The Tudor Secret - C. W. Gortner [44]
I did not move a muscle. I barely drew breath as I awaited Lady Dudley’s response.
“My son,” she said, and there was a subtle waver in her voice, as if she sought to repress an emotion that threatened to overwhelm her. “Your father doesn’t confide in me these days. But I know he faces tremendous odds. He has overseen this realm since Lord Protector Seymour went to the scaffold and hasn’t gained in popularity because of it. If he was seen as the Lord Protector’s right hand before, now he’s seen as the hand that struck his master’s head off. Though I agree that your proposal is sound, we still must contend with both the Suffolks and the council. They are only asking questions, for now. But soon they will demand answers.”
“Once we have Elizabeth, we can answer them. That’s what I tried to tell Father, but he wouldn’t listen. She is the key to everything. She’ll get us whatever we require.”
“You’re impatient,” she rebuked. “Without council approval, you cannot hope to have your marriage to Amy Robsart annulled. And until you’re free of her, you cannot hope for anything more than a friendship with Elizabeth Tudor.”
Robert’s face drained of color. “Father promised,” he said in a fierce whisper. “He promised me that neither the Suffolks nor the council would stand in our way. He said the annulment wouldn’t be an issue, that he’d force them to sign it at sword point if need be.”
“Circumstances change.” She sighed. “Your father can’t force further concessions at this juncture. There’s too much at stake. Elizabeth should never have come to London. By doing so, she’s put our feet to the flames. If she takes it into her head to petition the council to see her brother, or, God forbid, demand it of us in public…” She paused, the unspoken consequences of this calamitous possibility hovering between them.
Then she said, “Your father needs time, Robert. If he’s decided it’s best to not approach her yet, you must trust in his judgment. He never does anything without a purpose.”
As she spoke, I saw her eyes lift a fraction, past Robert to the curtain. My blood froze in my veins when I spied the coiled malice in her gaze. It made me think of how she’d looked when she’d brought me before the duchess of Suffolk, and I knew in that instant she was lying, right through her teeth. She misled her own son.
“He hasn’t forsaken you,” she continued, softly now. “He simply thinks it wiser to attend to Mary first. After all, who can predict what she’ll do? You say she has no money or support, but someone at court is obviously feeding her information, and the Spanish ambassador has money, if she needs it. The situation is too precarious. She must be disposed of, before she does us some irreparable damage.”
My belly knotted. Why was she mixing lies with truth? Why would she want Robert sent away from here, from Elizabeth? What could she possibly hope to gain from having her most capable son, the one with an intimate link to the princess, gone at a time of peril for the family?
Robert was staring at his mother as if he’d never seen her before. It was clear that he too sensed the betrayal but was at a loss as to how to decipher it. His hesitation cut like a blade between them before he let out a derisive chuckle.
“The only damage Mary can do is to make an ass of herself. She should have been married off years ago—to a Lutheran who’d beat some sense into that obstinate Catholic head of hers.”
“Be that as it may,” countered Lady Dudley, “you must admit she does represent a hindrance. She’s free to roam the