Her Highness, the Traitor - By Susan Higginbotham Page 0,142
the duchess’s ear, finishing off with a cutting motion of his own neck that he was probably not aware of making.
I sat there miserably, waiting to be turned out of the house, for the Spanish had enough enemies without receiving the wife of an attainted traitor, as well. Then the duchess at last spoke. “You must grieve his loss greatly, my lady. I can tell from your eyes, even though I do not understand a word that comes out of your mouth.”
“Indeed I do.” Something in her own eyes made me add, “Each day when I wake I have hope, just in those first few moments before I am fully conscious, that it is all a bad dream, and that he is just away in his own chamber.”
I expected the interpreter to smirk, but he nodded gravely and rendered my words into Spanish. Then the duchess dabbed at her eyes. “I love my husband,” she said. I could make out the words even before they were translated. “We ladies were not supposed to be on this expedition. We were told that it would anger the English to come with too large an entourage. But I insisted on following my husband. Everywhere he goes, I go, if it is humanly possible.” When I had been made to understand this, the duchess spoke again. “Some people dislike my husband, the duke, too. He is a soldier, not a courtier. He has a foul temper sometimes, but never with me. He is the kindest of husbands. Did your husband leave children?”
“Two daughters and four sons, now. All of my boys are in prison.”
“In prison? For what?”
“For obeying the Lord’s command that we shall honor thy father.”
“The poor lads!” The duchess shook her head angrily. “They should not suffer for that. I have seen the queen but seldom, but my husband is King Philip’s chief advisor, and I will ask him to say a word on their behalf. My own sons are dear to me—but not, I confess, as dear to me as my husband.”
In that moment, I knew I had made a friend for life.
***
I would have been delighted to have Maria visit me at Chelsea, but the Spanish in London did not like to venture far from their lodgings in the city’s guildhalls except in large numbers. Though there was little actual violence, save for the occasional scuffle, between the Spanish and the English, there was a great deal of hooting and mockery, especially by the city’s boys, who had the miraculous ability to melt into nowhere when someone arrived to keep the peace. The London cutpurses had also discovered there was something in the make of Spanish purses that was peculiarly advantageous to their trade. So in the middle of October, I was rowed to the stairs near Maria’s house by one of my regular boatmen. “There’s some news, Your Grace,” he said. “Don’t know if it’s true, mind you. I guess you don’t want to hear it, though.”
“William, don’t torture me like this! Of course I want to hear it.”
“They say the queen’s expecting.”
Expecting what? I almost asked. Then I realized what he meant. “You mean she is with child?”
“So they say. No disrespect, but she looks a little old to breed to me. Roger over there thinks so, too.” He nodded at one of his compatriots a ways off.
I could not help but share the boatmen’s expert opinion. “Nonetheless, I hope it is true, and I will pray that she bears a healthy babe,” I said. “My own daughter will soon be having a child,” I added proudly.
“Aye, that’s good, Your Grace.” He handed me out of the boat with a flourish. “Don’t let me hear that you let that George take you home as you did last week. Young fool almost overturned you, didn’t he?”
“It was pouring,” I said apologetically. “I should have waited for you to come along, though.”
The Duchess of Alba greeted me in a torrent of Spanish before anyone could come to assist us. By now, I could pick out a phrase here or there, and I distinctly heard the name “Penshurst,” or Maria’s version of it. “Penshurst? That is where my daughter lives.” I stared at the approaching interpreter. “Is there something wrong with my daughter that you have heard?”
“No, no! The queen has agreed to set free three of your sons. The Earl of Warwick, Lord Robert, and Lord Henry. They are to go to Penshurst, pending further orders.”