This was how the King preferred it to be. It was not the religion he objected to—only the power of the Pope to dictate to him. So, Gardiner was favored by him.
He was, however, watchful of those who wanted change, and as a result Anthony Pearsons, a priest, and three others, Robert Testwood, Henry Filmer and John Marbeck, were arrested. John Marbeck was a chorister at Court whose singing had particularly pleased the King.
Books favoring the new religion had been found in their apartments which was enough to condemn them all to the flames.
The Queen asked me to come to her, and when I arrived I found her in deep distress.
She dismissed all her attendants and we were alone.
“What ails Your Majesty?” I asked.
She looked over her shoulder nervously.
I said, “None can hear us.”
“It is these men,” she said. “They will be burned at the stake.”
“They are heretics,” I reminded her.
“They are thinkers,” she replied.
“It is forbidden to have books such as they have had in their possession.”
“How can that be a crime?”
“It is a crime because it is against the law.”
“If men are not allowed to think…if they are not allowed to have opinions, how will the world ever advance?”
“They may have opinions if they coincide with what is the law of the country.”
She covered her face with her hands. “I cannot bear this intolerance.”
“Tell me,” I said. “Why does this affect you so deeply?”
“Because these men will be burned for their opinions.”
“A foretaste of what they will suffer in Hell.”
“Do you think God would be as cruel as men?”
“We are taught that Hell awaits the wicked.”
“All these men have done is read books and talk of religion.”
I stared at her. I was horrified… not so much because of her faith— which was diametrically opposed to my own—but because of what this could lead her to. Here she was, a few weeks married to my father, already confessing that she was as guilty as those men. She was leaning toward heresy. Yet such was my affection for her that I could only think of the danger she was in.
“Your Majesty…my lady…”
She held her head high. “I shall always uphold the right of men and women to act according to their consciences,” she said.
“Please… please do not mention this to anyone.”
Suddenly she put her arms round me, and I forgot my reserve sufficiently to cling to her. Already I loved the woman, and I wanted to protect her. My thoughts were all for her safety.
“You must never, never talk like that to anyone,” I said.
“Not yet …” she answered.
“You think…”
“There may come a time. Life is changing. Opinions change. The truth will shine through in the end.”
“You mean… the reformed Church?”
“I mean that whatever is right must prevail.”
“My lady…my dear stepmother, I want you to be here to see it.”
“How fortunate I am to have you as my friend!”
“I want our friendship to last. I do not want it to be cut short. I have lived through some dangerous years…”
“My poor, poor Mary.”
“I have not always said what I believe to be true. I have prevaricated…
I think on more than one occasion I have saved my life by being less than frank.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Promise me you will do the same. If you believe…it is better to live and help that belief… rather than die…however nobly.”
“I want to live. God knows I want to live.”
“Then watch for Gardiner. He will be your enemy.”
“It is at his instigation that these men have been arrested. Mary, I must try to save them.”
“How can you do that?”
“I thought to plead for them with the King.”
“Oh, take care. If Gardiner knew of these… tendencies in you…he would not hesitate. He would do his best to…remove you as others have been removed.”
“I know.”
“You could be in acute danger.”
“For a while the King is pleased.”
“He was pleased with others… for a while. Please be very careful.”
“I will. But I must plead for these men.”
“If you ask for them all to be freed, you will betray yourself.”
“If I say that it is unseemly that men should be burned at the stake while we are celebrating our marriage…”
“You would be suspect. Plead for one. Plead for Marbeck. He was a favorite of the King. It would seem as though you liked his music.”
“I did. But it is for his views…”
“I have told you. I have been in danger. My views are as strong as yours. But I know how to preserve my life. There may be work for me to do… work for you…Take care. Please listen to me. Plead for Marbeck. Save his life if you can… then perhaps that might help the others.”
She looked at me steadily. “I believe you may be right,” she said.
I left her. I was absolutely astounded by what she had betrayed to me. She leaned toward the Reformed Faith. I could not believe she understood what acute danger she was placing herself in.
CHAPUYS VISITED ME and told me what had happened.
He said, “Marbeck is to go free. It is a special favor to the Queen. She asked for the freedom of all four heretics, and the King has compromised by giving her Marbeck. It is whispered that he intended to pardon him in any case, for he did not want to lose one of his best choristers.”
“But the other three?”
“They got to the stake.”
“If she had asked for one of the others, it might have been better then.”
“Who knows? The King is in an uxorious mood at the moment, having been so shortly married. He must have been rather pleased that she asked for Marbeck because he was able to gratify her wish and please himself at the same time—though I am of the opinion that he would not have freed one of the others. A law has been passed to suppress what they call the New Learning, and it is forbidden to be in possession of translations like Tyndale's. It is against the law, and those men have broken the law. I am inclined to think that this is a beginning, and Gardiner will soon have more in the cells awaiting the fiery death.”
He looked at me steadily for a few moments, pausing before he went on, “The Queen is an erudite woman. Gardiner will have his eyes on her… after her pleas for Marbeck. It may be that he will think that it is not only on account of his singing voice that she wants him free.”
“What other reason could there be?”
He smiled at me and said quietly, “Gardiner will be watchful.”
I thought: I could not bear it if she went the way of the others…not good, kind Katharine who had married the King so reluctantly. It would be too cruel of fate. I could not stop thinking of Anne Boleyn in the Tower awaiting her end…of little Catharine Howard, running screaming along the gallery at Hampton Court. Not this kind stepmother who had never done anyone an injury in the whole of her life.
I must impress on her more strongly the need for caution.
She was delighted, of course, that Marbeck had been spared.
“But the others,” she said. “I dream of them…I can hear the crackle of the flames…I can feel the scorching of their limbs…”
“But your intercession saved Marbeck.”
“I tried for the others. I tried so hard … but he began to get irritable, and I was afraid that I might lose Marbeck if I persisted.”