In those days she had said: ‘We will make a great Spain, Ferdinand, you and I together.’
And had they? To them was the honour of the re-conquest. To them was the glory of an all-Christian Spain. They had rid the country of Jews and Moors. In every town the fires of the Inquisition were blazing. A great New World across the sea was theirs.
‘And yet … and yet …’ she murmured.
She was clinging to life, because there were so many tasks yet to be completed.
‘Catalina …’ her lips formed the name of her youngest daughter. ‘Catalina, what will become of you in England?’
And then: ‘Juana … oh, my poor mad Juana, what lies ahead for you?’
These things she would never know; and now she was slipping away.
‘Ximenes,’ she whispered; ‘you must stand with Ferdinand. You must forget your dislike of each other and stand together.’
Then she seemed to hear Ferdinand’s voice close, filled with contempt: ‘Your Archbishop!’
But she was too tired, too weak; and these problems were no longer for her to solve. She was fifty-four and she had reigned for thirty years. It had been a good, long life.
Those about her bed were weeping, and she said: ‘Do not weep for me, nor waste your time in prayers for my recovery. I am going. Pray then for the salvation of my soul.’
They gave her Extreme Unction then; and shortly before noon on that November day Isabella, the Queen, slipped quietly away.
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