. “What ails you?”
“Your Majesty, I know not what I have done. I thought it for the best….”
“Come here, Nan. Tell us what troubles you.”
Nan came forward and, as she did so, took the documents from her bodice.
“It was in the courtyard, Your Majesty. I saw the Chancellor. He was smiling, and he looked…so evil, that I greatly feared what was in his mind. And then … this dropped from his gown. I picked it up, and instead of running after him, something held me back. And…I saw Your Majesty’s name…so I brought it to you. If I have done aught wrong, it was for love of Your Majesty.”
The Queen took the documents. She said: “Nan, you did well to bring this to me. If … if it is aught that should be passed on to a member of the court, I will see to its despatch.”
“I thank Your Majesty.”
Nan had recovered her selfpossession. She had done all that