Free The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy Page B

they said yes?”
    She paced about the room. I wished she would be calmer for I was sure that would be wiser.
    “François has spoken to him. Do you know what he said to him? These are his exact words: ‘My Lord Suffolk,’ he said, ‘there is a bruit in this realm that you have come hither to marry the Queen, your master's sister.’ Poor Charles. He was so taken aback, for he did not understand how François could have known about us. But, of course, it was I who told him. François said he would help us if he could for he had a great affection for me and he knew the strength of my feelings. That was good of him. But I don't trust him. I wish I could speak to my brother. I will write to him. That is it. I will remind him that I married once to please him, and for this I was promised that next time I should please myself. I shall warn him of my enemies who surround him and will try to do me ill.”
    I brought the writing materials and she wrote.
    I shared her tension, for my anxiety regarding my own future was growing. She said nothing about what would become of me; I could understand that there was no room in her mind for anything but her own affairs.
    All during those days when the jousting, balls and banquets and rejoicing in the new reign continued, Mary alternated between joy and despair. She did not attend the festivities, of course, for although the six weeks were up, she was still supposed to be mourning the late King.
    She had one or two meetings with Suffolk which carried her to the pinnacle of delight; then she would be plunged into melancholy.
    “Charles is afraid,” she told me. “He says our love will destroy us. My brother knows of the love between us. He made Charles swear before he left England that he would not persuade me to plight my troth to him, nor take the opportunity which being here he might find.”
    “And did he promise, Madame?”
    “My brother would insist. Oh, he is bluff and hearty but he can be ruthless if any go against him. I know his temper. I should, because it is very like my own. But as I know him, so should he know me and when I set my heart on something, I shall have it…as he would. There is a strong feeling between us because we are so much alike. We know each other well.”
    “But if my Lord Suffolk has promised…”
    “
I
have been promised. My brother has promised me that, if I married for state reasons, the next time I should have freedom of choice.”
    I could understand her feelings. She was ready to brave her brother's wrath; she was his beloved sister, but Suffolk, whatever the friendship between himself and the King, was only a subject.
    Then something happened which upset her a great deal, not because of what actually took place but because it was an indication of the power of those who were working against her marriage.
    Her confessor came to her and told her that a certain Friar Langley had arrived from England and it was imperative that he have speech with her immediately.
    I was with her when he was brought in.
    I curtsied and was about to leave when she said to me: “No. You may stay.”
    The friar looked at me with displeasure but he seemed to come to the conclusion that my presence was of no importance. I had always been allowed to witness a great deal because of my youth.
    Mary said haughtily: “What is it you have to say to me?”
    “I have come to warn Your Grace.”
    “To warn me? Of what?”
    “Of one who has come hither in an embassy.”
    “I do not understand you, Friar.”
    “I have come to tell you the truth about the Duke of Suffolk.”
    The color flamed into Mary's face. “What of the Duke of Suffolk?” she asked haughtily.
    “I believe Your Grace has been deceived by this man and has shown him much favor. It has been impressed on me that I should come here to warn you that he traffics with the Devil.”
    She was seething with rage and controlling it with more success than she usually displayed.
    “And who, may I ask, has done this