game.
Robert, still holding the mockinder, had seated himself beside her, well pleased to have scored over Norfolk, and she took the mockinder from him and smiling had attached it once more to her girdle, implying that the fact that he had used it in no way displeased her.
So it was not to be wondered at that now, when Robert was thought to be in decline, Norfolk headed the long list of his enemies, and it was clear that they were going to exploit the situation to the full.
Attack came from an unexpected quarter and a very unsavory one.
There was a tense atmosphere at Court. The Queen was never happy when Robert was not with her. There could not be any doubt that she loved him; all her emotions concerning him went deep. It had even been obvious in their quarrels how much she was affected by him. I knew that she wanted to call him back to Court, but she was so beleaguered by the marriage question and Robert was growing more and more insistent, that she had to hold him off. If she sent for him it would be a victory for him and she had to make him understand that she called the tune.
I had begun to accept the fact that she was afraid of marriage, although of course the Scottish ambassador had been right when he had declared she wanted to be supreme ruler and share with none.
I felt drawn to her in a way because my thoughts were as full of Robert as hers were and I was watching for his return as hopefully as she was.
Sometimes when I was alone at night I used to contemplate what would happen if we were discovered. Walter would be furious, of course. To hell with Walter! I cared nothing for him. He might divorce me. My parents would be deeply shocked, especially my father. I should be in disgrace. They might even take the children from me. I saw little of them when I was at Court, but they were growing into real people and were beginning to interest me. But chiefly I should have to face the Queen. I used to lie in bed shiveringot only with fear but with a kind of delicious delight. I should like to look into those big tawny eyes and cry: e has been my lover but never yours. You have a crown and we know he wants that more than anything. I have nothing but myselfet next to the crown, he wants me. The fact that he has become my lover is a measure of his love for me, for he has dared risk a great deal to do so.
When I was with her I felt less brave. There was that in her which could strike terror into the boldest heart. When I contemplated her fury if we were discovered I wondered what her punishment would be. She would blame me as the seductress, the Jezebel. I had noticed that she always made excuses for Robert.
It was into this atmosphere that the scandal burst. It was like the reopening of an old wound. It touched the Queen almost as surely as it did Robert, and it showed clearly how wise she had been not to marry him, though of course if she had, this man, John Appleyard, would never have dared raise his voice.
The fact was that Amy Robsart half-brother, John Appleyard, had for some time been spreading the scandal that when Robert Dudley had arranged for his wife to be murdered, he had helped cover up the crime and that, his conscience now worrying him, he felt he should confess his guilt.
Robert enemies, headed by the Duke of Norfolk, were quick to make the most of this. They took up the case and declared that John Appleyard must tell his story in a court of law.
There was a campaign of persecution and everyone was saying that Leicester brief glory was over.
Elizabeth talked to me about the scandal. She always watched me closely when Robert name was mentioned and I wondered if I had betrayed anything.
hat think you, Cousin Lettice, of this matter?she asked. orfolk and some of his friends seem to think that Robert should be made to answer these charges against him.
think they are like vultures, Madam,I said.
ultures indeed! You speak as though the Earl of Leicester were a rotting corpse.
e is without your favor
Robert, still holding the mockinder, had seated himself beside her, well pleased to have scored over Norfolk, and she took the mockinder from him and smiling had attached it once more to her girdle, implying that the fact that he had used it in no way displeased her.
So it was not to be wondered at that now, when Robert was thought to be in decline, Norfolk headed the long list of his enemies, and it was clear that they were going to exploit the situation to the full.
Attack came from an unexpected quarter and a very unsavory one.
There was a tense atmosphere at Court. The Queen was never happy when Robert was not with her. There could not be any doubt that she loved him; all her emotions concerning him went deep. It had even been obvious in their quarrels how much she was affected by him. I knew that she wanted to call him back to Court, but she was so beleaguered by the marriage question and Robert was growing more and more insistent, that she had to hold him off. If she sent for him it would be a victory for him and she had to make him understand that she called the tune.
I had begun to accept the fact that she was afraid of marriage, although of course the Scottish ambassador had been right when he had declared she wanted to be supreme ruler and share with none.
I felt drawn to her in a way because my thoughts were as full of Robert as hers were and I was watching for his return as hopefully as she was.
Sometimes when I was alone at night I used to contemplate what would happen if we were discovered. Walter would be furious, of course. To hell with Walter! I cared nothing for him. He might divorce me. My parents would be deeply shocked, especially my father. I should be in disgrace. They might even take the children from me. I saw little of them when I was at Court, but they were growing into real people and were beginning to interest me. But chiefly I should have to face the Queen. I used to lie in bed shiveringot only with fear but with a kind of delicious delight. I should like to look into those big tawny eyes and cry: e has been my lover but never yours. You have a crown and we know he wants that more than anything. I have nothing but myselfet next to the crown, he wants me. The fact that he has become my lover is a measure of his love for me, for he has dared risk a great deal to do so.
When I was with her I felt less brave. There was that in her which could strike terror into the boldest heart. When I contemplated her fury if we were discovered I wondered what her punishment would be. She would blame me as the seductress, the Jezebel. I had noticed that she always made excuses for Robert.
It was into this atmosphere that the scandal burst. It was like the reopening of an old wound. It touched the Queen almost as surely as it did Robert, and it showed clearly how wise she had been not to marry him, though of course if she had, this man, John Appleyard, would never have dared raise his voice.
The fact was that Amy Robsart half-brother, John Appleyard, had for some time been spreading the scandal that when Robert Dudley had arranged for his wife to be murdered, he had helped cover up the crime and that, his conscience now worrying him, he felt he should confess his guilt.
Robert enemies, headed by the Duke of Norfolk, were quick to make the most of this. They took up the case and declared that John Appleyard must tell his story in a court of law.
There was a campaign of persecution and everyone was saying that Leicester brief glory was over.
Elizabeth talked to me about the scandal. She always watched me closely when Robert name was mentioned and I wondered if I had betrayed anything.
hat think you, Cousin Lettice, of this matter?she asked. orfolk and some of his friends seem to think that Robert should be made to answer these charges against him.
think they are like vultures, Madam,I said.
ultures indeed! You speak as though the Earl of Leicester were a rotting corpse.
e is without your favor
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