when I heard the news of your advancement,’ she remarked with sincerity. ‘Nobody deserves it more.’
‘Or has waited longer.’ His smile broadened. ‘Well, it is all the sweeter for that.’
Frances took the glass he held out. She had been glad of the invitation to dine with him that evening. There had been little enough to celebrate since her return to court.
‘To our absent friends,’ Bacon said, raising his glass.
Frances’s smile faded. ‘One in particular.’
They both fell silent for a few moments. News of Raleigh’s arrest had reached the court six days earlier. The lord high ad miral had ordered his capture and he had been brought back first to Plymouth and then London.
‘Would that he had escaped to France, as he had planned,’ Bacon said quietly. ‘But Lord Howard had instructed his men to watch him like a hawk. He knows Raleigh of old.’
‘What will become of him?’ Frances feared the answer.
Her friend shook his head. ‘The King wants him dead.’ His voice was flat, resigned. ‘Raleigh has written a defence of his actions at San Thomé, insisting that Guiana was English territory and his aggression was therefore justified.’
‘He is right, is he not?’
‘Perhaps. King Philip has withdrawn his complaint – it seems he is not such a hypocrite, after all.’ His knuckles showed white as he took a sip from his glass. ‘But it makes little difference. Raleigh’s real crime was in failing to bring back the gold he had promised. In James’s eyes, he has always been a traitor and should have had his head struck off years ago.’
‘But if the King of Spain is no longer demanding recompense for San Thomé, what grounds can there be to condemn him?’
‘The original charge of treason was never revoked,’ Bacon replied.
‘But that was fifteen years ago!’ Frances exclaimed. ‘There are few people who can even remember what it was for. If James revived it now, he would appear ridiculous, as well as irresolute.’
‘You are right and His Majesty knows it, which is why he has instructed his commissioners to interrogate every member of the crew, as well as Raleigh himself, of course. He means to find proof, however fragile, that Sir Walter was plotting to foment war between this country and Spain.’
Frances gave a derisive laugh. ‘We should be grateful, I suppose. It would be worse for Raleigh if the King suspected his real motive was to ally with King Philip.’ She paused, her expression grave. ‘Our king is a master at deciding upon the crime before any evidence has been gathered to support it. I have experienced such justice at his hands. Can you do nothing to help?’
‘God knows I have tried. But to the King’s ear, my words are tainted. He has not forgotten how I argued for Raleigh’s release so that he might undertake this voyage.’
‘But as lord keeper your authority exceeds that of all his other advisers – even Buckingham,’ she said weakly, knowing that the King paid little heed to the hierarchy of his council. In his eyes, the marquess would always be head and shoulders above the rest.
‘In matters of state, yes,’ Bacon replied. ‘But I no longer have pre-eminence in the law. I was obliged to surrender the post of attorney general upon my recent promotion. My successor has no wish to endanger his position by speaking up for our beleaguered friend.’
Frances knew he was right. Sir Henry Yelverton had already courted James’s disapproval on a number of occasions – not least for making an enemy of Buckingham. Little wonder that he wanted to avoid any further controversy.
‘The people will protest against it,’ she said. ‘Sir Walter is as popular now as he was in the old Queen’s time.’
He nodded. ‘Which is why His Grace means to arrange this as a private matter.’
Frances sank down on one of the gilded chairs by the window. Tears of frustration pricked her eyes as she looked out over the Thames. The river was quieter now, and there were just a few small wherries tethered to the landing stage on the opposite bank. She thought of Raleigh, holed up in his apartments at the Tower. Had hope deserted him too? She prayed it had not, that his sharp mind was already turning over some fresh scheme to rid England of the heretic King. Even though he had lost her fortune – Thomas’s too – she could bear him no ill will. God willing, he would meet his death with the same sanguinity that had sustained him throughout