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Authors: Victoria Holt
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The tawny eyes were half closed. I guessed she was thinking of her Sweet Robin.
Ever since she had heard that the Archduke Charles had offered himself as a husband for Mary Queen of Scots, she had made much of the Scottish Ambassador, Sir James Melville. She played the virginals for himhe performed with great skill on this instrumenthe sang and above all she danced, for of all social activities, dancing was her favorite and, as I have said, the one at which she most excelled. She was so slender and she carried herself with such dignity that in a room of dancers she would always have been selected as the Queen.
She would demand of Melville how he had liked a performance and always there would be a request to know how it compared with that of his mistress, the Queen of Scots.
I, and other women of the Court, used to laugh at the manner in which poor Melville strove to give the right answer which would compliment Elizabeth without denigrating in one whit the accomplishments of Mary. Elizabeth would seek to trap him, and sometimes she would snap at him because she could not lure him into admitting her superiority.
It was astonishing how such a woman could be so concerned with the vanities of life; but of course she was vain. She and Robert were matched in that. They both believed themselves to be supreme: he, certain that in due course he would overcome her resistancend when he married I reckoned that he promised himself he would be the masternd she determined always to call the tune. The crown glittered between them. She could not bear to share it with anyone, and he was so determined in his pursuitf the woman or the crown? I thought I knew, but I wondered whether Elizabeth did.
One day she was clearly in a good mood. She was smiling to herself while we dressed heror when I was at Court I was brought back to the bedchamber. I think she liked to have me there to gossip to. It was said that she liked the occasional tart retort for which I was getting a reputation. After all, if I went too far I could always be given a black look, a blow, or one of those painful nips which she was so fond of administering as a warning to those who she considered had taken advantage of the favor she had shown them. |
She was smiling and nodding to herself; and when I saw her with Robert I could tell by the manner in which she looked at him that whatever was in her mind concerned him.
When the secret was out none of us could believe it.
She had long had the welfare of her Scottish cousin close to her heart and she made it known that she believed she had found the perfect bridegroom for her. It was a man whom she prized above all others, one who had already proved himself her most faithful servant. The Queen of Scots would know how deeply she esteemed her when she offered her the finest man in her kingdom as a husband. None other than Robert Dudley.
I heard that Robert gave way to furious rage when he heard. It must have seemed like the death knell to all his hopes. He knew very well that Mary would never accept him, and the fact that Elizabeth offered him showed that she had no intention of accepting him herself.
There was a deep silence in the apartments that day. Everyone was afraid to speak. It was not long before Robert came striding in. He pushed everyone aside and went into her private chamber, and we heard their shouting as they talked together. I doubt there has ever been such a scene between Queen and subject, but of course Robert was no ordinary subject, and we could all understand his fury.
Suddenly they were quieter and we wondered what that meant. When Robert came out he looked at none of us but he had an air of confidence, and we all wondered what had happened between them to produce that.
We soon learned.
It could not be expected that a Queen could consider marrying the mere son of a duke. Lord Robert must be elevated. Elizabeth had therefore decided to bestow honors on him and he was to be made Earl of Leicester
The tawny eyes were half closed. I guessed she was thinking of her Sweet Robin.
Ever since she had heard that the Archduke Charles had offered himself as a husband for Mary Queen of Scots, she had made much of the Scottish Ambassador, Sir James Melville. She played the virginals for himhe performed with great skill on this instrumenthe sang and above all she danced, for of all social activities, dancing was her favorite and, as I have said, the one at which she most excelled. She was so slender and she carried herself with such dignity that in a room of dancers she would always have been selected as the Queen.
She would demand of Melville how he had liked a performance and always there would be a request to know how it compared with that of his mistress, the Queen of Scots.
I, and other women of the Court, used to laugh at the manner in which poor Melville strove to give the right answer which would compliment Elizabeth without denigrating in one whit the accomplishments of Mary. Elizabeth would seek to trap him, and sometimes she would snap at him because she could not lure him into admitting her superiority.
It was astonishing how such a woman could be so concerned with the vanities of life; but of course she was vain. She and Robert were matched in that. They both believed themselves to be supreme: he, certain that in due course he would overcome her resistancend when he married I reckoned that he promised himself he would be the masternd she determined always to call the tune. The crown glittered between them. She could not bear to share it with anyone, and he was so determined in his pursuitf the woman or the crown? I thought I knew, but I wondered whether Elizabeth did.
One day she was clearly in a good mood. She was smiling to herself while we dressed heror when I was at Court I was brought back to the bedchamber. I think she liked to have me there to gossip to. It was said that she liked the occasional tart retort for which I was getting a reputation. After all, if I went too far I could always be given a black look, a blow, or one of those painful nips which she was so fond of administering as a warning to those who she considered had taken advantage of the favor she had shown them. |
She was smiling and nodding to herself; and when I saw her with Robert I could tell by the manner in which she looked at him that whatever was in her mind concerned him.
When the secret was out none of us could believe it.
She had long had the welfare of her Scottish cousin close to her heart and she made it known that she believed she had found the perfect bridegroom for her. It was a man whom she prized above all others, one who had already proved himself her most faithful servant. The Queen of Scots would know how deeply she esteemed her when she offered her the finest man in her kingdom as a husband. None other than Robert Dudley.
I heard that Robert gave way to furious rage when he heard. It must have seemed like the death knell to all his hopes. He knew very well that Mary would never accept him, and the fact that Elizabeth offered him showed that she had no intention of accepting him herself.
There was a deep silence in the apartments that day. Everyone was afraid to speak. It was not long before Robert came striding in. He pushed everyone aside and went into her private chamber, and we heard their shouting as they talked together. I doubt there has ever been such a scene between Queen and subject, but of course Robert was no ordinary subject, and we could all understand his fury.
Suddenly they were quieter and we wondered what that meant. When Robert came out he looked at none of us but he had an air of confidence, and we all wondered what had happened between them to produce that.
We soon learned.
It could not be expected that a Queen could consider marrying the mere son of a duke. Lord Robert must be elevated. Elizabeth had therefore decided to bestow honors on him and he was to be made Earl of Leicester
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