Elizabeth sighed. “Yes, our cause is one and you I trust,” she said, gesturing him to her. When he came she gripped his hand and stroked it. “I know you only seek to protect me.” Then she pressed her hands to her temples. “In truth, I do not want to believe that Liam O’Neill is the savage traitor his father was. The very notion is a blow to my heart, to my soul.”
“Their rendezvous is proof of their plot against us, against you,” Ormond snapped. “Cousin, listen to me now. Keep O’Neill in the Tower. If you do not wish to try him and hang him, then let him rot there. And send the girl to me,” Ormond said flatly. “She is my half sister, and who better to be her guardian? I will install her with one of my brothers at Kilkenny Castle and she will be watched carefully.”
Elizabeth glanced at Cecil.
Having patiently awaited his turn to speak, knowing that it would come, Cecil said, “O’Neill has not been proved guilty. We have no cause to detain him like a common criminal.”
“He is surely guilty of piracy.” Black Tom laughed mirthlessly. “I can find you a dozen witnesses to his bloody deeds.”
Elizabeth raised her hands, her face pale. “No. There will be no charges of piracy.”
Ormond was disgusted and he turned away, not seeing the look Elizabeth and Cecil exchanged. Cecil patted her arm. “You are right, Your Majesty, for if we imprisonO’Neill and send the girl to Ormond, we willneverknow if FitzGerald has made a new plot against you. Let him go. Let them both go. I will have my agents watch them. And we will let their actions speak the truth.”
Ormond had turned to face both sovereign and councillor. “’Twill be a costly, bloody mistake!”
But Elizabeth was nodding. “Yes, the plan is so simple but so good. Let their actions speak the truth. I see where you lead, Cecil.”
Cecil smiled.
“Yes, We shall release them,” Elizabeth said. She patted Tom Butler’s rigid shoulder. “And there will be immediate signs to show us if they conspire or not. If they go to Ireland, it adds grave suspicion of guilt.” She paused. “And if Liam marries the girl, then we know that Tom was correct—’twould be all the proof of guilt we seek.”
Katherine had just awakened and had barely finished performing her ablutions, when she was summoned again to the queen. It was a new day, but she was far more afraid than she had been the day before. Had the queen decided she had enough evidence with which to charge her formally with conspiracy, or God forbid, treason? And what of Liam O’Neill? What would happen to him now? Katherine told herself she was merely curious, and not at all concerned about the pirate’s fate.
Katherine hurried beside the sergeant escorting her, her palms perspiring, out of breath. They did not go to the Presence Chamber, but to the queen’s royal apartments. The antechamber was a large withdrawing room with linenfold paneling, molded ceilings, and fresh rushes upon the gleaming oak floors. The queen was with William Cecil yet again, but another man was present as well. Tall and dark, he stared at her with cold black eyes. Even though it had been many years since they had last met, when Katherine had been but nine or ten, she recognized him. He was her half brother—her mother’s oldest son from her first marriage. He was her father’s worst enemy, Thomas Butler, the earl of Ormond.
“Lady Katherine,” Elizabeth said, smiling.
Katherine dropped into a curtsy, her heart hammering, wondering what Ormond was doing here—and why the queen was acting so warmly. Straightening, she watched the queen approach. She could not summon up an answering smile. The queen paused in front of her. “You need not be afraid anymore, dear girl,” she said gently. “We have determined that your story is true.”
Her eyes widened. “You have?” Then, realizing that she sounded as guilty as sin, she blushed. “I mean—thank you, Your Highness.” She curtsied again.
But this time the queen lifted her to her feet. Katherine towered above her. “Please forgive Us for Our suspicions, but surely you know that your father has displeased Us so greatly with his treasonous ways that We must be vigilant always.”
Wisely Katherine did not answer. She could not tear her gaze from the fond expression in the queen’s eyes. Elizabeth smiled. “But fortunately, you take after not Gerald, but your dear, departed mother.”
Katherine felt that she was required to speak, so she said, “Y-yes.”
“Tom!” It was a command, and Ormond moved forward, still staring at Katherine. “Does she not remind you of your mother, Joan?”
His jaw was tight. “Yes.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Your mother was a great and beautiful lady. I knew her well. We were good friends. The first time your father tried Our patience and We were forced to put him in the Tower, why, she came to me directly to intercede for him, greatly distraught. We assured her then that We were only teaching the young, wayward earl a lesson, and indeed, the following year he was freed.” Elizabeth sobered.
Katherine heard herself say, “But he arrived home too late. Mother was dead.”
Elizabeth’s gaze turned sharp. “Yes, your memory serves you well. Yet you were but a child then.”
“I was twelve,” Katherine said, staring at her feet. How could she have said such a thing, even if it were true? How could she have risked raising the queen’s ire again?“Your Highness, I am sorry—I loved my mother so. I have yet to reconcile myself to her loss.”
Elizabeth patted her hand. “We understand. We, too, mourned her passing. Everyone who knew her did. Now—why do you not exchange greetings with your half brother? He is most eager to meet you.”
Hesitantly, Katherine looked past the queen and at Thomas Butler. There was nothing eager about his expression, which seemed dark and forbidding. “My lord,” she said uneasily. “Good day.”
“Lady Katherine…Sister dear. The queen is right. You are our mother’s image exactly.” He did not seem pleased about it.
Katherine thought that one and all lied. Her mother, in her youth and even when she had married Gerald at the age of forty, had been one of the reigning beauties of her time. Katherine knew she could not be as lovely. But she accepted the false praise politely. “You honor me—thank you.”
Ormond said nothing more, and silence fell between them.
