My Lady Jane(46)

When Lord Dudley saw the messenger, he casually stepped away from the throne and met the boy, who handed over a sealed envelope. G tilted his head to get a better view around a particularly portly lady-in-waiting. Lord Dudley broke the seal, but not before G noticed a royal imprint in the red wax that sealed the letter.

As the duke read the parchment, he frowned and then frowned deeper. He refolded the letter, stowed it in his pocket, and hastened away.

No one else took note of the transaction. The once uncertain atmosphere around Jane had turned into excitement for the new Queen of England.

G leaned down to whisper in Jane’s ear. “Your Majesty.”

Her eyes flashed. “Don’t you dare ‘Your Majesty’ me.”

He smiled. “My lady, please excuse me for a moment.”

Worry sparked in Jane’s eyes, but she nodded. “Hurry back.”

G quickly and quietly followed his father to a far corner of the room. Lord Dudley pulled his most trusted advisor inside a small alcove. He produced the envelope and handed it over. The advisor read the contents, frowned, and dropped the hand holding the letter to his side.

“It is as I feared,” Lord Dudley said. “Despite our best efforts, word of Jane’s ascension has reached Mary before our men could apprehend her. Someone must have sent warning.”

G ducked a little farther behind a pillar.

“Where is she?” his advisor asked.

“They do not know. She has most probably fled to Kenninghall. But more importantly, she refuses to accept Jane as rightful queen.”

G felt his heart beating through his ribs at this news. But what his father said next was even more frightening.

“Find her. Arrest her. Do it before nightfall tomorrow. If we fail, Mary could retain the backing of the army. And then we will lose the throne.”

G’s skin went cold as the advisor rushed toward the exit, presumably to execute Lord Dudley’s orders. How had Mary not known about the revised order of succession? Maybe the king had not gone so far as to consult with his sisters, but surely he’d at least told them about his wishes before his death. Hadn’t he?

G watched as his father pulled down on the ends of his jacket and straightened his back, all the while shifting his face from a tense expression to one of practiced optimistic decorum. G strode over to him.

“Father,” he said.

Lord Dudley startled but recovered quickly. “Gifford, you should be attending to the queen.”

“Father, I saw the messenger.”

The duke made a swatting motion with his hand. “Oh, that was nothing. A trifle about your new living quarters. So many things to arrange.”

G took a deep breath, hesitant to reveal his eavesdropping, but he had to know more. “I heard what you said to your advisor. About Mary.”

Lord Dudley took hold of G’s arm and yanked him behind one of the ornate royal banners hanging from the ceiling.

“Be careful, son. Do not speak of such things. They are not your concern.”

“If they are a threat to my wife, they are very much my concern,” G said, trying hard to keep from raising his voice.

“I beg to differ. A queen and her consort do not need to be informed of every little detail of running a kingdom. That’s why I have a job.”

“Little detail? I heard you say—” G spoke too loudly and his father cut him off with a scathing glance.

“I heard you say,” G continued quietly, “that you . . . that we could lose the throne if Mary is not captured.”

The duke placed a heavy hand on G’s shoulder and threw his nose to the air as he inhaled sharply. G was surprised he didn’t inhale half the court along the way.

“Son, I am only going to explain this once. Your wife is queen. The late King Edward provided for this succession, and received the ratifying signatures from all thirty-one members of the Privy Council. You are the queen’s consort, and very soon you will make a powerful king.”

G? As king?

Well, that was a terrifying idea, but he and Jane had talked at length about what they’d do if they ruled the country. Together, they could make a difference. Besides, he’d look great in a crown.

“Still, you have much to learn,” G’s father went on. “Leave these matters to me. Trust me, I will not allow a foot-stomping illegitimate hag to get in my way!”

“You mean, to get in the queen’s way,” G said slowly. “Right, Father? The queen’s way?”

“Yes, yes, the queen’s way,” Lord Dudley said dismissively.

“But Mary is rather popular among the people despite being a bit duddy. If she rallies support—”

G’s father put a hand up. “Gifford, I have put forth great effort to secure your future, and the future of our country. I have done things you would never be brave enough to do. Focus on becoming king. Until then, keep your expert opinions limited to things you understand. Like apples.”

With that, his father ducked out from behind the banner, leaving G with that fallen expression that can only come from the harsh rebuke of a father. He stepped out from the chapel. When Jane saw him, she didn’t smile. Maybe his father was right. Until he was crowned king, he shouldn’t worry about things that didn’t concern him.





THIRTEEN


Edward