A Fine Madness by Alan Judd (best classic books TXT) 📕

for outbursts of intemperate speech and behaviour. You must urge moderation and ensure that he pleads only the account he has already given to the governor of Flushing – that they never intended serious coining, that it was done only as playful experiment while awaiting ship for home and was anyway not with English currency. My father is aware of the work he did for Sir Francis and of his occasional use to me in conveying messages to the Scottish Court, but these must on no account be mentioned in public. You must also ensure that Marlowe makes no mention of his play-making. My father knows of it, of course, but has not the fondness for playhouses that Sir Francis had. He would not react well to a plea of extenuating circumstances arising from poetry. If called upon to give evidence on Marlowe’s behalf, as you may be, you must confine yourself to swearing him a God-fearing subject of the Queen, loyal to her church and to God. Nothing else. Do you think you can do that?’

I gave him the assurance he wanted.

‘Thomas Walsingham will also be available to give evidence. Between you, you must make it easy for my father to find both men loyal and sober subjects who regret their ill-considered youthful prank and intend no more of it. You are sure you can do that?’

‘Yes, sir.’ His tone and manner suggested I might have found some difficulty with it but I was steeped in professional deceit far enough to have no problem with minor perjury. Anyway, I truly believed – and believe – that Christopher was loyal to the Queen and England, if not to his God.

‘If this goes well there may be other work following,’ Robert Cecil concluded. ‘Unless of course you choose to continue your involvement with the Earl of Essex.’

Thus I came over the next several years to perform various tasks for Sir Robert, as he became. It was mostly deciphering and was never continuous employment as under Mr Secretary, but it kept the wolf from the door when I was imprisoned for my debts and Mary had to manage our properties and our customs dues. He always treated me well and was considerate of Mary in our distress. But my work for him earned me the enmity of the Earl of Essex and his followers, with consequences that long outlived Sir Robert. They pursue me still. Hence you see me here, sir. There were consequences for Christopher, too, but of more mortal nature.

C

HAPTER

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Lord Burghley conducted the examination of Christopher and Gifford Gilbert in his chambers in Whitehall Palace. They were large enough for Privy Council meetings to be held there when not with the Queen and he had his own mahogany desk from Italy, inlaid and magnificent. There was also a long oak table with carved high-backed chairs. The windows gave onto the river and its traffic.

Our meeting was twice postponed because the Queen was at Hampton Court or Windsor and Lord Burghley with her. There was rarely a day when he did not see her and, despite their occasional troubles – as when he and Mr Secretary were banned from Court after the execution of the Queen of Scots – there was trust and even fondness between them. He had served her when she was a vulnerable young princess in danger of the executioner’s block herself and she had learned to trust him then. Later, when he lay dying, she visited his death-bed. I never heard that she did that for any other commoner.

Lord Burghley was as formidable and forbidding as Mr Secretary, though short and broad where Mr Secretary was tall and angular. He had a calm, comfortable face and a fine well-trimmed beard. His voice was quiet but he spoke very directly with no words wasted. His gaze, like his son’s, was unsettling. It was not hostile or challenging but it was assessing and impersonal, as if you were a piece of furniture he might choose either to buy, or simply to pass by. You felt under judgement and that judgement, for good or ill, would be final.

When I entered his chamber that morning there was him Thomas Walsingham, Ingram Frizer and William Davison, Lord Burghley’s secretary. Lord Burghley acknowledged my bow with a nod while talking to Thomas, who smiled a greeting. Frizer stood on the fringe of the group. I was surprised to see him although I knew by then that Thomas had taken him into his household. We nodded, each probably as surprised as the other. William Davison, busy with pens and papers from a previous meeting, gave a brief conspiratorial glance. He and I were on friendly terms, sharing a common understanding of what it was to serve great men, in his case women – or a woman – too. He had been the Queen’s junior secretary when she signed the warrant for the execution of the Queen of Scots, some five years before. He had quite properly delivered the warrant forthwith to the Privy Council who had immediately sent it to Fotheringay, where Queen Mary was held and where the deed was promptly done. Her little dog, I heard, licked the blood that spouted from her neck when her head rolled onto the floor.

Queen Elizabeth was furious when she learned that her cousin was so promptly executed. She blamed anyone but herself and banned his Lordship and Mr Secretary from Court. Poor unfortunate William Davison was punished for his promptitude by immediate imprisonment, the Queen demanding he be hanged. He was spared by the silent intercession of Lord Burghley and Mr Secretary, who sent me to Newgate with letters for his release. I then delivered him to Barn Elms where he remained until Lord Burghley and Mr Secretary resumed their positions at Court, after which Lord Burghley made him one of his servants, taking care that he never appeared within sight of the Queen again. Her Majesty chose not to