Chapter 103: A King’s Concern
January, 1564
“Sire, word has come from our friends in France. It appears that the very thing we had feared has happened.” William Cecil, Lord Burghley and Lord High Treasurer said.
“Who started the war?” James asked. He had known for some time now that either the Protestants or Catholics would fire the first shot, he just needed to know who had started it to know who to prevent entering Calais.
“The Duke of Guise led a raid on a Protestant church and butchered the entire church. The Prince of Conde replied by sacking several Catholic churches. The efforts of the crown to restore order have failed, and now there is war.” Cecil replied.
“And where is the French crown sitting in all of this?” James asked.
“The crown stands with the Duke of Guise, under the influence of the Queen Mother, Sire.” Cecil said. “Consequently, the situation will only get worse before it gets better.”
“And what of Calais?” James asked. “Will either side try and use it as a place to send their fellow religionists when things go wrong?”
“I doubt it Sire.” Cecil said. “The Huguenots have Bordeaux which is being strengthened by a mighty big wall, whilst the Catholics have Paris, and Dunkirk should things truly get troublesome.”
“Yet, either side might still consider Calais neutral ground. Which would involve us in their struggles. How capable are we of handling this?” James asked.
Here Cecil didn’t respond, instead, the Marquess of Northampton, William Parr spoke. “Sire, we’ve got enough men to drive off any one who tries to come to Calais or Bolougne without Your Majesty’s leave. We have enough food for our garrison and the civilians. Naturally the war in France is not ideal, but we maintain open links with the Low Countries and with Portugal to keep the Pale supplied.”
“Very good, and what of the little conspiracy that King Philip of Spain tried to start?” James asked. He had been informed of it some weeks ago and had laughed quite heartily at the thought of any noble be they Catholic or otherwise trying to remove him from his throne on the orders of a foreigner.
“Lady Stanley continues to insist she had nothing to do with the plot, and that she was not even aware of it until we brought it to her attention. The people who King Philip was using to implement the plot have all been arrested and tried for treason, Sire.” Lord Burghley said.
“Good, I doubt that King Philip will have the time or energy to do anything similar any time soon, what with his concerns of defeating the Ottomans.” James said. He cleared his throat and then said. “Now, there was another matter you wished to discuss was there not Cecil?”
“There was, Sire.” Cecil said. “It involves the issue of two ladies claiming the whole inheritance of six manors, two castles and a lot of land in the Midlands. The one lady believes the whole inheritance is hers as she is the eldest, whilst the other sister claims the whole inheritance because of the words their father said to her before he died.”
James sighed. “And where does the truth of the matter lie?”
“The man left a split inheritance to both his daughters. They were to get a fair share of each. However, both of them are claiming the will their father left is a forgery.” Cecil said.
“Are they married?” James asked.
“No, Sire, both are unwed.” Cecil said.
“This seems like a matter for Her Majesty to help with. When she has recovered from bed rest, we shall send for her.” James said. Jane had just recently given birth to a girl they had named Katherine in honour of her sister, she had asked for some time to rest, but he also knew that she would not be happy if he left her out of this.
“But Sire, surely this is a matter for the council to resolve.” Northampton said.
“The Queen is part of this council.” James replied. “Furthermore, she is also a woman, she will be able to guess why these two women are arguing and suggest a solution far more reasonable than anything we can suggest.”
“Sire….” Northampton began but stopped at a look from Cecil.
“No, do not stop, say what you were going to say.” James commanded.
Northampton swallowed and then said. “Sire, with all due respect, Her Majesty has just given birth to a Princess, and whilst that is brilliant news, it does make me wonder if perhaps we are not overly reliant on her? She is a woman after all, and therefore, it would make more sense to let her rest than to trouble her with these concerns. Especially at this time.”
James said nothing, he knew he should shout and rant, but he had thought this had passed. This fear of a smart woman. He steeled himself and said as coldly as possible. “Take yourself back to your estates Northampton, we no longer wish to see you on this council.” He paused to allow time for this to settle in and then added. “That goes for anyone else.” There was a moment of silence, then Northampton rose, bowed and stalked out of the room.
