C. Sansom - Lamentation

I rode to Chelsea alone. Genesis plodded his way out of London slowly, for the roadway was covered with compacted snow and ice. Chelsea Palace, on the riverbank, was a fine new mansion of red brick, set in wide gardens which would be beautiful when spring came; I estimated it could easily house a staff of two hundred. The guards at the gate still wore the Queen’s livery. I was admitted, a steward taking me to the house. Inside, servants passed quietly to and fro, but there were no guards on the doors as at Whitehall, no sidling politicians. He led me to a door at the rear of the mansion, and knocked. A familiar voice bade him enter.

I followed the steward into a large room. I recognized some of the items displayed there from the Queen’s Gallery: an ornate clock, her box of coins which lay on the table beside a chess set. The Queen Dowager herself stood with her back to a large bay window, her black mourning clothes and gable hood contrasting with the snow-covered lawns outside. I bowed low. She dismissed the steward.

‘Matthew,’ she said. ‘It has been many months.’

‘Yes, your majesty.’

Her pale face was as attractive and composed as ever. In her stance I discerned a new relaxation, a new authority. Gently, she said, ‘I am sorry that your efforts to help me ended — badly. I know now who had the Lamentation . And what happened to you — and your poor servant.’

I wondered, did she know that I had lied to the King for her? I could not tell from looking at her, and I must not ask. ‘The book has been returned to you?’

‘Yes. By the Protector.’ I discerned a little bite in her voice at mention of the man who had taken the position she had hoped for. She added, ‘I plan to publish it later this year.’

I looked at her, surprised. ‘Is that — safe, your majesty?’

‘Quite safe, now. Master Cecil has offered to write a preface. He thinks, like me, that the Lamentation of a Sinner may help some suffering souls to salvation. He remains a good friend.’

‘I am glad. He is a young man of great talent.’

‘And you shall have a copy, signed by me.’

‘I — thank you.’

She came a step closer. ‘But I say again, I know what the search for it cost you.’ Her hazel eyes looked into mine and I thought suddenly, yes, she knows I told the King a lie: that I had been responsible for the decision to search for the book rather than telling him it was missing. Along with her uncle, whom I remembered Paget was to question the next day, and who must also have taken a share of the responsibility.

She said, ‘I will be grateful to you, unto death.’

‘Thank you, your majesty.’ There was an awkward pause, then I asked, ‘How fares Lord Parr?’

‘He has gone back to the country,’ she answered sadly. ‘To die, I fear. His great service to me last year was too much for him, ill as he is.’

‘I am sorry to hear it.’

She looked at me earnestly. ‘If he was ever rough with you, it was only through love for me.’

I smiled. ‘I always understood that.’

She moved over to the chess set. The pieces were laid out for a new game, and I wondered for a moment whether she might ask me to play. But she only picked up a pawn and set it down again. ‘It is because I owe you so much that I have sent for you.’ She smiled. ‘To offer you some employment, if you wish to take it.’

I did not reply. Not politics — I would say no to that, even to her.

The Queen Dowager pressed her palms together. ‘My circumstances are much changed now. I am a widow, free to remarry. In a little time, I may.’ She coloured then, and looked quickly down, as though knowing that I and many others would disapprove. I thought, so the rumours are true, it is Thomas Seymour. My heart sank and I thought: what a waste.

I think the expression on my face gave me away, for she took a deep breath, and said, ‘If and when that time comes, I am afraid I should not be able to employ you, or see you again.’ Yes, I thought, it is Seymour, who detests me as I do him. But then, what had she meant by employment?

She continued, ‘You will know about the — promotions — that have taken place since the late King’s death.’

‘Only the gossip,’ I answered cautiously.

She smiled sadly. ‘Do not worry, Matthew. I am going to tell you something which should be kept confidential for now, but only because it is in your interest to know.’

I spoke quietly, ‘Forgive me, your majesty, but I wish to know no more secrets. Ever.’

‘It concerns Richard Rich,’ she said, her eyes on mine. ‘Baron Rich, as we must now call him.’

I bit my lip, did not answer. The Queen Dowager looked down at the chessboard. ‘Rich shifted his allegiances just in time. He has been promoted, and I fear he is about to be promoted further.’ She looked at me intently. ‘Thomas Wriothesley is a peer now, too, but strangely he of all people has had an attack of conscience, and is raising difficulties regarding some of the powers Lord Hertford is taking to himself. Wriothesley will not long remain Lord Chancellor. That is the word I have, and I trust my source.’ Thomas Seymour, I thought, the Protector’s brother. ‘His successor will be Rich.’

I took a deep breath. ‘It is what he has lusted after for years.’

‘Anne Askew’s book has already been smuggled in from the Continent. Its revelations regarding Rich will soon be public. The Protector already knows them.’ She frowned, then bent to the chessboard and moved a knight forward. ‘But he wants Rich for Lord Chancellor — he is a clever and experienced lawyer, he knows the ways of politics intimately, and — ’ she sighed — ‘people fear him.’

‘Rich, Chancellor, head of the legal profession. He will be able to destroy my career.’ I shook my head. Well, I thought, perhaps now was the time to retire. I had been thinking of it last summer, before the trouble began. But then I thought, stubbornly, I do not want to be forced out. I like my work, and I have responsibilities: Timothy, Nicholas and, yes, Barak. And I thought, too, where would I go? What would I do?

‘I am sorry, Matthew.’ The Queen Dowager raised an arm as though to take mine, then dropped it. ‘I fear your position as serjeant at the Court of Requests may soon be given to another.’

‘Yes. Rich would do that to me, and worse. Perhaps another accusation of misconduct; which this time will not be dropped. I am sure Treasurer Rowland would not be sorry to cooperate with him.’

She nodded sadly. ‘That is possible.’ Then she continued, her voice serious. ‘But not if you also have a secure position with someone of high enough status.’

I looked at her, puzzled. ‘But your majesty, you just said that you — ’

‘I do not mean me.’

‘Then who?’

She smiled. ‘You will not know yet, but I have been given the guardianship of the Lady Elizabeth. She is to reside with me here, along with her tutor and her staff. She has been left numerous properties by her father. She is a young lady of great wealth now. As is the Lady Mary, who if she accommodates herself to the religious changes that are coming, may marry. As for our young King — ’ her smile widened — ‘he is a fine boy, healthy and clever. If he lives even so long as his father he could reign near half a century.’ I saw her happiness that her side had won, even if her own family had not reached the pinnacle.

‘The Lady Elizabeth is far from the throne. In due time no doubt she will marry into the senior nobility. For now, she is but thirteen, and under my guidance. A council must be appointed to deal with her estates, and in the nature of things there will be much legal business to be done. To begin with, her new properties must be conveyed into her name.’ She took a deep breath, smiled again. ‘I would like you to take on all the legal work connected with her properties. It will be regular employment. You would report not to me but to her Treasurer, Sir Thomas Parry. He will instruct you when legal advice is needed. He will be based near the law courts rather than here.’ She added, ‘I have spoken to the Lady Elizabeth. She remembers her meetings with you, and readily agreed to my suggestion.’