She had hated Katharine Parr ever since the death of the King.
It was ironical, she declared, it was ridiculous that the woman should take precedence of her. She was the wife of the Protector, the true governor of England; and because of Katharine Parr’s marriage to the late King, she was the first lady in the land. The Duchess recognized that the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth, and the King’s divorced wife, Anne of Cleves, must have precedence; that was understood. But that Katharine Parr, who was now but the wife of her husband’s younger brother, should do so, was monstrous.
She faced her husband when she heard the news and, though fully acquainted with her turbulent moods, never had Edward Seymour seen her so furious.
“The Dowager Queen!” she cried. “And who is this Dowager Queen? Katharine Parr! King Henry the Eighth married her in his doting days when he had brought himself so low by his cruelty and his lust that no lady of honor would venture near him. And I … I, my lord, must give place to her! Once she was Latimer’s widow; now she is the wife of your brother…your young brother…and yet she is placed above me. Methinks we shall have to ask Master Admiral to teach his wife good manners. And if he will not, then I swear I will.”
The astute Protector, both calm and cold, ever ready to see an advantage and be on the spot to take it a second or two before a rival could do so, was yet gentle with his Duchess.
“Anne,” he pleaded, “be calm. Nothing can be done at this moment. You must accept this state of affairs. She has married Thomas, and, no matter what we do, we cannot prevent that.”
“Do you not see that your brother Thomas has done this that he may become more powerful than you are?”
“I am watchful of him,” he answered serenely.
“With the Queen his wife, and the two of them preparing to mold the King, what might they not do?”
“The King is in our care. Thomas may be his uncle, but so am I. And I am the elder.”
“You have been sterner with him than Thomas has. Thomas has bribed him with gold, and bemused him with charm. Beware of your brother.”
“I am wary, dearest Anne. I am ever watchful. Thomas knows how to charm people, but there his accomplishments end. He is a fool, that brother of mine.”
“His charm has brought him much. It has already brought him the Queen.”
“I fear neither Thomas nor his Queen. I and my Duchess will be a match for them.”
She smiled. They were together in all things, bound by affection and ambition. To her he was not cold and ruthless; to him she was not proud and haughty.
“My dear,” he said, “this matter of marriage has set me thinking. What would you say to our daughter Jane’s marrying the King? It would not be the first time a Jane Seymour sat upon the throne.”
The Duchess flushed with pleasure. “Our daughter…Queen of England!”
He kissed her cheek.
“You would like that, eh? And what do you say to the Lady Jane Grey for our son?”
She seized his hand and pressed it. “Our daughter a Queen!” she repeated. “Our son married to one who is not so very far from the throne. My lord husband, there are glorious days ahead for us.”
“There, my love, you see we are doing well. Do not let us begrudge Thomas his Queen.”
She looked momentarily grave. “He has his Queen; he has his influence with the King; and our daughter is not yet Queen of England, our son not betrothed to the Lady Jane Grey. Methinks that Thomas should be shown he cannot flout the Protector’s authority.”
“How should we show our displeasure?”
“By confiscating all the jewelery which King Henry gave to Katharine Parr. It is not in truth her property now, because it belongs to the crown; and you, as Protector, are responsible for it.”
He looked at her slyly. “Much of it would become you, my dear.”
“That it would! But I could not wear it—and should your younger brother’s wife be adorned with jewels that I may not wear?”
He put his arm about her waist. “Why, indeed,” he said, “should my brother’s wife wear jewels which mine cannot!”
TO SOME IT MIGHT have seemed difficult to concentrate on lessons; this was not the case with the young Elizabeth. Hurt and humiliated she had been, but there were times when she could completely banish that humiliation from her mind. She could welcome what had happened with Seymour as an experience from which she could learn much; and one thing she had learned was that no amount of study could give a Princess that knowledge of human nature which was perhaps more desirable than any other. A good understanding of the people would be the first requirement of one who planned to rule them.
So, even while she wept, while she gave herself up to silent rages, she could not be altogether angry with the newly married pair.
She was determined to face the truth. Katharine was in love with Thomas Seymour, and she did not see him as the avaricious philanderer; therefore it would be folly to feel anger against the Queen. As for Thomas, he was still Thomas; and she had never believed him to be a saint.
She must be calm; she must try to understand the motives behind people’s actions, she must therefore welcome all experience, however bitter.
Her servants were her friends; she had never to ask them in vain for any special service. Her appealing youthfulness, her dangerous position, that troublous childhood through which she had passed, touched them deeply and bound them to her. Moreover, although she could at times be more imperious than any, she could also show the utmost familiarity. She was loyal to them and defended them always if they were in any trouble. These qualities bound them to her, and if she knew the secret of the bonds, that did not make them less secure.
Her cofferer, Thomas Parry, had not hesitated to betray the Admiral to her. When the news of Thomas’s marriage to the Queen was bruited abroad, Parry had looked sly, and Elizabeth, sensing this, demanded to know why.
“My lady Princess,” said Parry, “he has married the Queen, but to my mind he was hoping for the Princess.”
She could not hide her satisfied smile. “Master Parry, why do you say that?”
“It is because of what happened the day after the King’s burial.”
“And what was that?”
“My Lord Admiral sought me out and put to me many questions concerning your ladyship.”
“Questions! And how dared you discuss me with the Admiral!”
“’ Twas not your ladyship so much as your possessions, and doubtless he thought I would be the person most fitted to inform him in such matters.”
“My possessions!”
“Yes, he would know what lands and estates were yours, and methinks he was well pleased with what was coming to you.”
The Princess’s eyes narrowed and she laughed immoderately.
“The Admiral is a very cautious man, Tom Parry.”
“Indeed, yes, my lady. But methinks he has a fondness for your person which equals that for your lands.”
“My stepmother’s possessions were greater than mine, and her person more charming?”
She waited, and Parry, being so fond of her, could not disappoint her.
“The possessions, yes, my lady; but how could the charms of a middleaged lady compare with those of a young girl… and a young girl who …” He paused.
“Who…? What were you about to say, Master Parry?”
“A young girl who is acknowledged to be a beautiful Princess.”
She held her head very high. “But you flatter me,” she said. “I did not come to you for flattery.”
Then she left him, and Parry looked after her, smiling. She could not deceive him. He had seen the heightened color, the flash of her eyes. He judged that if she had refused my Lord Admiral—as Kat Ashley had told him she had—she had been in two minds about him. Seymour was a man who knew how to charm the women.