Secrets of the Tudor Court Boxed Set

33

There was rebellion brewing in the land. The first riots were in Cornwall and Devon, protests against the new liturgy everyone was required to follow after Whit Sunday, which that year fell on the ninth of June. It did not seem a matter of such great importance to me whether the Mass was said in English instead of Latin, but to some people it mattered a great deal.

The other great cause of dissension was easier to understand. Noblemen, Will’s brother-in-law, Lord Herbert, among them, had enclosed land once used in common by all. This had caused great hardship and much bitter resentment. By early July, rebel encampments had sprung up in dozens of locations. By the middle of the month, the lord protector had declared martial law. He ordered Will to take troops into East Anglia.

My husband came home in September full of anger and resentment. The Duke of Somerset had sent him to Norwich ill equipped and ill prepared. Will had entered the city in an attempt to pacify the rebels and talk them into surrendering. Instead it had been Will who’d suffered an ignominious defeat.

Will drank deeply of his ale, glared at the dregs, and threw his cup into the empty hearth. It bounced off the tiles with a clatter so loud it made me wince. We were in our little withdrawing chamber at Norfolk House, but the sense of security this place had once provided was long gone.

“The more I consider the circumstances, the more likely it seems to me that Somerset orchestrated my humiliation from the start. He painted me as a coward and a fool for abandoning the city.”

“You recaptured Norwich.” From my chair I watched him pace, reminded of his late sister when Bishop Gardiner had plotted against her. Gardiner, at least, was no longer a threat to anyone. The lord protector had imprisoned him on some charge or other. He was languishing in the Tower along with the Duke of Norfolk, who had been there since King Henry’s time.

“Warwick defeated the rebels, not I. At the head of an army twelve thousand strong. I was with him, but no longer in command.”

“But why would Somerset wish you to fail?”

“Revenge.” Will stopped pacing to fix me with a pleading look. “Don’t you see, Bess? I bested him in the matter of our marriage. Ever since the commission reached its decision, he has been seeking a way to punish me for my presumption.”

The Duke of Somerset had never seemed that devious to me, but I could easily believe such a thing of his wife. Even back when Anne Seymour had been Countess of Hertford, she’d had an eye out for the main chance.

“Why else would Somerset relieve me of my command? He gave me no opportunity to redeem myself. If he’d had his way, Warwick would have left me behind.”

I soothed him as I always did, with praise and kisses, but he did not forget his grievances and I soon discovered that Will was not the only one who regarded the lord protector as his enemy. Most of the Privy Council had turned against King Edward’s regent by the time the rebels were put down. On the fifth day of October, they met at Ely Place, the Earl of Warwick’s mansion in Holborn, with the intent of finding a way to remove the Duke of Somerset from power.

I had not seen a great deal of Jane Warwick in the past year and begged Will to take me with him to Ely Place. It was located outside the city gates of London and north of the Strand, the great highway that ran between Ludgate and the city of Westminster.

“Let us walk in the cloister,” Jane suggested. “It is peaceful there.” In spite of being so near the city, Holborn had many of the advantages of the country, including gardens and orchards. One of Jane’s neighbors even boasted a vineyard. I felt a pang of regret for how long it had been since I’d visited Cowling Castle or seen any of my family save Kate. Father still had not forgiven me for marrying Will against his wishes.

The cloister at Ely Place, where once monks had strolled, was far removed from the noise and bustle beyond the gatehouse. I had seen troops massing there when we arrived, but I could barely hear any sounds of men or horses. The galleries that ran around the enclosed garden contained equally quiet rooms, from bedchambers to the countess’s solar. The great hall was situated at its northwest corner. Every time we passed those windows, I strained to hear, but all I could make out was the occasional raised voice. I could not tell if it was Will speaking out in anger or some other privy councilor.

“Do you think Somerset knows what is afoot?” I asked Jane.

“He must suspect something,” she said.

I envied Jane her calm demeanor. We both understood how very dangerous our husbands’ undertaking could be. I was terrified that Will might end his life on the headsman’s block, just like Tom Seymour.

“I am certain he has heard rumors,” she continued, “and he knows there are many who think he should be removed from office for usurping power and subverting the laws of the realm.”

“Who is to replace him?” The king had just passed his twelfth birthday. He was still too young to rule for himself. I’d heard Princess Mary’s name suggested, but she was an unlikely candidate. Her Grace clung to the old religion.

“Does it matter?” Jane asked. “The important thing is to stop Somerset before he does any more harm. He has made too many bad judgments. Taken together, they very nearly brought about wholesale rebellion. He pounded the final nail into his own coffin when he ordered all soldiers who’d been mustered to leave London and proceed to their appointed commands without authorizing the rewards he’d promised them. The English troops and foreign mercenaries who put down the riots in East Anglia and elsewhere deserve better. My lord husband is furious on his men’s behalf.”

A servant in Warwick livery, emblazoned with the emblem of the bear and ragged staff, darted across the garden to whisper in Jane’s ear. For just a moment, her composure seemed shaken. “Go inside and tell the earl,” she said. “All the councilors must hear this.”

“Hear what?” I asked.

Jane sank down onto a stone bench. When I sat beside her, I saw how pale she had gone. She drew in a deep, steadying breath.

“It has begun. There is no going back now. That messenger brought word that the Duke of Somerset has moved the king into his own lodgings at Hampton Court. As if we would hurt His Grace! Somerset plans to take King Edward and move into the Tower for greater safety.”

“You have a spy at court.”

Jane looked at me as if I were mad to doubt it. “Several. Including three of my sons.”

BY EVENING IT was the Privy Council, not Somerset, who had control of the Tower of London. That night Somerset fled with the king to Windsor Castle, as it was better fortified and easier to defend than Hampton Court. At once, the Earl of Warwick, with Will at his side, began negotiations for the return of His Grace. No one wanted bloodshed, but we all knew it might come to that. Even if there was no battle for possession of the king’s person, there would likely be executions after.

I remained at Ely Place with Jane Warwick while our husbands rode out of London to lay siege to Windsor Castle. We women took comfort from each other’s company, and chafed at having to sit and wait while others decided our fate and the fate of those we loved.

“Will the council execute the Duke of Somerset?” I asked Jane. We sat in her solar, pretending to sew. Neither of us had taken more than a few stitches.

Jane shuddered. “I hope not. Our families have been friends for a long time. You know we talked of having Jack marry Anne Seymour, Somerset’s oldest girl.”

“The lord protector did not hesitate to have his own brother beheaded,” I reminded her. “I doubt he’ll show any mercy to either of our husbands if he is victorious.”

“Executing Tom Seymour is yet another example of his poor judgment. And we will prevail. Somerset cannot. He has too many enemies ranged against him.”

I prayed she was right, and as I sat there, a sunbeam playing over my neglected embroidery, I wondered if there might be something we could do to bring an end to the standoff at Windsor. Somerset, Warwick, even Will were hotheaded individuals accustomed to settling matters with violence. Men were trained for warfare, even if they never expected to see a real battle.

“Is Lady Somerset with her husband at Windsor?” I asked.

“She is still at Beddington,” Jane said, naming one of the many properties Somerset had claimed for himself since he’d come to power. “When this began, the lord protector had only just returned to Hampton Court after spending a few days hunting with his wife in Hampshire. She went to Beddington, which is nearby, to oversee the progress on renovations to the house.” The Duke of Somerset had begun many such projects, and had ordered the destruction of no fewer than three churches to get building stone for Somerset House, the great mansion he was erecting on the Strand.

“Do you think she might be more apt to listen to reason than he is?”

Jane laughed. “You know Anne Somerset as well as I do. More likely she is the reason the lord protector pursued such an unwise course. Anne’s sudden rise to prominence at court went straight to her head. Her husband had not been regent for a month before she began to assume the privileges of royalty. Only remember how badly she treated the queen dowager.”

“But if she could be made to understand that now, for the good of the realm, the duke must step down—”

“She would sooner see him dead.”

I thought of the way the Duke and Duchess of Somerset were in private, as I had once seen them when they did not know I was there. Had it all been manipulation, or did she truly love her husband, as I loved Will, as Jane loved John Dudley, Earl of Warwick? I sighed. Even if she did, the lord protector’s wife was not a likely candidate to act as the voice of reason. And yet, if there was a chance she could help avoid bloodshed, how could we not ask for her cooperation?

A few hours later, accompanied by our ladies and a few armed guards, Jane and I left Holborn and rode posthaste to Beddington.

“This is outrageous!” the Duchess of Somerset shouted when we explained the situation. “My husband is the most powerful man in the realm. Lesser men do not make demands upon him. He gives orders and they obey.”

Both Jane and I were physically bigger than the duchess, but she had not lost the knack of looking down her nose while looking up. I started to back away, then remembered that she was no longer my mistress. I held my ground, refusing to be cowed.

“Your husband has kidnapped the king,” I said.

“Edward went willingly with his uncle.”

“So, you know already that they went to Windsor.” Did her arrogance know no bounds? “I am surprised you have not already joined them there. I am sure your venom could be a useful weapon to repel troops sent against the duke.”

If she was so determined to retain her place and his power, then she would have to be removed along with her husband. All the wretched things the Duchess of Somerset had said and done to me and to Will came back in a rush. If she had not been so much smaller and weaker, and if she had not suddenly looked stricken, I might have been tempted to do violence to her person.

“Windsor?” Lady Somerset asked. “Not the Tower?”

“A slight change of plans.” Jane stepped deftly between us, bringing calm with her. “King Edward only went with your husband the duke because he was intimidated by Somerset’s position as lord protector. You know this to be true, Anne. And you know that Somerset’s day is over. But with your help, matters can still be settled peaceably.”

“What if I do not want peace? What if I’d prefer to see your husbands tried for treason? If they overthrow the duly appointed lord protector, that is no less a crime than what Tom Seymour plotted.”

“It is the lord protector who imitates his brother,” Jane said, “not the earl or the marquess. And like his brother, he will fail. Let us pray Somerset does not follow Tom to the block. I know your husband is a good man at heart, Anne. Out of fear of harming the king, if for no other reason, he will eventually give in. Then he will be arrested, and with him your two eldest sons, who are with him at Windsor. Will you not try to save your boys, at least?”

Lady Somerset blanched at the threat to her children but would not yield.

“If you could but persuade your husband to surrender the sooner—”

The door to the chamber flew open and banged against the wall, cutting short Jane’s plea for sanity. Will stood in the opening, a dozen armed men at his back. His eyes widened when he saw me, but he spoke first to the duchess. “I regret to inform you, Lady Somerset, that your husband is in custody at Windsor Castle. He has been deprived of his office as lord protector and removed from his lodgings next to the king’s bedchamber.”

A look of cold hatred removed every vestige of beauty from the duchess’s face. With a howl of rage and frustration she hurled herself at Will. She clawed at his face, leaving a trio of long, deep scratches in one cheek. She beat on his chest, shouting invective. With surprising gentleness, he caught her wrists to stop her attack and eased her back toward her waiting gentlewomen. When they helped her to a chair, she collapsed, sobbing.

I went to Will’s side. Jane tried to comfort Anne Somerset.

“When I left Windsor,” Will continued, as if there had been no interruption, “Somerset was under guard in the Beauchamp Tower. He will shortly be removed to the Tower of London. I have orders to escort you there to join him, Lady Somerset.”

Her spine stiffened at his words, which had somehow penetrated her wails of despair. She abruptly fell silent and drew herself up as much as a person of her small stature could, especially when seated. She sent a cold and haughty, if somewhat damp, glare in Will’s direction. “Am I your prisoner, then?”

“You are, my lady.”

“I require time to pack a few necessities, and so do the women who will accompany me.”

“You are to bring no one with you.” Will’s voice equaled hers for coldness. Standing only inches away from him, I shivered, uncomfortably reminded of the day when Jack Dudley had forcibly taken me to Chelsea. “You will be assigned servants when you enter the Tower.”

“My women will accompany me as far as London. Go and pack,” she ordered one of her ladies. “Now, what of my sons?” It was as if her bout of hysterics had never occurred.

Will unbent a little. “You need not be concerned for them. King Edward will keep them with him. He is very fond of Lord Hertford and his younger brother.” As Jack had become Lord Lisle when John Dudley was elevated in the peerage to Earl of Warwick, so the Duke of Somerset’s eldest son had been granted his old title.

I breathed a sigh of relief, but Lady Somerset only gave a curt nod of acknowledgment. She folded her arms across her chest and waited in fulminating silence for her women to return with her baggage.

Jane and I returned to London in company with Will and his prisoner, leaving the duchess’s ladies behind. My heart came near to bursting with pride when I learned what a crucial role my dear husband had played in Somerset’s downfall. By repudiating the lord protector in public, Will had convinced his sister’s husband, Lord Herbert, who had just returned from the West Country with an army at his back, to support the new Privy Council instead of the Duke of Somerset.

“Who will be the new lord protector?” I asked as we rode toward the city. It was a perfect, cloudless mid-October day, the kind of day when it felt good to be alive and free. I could almost find it in my heart to feel pity for Anne Somerset. She rode ahead of us inside a well-guarded litter.

“The Privy Council has revoked that office. No one will assume the title.”

“Surely you do not mean to let Edward rule for himself?” His Grace was still much too young for such responsibility.

“Warwick is now lord president of the Council. He will help the king make decisions.”

“Why Warwick rather than you? You are a marquess. He is only an earl.” I did not pretend to understand political machinations, but it seemed to me that greater rank should count for something. Then again, the first thing Somerset had done when King Henry died was make himself a duke. Perhaps Jane’s husband would do the same.

“I do not want the responsibility, Bess.” Will sent a rueful smile in my direction. “And you’d not care to have me burdened with it. It would leave me with little time for you.”

A small, shallow part of me wished that Will would be just a trifle more ambitious. What if Warwick turned out to be another Somerset? But if I was honest with myself, I had to admit that Will was better suited to diplomacy than to the day-to-day administration of the realm. He certainly knew how to flatter and charm. I smiled back at him.

“I will have a great deal to keep me busy as it is,” Will continued. “From now on, to keep the king’s person secure, he will always be attended by two noblemen and two gentlemen. These will be men selected by the Privy Council to offer guidance as well as protection. I am one of the six noblemen who will guard the king’s person in shifts.”

“Are you to carry a halberd?” I asked, picturing Will in the crimson livery of the yeomen of the guard.

He laughed. “No need to go that far!” He slanted a teasing look my way. “Have you realized yet that you will also have a new role at court?”

I frowned in puzzlement. “Of what nature?”

But before he could answer, understanding burst upon me and I laughed aloud in delight. With Lady Somerset gone, and if the king’s sisters and female cousins and the Lady Anna of Cleves continued to absent themselves from court—as they likely would, since they all seemed to prefer life in the country—I would be the highest-ranking noblewoman at King Edward’s court. I would act as his hostess when foreign dignitaries visited. I would be the next thing to royalty myself.