Conspiracy (17 page)
Authors: Lady Grace Cavendish
Prince Sven's lip curled with contempt.
“I vas against it, but I came with my Prince,” Eric carried on. “Johan vas young and eager, he wanted to be an Earl—which the Prince promised when he should be King Consort.”
The Queen sniffed very loudly at that.
“And then, ven Johan realized he had been discovered, he must have gone to his Prince, Your Grace, and asked for help. And vat did you do?” Eric's voice shook with emotion and he pointed at the Prince. “You killed him. And then you hid his body with your hangings, to throw him in a hedge ven you vere out of sight of the Court. This I vili not have.”
Prince Sven shouted at him in Swedish and Eric shouted back. Prince Sven drew his sword, at which every one of the gentlemen present also drew their swords—and the Earl of Leicester immediately moved his horse between the Queen and the Prince, so she had to peer around him.
“Mr. Hatton,” she called to the Captain of the Guard, “arrest that man.” She was pointing at Eric.
Hatton came forward and placed Eric under arrest. Eric looked as if he didn't really care—he was just staring at the Prince with his face full of hatred.
Prince Sven snapped something in Swedish to the Queen, which Lady Helena translated.
“Give him to you?” repeated the Queen incredulously, with Lady Helena's mellifluous voice quietly translating after her. “Give anyone to a murderer? Oh, no, Your Grace, you mistake me. I have arrested him to keep him safe from you. He will stand trial in an English court, but as he has already turned Queen's Evidence, I think he will not be too greatly condemned. We will also take the trouble to bury decently your secret servant, John Hull, which it seems you could not.”
More Swedish from the Prince.
“Your suit to us is at an end,” said the Queen with quiet venom. “We are well aware that we cannot arrest
or try you, no matter how appalling your crime. And appalling it is. You have recklessly caused a child to be injured—a
child
, Your Grace—and now this poor young man has been murdered on your orders. Your antics have offended us. We prefer your room to your presence. Please return to the nearest seaport and take the first ship to Stockholm. I shall be writing to your royal father with a full report of your doings here. You have a week to quit our realm.”
The Prince had the wit to say nothing, perhaps because most of the English gentlemen still had their swords at the ready. He sheathed his blade at last, turned his horse, arid moved off, without the slightest bow or courtesy to the Queen. After a moment's hesitation, his gentlemen followed him.
“A very ill-mannered knave,” the Queen said loudly, taking a deep breath. “Now, will you please come down from that tree?” she said to me.
Once the Queen had seen me safely down from the tree, she ordered everyone to move on before they could recognize me. I was quite shaky from all the strain, but Masou and Ellie came out from their hiding place to help me, and soon I was back in my usual apparel and a perfectly ordinary Maid of Honour once again.
As I got back to our chamber, Mrs. Champernowne waylaid me. “Where have you been, Lady Grace? The Queen commands that you attend her in the garden. Get along with you now, and don't keep Her Majesty waiting,” she said, in her sing-song Welsh accent.
I hurried to find the Queen. She was sitting in a bower with the Earl of Leicester near her. He stared at me as if I had two heads, which made me nervous. The Queen had clearly told him that it had been me in the tree.
I explained how I had discovered John's body— and what I had done to the wheel of the cart—and the Queen listened with her head cocked on one side. When I finished with climbing the tree, she smiled. “I am very pleased with you, Grace, and with your efforts,” she said, “though I feel that climbing a tree like a tumbler is rather too dangerous for a Maid of Honour. Please do not take such risks in future.”
I looked at the ground in embarrassment.
The Queen went on. “I have already righted some of the wrongs thai John Hull caused,” she told me. And I confess I had to blink back tears at the mention of his name, because it grieves me to think that such a nice young man, with such lively blue eyes,
should have wound up dead in a cart for trying to help his lord.
I realized the Queen was still talking and forced myself to concentrate on what she was saying. “Sam Ledbury is returned to his proper duties in the stable, though never have we had a tidier dungheap!” she remarked. “And Master Herron, the firework master, has been paid, and he shall have more work at the Accession Day Tilts.” She paused, turned to the Earl of Leicester and whispered in his ear. The Earl bowed and moved away towards the stables.
The Queen held out her hand and took mine in hers. “I am sorry that your friendship with young John should end so sadly,” she said softly. “And sorry that he should have been led into such wrongdoing, when he was not, I think, bad at heart. But do not be downcast, Grace. Not all young men have such poor manners as to be traitors in very truth.”
I smiled back at her. “At least there will be no more deliberate accidents,” I said. “And you will not marry the Swedish Prince and break my lord the Earl's heart.”
“Do you think I would break his heart?” the Queen asked wistfully.
“Oh, yes, Your Majesty—you should have seen
how he was looking at you when you danced in disguise at the masque.”
She paused for a long time before she spoke again, and I could hardly hear her voice or see her expression, for her face was turned away and shadowed by the bower. “I did see,” she said quietly.
Then the Queen shook herself, smiled, and stood, smoothing out her skirts. At her gesture, I picked up her train and followed her out of the garden.
“Another successful discovery of miscreants and ill-doers by my Lady Pursuivant,” said the Queen, smiling at me again. “Whatever did I do before I had you to investigate for me, Grace?”
Usually, nothing makes me happier than when the Queen praises me, but I was feeling miserable and somehow even her kind words could not lift my spirits—especially as she then sent me straight back to the Maids' chamber to help the others pack, since I had finished my own.
I hurried up the stairs to find that the men of the Removing Wardrobe were there, waiting for all the chests and boxes, while Lady Sarah and Lady Jane argued over whose fault it was neither of them had a complete pair of riding boots. Carmina was looking for a hat she had lost, and I helped Olwen and Ellie, by sitting on Lady Sarah's chest of clothes to make it shut.
Ellie was very kind and kept offering to bring me things—I think she could see how unhappy I was feeling. It saddens me that John came to such a sorry end, and I feel it will be some time before I am quite restored to my usual spirits. But I am glad that at least Her Majesty did not think John was entirely wicked. I wish he hadn't been using me, though….
It is most surprising!
Lady Sarah just came over to whisper to me. “I'm so sorry about John,” she hissed. “Even though he was a traitor, I'm sure he liked you really. He carried you all the way up the stairs, didn't he?”
I smiled gratefully at her because I did not really know what to say—it is very unlike Sarah to be so thoughtful, and her words cheered me greatly. I am very pleased that
she
thinks John was not just using me, for she knows a thing or two about young gentlemen.
And now I must put my daybooke away in my embroidery bag. We are going to the next great house, where there will be hardly any entertainments and no speeches—which is
such
a relief.
Army Virtuous, Barque Perilous, Black Knight of Melancholy
, and
Giant Melancholy
are all names, invented by the writer, for the masque taking place as part of the Earl of Leicester's entertainments for the Queen. These are the kinds of names that would have been used in plays and masques of the time. The fancy names were inspired by the hugely popular romantic novels of the period. These stories usually featured knights in armor rescuing damsels in distress. So the names and terms used in
Conspiracy
are basically poetic names for characters and things in the play. Thus the Black Knight of Melancholy would have simply been a sad knight who always wore black, the Barque Perilous would have been a dangerous ship, etc.
ambler
—a horse that moves along very slowly
aqua vitae
—brandy
Arcadia—a
paradisal location often featured in Greek pastoral poetry
banket
—an alternative word for a banquet
battledore
—a light flat bat or racquet
Bedlam
—the major asylum for the insane in London during Elizabethan times—the name came from Bethlehem Hospital
Bergomask
—a rustic dance
biggin cap
—a child's hat
bodice
—the top part of a woman's dress
brocade
—a rich, gold-embroidered fabric
bum
—bottom
cant
—slang
caparison
—decorative trappings for a horse
cavalcade
—a procession on horseback
Chamberer
—a servant of the Queen who cleaned her chamber for her—which the Maids of Honour and Ladies-in-Waiting, of course, could not be expected to do
Cloth of Estate
—a kind of awning that went over the Queen's chair to indicate that she was the Queen
cloth of silver/gold
—cloth, woven from silk thread that had been, wrapped in fine gold or silver wire
comfrey
—an herb
coppice
—a thicket of trees, or a copse
damask
—a beautiful, self-patterned silk cloth woven
in Flanders. It originally came from Damascus—hence the name.
daybooke
—a book in which you would record your sins each day so that you could pray about them. The idea of keeping a diary or journal grew out of this. Grace is using hers as a journal.
distempered
-—disordered, deranged
doublet
—a close-fitting padded jacket worn by men
dryad
—a wood nymph
en plein air
—out of doors
falling-band collar
—an ordinary collar as opposed to a fancy one. In fact, the ordinary shirt collars seen today are falling-band collars.
Farandole Snail Shell
—a movement in a particular French dance known as the Farandole
faun
—a half-goat, half-man deity of the fields in classical mythology
fire pot
—a clay pot, filled with material that would easily catch fire, used to carry hot coals
fletching
—the feathers on an arrow
forepart
—the part of a garment that covers the chest
French War
—the ongoing religious war between the Catholics and the Protestants in France. Occasionally, the English got involved in the fighting for political reasons.
Galliard
—a sixteenth-century dance
harbinger
—somebody who went ahead to announce the monarch
heal-all
—a medicinal plant
henchman—a
young serving man, often related to the person he was serving. His work might well involve bodyguard duties.
hose
—tight-fitting cloth trousers worn by men
house-poet
—a poet who lived in a noble's house and wrote poetry for him. Many nobles chose to support poets and playwrights on their staff as a way of showing off their wealth.
in earnest of—to
show the sincerity of
jerkin
—a close-fitting, hip-length, usually sleeveless jacket
kirtle
— the skirt section of an Elizabethan dress
kissing-comfit—a
spice, such as caraway, fennel, or aniseed, which was covered in sugar and eaten to make one's breath smell pleasant
Lady-in-Waiting
— one of the ladies who helped to look after the Queen and kept her company
laudanum
—an opium tincture in alcohol used to aid sleep
lymer
—a bloodhound
madrigals
—beautiful part-songs, which were very fashionable
Maid of Honour
—a younger girl who helped to look after the Queen like a Lady-in-Waiting
manchet rolls
—whole white bread
marchpane subtlety
—a sculpture made out of marzipan and then colored
marmelada
—a very thick jammy sweet often made from quinces
Mary Shelton
—one of Queen Elizabeth's Maids of Honour (a Maid of Honour of this name really did exist; see below). Most Maids of Honour were not officially “ladies” (like Lady Grace), but they had to be of born of gentry.
masque
—a masquerade, a masked ball
mead
—an alcoholic drink made with honey
megrim
—a migraine headache
mumming
—acting
naiad
—a water nymph
on progress
—a term used when the Queen was touring parts of her realm. It was a kind of summer holiday for her.
Ordnancer
—a supplier of military equipment, particularly firearms
palfrey
—a horse ridden for pleasure, rather than into battle
palliasse
—a thin mattress
parlour
—a room off the hall that was just beginning to be used for eating, among other things
penner
—a small leather case that could be attached to a belt. It was used for holding quills, ink, knife. and any other equipment needed for writing.
pillion seat
—a saddle for a woman that included a soft cushion
plague
—a virulent disease that killed thousands
posset
—a hot drink made from sweetened and spiced milk curdled with ale or wine
prigged
—stole
Puck
—a mischievous spirit
pursuivant
—one who pursues someone else
Queen's favour
—an item of the Queen's, worn to show that she favored the wearer to win a contest
Queen's Guard
—these were more commonly known as the Gentlemen Pensioners—-young noblemen who guarded the Queen from physical attacks
sarsenet
—Asian thin silk
Secretary Cecil
—William Cecil, an administrator for the Queen (later made Lord Burghley)
shawm
—a wind instrument
shift
—a polite name for a smock
smock
—a neck-to-ankles linen shirt worn by women
stays
—the boned, laced bodice worn around the body under the clothes. Victorians called it a corset.
stews
—public baths
sugar plate
—sugar candy that could be molded like modeling clay, then dried and colored
sward, greensward
—lawn, grass-covered soil
sweetmeats
—sweets
taffety
—taffeta fabric
ten-day-old urine
—ten-day-old urine was used in the laundry for removing stubborn stains!
tertian fever
—a fever that recurred every third day
tester
—the frame of the bed canopy
tilting plate
—armor worn for jousting
Tilting Yard
—an area where knights in armor would joust, or tilt (i.e., ride at each other on horseback with lances)
tiring woman
—a woman who helped a lady to dress
truckle bed
—a small bed on wheels stored under the main bed
tumbler
—an acrobat
unguent
—a salve or ointment
veney
—a bout or round of sword-fighting
Volta
—a sixteenth-century dance very popular with Queen Elizabeth I