The Marriage Game

  The shire levies had been mustered, and Leicester, now Lieutenant and Captain General of the Queen’s Armies and Companies, assembled the troops at Tilbury Fort, in the mouth of the Thames, to guard London’s eastern approaches.

  ‘I myself shall ride to the south coast to be at the head of my southern levies,’ Elizabeth announced. ‘I mean to be ready to meet Parma when he comes!’

  ‘Madam, we cannot allow it!’ her councillors protested, horrified. ‘Think of the risk to your Majesty’s most precious person!’

  ‘I want to go!’ she insisted, and kept on insisting. They were aghast when she produced a silver breastplate and helmet that she had had made for herself, should the need for it arise. In desperation, they dashed off letters to Robert, asking for advice on how to stop the Queen plunging headlong into danger. He responded with an invitation to Elizabeth to visit Tilbury and comfort her army. You shall, dear lady, behold as goodly, as loyal and as able men as any prince can own. I myself will vouchsafe for the safety of your person, the most dainty and sacred thing we have to care for in this world, so that a man must tremble when he thinks of it. Her visit would enable her to feel that she was doing something useful, and it would divert her from dangerous thoughts of braving it out against Parma.

  Elizabeth agreed to go to Tilbury. She could not refuse him. In the meantime, she wondered how her fleet was faring out there somewhere in the English Channel. Had her sailors encountered the armada yet? The waiting was gut-wrenching.

  At last came news of victory! After a couple of skirmishes, the English fleet had shadowed the armada eastwards, where it anchored off Calais. Drake, seizing his opportunity, had sent in fireships, causing an inferno and widespread panic. The Spanish galleons that survived had been scattered, their careful crescent formation wrecked. Their commander had tried to regroup, but the brave little English ships now outnumbered his, and they had bombarded the great galleons.

  It was at this point that divine intervention had decided the outcome of the battle.

  ‘God blew with His winds and they were scattered,’ Elizabeth jubilantly announced. ‘Truly this was a Protestant wind!’ It had sent the Spanish ships northwards, where they were lashed by terrible storms. Many foundered with their crew; a few limped on as far as Ireland and even Cornwall. Countless Spaniards perished, and a lot of the survivors would never see their homeland again. It was the most humiliating defeat in all the annals of Spain. And yet, Elizabeth was proud to hear, England had lost just a hundred men, and none of her ships.

  ‘It is fitting that we render our most hearty thanks to Almighty God,’ she declared, ‘but there is still the threat from Parma to be dealt with. He waits only for a favourable wind to bring his forces across the Channel.’

  It was time to take her barge to Tilbury Fort to rally her troops. Her councillors, still fearful for her safety – Parma could invade at any time, they warned – pleaded with her not to go, but she insisted that she would come to no harm, and told them that Robert himself had begged her not to alter her purpose and assured her that her person would be as secure as in London.

  Fresh air and activity had done much for Robert; he was looking a lot better, and was clearly in his element in his new command. They embraced each other with their old warmth, and he showed her to the lodging that had been prepared for her. An hour later, she was ready to greet her soldiers.

  Wearing a white velvet gown under her silver breastplate, and looking like a bright avenging angel, Elizabeth rode upon a snowy gelding. Before her went her page bearing her helmet on a cushion, and the Earl of Ormond carrying the sword of state, and beside her walked Robert, bare-headed, holding her bridle. The martial music of drums and pipes stirred the blood as her little procession advanced; pennants fluttered in the sea breeze, seagulls squawked and swooped overhead – and men stared in awe at this Amazon come among them.

  Before Elizabeth were drawn up rank upon rank of her foot soldiers and cavalry. She blinked back tears at the sight of these brave, true men, come to defend her and the realm that they all held dear. As she advanced through their lines, calling out repeatedly, ‘God bless you all!’, many fell to their knees, pikes were lowered in deference, and there were hearty shouts of, ‘Lord preserve our Queen!’

  ‘Thank you with all my heart!’ she cried.

  The next morning she came again, receiving a burst of spontaneous applause so loud that it seemed like the rumble of thunder.

  ‘I feel as if I am in the midst and heat of battle!’ she told Robert, who was riding at her side. It was some time before the clamour died down, and then, at his command, the soldiers acted out a mock engagement so that the Queen should see their prowess. When it was over, and they had paraded in all their bravery before her, she addressed them from the saddle, her voice ringing out over the camp.

  ‘My loving people,’ she cried, ‘we have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear. I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust.’

  She paused, her gaze roving over the sea of faces upturned to her, her heart full, her courage high. ‘I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman,’ she went on, ‘but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already that for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and we do assure you on a word of a prince, they shall be duly paid. In the meantime, my Lieutenant General shall be in my stead’ – she smiled at Robert – ‘than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over these enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.’

  There was a mighty roar of approval that reverberated around the fort, and shouts and cries of acclaim.

  ‘I think your Majesty has so inflamed the hearts of your good subjects that the weakest among them will now be able to match the proudest Spaniard that dares land in England,’ Robert said loudly, to more cheers. His eyes were warm with admiration – and love. It was as plain as day to her.

  Her heart was soaring as he led her into his tent, where dinner was served. While they were eating, news was brought that Parma was about to set sail.

  Robert stood up. ‘Your Majesty must go back to London,’ he insisted.

  ‘Aye, Madam!’ echoed his captains.

  ‘I cannot in honour do so,’ Elizabeth protested, ‘for I have said that I will fight and die with my people.’

  They were moved by her courage, she could see, but still they tried to dissuade her.

  ‘Your safety and preservation is of the utmost importance,’ Robert insisted. ‘I fear that I cannot guarantee either.’

  The argument dragged on, with Elizabeth refusing to leave. Outside the men went about their tasks quietly, knowing that the long period of waiting to see action was drawing to an end. How did it feel, she wondered, knowing that soon you would go into battle and might die or be horribly wounded? Her heart went out to them all.

  Dusk fell. And then came a shout of joy. ‘They’re not coming!’

  It was true, the messenger confirmed, kneeling breathless before the Queen and the Earl of Leicester. Parma had refused to venture his army without the backing of the S
panish navy, which of course was mostly at the bottom of the sea. Robert had never seen such emotion in Elizabeth’s face. It was radiant with joy and unshed tears.

  ‘This is the Lord’s doing,’ she said, as she had said thirty years ago when they told her she was queen. ‘It is marvellous in our eyes.’ And she fell to her knees and folded her hands in thanksgiving.

  It was over; the great enterprise of England, plotted over so many years, had been an abject failure. They had won! It had been one of the greatest victories in England’s long and glorious history.

  Elizabeth rode back to London in triumph, looking forward jubilantly to the City’s welcome and the victory celebrations that were being planned. All along the roadside crowds gathered as she passed, calling down blessings on her, and everywhere the people were making merry. God be praised, that had sent this hour!

  She made clear her determination to reward Robert with the office of Lieutenant Governor of England and Ireland, which would invest him with more power than had ever been given to a subject.

  ‘Madam,’ said Burghley, ‘I beg you to think seriously before granting this. He will be a virtual viceroy.’

  ‘Indeed!’ chimed in Walsingham. So opposed were they to the appointment that she was forced to abandon her plan, wishing that Robert could know how highly she had wanted to honour him. But maybe his welcome by the cheering crowds in London was sufficient reward.

  There were to be great national celebrations to mark the victory. In August, Essex staged a triumphal military review in Whitehall, followed by a joust in which he repeatedly excelled all others. When Elizabeth, come to watch the tournament, appeared at a window in the Cockpit Gate, the crowds below, catching sight of her, all knelt in reverence.

  ‘God bless my people!’ she called.

  ‘God save the Queen!’ they roared. And they remained kneeling until she made a sign for them to rise.

  She stayed at that window, with Robert beside her, watching young Essex joust and applauding heartily. She and Robert had been much in each other’s company since his return from Tilbury, and they had dined together in private every night. It was like the old times come again, Elizabeth thought, rejoicing that he should be here sharing these heady days with her.

  But tonight, when dinner was served, he waved it away.

  ‘I am not hungry,’ he told her. ‘I have eaten like a horse this week and should look to my diet.’

  ‘Eaten like a horse?’ Elizabeth echoed. ‘You haven’t finished a single meal. And you look tired, dear Eyes.’

  ‘I am, Bess. These past weeks have been very demanding for an old man such as I.’

  ‘Then you must rest!’ She was suddenly alarmed for him. ‘And take that physic that I had made up for you!’

  ‘It is nothing to worry about, I assure my sweet lady. But I was going to crave leave to visit Buxton again to take the waters. They should restore me.’ He smiled at her.

  If he was prepared to make the long journey north to Buxton, surely there couldn’t be that much wrong with him? ‘Of course, Robin, you must go,’ Elizabeth said, ‘although I cannot tell you how deeply it grieves me to part with you at this time.’

  ‘I will be back soon,’ he promised. ‘Certainly in time for the thanksgiving service at St Paul’s.’

  ‘But that is not until November!’ she protested.

  ‘Then I will tarry no longer than I have to.’

  ‘When do you leave?’ She dreaded hearing his reply.

  ‘I thought tonight. If I go now I can be at Edgware by nightfall, and on the road towards Kenilworth tomorrow. The sooner I am on my way, the sooner the cure can be effected and I can return to you.’

  ‘Then God go with you, Sweet Robin, and may He bring you safely back to me.’

  Robert rose. He seemed to hesitate, then suddenly he bent forward, pulled Elizabeth to her feet, drew her into his embrace and kissed her most lovingly on the mouth. It was no perfunctory kiss of farewell, but a lover’s kiss, such as he had not given her for years.

  Then he stepped back, a smile playing on his lips. ‘The true joy of my heart consists more in your Majesty’s eyes than in any other worldly thing,’ he said. ‘I will think every absent hour a year until we are reunited.’ Then he made an elegant bow, and was gone.

  A few days later Elizabeth was overjoyed to receive a letter from him. It had been sent from Rycote in Oxfordshire, where he and she had often been guests of Lord and Lady Norris.

  He had written: I most humbly beseech your Majesty to pardon your poor old servant to be thus bold in sending to know how my gracious lady does, being the chief thing in the world I do pray for, for her to have good health and long life. For my own poor case, I continue still your medicine and find that it helps much better than any other thing that hath been given me. Thus, hoping to find a perfect cure at the bath, with the continuance of my usual prayer for your Majesty’s most happy preservation, I humbly kiss your foot. From your old lodging at Rycote, this Thursday morning, ready to continue my journey, by your Majesty’s most faithful and obedient servant, R. Leicester.

  He was the one who was unwell, and yet his chief concern was for her health. It was typical of him. She imagined him in company with the Norrises, enjoying their good hospitality. She hoped he was eating sensibly. It would not be long now before he reached Buxton.

  She went about with a spring in her step. Already she was anticipating his return. The healing waters would do him good, she was certain of it. Meanwhile, she was planning a great portrait of herself, with the great Spanish armada – as they were calling it now – in the background, to commemorate the victory, and Hatton and Essex were busy organising lavish festivities with Sir Henry Lee, the Queen’s Champion. There was to be a medal struck too, on her orders, with the legend God blew with His winds, and they were scattered. Elizabeth was in such a buoyant mood that she was moved to release the hapless Davison from the Tower.

  The euphoric days of rejoicing passed in a hectic blur. Then one warm evening in early September Elizabeth, lute in hand, returned from a jaunt by barge along the Thames to find Burghley waiting for her in her privy chamber.

  ‘Good Spirit, why such a dolorous face on this glorious day?’ she teased him by way of greeting.

  ‘Madam, I bring heavy news,’ he said, his voice an unaccustomed croak.

  ‘Not Parma?’ she asked in alarm. God could not be so cruel as to snatch the victory from her now.

  ‘No …’ He hesitated. ‘There is no kind way to say this, my dearest lady. Robert is dead.’

  ‘No!’ Elizabeth’s anguished cry came from the depths of her soul. ‘He cannot be! No! No!’

  ‘I am so deeply sorry,’ Burghley murmured.

  Elizabeth had sunk down into her chair, her face cradled in her hands. Tears were pouring between her fingers. He was dead. He was dead, and all his glory gone. All his love for her, his tenderness, his care; his greatness, of which he had been so proud, and justly too, – all turned to nought. She would never see his dear face again. The book of his life was closed, the story ended.

  Burghley stood silent as she wept copiously.

  ‘Would you like me to go?’ he asked gently. ‘Shall I send for your ladies?’

  She struggled to master herself. ‘Tell me how it happened,’ she stuttered, wondering how she was going to live without her beloved Eyes.

  ‘He was on his way to Kenilworth, but was troubled by an ague on the way. It turned into a fever and he was obliged to make for his hunting lodge at Cornbury, where he took to his bed. He died this morning at four o’clock, almost alone. There was barely anyone in attendance to close his eyes.’

  She wept again at that. All his greatness, all his wealth – and her precious Eyes had died virtually alone.

  ‘I am more sorry than I can say, Madam,’ Burghley murmured, breaking all the rules by laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. ‘He had become a good friend and a colleague I greatly respected. He will be sorely missed.’

  But by me
most of all, she thought. How could Fate be so brutal?

  ‘Leave me, William,’ she said.

  When Burghley had crept away, she went to her bedchamber and dismissed her waiting attendants. Then she locked the door. God had been cruel after all, plunging her into the deepest sorrow in her hour of triumph. She raged against Him, then stormed against those who had vilified Robert over the years, the vipers who had dragged his reputation in the dust with slurs of murder and poison and self-seeking – and all unfounded! It had been envy, pure envy, and he had not deserved it. She cried all the harder just thinking of it.

  She could not face the world. She lay on her bed for two days, weeping pitifully, ignoring the increasingly urgent taps on her door.

  ‘Madam, your Council awaits you.’

  ‘Madam, your supper is ready.’

  ‘Madam, are you all right?’

  ‘Go away!’ she cried, every time.

  On the third day, Walsingham came to the door. ‘Madam, forgive me for disturbing you at this time, but there is urgent business that needs your Majesty’s attention.’

  Silence.

  ‘Madam?’

  ‘I am unable to attend to state affairs,’ Elizabeth wailed. ‘I will not suffer anybody to have access to me. I am too grieved at the death of my lord of Leicester.’

  Another day passed. She was sunk in misery, her stomach empty, her mouth dry. The room smelt horrible and stale. Yet still she did not want to face the world.

  Burghley came knocking next. ‘Madam, I speak to you as a father, as it were. You must take care of yourself. You cannot shut yourself away like this. Life has to go on – and this kingdom and all your loving subjects look to you for a mother’s care. Will you not come out?’

  ‘No!’ Elizabeth cried. ‘Go away, William!’

  There was a muttering of voices outside.

  ‘Madam,’ said Burghley, more firmly, ‘if you do not come out, we will have the door broken down, out of concern for you.’

  ‘No!’ she sobbed. She could not face the world yet.