Katharine, the Virgin Widow Read online

  Her spirits rose a little as she went through those streets in which the tang of the sea was evident. She smiled at the fresh faces which pressed forward to glimpse her. Their free and easy manners were strange to her; but they were showing her that they were pleased to see her, and that gave infinite comfort to a lonely girl.

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  THE JOURNEY TOWARDS LONDON had begun; it was inevitably a slow one, for the people of England had been commanded by their King to show a hearty welcome to the Princess from Spain. They needed no such injunctions; they were ever ready to accept an excuse for gaiety.

  In the villages and towns through which the cavalcade passed the people halted its progress. The Princess must see their folk dances, must admire the floral decorations and the bonfires which were all in her honor.

  They were attracted by this quiet Princess. She was such a child, such a shy, dignified young girl.

  It was a pleasant journey indeed from Plymouth to Exeter, and Katharine was astonished by the warmth and brilliance of the sun. She had been told to expect mists and fog, but this was as pleasant as the Spanish sunshine; and never before had she seen such cool green grass.

  At Exeter the nature of the journey changed. In that noble city she found more ceremony awaiting her than she had received in Plymouth, and she realized that thus it would be as she drew nearer to the capital.

  Waiting to receive her was Lord Willoughby de Broke, who told her that he was High Steward of the King’s household and that it was the express command of His Majesty that all should be done for her comfort.

  She assured him that nothing more could be done for her than had been done already; but he bowed and smiled gravely as though he believed she could have no notion of the extent of English hospitality.

  Now about her lodgings were ranged the men at arms and yeomen, all in the royal green and white liveries—and a pleasant sight they were.

  She made the acquaintance of her father’s ambassador to England and Scotland, Don Pedro de Ayala, an amusing and very witty man, whose stay in England seemed to have robbed him of his Spanish dignity. There was also Dr. de Puebla, a man whom she had been most anxious to meet because Ferdinand had warned her that if she had any secret matter to impart to him she might do it through Puebla.

  Both these men, she realized, were to some extent her father’s spies, as most ambassadors were for their own countries. And how different were these two: Don Pedro de Ayala was an aristocrat who had received the title of Bishop of the Canaries. Handsome, elegant, he knew how to charm Katharine with his courtly manners. Puebla was of humble origin, a lawyer who had reached his present position through his own ingenuity. He was highly educated and despised all those who were not; and Ayala he put into this category, for the Bishop had spent his youth in riotous living and, since he came of a noble family, had not thought it necessary to achieve scholarship.

  Puebla’s manner was a little sullen, for he told himself that if all had gone as he had wished he should have greeted the Infanta without the help of Ayala. As for Ayala, he was fully aware of Puebla’s feelings towards him and did everything he could to aggravate them.

  As they left Exeter, Don Pedro de Ayala rode beside Katharine, and Lord Willoughby de Broke was on her other side, while Puebla was jostled into the background and fumed with rage because of this.

  Ayala talked to Katharine in rapid Castilian which he knew Willoughby de Broke could not understand.

  “I trust Your Highness has not been put out by this outrageous fellow, Puebla.”

  “Indeed no,” replied Katharine. “I found him most attentive.”

  “Beware of him. The fellow’s an adventurer and a Jew at that.”

  “He is in the service of the Sovereigns of Spain,” she answered.

  “Yes, Highness, but your noble father is fully aware that the fellow serves the King of England more faithfully than he does the King and Queen of Spain.”

  “Then why is he not recalled and another given his position?”

  “Because, Highness, he understands the King of England and the King of England understands him. He has been long in England. In London he follows the profession of lawyer; he lives like an Englishman. Ah, I could tell you some tales of him. He is parsimonious—so much so that he brings disgrace to our country. He has his lodgings in a house of ill-fame and I have heard that when he does not dine at the King’s table he dines at this disreputable house at the cost of two pence a day. This, Highness, is a very small sum for a man in his position to spend, and I have heard it said that the landlord of this house is glad to accommodate him in exchange for certain favors.”

  “What favors?” demanded Katharine.

  “The man is a lawyer and practices as such; he is on good terms with the King of England. He protects his landlord against the law, Highness.”

  “It seems strange that my father should employ the man if he is all you say he is.”

  “His Highness believes him to have his uses. It is but a few years ago that the English King offered him a bishopric, which would have brought him good revenues.”

  “And he did not accept?”

  “He longed to accept, Highness, but could not do so without the consent of your royal parents. This was withheld.”

  “Then it would seem that they value his services.”

  “Oh, he has wriggled his way into the King’s confidence. But beware of the man, Highness. He is a Jew, and he bears his grudges like the rest.”

  Katharine was silent, contemplating the unpleasantness of having to meet two ambassadors who clearly disliked each other; and she was not surprised when Puebla seized his opportunity to warn her against Ayala.

  “A coxcomb, Highness. Do not put your trust in such a one. A Bishop! He knows nothing of law and has never mastered Latin. His manner of living is a disgrace to Spain and his cloth. Bishop indeed! He should be in Scotland now. It was for this purpose that he was sent to this country.”

  “It would not please my parents if they knew of this discord between their two ambassadors.”

  “Highness, they know of it. I should be neglectful of my duty if I did not inform them. And inform them I have.”

  Katharine looked with faint dislike at Puebla. Not only did he lack the charming manners of Ayala but she found him pompous, and she thought that his petty meanness, which was noticed by many of those who travelled with them, was humiliating for Spain.

  “I used the fellow in Scotland,” went on Puebla. “He was useful there in cementing English and Scottish relations which, Highness, was the desire of your noble father. War between England and Scotland would have been an embarrassment to him at this time, and James IV was harboring the pretender, Perkin Warbeck, and seemed likely to support him.”

  “Warbeck has now paid the price of presumption,” said Katharine. “Your Highness most wisely has become informed of English politics, I see.”

  “Her Highness, my mother, insisted that I should know something of the country to which I was going.”

  Puebla shook his head. “There are bound to be such impostors when two young Princes disappear. So we had our Perkin Warbeck claiming to be Richard, Duke of York.”

  “How very sad for the Queen of England,” said Katharine. “Does she still mourn for her two brothers who disappeared so mysteriously in the Tower of London?”

  “The Queen is not one to show her feelings. She has children of her own, a good husband and a crown. The last certainly could not be hers had her brothers lived.”

  “Still she must mourn,” said Katharine; and she thought of her own brother, Juan, who had died, young and beautiful, a few months after his wedding. She believed she would never forget Juan and the shock and tragedy of his death.

  “Well, quite rightly Warbeck has been hanged at Tyburn,” went on Puebla, “and that little matter has been settled. That would be satisfactory if it did not mean that Ayala has left the Scottish Court for that of England. London suits him be
tter than Edinburgh. He is a soft liver. He did not like the northern climate nor the rough Scottish castles. So…we have him with us.”

  Ayala rode up beside them.

  His smile was mischievous. “Dr. de Puebla,” he said, “I do declare your doublet is torn. Is that the way to appear in the presence of our Infanta! Oh, he’s a close-fisted fellow, Highness. If you would know why, look at the shape of his nose.”

  Katharine was horrified at the gibe and did not look at Ayala.

  “Highness,” cried Puebla, “I would ask you to consider this: Don Pedro de Ayala may have the nose of a Castilian but the bags under his eyes are a revelation of the life he leads. One is born with one’s nose; that is not a result of dissipation, evil living.…”

  Ayala brought his horse closer to Katharine’s. “Let us heed him not, Highness,” he murmured. “He is a low fellow; I have heard that he follows the trade of usurer in London. But what can one expect of a Jew?”

  Katharine touched her horse’s flanks and rode forward to join Lord Willoughby de Broke.

  She was alarmed. These two men, who could not control their hatred of each other, were the two whom her parents had selected to be her guides and counsellors during her first months in this strange land.

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  YET AS THE JOURNEY progressed she was attracted by the gaiety of Ayala.

  She had discovered that he was amusing and witty, that he was ready to answer all her questions about the customs of the country and, what was more interesting, to give her little snippets of gossip about the family to which she would soon belong.

  For much of the journey Katharine travelled in a horse litter, although occasionally she rode on a mule or a palfrey. October in the West country was by no means cold, but there was a dampness in the air and often Katharine would see the sun only as a red ball through the mist. Occasionally there were rain showers, but they were generally brief and then the sun would break through the clouds and Katharine would enjoy its gentle warmth. In the villages through which they passed the people came out to see them, and they were entertained in the houses of the local squires.

  Here there was food in plenty; Katharine discovered that her new countrymen set great store by eating; in the great fireplaces enormous fires blazed; even the servants in the houses crowded round to see her—plump, rosy-cheeked young men and women, who shouted to each other and seemed to laugh a good deal. These people were as different from the Spaniards as a people could be. They appeared to have little dignity and little respect for the dignity of others. They were a vigorous people; and, having taken Katharine to their hearts, they did not hesitate to let her know this.

  But for the ordeal she knew to be awaiting her at the end of the journey, she would have enjoyed her progress through this land of mists and pale sunshine and rosy-cheeked, exuberant people.

  Ayala often rode beside her litter and she would ask him questions which he would be only too ready to answer. She had turned from the pompous Puebla in his musty clothes to the gay cleric, and Ayala was determined to exploit the situation to the full.

  He made her feel that there was a conspiracy between them, which to some extent there was. For she knew that, when he rattled on in the Castilian tongue, none of those who were near could understand what was said.

  His talk was gay and scandalous, but Katharine felt it was what she needed, and she looked forward to these conversations.

  “You must be wary of the King,” he told her. “Have no fear of Arthur. Arthur is as mild as milk. You will be able to mold that one to your way…have no fear of that. Now, had it been Henry, that might have been another matter. But, praise be to the saints, Henry is the second son and it is Arthur for Your Highness.”

  “Tell me about Arthur.”

  Ayala lifted his shoulders. “Imagine a young boy, a little nervous, pink and white and golden-haired. He is half a head shorter than you are. He will be your slave.”

  “Is it true that he does not enjoy good health?”

  “It is. But he will grow out of that. And he seems the weaker because he is compared with robust young Henry.”

  Katharine was relieved; she was delighted with the idea of a gentle young husband. She had already begun to think of him as her brother Juan, who had been as fair as an angel and gentle in his manner.

  “You said I must beware of the King.”

  “The King is quiet and ruthless. If he does not like you he will have no compunction in sending you back to Spain.”

  “That would not greatly distress me.”

  “It would distress your royal parents. And think of the disgrace to Your Highness and the House of Spain.”

  “Is the King very formidable?”

  “He will be gracious to you but he will never cease to watch. Do not be deceived by his mild manners. He fears all the time that some claimant to the throne will appear, and that there will be supporters to say such a claimant has a greater right. It is not always comfortable to wear the crown.”

  Katharine nodded; she thought of the strife which had marred the earlier years of her parents’ life together, when Isabella had been engaged in the bitter War of the Succession.

  “There is a mystery surrounding the death of the Queen’s two young brothers, the elder of whom was King Edward V and the younger the Duke of York. Many say they were murdered in the Tower of London by their wicked uncle, the crook-backed Richard, but their bodies were never discovered and there are many rumors concerning those deaths of which it would be unwise even to think, Highness.”

  Katharine shivered. “Poor children,” she murmured.

  “They are now past all earthly pain, and there is a wise King sitting on the throne of England. He married the Princes’ sister, and so joined the two warring factions. It might be wise not to dwell on the past, Highness. There have been two pretenders to the throne: Perkin Warbeck and Lambert Simnel. Simnel, who pretended he was Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick and nephew of Richard III, is now serving as a scullion in the King’s household. He was obviously an impostor; therefore the King sent him to the kitchens—a sign of the King’s contempt—but Warbeck was hanged at Tyburn. This King is fond of showing examples to his people, because he lives in perpetual terror that someone will try to overthrow him.”

  “I hope I shall find favor in his sight.”

  “Your dowry has already found favor with him, Highness. As for yourself, you will please him too.”

  “And the Queen?”

  “Have no fear of the Queen. She will receive you kindly. She has no influence with the King, who is eager to show her that he owes no part of the throne to her. He is a man who takes counsel of none, but if he could be said to be under the influence of any, that one is his mother. You must please Margaret Beaufort Countess of Richmond if you will please the King—and all you need do is to provide the royal house with heirs, and all will go merrily.”

  “I pray that God will make me fruitful. That, it seems, is the prayer of all Princes.”

  “If there is aught else Your Highness wishes to know at any time, I pray you ask of me and ignore the Jew.”

  Katharine bowed her head. And so the journey progressed.

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  THE KING SET OUT from Richmond Palace. He had become impatient. He was all eagerness to see the Spanish Infanta who had taken so long in reaching his country.

  Arthur had been on pilgrimage to Wales—as Prince of Wales he was warmly greeted there and the King wished his son to show himself now and then in the Principality. Arthur had received word from his father that he was to come with all speed to East Hampstead, where he would greet his bride.

  Henry disliked journeys, for he was not a man of action and they seemed to him an unnecessary expense.

  “But on the occasion of my son’s wedding,” he grumbled to Empson, “I daresay we are expected to lay out a little.”

  “That is so, Sire,” was
the answer.

  “Let us hope that we shall have the revenues to meet this occasion,” sighed the King; and Empson decided that he would raise certain fines to meet the extra expense.

  Henry smiled wryly, but he was in fact delighted because his son was acquiring one of the richest Princesses in Europe. It was a good thing that this little island should be allied to the greatest power in the world, and what better tie could there be than through marriage?

  Heirs were what were needed and, once this girl provided them, all well and good. But he was a little anxious about her. Her brother, the heir of Spain, had died shortly after his marriage. Exhausted by being a husband, it was said in some quarters. He hoped Katharine was of stronger health. And if she were…what of his own Arthur? Arthur’s cough and spitting of blood denoted weakness. They would have to take great care of Arthur, and he was not yet fifteen. Was it too young to tax his strength with a bride?

  He had not consulted his physicians; he consulted no one; he and he alone would decide whether the marriage should be consummated immediately, or whether the royal couple should wait for a few months, or perhaps a year.

  Young people, he mused, might indulge unwisely in the act of love. They might have no restraint. Not that he believed this would be the case with Arthur. Had it been Henry, it would have been another matter; but then there would have been no cause for anxiety on that account where Henry was concerned. But what of the Infanta? Was she a lusty young woman? Or was she sickly like her elder sister who had recently died in childbirth?

  The more the King pondered this matter, the more eager he was to meet the Infanta.

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