“May your expectations be fulfilled, monsignore!” exclaimed Ugo.
“Thou wilt see,” rejoined Seymour, with a significant smile. “But to make an end of my grievances. Not only has Hertford taken the two most important offices in the state to himself, but he means to add to them the dignities of lord high treasurer and earl marshal, forfeited by the Duke of Norfolk’s attainder, with the style and title of Duke of Somerset.”
“His highness takes good care of himself, it must be owned,” observed Ugo.
“Let him look well to his seat if he would keep it,” rejoined Seymour, “for by my father’s head, I will not rest till I supplant him and instal myself in his place. What he fears will come to pass. By surrendering to me half the spoil, he might have kept me quiet, but now I will be satisfied only with the whole. I will be duke, protector, governor, lord high treasurer, earl marshal—all. And he shall be—less than I am now.”
“His highness will richly have deserved his fate should it so befall him.”
“The condition of parties is favorable to my project,” pursued Seymour. “Beneath the crust of the volcano lurks a fire ready to burst forth on the slightest disturbance of the surface. The ancient nobility hate my brother, and unwillingly submit to him; while, on the contrary, they are friendly to me. With the Romanists I stand far better than he does, because, though I profess the New Faith, I am tolerant of the Old, and care not to pursue the Reformation further. My plan will be that of the late king, who showed his sagacity in the course he pursued, namely, to make one sect balance the other, and give neither the preponderance. By allying himself so closely with the Reformers, Hertford will incur the bitter hostility of the Papists, and on this I count. My faction will soon be stronger than his. And he must walk warily if I cannot catch him tripping. Then let him look to himself.”
“Your lordship’s influence with the king is the best guarantee for the success of your project,” remarked Ugo. “If the council could likewise be won, the rest were easy.”
“I have already sounded several of them, but I must proceed cautiously, lest I awaken my brother’s suspicions. The lord chancellor is discontented; and the Earl of Arundel, Lord St. John, the Bishop of Durham, and Sir Anthony Brown, are sure to become alienated when further attempts are made by Cranmer to deepen the quarrel with the See of Rome. Disunion must ensue, and at that critical juncture I shall step in at the head of a powerful party, and grasp the reins of government. In anticipation of such an event, it shall be my business to secure the king’s person. I do not desire to stir up rebellion, but rather than miss my mark I will do so; and if a revolt occurs, it shall not want a leader.”
“Your lordship is a conspirator on a grand scale—a second Catiline!” observed Ugo, smiling in his singular way.
“This is a time when plots must needs be rife, for all is disjointed and unsettled,” observed Seymour. “A king on the throne who is king only by name—ministers who would usurp supreme authority—conflicting parties both in Church and State—an old nobility detesting those recently created—a new nobility rapacious and insatiable—a discontented, oppressed, and overtaxed people,—out of these troubled elements, plots and conspiracies must arise—and some besides my own I can already see are hatching.”
“Da vero, monsignore?” exclaimed Ugo, with an inquiring look.
“Ay, indeed,” rejoined Seymour. “My brother is not firm enough to hold his place against the difficulties and dangers certain to beset him, even if he had nothing to fear from me,” observed Seymour. “Lord Lisle feigns to be his friend, but I suspect he nourishes secret designs against him.”
“Methought Lord Lisle was a partisan of your lordship,” remarked Ugo, with a certain disquietude.
“I will not trust him further till I feel more sure of him. What is thy opinion of Lisle, Ugo? Speak out. Thou know’st him.”
“Not enough to judge him correctly, monsignore,” replied the esquire. “But I am sure he could help you greatly if he would.”