The Other Queen. Philippa GregoryЧитать онлайн книгу.
1570, January, Tutbury Castle: Mary
1570, January, Tutbury Castle: George
1570, January, Tutbury Castle: Bess
1570, January, Tutbury Castle: Mary
1570, January, Windsor Castle: George
1570, January, Tutbury Castle: Bess
1570, January, Tutbury Castle: Mary
1570, January, Tutbury Castle: George
1570, February, Tutbury Castle: Bess
1570, February, Tutbury Castle: Mary
1570, April, Tutbury Castle: George
1570, May, Tutbury Castle: Mary
1570, May, Chatsworth: Bess
1570, May, on the road to Chatsworth: Mary
1570, June, Chatsworth: George
1570, June, Chatsworth: Bess
1570, June, Chatsworth: Mary
1570, June, Chatsworth: George
1570, August, Wingfield Manor: Mary
1570, September, Chatsworth: Bess
1570, September, Chatsworth: Mary
1570, October, Chatsworth: Bess
1570, October, Chatsworth: Mary
1570, Winter, Sheffield Castle: George
1571, February, Sheffield Castle: Bess
1571, February, Sheffield Castle: Mary
1571, March, Sheffield Castle: George
1571, March, on the road from Sheffield Castle to Tutbury: Bess
1571, April, Tutbury Castle: George
1571, August, Tutbury Castle: Mary
1571, September, Sheffield Castle: Bess
1571, September, Sheffield Castle: George
1571, October, Sheffield Castle: Bess
1571, November, Sheffield Castle: Mary
1571, December, Sheffield Castle: George
1571, December, Chatsworth: Mary
1572, January, Cold Harbour House, London: George
1572, January, Sheffield Castle: Bess
1572, January, Sheffield Castle: Mary
January 16th, 1572, Westminster Hall, London: George
1572, January, Sheffield Castle: Bess
1572, January, Sheffield Castle: Mary
1572, January, London: George
1572, January, Sheffield Castle: Mary
1572, March, Chatsworth: Bess
June 1st, 1572, London: George
February 8th, 1587, Hardwick Hall: Bess
Bibliography
Author’s Note
Discover More of Philippa Gregory’s Tudor Novels
Gardens for The Gambia
About the Author
Also by Philippa Gregory
About the Publisher
1568, Autumn, Chatsworth House, Derbyshire: Bess
Every woman should marry for her own advantage since her husband will represent her, as visible as her front door, for the rest of his life. If she chooses a wastrel she will be avoided by all her neighbours as a poor woman; catch a duke and she will be Your Grace, and everyone will be her friend. She can be pious, she can be learned, she can be witty and wise and beautiful; but if she is married to a fool she will be ‘that poor Mrs Fool’ until the day he dies.
And I have good reason to respect my own opinion in the matter of husbands having had three of them, and each one, God bless him, served as stepping stone to the next until I got my fourth, my earl, and I am now ‘my lady Countess of Shrewsbury’: a rise greater than that of any woman I know. I am where I am today by making the most of myself, and getting the best price for what I could bring to market. I am a self-made woman – self-made, self-polished and self-sold – and proud of it.
Indeed, no woman in England has done better than me. For though we have a queen on the throne, she is only there by the skill of her mother, and the feebleness of her father’s other stock, and not through any great gifts of her own. If you kept a Tudor for a breeder you would eat him for meat in your second winter. They are poor weak beasts, and this Tudor queen must make up her mind to wed, bed and breed, or the country will be ruined.
If she does not give us a bonny Protestant boy then she will abandon us to disaster, for her heir is another woman: a young woman, a vain woman, a sinful woman, an idolatrous Papist woman, God forgive her errors, and save us from the destruction she will bring us. Some days you hear one story of Mary Queen of Scots, some days another. What you will never, never hear, even if you listen a hundred times, even when the story is told by her adoring admirers, is the story of a woman who consults her own interest, thinks for herself, and marries for her best advantage. But since in this life a woman is a piece of property, she does well to consider her improvement, her sale at the best price and her future ownership. What else? Shall she let herself tumble down?
A pity that such a foolish young woman should be foisted on me and my household, even for a short stay, while Her Majesty Elizabeth the Queen decides what is to be done with this most awkward guest. But no house in the kingdom can be trusted to entertain and – yes – secure her like mine. No husband in England could be trusted with such a Salome dancing on his terrace but mine. Only my household is run with such discipline that we can accommodate a queen of royal blood in the style that she commands and with the safety that she must have. Only my newly wedded husband is so dotingly fond of me that he is safe under the same roof as such a temptress.
No-one knows of this arrangement yet; it has been decided in secret by my good friend Secretary William Cecil and by me. As soon as this hopeless queen arrived in rags at Whitehaven, driven from Scotland by her rebellious lords, Cecil sent me a short note by an unknown messenger to ask if I would house her, and I sent him a one-word reply: yes. Yes indeed! I am honoured by Cecil’s faith in me. From such trust comes great challenges, and from great challenges come great rewards. This new world of Elizabeth’s is for those who can see their chances and take them. I foresee honours and riches if we can host this royal cousin and keep her close. Cecil can rely on me. I shall guard her and befriend her, I shall house and feed her, I shall treat her royally and honourably and keep her safe as a little bird in the nest till the moment of his choosing, when I will hand her over intact to his hangman.