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Authors: Laura Andersen
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plans. Knowing Dominic, he will insist on going to Kenilworth himself to retrieve that chest. Let him.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Walsingham rose as she did. “We can easily go elsewhere, no need for you to leave.”
“I have someone else I would like to consult,” she said tersely. She left Walsingham and nodded to Dominic as they passed in the doorway. For once she was grateful for his reticence as he let her pass without question.
Elizabeth made her way to a plainer section of the palace, with tiny chambers opening off whitewashed corridors for lesser guests of the court. The chamber she wanted had its door closed and, unusually for her, she knocked and waited.
The door was opened by Dr. John Dee. When he saw her, the scholar showed a glimmer of surprise, then bowed in welcome. “Your Highness.” His eyes, deep-set beneath inquisitive brows, always seemed to Elizabeth to see far more than the physical world.
“May I come in, Dr. Dee?” she asked, with the lightest touch of royal privilege.
“Forgive me, of course you may.”
The guest chamber was just large enough for a small pallet bed, a chest at its foot, and a narrow table being used as a desk. The single window showed glimpses of swift-moving clouds and hints of sun. The changeable spring of England, Elizabeth thought. An appropriate mirror to the court’s current conditions.
Dr. Dee offered Elizabeth the sole chair; he remained standing. “What may I do for you?”
“You can tell me your impression of the current tenor of the English government.”
“Is that all?” he asked drily.
“And then I may have an assignment for you.” Though, strictly speaking, Dee did not work for Elizabeth. Strictly speaking, he did not work for anyone just at the moment; he had been in the service of the Duke of Northumberland, but had chosen to warn William of the duke’s perfidy in confining Elizabeth to Dudley Castle. Since then Dee had remained at court in a semiofficial state.
Rather like Walsingham, Dee took his time answering her. Elizabeth was patient, knowing that when he did speak, it would be worth listening to. A rare trait at court. “The current tenor is unsettled,” he finally offered.
“Is that all?”
“Do you really need me to confirm your own impressions?”
Elizabeth sighed. “I was rather hoping you would tell me I am wrong.”
“You are not. The king’s illness has unsettled everyone, not least yourself. What is it you fear, Your Highness?”
“My brother is not recovering himself as I had hoped. He is at once both too sensitive and not sensitive enough. William has always been extremely good at judging his moments, at knowing when to act and when to pause. Now he appears deaf even to his own conscience, while being quick to take offense at any criticism of his conduct. He is practically begging the French to land and march across England. What will we do if they send an invasion fleet to the south and send troops across the Scots border at the same time? England is not prepared to fight on two fronts at once.”
“Have you told the king so?”
She threw up her hands in frustration. “He doesn’t need to be told it! He knows it for himself. He simply doesn’t care.”
“And that is your true concern.”
What was it about John Dee that made her feel as though he anticipated and understood every one of her half-formed fears?Elizabeth sighed again. “For all my father’s stubborn insistence on his own way where his personal life was concerned, he at least managed to preserve England’s security. But Will … he seems prepared to burn it all himself as long as he can have his Minuette.”
“The lady is your friend, I believe. Does it divide your heart to wish her unhappiness?”
“The more time that passes, the more I believe that her happiness is not at stake. Unlike me, Minuette’s abiding concern is to please others. She will do what William wishes and not count her own happiness. But she is wise enough to
“Yes, Your Highness.” Walsingham rose as she did. “We can easily go elsewhere, no need for you to leave.”
“I have someone else I would like to consult,” she said tersely. She left Walsingham and nodded to Dominic as they passed in the doorway. For once she was grateful for his reticence as he let her pass without question.
Elizabeth made her way to a plainer section of the palace, with tiny chambers opening off whitewashed corridors for lesser guests of the court. The chamber she wanted had its door closed and, unusually for her, she knocked and waited.
The door was opened by Dr. John Dee. When he saw her, the scholar showed a glimmer of surprise, then bowed in welcome. “Your Highness.” His eyes, deep-set beneath inquisitive brows, always seemed to Elizabeth to see far more than the physical world.
“May I come in, Dr. Dee?” she asked, with the lightest touch of royal privilege.
“Forgive me, of course you may.”
The guest chamber was just large enough for a small pallet bed, a chest at its foot, and a narrow table being used as a desk. The single window showed glimpses of swift-moving clouds and hints of sun. The changeable spring of England, Elizabeth thought. An appropriate mirror to the court’s current conditions.
Dr. Dee offered Elizabeth the sole chair; he remained standing. “What may I do for you?”
“You can tell me your impression of the current tenor of the English government.”
“Is that all?” he asked drily.
“And then I may have an assignment for you.” Though, strictly speaking, Dee did not work for Elizabeth. Strictly speaking, he did not work for anyone just at the moment; he had been in the service of the Duke of Northumberland, but had chosen to warn William of the duke’s perfidy in confining Elizabeth to Dudley Castle. Since then Dee had remained at court in a semiofficial state.
Rather like Walsingham, Dee took his time answering her. Elizabeth was patient, knowing that when he did speak, it would be worth listening to. A rare trait at court. “The current tenor is unsettled,” he finally offered.
“Is that all?”
“Do you really need me to confirm your own impressions?”
Elizabeth sighed. “I was rather hoping you would tell me I am wrong.”
“You are not. The king’s illness has unsettled everyone, not least yourself. What is it you fear, Your Highness?”
“My brother is not recovering himself as I had hoped. He is at once both too sensitive and not sensitive enough. William has always been extremely good at judging his moments, at knowing when to act and when to pause. Now he appears deaf even to his own conscience, while being quick to take offense at any criticism of his conduct. He is practically begging the French to land and march across England. What will we do if they send an invasion fleet to the south and send troops across the Scots border at the same time? England is not prepared to fight on two fronts at once.”
“Have you told the king so?”
She threw up her hands in frustration. “He doesn’t need to be told it! He knows it for himself. He simply doesn’t care.”
“And that is your true concern.”
What was it about John Dee that made her feel as though he anticipated and understood every one of her half-formed fears?Elizabeth sighed again. “For all my father’s stubborn insistence on his own way where his personal life was concerned, he at least managed to preserve England’s security. But Will … he seems prepared to burn it all himself as long as he can have his Minuette.”
“The lady is your friend, I believe. Does it divide your heart to wish her unhappiness?”
“The more time that passes, the more I believe that her happiness is not at stake. Unlike me, Minuette’s abiding concern is to please others. She will do what William wishes and not count her own happiness. But she is wise enough to
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