“Farewell for ever, then,” rejoined Dudley, breaking from her. “Since you abandon me in this extremity, and throw off my authority, I shall no longer consider myself bound to you by any ties.”
“Stay!” replied Jane. “You overturn all my good resolutions. I am no longer what I was. I cannot part thus.”
“I knew it,” replied Dudley, straining her to his bosom. “You will go with me.”
“I will,” replied Jane, “since you will have it so.”
“Come, then,” cried Dudley, taking her hand, and leading her towards the door, “to the throne!”
“No,” replied Jane, sadly, “to the scaffold!”
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CHAPTER XXVII
OF THE INSURRECTION OF SIR THOMAS WYAT
THE party had not quitted Sion House more than an hour, when a band of soldiers, headed by Sir Edward Hastings, master of the horse, and one of the privy council, arrived to arrest them. But no traces of their retreat could be discovered; and after an unsuccessful search, Hastings was compelled to return to Gardiner with the tidings that their prey had escaped. Not one of the conspirators charged by Courtenay could be found, and it was evident they had received timely warning, though from what quarter the chancellor could not divine. At first, his suspicions fell upon the Earl of Devonshire, but the utter impossibility of this being the case speedily made him reject the idea.
A council was immediately held, at which several resolutions, founded upon the information obtained from Courtenay, were passed. Fresh troops were ordered into the Tower, and active preparations made for its defence, in case of a siege. The chancellor himself deemed it prudent to wear a coat of mail beneath his robes; and quitting his palace, old Winchester House, situated on the Surrey side of the river, a little to the west of Saint Saviour’s, he took up his abode within the fortress. Mary was also advised to remove thither from Whitehall, and, at the instance of Renard, she reluctantly complied.
On the day after her return to the Tower, the imperial ambassadors, D’Egmont, Lalaing, De Courrieres, and De Nigry, were conducted by the Earl of Arundel to Saint John’s Chapel, where they found the whole of the council assembled, and the queen kneeling before the altar. The sacrament was administered by Gardiner, and high mass performed; after which Mary, kneeling with her face to the assemblage, said: “I take God to witness that I have not consented to wed the prince of Spain from any desire of aggrandisement, or carnal affection; but solely for the honour and profit of my kingdom, and the repose and tranquillity of my subjects. Nor shall my marriage prevent me from keeping inviolably the oath I have made to the crown, on the day of my coronation.” Uttered with great earnestness and dignity, these words produced a strong effect upon the hearers. Ratifications of the treaty were then exchanged, and the customary oaths taken on both sides.
This ceremony over, the queen arose, and glancing at the council, observed: “I have heard, my lords, that most of you highly disapprove my match with the Prince of Spain; but I feel confident, when you have well considered the matter, you will see cause to alter your opinion. However this may be, I am well assured that your loyalty will remain unchanged, and that I may fully calculate upon your services for the defence and protection of my person, in case the rebellion with which I am threatened should take place.”
“Your highness may rely upon us all,” replied the Duke of Norfolk.
And the assurance was reiterated by the whole assemblage.
At this moment, an attendant stepped forward, and informed the queen that a messenger who had ridden for his life was arrived from Kent, bringing intelligence of an insurrection in that county.
“Let him approach,” replied Mary. “You shall hear, my lords, what danger we have to apprehend. Well, fellow,” she continued, as the man was ushered into her presence, “thy news?”
“I am the bearer of ill tidings, your majesty,” replied the messenger, bending the knee before her. “Sir Thomas Wyat yesterday, by sound of trumpet, published, in the market-place at Maidstone, a proclamation against your highness’s marriage; exhorting all Englishmen wishing well to their country to join with him and others, to defend the realm from the threatened thraldom of Spain.”