Elizabeth entered Dudley Castle on the thrill of enthusiasm and the satisfaction of getting away with something. It made the inconveniences of being without her own maids and only the barest possible wardrobe worth it. For dinner that first night she made do with one of the Dudley maids to dress her, but then she sent the fluttering, stammering girl away and had Minuette do her hair and the finishing touches. Her friend looked drawn, but when Elizabeth asked if she wished to skip dinner tonight and rest, she answered, “On no account. I didn’t ride all this way to miss the sparks.”
“You think there will be sparks?”
“There are always sparks when you and Robert collide. But I was thinking more of the delicate timing. The duke and duchess must be worried for Guildford. They will wonder if you can tell them what William means to do.”
“I wish I knew,” Elizabeth said. “Surely the trial is just a message. A warning, to offset the baby boy. Likely he’ll keep Guildford locked up for some time to come, but William cannot mean to harm the boy for an unwise marriage.”
Minuette shrugged. “If unwise is the whole of it.”
“What else could it be? Guildford is hardly a mastermind of treasonable activity—he is simply a fool who acts long before he ever thinks. He might have relished snatching at a forbidden royal girl, but no more than that.”
“I agree, Guildford is a fool. His father is not.”
Elizabeth waited until Minuette inserted the last jeweled pin into her hair, then twisted away to look at her friend. “What are you saying? That Northumberland set it up?”
“Do I need to say it? It’s what you’ve been thinking for months now.”
Elizabeth held her eyes, laughing softly and not entirely with amusement. “So you’ve learned to read my secrets.”
“I learned long ago that if I were thinking something, you were sure to have thought of it ages before I did. You’re here to find evidence of Northumberland’s guilt and present it to William.”
“I am here to find evidence of guiltorinnocence. I have not rushed to judgment, Minuette.”
“But you are suspicious. I know you are. Everyone is—William, Lord Rochford—they suspect that Northumberland manipulated Norfolk’s downfall and then pressed the advantage for his own family’s sake.”
When had Minuette become so insightful, and so hard? Elizabeth instinctively argued the opposite side. “By a secret, illegal marriage to a royal? If Northumberland wanted to play that game, it would be for higher stakes.”It would be me he aimed at,Elizabeth meant,me and Robert.Northumberland had hinted as much last year, before Norfolk’s downfall.
“Possibly Guildford got ahead of himself, getting Margaret with child before Northumberland could lay the ground for William’s permission. Possibly Northumberland has had to make the best of an imperfect situation.”
“Possibly, yes. And possibly no. Just because my brother has taught you how to be suspicious doesn’t mean this comes to you naturally, Minuette. Deviousness is not your strong suit. Let me survey the field before you rush to attack.”
Dinner was a family affair, although with the number of living children the Duchess of Northumberland had borne her husband, that didn’t make it a small gathering. All of their offspring were present, save Guildford and the eldest son, John, who remained at Beaulieu with Mary to enforce her house arrest. Several spouses were in attendance as well, including Anne, the daughter of Edward Seymour who was married to John and was thus the Countess of Warwick. Elizabeth knew Lady Warwick better than any of the other women, for Robert’s mother usually kept away from court, preferring her private life at home. Elizabeth was also acquainted with Mary Sidney, Robert’s sister, who had borne her first son less than a year previous. As Mary Sidney spoke of the infant with her mother, Elizabeth felt a piercing sense of loss that her own mother would never know any grandchildren.
Elizabeth watched Robert’s parents at table, looking for signs of their fabled attachment. She found it not in elaborate gestures or fulsome caresses, but in their easy understanding of each other and the comfortable level of their talk—but with all that, there was also a spark between them. The kind of spark that Minuette claimed Elizabeth and Robert had.
No one spoke of Guildford at dinner, but Northumberland did ask for the pleasure of a private audience with Elizabeth in the morning. “Of course,” she replied. “I imagine there is much we have to discuss.”
They had reached the final course, an array of sugared fruits and candied ginger, when a newcomer entered the dining hall. She was not a servant, that much was clear from her brocaded green dress, but Elizabeth could not easily place her in the family.
Silence descended, broken by Northumberland, who, after a sigh that Elizabeth heard distinctly, said, “We did not know you were coming.”
“I did not know I would not be welcome.”
“Of course you are always welcome. Come, make your recognition to the Princess of Wales.”
Elizabeth felt all eyes on her, except for Robert’s. He had gone dead white and was staring at the woman as though she was a particularly unpleasant ghost. Elizabeth remained seated as the woman—who seemed much of an age with her, with round cheeks and fair hair, not uncomely—approached the table and sank into a low curtsey. “Your Highness,” she said, something in her tone at odds with her outward submission. “I have waited a long time to meet you.”
“And you are?” Since no one, not even Northumberland, seemed eager to give the woman a name.
From her curtsey, the woman raised her eyes and said slyly, “I am Amy Dudley. Lord Robert’s wife.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Once the women were safely ensconced at Hatfield, William closeted himself with Dominic and asked for his friend’s assessment of the situation. As Dominic outlined Eleanor’s claim that Robert Dudley had deliberately detained Minuette while her necklace was poisoned, William paced with slow steps, hands behind his back.
“I assume you’ve eliminated Eleanor as a suspect?” he asked.
“While Minuette was with Robert Dudley, Eleanor spent the time speaking with her brother in the corridor outside the map room. And unlike his sister, Jonathan Percy is rigidly honest. He would not lie for her.”
