Page 81 of A Column of Fire

Exchanging pleasantries, he drew Dan behind a mighty buttress, then spoke in a low voice. ‘The queen is fighting for her life.’

‘So I hear,’ said Dan warily.

Ned was disheartened to see that Dan did not trust him, but he understood why. The Willards had switched from Catholicism to Protestantism and back again too easily for Dan’s liking. Now Dan was not sure where they really stood.

Ned said: ‘The succession is a contest between Elizabeth Tudor and Mary Stuart. Now, Mary is fifteen years old and married to a sickly husband who is even younger: she would be a weak queen, dominated by her French uncles, the Guises – who are ultra-Catholic. You need to fear her.’

‘But Elizabeth goes to Mass.’

‘And she may continue to do so after she becomes queen – no one really knows.’ This was not true. Ned and everyone close to Elizabeth knew she would become openly Protestant as soon as she could, for that was the only way to break the stranglehold of the Church. But they were pretending otherwise to disarm the opposition. In the world of kings and courtiers, Ned had learned, no one told all of the truth all of the time.

Dan said: ‘In that case, why should I care whether our next monarch is Elizabeth Tudor or Mary Stuart?’

‘If Elizabeth becomes queen, she will not burn Protestants for their beliefs.’ That partwastrue.

Fury blazed in Dan’s eyes at this reminder of his father’s dreadful death; but he controlled his emotions. ‘That’s easy to say.’

‘Be realistic. You want the slaughter of Protestants to stop. Elizabeth is not just your best hope, she’s your only hope.’ Dan did not want to believe this, Ned guessed, but he saw in Dan’s eyes an acknowledgement of the truth, and had the satisfaction of feeling one step closer to his goal.

Reluctantly, Dan said: ‘Why are you telling me this?’

Ned answered Dan’s question with a question. ‘How many Protestants are there in Kingsbridge now?’

Dan looked stubborn and said nothing.

‘You have to trust me,’ Ned said urgently. ‘Come on!’

‘At least two thousand,’ Dan said at last.

‘What?’ Ned was pleasantly surprised. ‘I imagined a few hundred at most.’

‘There’s more than one group. And the numbers have increased since June.’

‘Because of what happened to your father?’

Dan looked bitter. ‘More because of what happened to your mother. They’re scared to do business. No deal is safe now. Most of these people don’t care about a Protestant martyr, but they can’t live with a Church that steals their money.’

Ned nodded. He suspected Dan was right. Few people became passionate about doctrinal disputes, but everyone had to make a living, and a Church that stopped them doing that was bound to run into trouble.

Ned said: ‘I’ve come here from Hatfield with one question for you, Dan, and I could be in danger just for asking it, so please think before you answer.’

Dan looked scared. ‘Don’t involve me in anything treasonable!’

That was exactly what Ned was about to do. He said: ‘Out of those two thousand Protestants, how many able-bodied men could you muster, when the queen dies, to fight for Elizabeth against the supporters of Mary Stuart?’

Dan looked away. ‘I have no idea.’

He was prevaricating, Ned knew. He moved closer to Dan, pressing the point. ‘What if a group of Catholic noblemen, led perhaps by Earl Swithin, were to muster an army to march on Hatfield, intending to take Elizabeth prisoner while they wait for Mary Stuart and her hard-line uncles to arrive from France? Would you stand by and let that happen?’

‘Four hundred Kingsbridge men won’t make any difference.’

So it was four hundred, Ned thought. That was the information he needed. He was pleased: it was more than he had expected. He said: ‘Do you imagine you’re the only brave Protestants in England?’ He lowered his voice more. ‘Every city in the land has a group like yours, ready to march to Hatfield and defend Elizabeth, waiting only for the word from her.’

For the first time, Dan’s face was lit by hope – albeit hope of revenge. ‘Is that true?’ he said.

It was something of an exaggeration, but not entirely untrue. Ned said: ‘If you want the freedom to worship in the way you so passionately believe is right – and to do so without the fear, every minute, that you might be burned alive for it – then you must be ready to fight, and I mean fight with swords.’

Dan nodded thoughtfully.