Cate of the Lost Colony - Lisa Klein [0]
Cast of Characters
Italicized names denote fictional characters; all others are historical figures.
IN ENGLAND
Lady Catherine Archer
Queen Elizabeth I
Lady Mary Standish, lady-in-waiting to the queen
Dick Tarleton, the queen’s fool
Frances and Emme, maids of honor
Anne and Veronica, ladies-in-waiting to the queen
Sir Walter Ralegh
Carew Ralegh, Ralegh’s brother
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, adviser to the queen
Sir Francis Walsingham, the queen’s spymaster
Earl of Shrewsbury, Queen Mary’s jailer
Lord Burghley, adviser to the queen
Humfrey Gilbert, Ralegh’s half-brother
Anthony Babington, plotted to assassinate the queen
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots
The Earl of Essex, Robert Dudley’s stepson
IN ENGLAND AND ROANOKE
Arthur Barlowe and Philip Amadas, captains of 1584 voyage
Thomas Harriot, scholar; goes to Roanoke 1585
Simon Fernandes, pilot 1584, 1585, and 1587; an assistant to Gov. White
John White, painter; goes to Roanoke 1585 and as governor 1587
Ralph Lane, acting governor 1585
Sir Francis Drake, captain; rescues colonists 1586
Thomas Graham, courtier; later a soldier at Roanoke 1587
Abraham Cooke, captain of the Hopewell 1590
COLONISTS ON ROANOKE ISLAND
Eleanor Dare, John White’s daughter
Ananias Dare, Eleanor’s husband, an assistant to Gov. White
Virginia Dare, daughter of Ananias and Eleanor
Darby Glavin, an Irishman
George Howe, an assistant to Gov. White
Georgie Howe, son of George Howe
Joan Mannering, Georgie Howe’s aunt
Ambrose Vickers, a carpenter
Betty Vickers, Ambrose’s wife
Edmund Vickers, son of Ambrose and Betty
Thomas Harris, Betty Vickers’s brother
Jane Pierce, a single woman
Roger Bailey, an assistant to Gov. White
Christopher Cooper, an assistant to Gov. White
Alice Chapman, a midwife
John Chapman, Alice’s husband, an armorer
James Hind, a soldier
Griffen Jones, a Welsh farmer
Edward Spicer, ship’s master; later, a captain
NATIVES OF VIRGINIA, OR OSSOMOCOMUCK
Manteo, a Croatoan Indian
Wanchese, a Roanoke Indian
Wingina, a Roanoke chief
Sobaki, Wanchese’s wife
Weyawinga, chief of the Croatoans
Tameoc, a Croatoan warrior
Mika and Takiwa, Tameoc’s kinswomen
Part I
Chapter 1
The Queen’s Maid
At a young age I learned how quickly one’s fortunes can change, a truth that never betrayed me. One day I was the beloved daughter of a Hampshire gentleman who had been chosen to serve the queen. The next, he was killed fighting in the Netherlands, and I was an orphan. My mother was already dead and my old nurse was almost blind, so I was taken to live with my aunt and uncle. They had three daughters of their own, none of whom desired another sister. Nor did my aunt want me, especially when it was discovered I had no inheritance, for my father had spent it all to win the queen’s regard. At the tender age of fourteen I was at the bottom of the goddess Fortune’s wheel, poor and loved by no one. Not two months later, that fickle wheel had turned again, carrying me to the top.
The messenger stood by, waiting as I read the letter. Fresh tears sprang to my eyes at the first lines, but I blinked them away and read hastily to the end. The page trembled and I had to steady my hands on the back of a chair.
“Read it to me, now,” commanded my aunt.
So I did, my voice halting with amazement.
13 October 1583
To the Lady Catherine Archer
Though misfortune has befallen you, be assured your Father in heaven has not forgotten you, nor has your loving queen, who is mother to all her people. I understand your grief, for at a young age I also lost my father.
For his sacrifice on the field of battle, Sir Thomas Archer will be remembered as a most true and faithful subject. I am told that he loosed from his bow a keen arrow in you, his only offspring. Your attendance upon me at Whitehall I would consider a due and honorable extension of your father’s service. With all confidence that you will prove a young woman worthy of a place among my ladies, I remain your loving queen,
Elizabeth R
My aunt reached out to pluck the letter from me,