The Virgin's War (Tudor Legacy #3)(44)
Yes, she thought, this is a woman to have on my side.
First, though, to deal with Stephen. Elizabeth was prepared for coolness from the man she had banished from England for acts verging on treason. But Stephen possessed his mother’s warmth as well as his father’s pride, and his smile rested nicely between wryness and familiarity.
“Your Majesty,” he said. “Allow me to apologize personally for all my offenses committed. I live only to serve as best I may in future.”
This was why she had refused to see Stephen Courtenay after he’d killed a man inside her own palace—because she had known that any member of the Courtenay family would be able to disarm her fury in a heartbeat.
Balanced between chilly pride and gracious forgiveness, Elizabeth replied tartly, “Words are all well and good, but of no value without deeds to back them up.”
“Do I expect that you are going to offer me a chance to prove myself with my deeds?”
For all his eerie resemblance to Dominic, Stephen had the edge of Minuette’s insubordination. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. “Since you know so much, would you like to tell me what that offer is—or shall we proceed directly to your answer?”
There was a laugh, hastily disguised as a cough, from the Sinclair girl. It made Elizabeth like the chit better—not that she would give her the satisfaction of knowing it.
Stephen’s lips quirked as well. “I would never presume to speak for you, Your Majesty.”
“Quite. Well then, let us proceed directly to business. But it is not with you I wish to transact it—it is with Mistress Sinclair.”
She liked the girl even better for not flinching when the Queen of England turned the full force of her attention on her. “Your Majesty,” she said politely. She did not hurry to assure Elizabeth that she would do whatever was wanted.
“I understand that you are in possession of a mercenary company. Personal possession, I mean—for you formed it before taking control of your grandfather’s business. Indeed, I believe that very company took the field against one of my captains in Ireland.”
Stephen did not react outwardly, but even without looking at him, Elizabeth could feel his anger. That wasn’t really the point of this discussion, so she continued smoothly. “I believe that company is under your personal command, not subject to your board’s approval?”
“It is under my command.”
“I would like to hire it for a specific mission this autumn.”
Under her breath, the girl murmured something that sounded like “two minutes.” More audibly, she asked, “In the Netherlands, Your Majesty?”
Elizabeth tipped her head thoughtfully. “No, though I did consider it. But I already have good men in the Netherlands. What I need is a relatively small and very mobile force for…somewhere else.”
“Where?” It was Stephen who asked bluntly, as though he knew already what the answer was.
Elizabeth met his uncompromising gaze. “Ireland.”
Swift and insolent came his answer. “No.”
“It is not for you to answer, Lord Stephen. You may command the force, but it is at Mistress Sinclair’s disposal.”
“I can hardly send a force without a commander.” Maisie might be young, but she spoke with a nearly royal hauteur. “And I cannot compel any man to serve.”
“But I can,” Elizabeth replied.
“One Englishman, perhaps. But not the entirety of a company resident in Scotland.”
Oh yes, this girl was good.
Elizabeth was better. “Scotland is quite willing to give me what I want just now, with my daughter’s marriage not yet finalized. King James is amenable to pressure.”
“Be that as it may, I cannot be bought, Your Majesty. I will disband my company before I allow it to be used against my will.”
“Mariota, listen.” Stephen touched the fierce girl on the arm, and spoke to her as though no one else was present. Elizabeth shot a surprised look at Burghley and saw that he was watching the pair with the same interest she felt.
“Do not make any rash statements on my account,” Stephen told the girl. “I am tired of having sacrifices made on my behalf. I will pay for my own sins.”
“You have paid! There is nothing left for you in Ireland.”
“I think we both know that is not true.”
There were undercurrents here that Elizabeth did not entirely grasp. She didn’t have to. She merely had to manipulate them. “Perhaps,” she broke in mildly, “if we explain the nature of the mission?” She turned to Lord Burghley and waved to him to proceed.
He wasted no words. “Spain intends to make a concerted push to capture Dublin in time for Mary Stuart to land there—before winter, if it can be managed. We want to prevent that.”
“She intends to bring her younger son?” Stephen scowled.
“To view his future kingdom—yes.”
“Then she’ll be disappointed, for the Irish will never recognize a foreign monarch.”
Elizabeth let that insubordination pass, for whatever Stephen might imply, she was not a foreign monarch. Ireland was as much English as anything else. More to the point, it was certainly not Spanish.
“We are not asking you to launch into battle beyond Dublin,” Burghley said. “We only want to secure the integrity of the city against a Spanish landing. Your company is well-qualified to help accomplish that.”