Three Maids for a Crown: A Novel of the Grey Sisters by Ella March Chase

brow. “You were as shaken by what happened as the rest of us. Hail like blood—on the very day Edward died! It was as if King Henry were rising from his grave in a rage because we overturned his decision about who should wear the crown.” I had heard of my great-uncle Henry’s temper. It had made people around him lose their heads.
    “Let Great Harry throw all the tantrums he wishes from heaven or hell,” Northumberland said. “Earth is our dominion, and I will let no one ruin our plans. I just sent a summons to the former king’s daughters at Hunsdon and Hatfield. No doubt they will come rushing to London thinking they come to their brother’s deathbed to say farewell. They cannot know it is too late.”
    Why would Northumberland want to play such a mean trick on the princesses? The Lady Mary and the Lady Elizabeth would be very angry when they found out the truth. I kicked my ball a little closer to my father.
    “Will they come, do you think? Lady Elizabeth is as cunning as her witch of a mother was, while Lady Mary has more friends than is good for us. God knows the trouble those two women could cause were they left running loose.”
    “Never fear, Suffolk. Those who might betray us are as deep in this conspiracy as we are. Before the week is out, the ladybirds will fly into the snare we have set for them. Our most pressing question will be how to dispose of them once we have them in hand.”
    “Elizabeth is easy to deal with—no one disputes that she is a bastard. Lady Mary is more complicated. The king’s true-born daughter treated so cruelly as a girl. I tell you, Northumberland, there are many who would support her claim to the throne, Catholic or no.”
    “That is why we have to strike ruthlessly. I have dispatched my son Robert with four hundred horsemen to intercept her. Once she is in custody, we must twist our courage to the sticking place, Suffolk. If our plan is to succeed, the Lady Mary must die.”
    Horrified, I tripped over the ball and fell upon the hard stone path, but Father and Northumberland were so lost in concentration, they did not notice. My mind filled with another day, another fall, Lady Mary lifting me up into her arms.
    I knew enough about court to know that people fell in and out of favor, that Lady Mary might be snubbed by my parents in favor of someone more powerful. But this … this was too much. Surely Father would turn blustery with outrage, tell Northumberland that Lady Mary was my mother’s cousin and our friend. He would never consent to her death.
    But Father only looked more thoughtful. “We would need solid evidence of treason to send her to the block. It would take time to gather enough to make a case against her. Every day we wait will give our enemies another day to muster forces against us.”
    “Everyone knows the Lady Mary has never been in the best health since King Henry separated her from her mother. She would not be the first prisoner to fall ill in the Tower. However we accomplish it, we will see her buried before the month is out.”
    Father and the devil duke smiled, with a look in their eyes that reminded me of bloody hail and the Holy Maid’s fits and heads rolling across bloody straw. There was so much I did not understand. But I knew one thing for certain. The message they had sent to Cousin Mary about Edward was a lie to catch her in their trap. Father and the devil duke meant to kill the cousin I loved. My memory filled with the image of a bright blue bird, the fox’s sharp teeth, and the tail feather Lady Mary had presented to me as if it were a badge of honor.
    I wish I could count one friend as brave and loyal as you .
    I went to my chamber, dragged my Thief’s Coffer from beneath my bed. I opened it, dug among the treasures there. Jane’s letters fell out, and I looked at the words in clear black ink. If Jane were here, she would know what to do. But I dared not wait for my sister.
    I wished I had an angel like the Holy Maid of Kent to