Page 80 of A Column of Fire

Rollo was right. Margery had not seen it as quickly as he had, but as soon as he said it she understood, and so did her father and the earl. England was in danger of falling back into the swamp of heresy. She shivered.

Swithin said: ‘Elizabeth must not become queen! That would be a catastrophe.’

Margery looked at Bart, but he seemed bored. Her husband-to-be was impatient with politics. He preferred to talk about horses and dogs. She felt annoyed with him: the topic was their future!

Reginald said: ‘Mary Stuart is married to a French prince, and the English people don’t want another foreign king.’

‘The English people will have no say in the matter,’ Swithin grunted. ‘Tell them now that their next monarch will be Mary Stuart. By the time it happens they will have got used to the idea.’

Margery thought that was wishful thinking, and her father showed, by his next remark, that he agreed. ‘We can tell them anything,’ said Reginald. ‘But will they believe us?’

Rollo answered the question. ‘They might,’ he said with a speculative air. He was thinking on his feet, Margery could tell, but what he was saying made sense. ‘Especially if the announcement was endorsed by King Felipe.’

‘Perhaps,’ said Sir Reginald. ‘First we would have to get King Felipe to agree.’

Margery began to see a glimmer of hope.

Rollo said: ‘Then we will go and see King Felipe.’

‘Where is he now?’

‘In Brussels, leading his army against the French. But that war is almost over.’

‘We may have to be quick, if the queen is as ill as she seems.’

‘Indeed. We can get passage from Combe Harbour to Antwerp – Dan Cobley has ships going every week. From Antwerp to Brussels is a day’s ride. We’ll be back for the wedding.’

It was ironic, Margery thought, that they would have to rely on the ultra-Protestant Dan Cobley to transport them on this mission.

Rollo said: ‘Would King Felipe receive us?’

Swithin answered the question. ‘He would receive me. England is one of his kingdoms, and I’m one of its greatest noblemen. And he stayed at New Castle once, after the marriage, on his way from Winchester to London.’

The three men looked at one another: Reginald, Rollo and Swithin. ‘Very well,’ said Reginald. ‘We’ll go to Brussels.’

Margery felt better. At least they were doing something.

Rollo stood up. ‘I’ll go and see Dan about a ship,’ he said. ‘We can’t afford to lose any time.’

*

NEDWILLARD DID NOTwant to go to Kingsbridge for Margery’s wedding, but he had to. The ceremony provided too good a pretext for his undercover mission.

In October he retraced the steps of his July journey, but this time on horseback. His mission was urgent. The queen was dying, and everything was urgent.

His mother seemed shrunken. It was not so much physical – she was still quite heavy – but the spirit had gone out of her. Ned had not really believed her, back in June, when she had said: ‘I’ll be fifty soon – I haven’t got the energy.’ But three months later she was still despondent and lethargic. Ned felt sure now that Alice would never revive the family enterprise. It made him grind his teeth with rage.

But things were going to change. Ned was part of the force that would break the power of men such as Bishop Julius and Sir Reginald. Ned was thrilled to be part of Elizabeth’s household. Both Cecil and Elizabeth liked him, especially since he had defied Swithin. He felt a surge of eager anticipation every time he thought about how they would change the world together. But first they had to put Elizabeth on the throne of England.

He stood with his mother in the market square, waiting for the bride. A brisk north wind blew across the open space. As always, the couple would exchange vows in the porch of the church, then go inside for the wedding Mass. Kingsbridge people greeted Ned warmly. Most of them felt that his family had been severely mistreated.

Swithin and Bart stood at the front of the crowd, Bart wearing a new yellow doublet. There was no sign of the bride yet. Would she look happy or sad? Was she heartbroken, her life ruined because she was not marrying Ned? Or was she by now getting over her love for him and beginning to enjoy her new role with Viscount Bart? Ned was not sure which he would find harder to bear.

But he was not really here for Margery. He raked the crowd, looking for the Protestants. He spotted Dan Cobley and began his mission.

Faking a casual air, he strolled across the square to speak to Dan, who was standing outside the north-west corner of the cathedral. Dan seemed changed, although it had been only three months: he had lost some weight, and his face looked harder as well as leaner. Ned was pleased by the change, for his mission was to turn Dan into a military leader.

It would not be easy.