The Heretic Wind: The Life of Mary Tudor, Queen of England by Judith Arnopp (best ereader for students TXT) 📕

before. Notonly are the forces of France and Scotland united but Spain, the country Ialways think of as my own, is ranged against us too.

It is not myplace to worry, and I dare not even ask Father for his opinion. I am forced towait until he offers it. In the end, it is the queen who informs me that theking is looking to Saxony and Antwerp for an alliance with the Duke of Holsteinand the German princes.

But wardoesn’t go away. For months it looms over us, a shadow on our gayest feasts,our brightest days and then, while Father is in Portsmouth surveying the fleet,the French navy sails almost into our harbour and, almost under the king’s verynose, sinks his favourite ship, the Mary Rose.

Father ragesand storms, weeping one moment over the loss of life and his beautiful ship,and the next he is ferociously cursing his enemies, demanding to know who is toblame. When he cannot lay hands on the French, he turns on his own.

 Lord Lylebravely defends our shores and prevents the French from invading, but Fathertakes no comfort from that. He wants vengeance.

“I will crushthe French! I will see every one of their ships on the bottom of the ocean!”

He clencheshis fists, red-faced with fury, and then, like the turning tide, his ragerecedes and he descends once more into self-pity.

“My ship,” hemoans. “My lovely ship!”

He subsidesinto sentimental reminiscence while the queen and I sit in silence, unable tothink of a single word to offer by way of comfort.

He recovers,of course, but his confidence has taken a heavy blow. As the months pass, hebecomes ever more suspicious, ever more vindictive towards those who attempt tothwart him. Everyone at the Palace, be they high or low, treads with caution.

  St James’ Palace – October 1558

“Whenmy father was angry, people crept about the palace fearful for their lives andliberty, and I was no different.”

I slump into my pillow, thediscomforting memory of Father’s last few months of life painful to recollect. Iblink away the fear of it.

“They were hard times. I’d noidea then that harder times were to come, of course. Much harder times.”

“We never know what the futureholds.” Susan snips her embroidery thread and folds her linen away. “It is timeyou had something to eat, Your Majesty, before you fall asleep again.”

I glance toward the window andsense the light of the day is beginning to fade. The days pass so quickly. Whoknows how many more I have left. I pleat the edge of the sheet between my bonyfingers.

“The king grew rapidly illafter that. He was always irascible of course but now there was no one whocould predict his moods. He swung left, and then right, and if you weren’tcareful and drew his attention, you’d like as not find yourself in the Towerfor the least offence.”

Anne’s eyes are wide,glistening and full of youthful vigour. I would give all I have to be as young asshe with all my life ahead of me. Not the life I’ve lived but a new, untroubledone.

“And in his sickness, thequeen was vulnerable. The encroaching death encouraged the queen’s enemies towork against her. The old war between Gardiner and Cranmer raged on.”

“I thought Queen Katherine wasa good woman, why did she have enemies?”

I throw back my head and makesome semblance of laughter. “We all have enemies – even you, if you thoughtabout it. Royal enemies are just more dangerous. As for Katherine, she had toomuch influence and she was a reformer – as far as Gardiner was concerned, sheshould have gone to the scaffold … as other queens had before her.”

“But she hadn’t done anythingwrong.”

“Oh, that didn’t matter; she’dhave been found guilty of something.”

Behind the shock in Anne’seyes, I sense sadness … disappointment. She is still young enough to believethere is such a thing as justice, and I feel a twinge of regret atdisillusioning her. I reach for her hand; my rough old fingers rasp against thesmoothness of her skin. “There is little fairness in this world, child. It ismore about power than goodness. Yet, sometimes, no matter how good we are orhow much we pray, we are punished. God’s ways are mysterious and harsh, child.Remember that.”

“Queen Katherine’s enemies …she wasn’t sent to the Tower, was she? So if she won, it proves that sometimesthe good do win.”

I think back, through the daysof my own triumph, the days of treason, the dark days of my brother’s reign, tothe last months of my father’s.

“Gardiner worked hard againstreform and I applaud him for it but … Katherine was different. She was a wisewoman but a misguided one. Imprisonment wasn’t for the likes of her. She neededa talking to, an education, do you see? All heretics should be shown the errorof their ways and then, if they refuse to see sense...”

Anne nods, her eyes fixed onmy face. I dab some spittle from my lips.

“At that time, reformers werebeing taken left and right. Everyone was treading on glass. The queen, fearfulof arrest, cleared her apartments of anything that might condemn her. She wasafraid. I was afraid. People were being arrested and thrown in the Tower.When the heretic Anne Askew was taken and tortured, that was one thing, butthen Father’s friend Sir George Blagg was arrested and the king stepped in andstopped it. He was reprieved in time. Gardiner was getting above himself but,although Blagg was freed, the rest were burned.”

“Burned?”

“At the stake, for heresy, asis the law of the land.”

There is horror in her eye. Amemory stirs of a time when my own stomach turned at the thought of roastingmen alive. Those days have passed.

“When they came to take thequeen, she must have been terrified. The warrant was signed but at the lastminute the king changed his mind. Katherine must have already felt the lick offlame against her skin when Father clouted Gardiner about the head and sent himaway. He couldn’t go through it all again; do you see? Even had Katherine beenthe worst heretic in England he’d not admit it, because he couldn’t bear tolose another wife. He was too old. Too fragile.”

“So,