“Gage’s vaunted honesty will not induce him to oppose the king,” rejoined Wriothesley. “But let him try, if he be so minded. He may as well attempt to pull down the solid walls of the Tower itself as shake Henry’s resolution. And now for the warrant!”
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Chapter III
OF THE MEANS OF AVOIDING THE PERIL PROPOSED BY SIR THOMAS SEYMOUR TO THE QUEEN
In a state of mind bordering almost upon distraction, the queen returned to her own chamber, where, having hastily dismissed all her attendants except Lady Herbert, she abandoned herself to despair.
“Lost!—utterly lost!”—she exclaimed, in accents of bitter anguish. “Who shall save me from his wrath? Whither shall I fly to hide me? I shall share the fate of my predecessors. I shall mount the same scaffold as Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. There is no escape—none. Well do I know the king is inexorable. No tears—no entreaties will move him. Pity me, dear Herbert—pity me. Help me if thou canst, for I am well-nigh at my wits’ end.”
“I only know one person who might perchance help your highness in this direful extremity,” replied lady Herbert. “My brother, Sir Thomas Seymour, would lay down his life for you. He has always longed for an opportunity of proving his devotion.”
“Where is Sir Thomas?” cried Catherine. “Go bring him to me straight. But no!—it may be dangerous to him to approach me now.”
“Danger will never deter my brother from serving his queen,” Lady Herbert rejoined. “But I need not seek him. Without tarrying for your Majesty’s instructions, I have despatched a page to bring him hither.”
“Thou hast done wrong, Herbert,” cried Catherine. “I feel I ought not to see him. And yet to whom else can I turn? Heaven help me in my need!”
“There is no one, I repeat, upon whom your Majesty can more fully rely than on Sir Thomas Seymour—that I aver,” rejoined Lady Herbert. “He lives but to serve you.”
“If your brother be devoted to me as you represent, Herbert, and as in truth I believe him to be,” said the queen, “the greater is the reason why I should not drag him into this abyss with me. I will not see him.”
“Your Majesty’s interdiction comes too late,” said Lady Herbert. “He is here.”
As the words were uttered, the arras which covered a lateral entrance to the room communicating with the antechamber was raised, and Sir Thomas Seymour stood before them.
Beyond all question the handsomest and most gallant-looking personage in Henry’s court—where there were many such—was the haughty Sir Thomas Seymour, younger brother of the Earl of Hertford. Possessing a tall and stately person, Sir Thomas had a noble and highly picturesque head, as may be seen in the portrait of him by Holbein. He had the lofty forehead, the fine eyes, and the somewhat pale complexion which distinguished the Seymours; but he was the handsomest of a very handsome race, and it may be doubted whether he did not surpass in point of personal appearance his sister, the lovely Jane Seymour, to whom he bore a marked resemblance. His features were cut with extreme delicacy, but a manly character was given them by the long, brown, silky beard which descended midway down his doublet. Sir Thomas was in the prime and vigor of life, and of a very commanding presence, and neglected no advantages which could be afforded him by rich habiliments. He wore a doublet and hose of purple velvet, paned and cut; with a cassock likewise of purple velvet, embroidered with Venice gold and bordered with fur—and his cassock was so fashioned as to give exaggerated breadth to the shoulder—such being the mode at the time. His arms were a long Spanish rapier, with elaborately wrought hilt, and dagger. His hair was shorn close, in accordance with the fashion of the period, and his head was covered with a flat velvet cap, ornamented with a balas-ruby and a crimson plume. But this cap he removed in stepping from behind the arras.
Third son of Sir John Seymour, of Wolf Hall, in Wiltshire, Sir Thomas had served with great distinction in the late wars with France. In 1544—three years before the date of this history—he had been made master of the ordnance for life. High in favor with the king, and uncle to Prince Edward, heir to the throne, he would have possessed much influence and importance, had he not been overshadowed by his elder brother, the Earl of Hertford, who stood foremost in Henry’s regard. Of an aspiring nature, however, equally bold and unscrupulous, Seymour was greedy of political power, and determined to have it at any hazard and by any means. A daring conspirator, he lacked cunning and temper sufficient to mask his secret designs. His passions were fierce; his hatred undisguised; and he had many of the qualities of Catiline, with whom he was subsequently compared. Haughty and insolent to his inferiors, he was more popular with the ancient nobility of Henry’s court than the Earl of Hertford, who sought by condescension to ingratiate himself with the populace. Such was Sir Thomas Seymour, then in the prime of manhood, and in the full splendor of his noble personal appearance.