Her Highness, the Traitor - By Susan Higginbotham Page 0,24

his duchess. I declare, I shall be heartbroken if my two boys end up rubbing along as miserably as those two brothers do. I told Somerset that he really ought to give his brother a little more power, to keep him sweet.”

“You told the Lord Protector that?”

“Oh, I tell everyone everything, you know that, Frances. Not that everyone listens. Somerset didn’t, anyway. But at least I got the cold stare instead of the blank look, so I knew he heard me at least. Maybe one day he’ll actually remember what I said and act on it, thinking of course it was his own brilliant idea.” Katherine snorted. “Mind you, I like Somerset; he’s a kind man in that remote way of his. I trust him, which is more than I can say for his brother Tom.”

“Harry trusts Tom Seymour.”

“Do you?”

“I don’t know what to think. Harry—”

“Why did the Lord give you a brain if not to think? Really, Frances! You’ve more common sense in your little finger than what’s in the whole of Harry Grey. It’s high time you realized that. So what do you think?”

“I was going to tell you, if you’d allowed me to speak. I believe Harry is still keen on marrying Jane to the king, although he hasn’t said as much to me lately.”

“Of course not. When does he consult you, and bring common sense into the picture?”

“He consults me. It is not quite as bad as you say.”

“Certainly he consults you. On what to serve your guests and where to lodge them, no doubt, and no more. And you allow it, even though I’ll wager this household would fall apart in days were its managing left up to your Harry.”

“It’s easy for you to say how married people should get on together,” I snapped. “You are, after all, a widow, and I don’t recall you having things entirely your way when Father was alive.”

“No, but I was making inroads. But do go on.”

“It’s not that I trust or mistrust the Admiral anyway—it is Jane. She took a very high opinion of herself in the queen’s household. She has great gifts, I know, but she has become almost arrogant. She treats my poor Kate as if she were the household fool instead of her younger sister, and me—well, she has never had much to say to me, you know, but now she is almost insolent. Even Harry noticed.”

“If Harry Grey noticed something amiss about his darling, she must need a good boxing on the ears, Frances. Give it to her. I would, if my lads were acting so.”

“I fear that if I send her back to Tom Seymour—particularly without the queen—she will take an even higher opinion of herself.”

“Quite possibly.” Katherine snorted. “You ought to send her to the Duchess of Somerset.”

***

To my surprise, Harry was also reluctant to return Jane to Seymour’s care. He wrote a long letter to the Admiral, explaining that Jane needed to be under my guidance. “As I do think she ought to be, my dear, because she has been a bit pert as of late, one can’t deny it. But there are other reasons, too, of course.”

“Which are?”

“Quite frankly, I don’t think the Admiral’s the right man to entrust Jane’s education to. Why, they say even the queen became more frivolous in his company in those last few months. She might lose interest in her studies.”

“Nothing could turn Jane from her books.” My tone held a conviction so firm that even my stepmother would have been impressed.

“Well, perhaps you’re right, my dear. Perhaps you are. But I’ll not chance it. Seymour has asked to visit and will no doubt try to persuade us, but we must stand firm.”

That was easier said than done.

After a further exchange of letters, in which even Jane herself joined, Tom Seymour arrived at Bradgate in October. He was accompanied by Sir William Sharington, who ran the mint in Bristol. My husband entertained Seymour, while I entertained Sharington.

They must have rehearsed for their conversations with us. To every objection I raised, Sharington had a rejoinder that made me feel utterly unreasonable for having entertained it, and Harry fared no better with Seymour. Forgotten was the fact that the king had not shown the slightest inclination to marry our girl; Seymour was still laboring to bring it about. All he needed was time and more access to the king. Harry had debts? They would all be taken care of by Seymour, who offered to loan him two