Her Highness, the Traitor - By Susan Higginbotham Page 0,51

escape notice. Perhaps I want to be talked out of it. I don’t know. I was born in England. I love the English people, for they loved my own mother. And if I leave, those who stay behind will be left with no livelihood, no way of upholding the true religion. I will be deserting them. But I have told myself all of these things, and all of the things you told me, and in the end it makes no difference. I want to leave.”

“You have made definite plans, then, I gather?”

“Yes.”

I supposed the convenience to the sea was the reason Mary had chosen this manor as her residence, but I asked no more questions. “I hope that you will think upon this more and not act impulsively. You said just now you have doubts. I think you are wise to have them.”

“There is time yet to think, but I know I shall not change my mind. But we have done with this. Let us have a game of cards with my ladies.”

***

Back at Bradgate, I spent the days in a high state of restlessness—and guilt—waiting to hear news of Mary’s flight. I had not thought of it at the time, naturally, but what if the emperor had a sinister reason for wanting Mary out of England? Was he planning to send her back at the head of an invading army, to depose her young brother and establish herself as a Papist queen? I could not imagine Mary agreeing to such a scheme, but if her trusted cousin proposed it, and framed it as a matter of religious duty…

But I had made Mary a promise, and I kept it.

Then, toward the end of July, Harry came from London to Bradgate, all smiles. “It seems as if you missed some excitement when you visited the lady Mary.”

I managed to keep my voice level. “What do you mean?”

“The fool woman had plans to escape from England! Don’t ask me why—she’s got it into her fool head that she’s being persecuted. Actually, my dear, it’s rather embarrassing. She almost succeeded.”

I put a hand to my throat. “She is a prisoner?”

“No. She’s not in custody at all. From what the council can make out, she laid these plans to leave the country—and then, when men and ships from the emperor arrived to help her, she dithered. Kept coming up with excuses why she couldn’t leave immediately, why she had to pack every trinket she owned, why she couldn’t leave certain ladies behind. The locals were getting suspicious, with these foreign ships lurking about, and the emperor’s men couldn’t stay indefinitely, waiting for her to make up her mind. She kept wailing, ‘What shall I do? What is to become of me?’” Harry chuckled. “The emperor’s men had to keep inventing all sorts of stories to explain their presence—that one was a corn chandler, that another was looking for pirates—but the men of Essex were too intelligent to be duped. They told the council, and we sent Sir John Gates into the area to put a stop to any more of that nonsense. So now, the emperor’s men are heading back to Flanders where they belong, and the lady Mary is no doubt wishing that she’d acted sooner.”

“What will happen to her?”

“Nothing, although she’s a fool if she thinks this has helped her in the matter of her ridiculous Masses. As much as she would like to see herself as a martyr, the council isn’t willing to oblige by imprisoning her. The king would like to have a word with her, that’s all. He’s not happy about his kingdom being painted as a place from which one must flee, as you can imagine, or about the emperor and his sister sticking their noses and their Hapsburg jaws into our affairs, but he prefers to speak to Mary quietly rather than to create a stir over this.”

I could not help but sigh in relief.

Harry looked at me sharply. “You were visiting Mary during the planning, or part of it. Did she confide in you?”

I lied with more ease than I quite liked. “She did tell me of some of her fears for the future and talked rather wildly about getting out of England, but I did not take her seriously.”

“No, how could you?” Harry snorted. “I hope this little episode teaches the lady Mary that she has no head for intrigue. Or a head for governance, lest, God forbid, anything should ever happen to the king.”