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"How long does Catherine have?" the Earl of March asked.

"Culpeper has to be heard from, and then he and Dereham must be arraigned and tried. They will be found guilty, of course, and will be sentenced. They'll be executed as quickly as possible, and then I think everything will be quiet for the holidays. After Twelfth Night, however, it will begin again. It will not end until Catherine is slain upon Tower Green. Rochford will die too."

"What of my wife, and the others with Cat?" he asked.

"They'll serve her until her death, Varian," Duke Thomas said.

"Do they know what's happening here?" he wondered.

"Catherine and the others will only know what they are told," the duke answered him.

"I want to see my wife," Varian told his grandfather. "I realize that the Howards do not stand high right now with the king, but is it possible for me to somehow see Nyssa?"

"Wait until this business with Culpeper and Dereham is settled, and then we will see. I think I can persuade Charles Brandon that there is no harm in allowing you to visit your wife for an afternoon," the duke replied.

"What will happen to the Howards?" the earl asked.

The duke laughed harshly. "We'll be out of favor again, perhaps forever in this king's reign. Two Howard queens, and neither of them a good one. It does not recommend us, Varian. I think you may finally be grateful that your name is de Winter and not Howard."

"I will always be proud of my Howard mother," the earl said.

Thomas Howard's eyes grew moist with unaccustomed tears. "I must go and rest while I can," he said gruffly.

His dreams are crumbling about him, Varian realized. Then he thought of his wife. Nyssa had once told him that Duke Thomas had taken her dreams from her. Would she think it just retribution that the head of the House of Howard had just had his dreams taken from him? He thought she would. He would tell her when he saw her, but he somehow knew she would not gloat over the downfall of the Howards.

CHAPTER 17

THOMAS CULPEPERstood straight and tall before the Privy Council. He was dressed in black, his garments singularly plain, as befitted the occasion and a man in his position. His blue eyes stared straight ahead, never wavering.

"Are you in love with Catherine Howard, formerly Queen of England?" the Duke of Suffolk asked him.

"I am," came the bold reply.

"For how long have you loved her, sir?"

"Since we were children, my lord."

"You deliberately sought out this woman to seduce her despite the fact she was married to your king. A king who loved you, and helped to raise you. A king who trusted you. Is this so, Thomas Culpeper?"

" 'Twas naught but a game. I pursued her for my own amusement," he answered. "I certainly never thought that she would respond to my overtures. Indeed for some months she did not. It seemed the harder I pursued her, the more she rebuffed me, and the more determined I became to have her. Then the king grew ill last winter, and for many weeks refused to see his wife. She grew bored and lonely. I am not quite certain how it happened, but suddenly the queen was languishing with love for me. I could not believe my good fortune. The woman I had always loved finally loved me."

"And what form did this love take, sirrah?" Suffolk demanded to know. He stared hard at the young man. Thank God the king was not here to listen to this shameless recitation of perfidy and betrayal.

"I was fearful that the king would discover our secret," Culpeper continued. "I labored hard to be discreet, but Catherine sought every opportunity to be alone with me. It was madness, but it was wonderful!"

"Did you kiss her?"

"Aye."

"Fondle her parts?"

"Aye."

"Did you have carnal knowledge of each other, sir?"

"My lord, if I did or did not, I should certainly never admit to it," Thomas Culpeper said. "It would not be honorable."

Norfolk exploded with anger. "You call yourself honorable, you hopped-up piece of turd? You admit to kissing and fondling my niece, a married woman, the wife of your king, and you dare to call yourself honorable? If you address this council thusly in the belief that you are protecting Catherine Howard, be advised that Jane Rochford has already testified that she was a witness to your foul and disgraceful fornications!"