Her Highness, the Traitor

by Susan Higginbotham

  “Just the other day, I told Jane that we didn’t have a match planned for her.”

  “Well, we didn’t then. This has come up quite suddenly. Shall we tell Jane now?”

  “You tell her,” I said.

  ***

  “I am to marry Guildford Dudley?” Every single one of Jane’s freckles stood out upon her face as she stared at her father and me. “You cannot be serious.”

  “And you, young lady, cannot be serious in speaking to me like that.”

  “I beg your pardon, Father.” Jane lowered her eyes, but only briefly. “But Guildford Dudley! A traitor’s grandson.”

  “Your mother has already reminded me of that. He happens to also be a duke’s son.”

  “A duke’s fourth son! A virtual nobody. And he speaks terrible Italian. It was painful to listen to him.”

  “And how often will you be speaking Italian with him? Jane, if you are going to oppose me, at least do so with reason.”

  Jane turned an accusing pair of brown eyes on me. “You told me, my lady, there were no plans to marry me yet.”

  “I spoke the truth. There were none that I knew of.”

  “What if I refuse? I cannot be forced to marry him. Our marriage would be invalid then.”

  “Do you set yourself up as a canon lawyer now, child?”

  Jane stared at the ground. “I don’t wish to marry him, Father. I don’t much wish to marry anyone, I confess, but by no means do I want to marry him.”

  “Are we thinking of the same young man? He is not a repulsive creature, Jane. He’s good looking, tall for his age, well spoken—in English, at least. I daresay he’s fallen into bad company now and then, but that’s the nature of young men his age.” Harry suddenly wrenched Jane’s chin up. “You have not promised yourself to someone else, have you?”

  “No, Father.”

  “You don’t fancy yourself beholden to the Earl of Hertford, do you? That would have been a fair match in its day, but that day is done. He’s of no account now.”

  “I do not regard myself as betrothed to him.”

  “Then is it not right for you to accept Guildford Dudley as your husband?”

  “He is commonplace.”

  “For God’s sake, girl! You could not have spent more than an hour or two with him in your life. And he is barely older than you are. What do you expect of a lad his age?”

  “I had hoped for someone different.”

  “Who?” Harry’s voice softened. “Jane, you’re not still hoping for King Edward, are you? If so, I am sorry we ever put the idea in your head. He is destined for France. If—”

  “If what?”

  “If he lives long enough to go to his wedding. I’m beginning to have my doubts.”

  It was the first time anyone had voiced the thought that had been troubling me for some time. I interrupted the volleying between my husband and Jane. “Harry, you see him at court. Is he that ill?”

  “The physicians aren’t saying what ails him. Perhaps they don’t know. But you can look at him and tell that something’s not right. He looked a little better when he moved to Greenwich, but it didn’t last long. I’m old enough to recognize the mark of death on a face. I see it on his.”

  “I didn’t know,” Jane said. She swallowed hard.

  “Jane, the king himself wants this match. I don’t know why. I suspect Northumberland might know, but he keeps his own counsel. All I know is that the king wants it. Unless I’m mistaken, and I hope I am, you will be thwarting the wishes of a dying boy if you do not marry Lord Guildford. Do you still refuse?”

  “No, Father. I will marry him.” In a small voice, Jane asked, “But must I sleep with him immediately?”

  “Yes. The king wants it consummated.” Harry glanced at the clock on the mantle. “Time I went to the council meeting. Your mother can answer any questions you might have.”

  ***

  I had barely had time to get used to Jane’s upcoming marriage when Harry arranged the betrothals of my two younger daughters as well: Kate to William Herbert, the Earl of Pembroke’s heir, and Mary to Arthur, the son of William Grey of Wilton. It only added to Jane’s annoyance that Kate could look forward to being the Countess of Pembroke when her father-in-law died, whereas Jane had no such expectation. “If Northumberland continues in favor such as he is, who knows?” I suggested. “Perhaps Guildford might gain an earldom, too.”

  “In favor with whom, Mother? Father says that King Edward is worse than he was before.”

  “We can only hope that he will soon improve.”

  “And if he doesn’t? The lady Mary will remember all her struggles about the Mass, and that Northumberland was the head of the council that tried to stop her from hearing it. I don’t think she’ll be inclined to give Guildford anything. Or any of us.” Jane glared at the blackwork smock she was embroidering for her trousseau. “What could the king be thinking?”

  We were prevented from discussing the matter further by the announcement that Guildford himself had come to call.

  This was the first time I had seen my daughter’s fiancé since the marriage was arranged. Unlike his father and his brother Robert, who were swarthy, Guildford was fair, with hair the same nondescript shade of brown as his mother’s. He had inherited his father’s height, however, and he was more handsome than either of his parents. Physically, at least, I did not see where Jane had got such a bad bargain, fourth son or not.

  Guildford bowed to Jane and the rest of us. “Well,” he said after a few pleasantries, “it looks as if we’ll be married soon.”

  Jane gave him a withering glance. “Yes,” she said distantly.

  “My father will be allowing us to stay a few days at Chelsea.”

  “Chelsea? That is where I spent much time when I was living in Queen Catherine’s household. I had very happy memories of it.”

  “We’ll have the place to ourselves. Well, except for our servants, of course.”

  “So I assumed.”

  Guildford turned his attention to the smock. “That’s very nice looking,” he ventured. He smiled. “Perhaps when we are married, you will make me shirts?”

  “I am a very poor seamstress. I would not count on it.”

  “Oh.”

  “I prefer the pursuits of the mind. What pursuits do you prefer, Lord Guildford? Hunting, I suppose? Hawking?”

  “I enjoy both, but only occasionally. I prefer tennis, actually. I hope to install a court when we have a permanent residence.”

  “Really.”

  “I do like music quite a bit, too, and dancing.” Guildford looked at Jane hopefully. “My mother said that she recalls seeing you dance quite well.”

  “Yes, I do like music,” Jane allowed. “And dancing at an appropriate occasion.”

  “Father has engaged the best musicians in London for our wedding, and two troupes of masquers, one of men and one of women. It will be quite a spectacle.”

  “Indeed it will be.”

  “I hope the king will be well enough to attend.”

  “Yes. It would be a pity if he were not able to witness what he has brought about.”

  I decided to help my future son-in-law. “Is Lady Katheryn looking forward to her marriage?”

  “Oh, yes,” Guildford said. “She met her husband the other day and has spoken of nothing but him since. He brought her a puppy as an early wedding present.”

  Jane, who was not fond of animals, looked warily around. Guildford said, “I didn’t think you’d like anything like that, my lady.”

  “No.”

  “I would like another monkey,” mused Kate. “I wish Lord Herbert would bring me one.”

  “That one creature of yours is odious enough already,” Jane said. “The last thing we need is another.”


  “But you won’t be living here. Neither will I. So it wouldn’t matter.” Kate smiled at Guildford. “He tore the pages of one of Jane’s books once,” she explained. “Jane has never forgiven him for that. Does your family have a monkey?”

  “No. But Mother has a parrot. Father brought it home a couple of years ago. He’s very talkative. He will perch on Mother’s wrist, and Father’s, too. He’s not so cooperative with the rest of us.”

  “Oh, that sounds lovely. I would love a parrot.” Kate widened her blue eyes at Guildford, who blushed.

  I decided intervention was needed again before Kate captured the heart of her sister’s betrothed—not that Jane seemed at all bothered by the possibility. “My younger daughter and I shall leave you for now, Lord Guildford,” I said, rising and indicating that Kate should do the same. “You and Jane will have much to talk about, and no doubt will like to do it in private.”

  Guildford’s and Jane’s faces indicated the very opposite, but neither put up an objection as I hastened out the door.

  To my surprise, though, Jane seemed in reasonably good spirits after Guildford had left on his barge to Sion, one of the Duke of Somerset’s houses that Northumberland had recently acquired. “I think we have reached an accommodation,” she announced.

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. I am to be allowed free time to study each afternoon. Provided I have completed my household duties,” Jane added, anticipating my objection. “I shall not be expected to accompany him on the hunt, or to spend an inordinate amount of time with his friends.”

  “Have you appointed a particular night for sleeping with him?”

  “No. Should I?”

  “Goodness, no! Marriage is a sacrament, Jane, not a series of bargains. Didn’t you read that in that book you translated for your father?”

  “Yes. But the author of that book was not married to Guildford Dudley.”

  27

  Jane Dudley

  May 1553 to June 1553

  I will admit—the admitting of it can harm no one now—that I did not like my daughter-in-law. It is wrong to say that, I know, for the change in my situation has not kept me from hearing news altogether, and I have heard she is spoken of in hushed, reverent tones as far away as Zurich, by men generations her senior. But I cannot help it. I found her to be self-absorbed and chilly and prideful, and yet I would have overlooked all of these things if she had shown the slightest bit of kindness to my poor Guildford. But she did not. Instead, she looked down her pert little nose at Guildford from the very day she met him. Even at the very end, she—but I grow bitter, and I promised my dear John, on the dreadful day when I took his hand for the very last time, that I would not be so.

  And besides, I digress.

  Guildford and Jane, Katheryn and Lord Hastings, and Kate Grey and Lord Herbert were married May 25, with almost everyone of consequence in England present, save the lady Mary, who declined the invitation, and the king, who was too ill to come. Lord Herbert himself had been ill, but he seemed happy in the company of his new bride, who fussed over his comfort and health in a touchingly matronly manner, as if they had been married for years instead of minutes. My Katheryn, who by agreement was to continue living with John and me for another year or so before going to join her husband’s very large family, watched the masques that followed the wedding in a state of marital bliss, leaning on her husband’s shoulder and finally dozing off. The French ambassador pronounced the wine good; the Italian ambassador, the music excellent. Only Guildford and Jane appeared unhappy.

  But perhaps I was wrong about that, for the lady Frances’s pretty face did not look entirely happy either, although the duchess made small talk as determinedly as I did during the feasting and entertainments that followed the ceremony. “This must be difficult for you,” I ventured toward the end of the evening. “Having not one but two daughters marrying and leaving your home.”

  “Yes. It will be strange not to have my girls at home.” Frances hesitated, then faced me straight on. “The lord Guildford. Will he be…kind tonight?”

  I refrained from pointing out my true opinion, which was that the lady Jane would probably be telling Guildford what to do. Perhaps she had consulted a book. For Guildford’s part, I had no idea whether he had known women before; my husband was not the sort to encourage him to visit brothels or to have his pleasure with servants, although I would not put it past his older brothers to urge him to get some experience before he faced the daunting prospect of a night with the lady Jane. “My son has never been anything but chivalrous around women,” I said coolly. “I have no doubt that he will treat your daughter with respect.”

  “I wish the consummation could have been postponed a year. My daughter is so young in some ways.”

  “You and I were brides at her age, and we adjusted. She must do the same.” I looked at the three couples—Kate and Lord Herbert chatting animatedly, Katheryn sound asleep on Lord Hastings’s shoulder, and Guildford and Jane sitting side by side, hardly moving their mouths except to chew their food. In a kinder tone, I said, “They will learn to care for each other, as we and our husbands did. These things take time.”

  ***

  There was no grand bedding ceremony for Guildford and Jane of the sort there had been in my day; the couple simply went to Jane’s chamber, Frances having given her daughter a parting kiss and my sons having given Guildford a series of sympathetic handshakes. (“Look at the lady Kate,” I had heard Guildford inform Robert sadly. “Lucky Lord Herbert. Now, there’s a girl.”) John and I smiled hard, as we had been smiling all evening, aided by more wine than either of us generally consumed.

  I needed John to make love to me that night, and he did, with a tenderness I hoped somehow seeped over to the newlyweds in the bridal chamber. But when it was over, I found myself sobbing uncontrollably into John’s chest. “It’s just the wine,” I assured him when I had finally brought myself under control. “Nothing more.”

  ***

  Three days after the wedding, the Countess of Warwick sought me out—never a good sign. “I have a question I need to ask you, Your Grace.”

  “Yes, dear?”

  “Is it true that the Duke of Northumberland intends to put me aside so that my husband can marry the lady Elizabeth?”

  I stared. “Where on earth did you hear that?”

  “It’s all over town, I suppose, if I heard it here. They say that the king is dying and that the lady Mary will be deprived of the crown. The lady Elizabeth will be made queen, and my husband—of course, he won’t be my husband then—will rule jointly with her. Or they say that the duke himself will marry the lady Elizabeth after he puts Your Grace aside.”

  Why did people keep saying such vile things about my John? “There is nothing to those ridiculous rumors. Hasn’t my son made arrangements for you to accompany him to Warwick Castle, where you will be greeted as his countess?”

  “Yes, Your Grace.”

  “Then that should tell you how foolish those rumors are. As for me, it would hardly serve my husband to put me aside and bastardize our children, two of whom he held weddings for just a few days ago. Don’t you think?”

  “Yes, Your Grace.”

  “Good. You are an intelligent young lady. Use that intelligence when you hear those ridiculous rumors.”

  “Yes, Your Grace. But—”

  “Yes?”

  “Is the king really dying? Is that yet another rumor?”

  “He is very ill. But he may yet recover. There is always hope.”

  “I see, Your Grace.”

  I dismissed my daughter-in-law. Then I went to my chamber and wept for a solid hour.

  ***

  A few days later, Jane and Guildford, who had been getting to know each other at Chelsea, joined us at Sion. I looked for signs that Jane was with child, but of course it was
too soon to tell, and I could not think of a tactful way to ascertain whether she and Guildford had been sleeping together regularly, though goodness knows I tried. Instead, I had to content myself with puzzling out whether there had been a thawing between the spouses. They did not chat together easily as newlyweds of a similar age and background might, but at least Guildford paid Jane the proper courtesies, and Jane accepted them politely. Perhaps another few weeks at Chelsea might do them good.

  I was pondering this at supper, and determining to talk the matter over with John once the meal was over, when Guildford suddenly turned green and stumbled to his feet, then ran out of the chamber, a hand upon his mouth. Hal, sitting nearby, made it only to a corner before he retched up his meal, while poor Lord Clinton simply stuck his head under the table. His wife, who had been sharing his salad, went white and fell fainting to the floor.

  Jane shrieked as I simultaneously tried to attend to the Clintons and to my sons. “Poison!”

  “No,” said Robert, who along with Amy had been dining with us. “A cook who has no idea what he is about with a salad.” He picked up a leaf from Lord Clinton’s plate and flourished it in the air. “This has no business in a salad. A proper salad requires a French chef. We in England just don’t understand it.”

  Lady Clinton gave a little moan and sat up. “I feel ill,” she announced, and promptly proved her point.

  “Salad,” Robert confirmed as Guildford stumbled back into the room and looked at me piteously.

  “Get them all to their chambers,” I ordered in relief. What ailed everyone would be unpleasant for a few days, I foresaw, but not dangerous. I turned to Jane, who still looked uneasy. It was her place more than mine to see that her husband was coddled during his illness, but a recuperating Guildford surely deserved more sympathetic company than hers. “Jane, wait a few hours to make sure you are not afflicted. If you are not, perhaps you can visit your mother for a few days while Guildford recovers.”