The Unicorn and the Stag- A TLIAD


What are you doing now?

A TLIAD of course.

What, another one!

Well, the last one went well.

You're just jumping on the bandwagon aren't you.

I prefer to think of it as joining in a flourishing artistic movement.

Hmmph.

It's an Elizabethan Era PoD if you're at all interested.

How are you going to handle 400 years in a single day?

By borrowing a trick from Meadow.

You shameless plagiarist you

Well, the Zonen small changes technique is so wonderful for idle musings.

You're just not interested in developing the idea.

You wound me.
 
I don't know what a TLIAD is or what the reference to 400 years in a day means, but I was willing to read whatever you wrote, if it was serious, but I couldn't find it

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
I don't know what a TLIAD is or what the reference to 400 years in a day means, but I was willing to read whatever you wrote, if it was serious, but I couldn't find it

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

A TLIAD, Time Line In A Day is a short TL written to a time limit and generally speaking not as in depth. Meadow's excellent Zonen uses an idea of having a TLIAD with no long term changes, hence why I can cover the 400 years between and Elizabethan PoD and the present in such a short period of time, while the previous one I wrote was a Collab with Reagent.
 
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Hardwick Hall sits on a hill above the M1 corridor as it winds its way through north Derbyshire. A scant 9 miles from Chesterfield it is easy to miss its tall towers poking above the trees as you pass by. Yet in the late 16th Century this was a centre of political power, and home to a woman who rose from humble background to become the second most important woman in England after the Queen herself.

As I make my way up to the gate that separates the Old and New Halls- near contemporaries in date despite the much more ruinous nature of the former, I am forced to remember that it is not the Countess of Shrewsbury that I am here to talk about, though she is intimately entangled with the story I am seeking to tell.

At the gate I am met by the woman I am here to see. Mary S. Lovell came relatively late to the writing scheme, but has made her name with a series of biographies including works on Amelia Earhart, the Mitford Sisters and most recently Winston Churchill. It is her research into Bess of Hardwick that bring us both here, her to give a talk at the behest of the National Trust, and I to interview her.

We retire to a bench in the gardens from which we have a clear view of the Italianate masterpiece that is the New Hall, famed for the vast expanses of glass thatso entranced visitors both then and now. We exchange some pleasantries, talk a while about Bess and then I get onto my reason for being here: Arbella.

"She lived here for a while, didn't she?" I ask,and Mary smiles before answering "Yes, well it was only natural after the death of her father. Bess had championed the marriage, sent some gifts to the Queen to smooth things over in fact, and of course she was Bess's granddaughter."

I mention the controversy surrounding the marriage, "Oh it was only to be expected" she replies "Bess had built herself up from nothing, she was ambitious, talented and extraordinarily rich. The Talbot match made her a Countess and she wasn't above using family members as pawns to raise her own status. On the other side of the marriage agreement was the Earl of Lennox, uncle of the King of Scotland and a potential claimant to the English throne."

"But there was particular controversy over this marriage wasn't there?"I enquire, and she gives me a knowing glance. "The Queen's permission came relatively late. Despite the rumours there's no evidence Arbella was conceived before the wedding actually took place, but it was quite tight."

I ask as to whether it was a happy childhood, "As happy as could be expected I suppose" she replies "father dead from a riding accident at the age of 5, mother from a fever two years later. There were trips to Court in London relatively frequently, but Bess was both overprotective and overindulgent."

" Do you think that contributed to her later stubbornness?"

"Probably, these sort of things always end up coming from somewhere. But she was always a bit of a free spirit. I suppose that's why she ended up marrying controversially herself."

I notice that time has slipped away from us and Mary needs to get ready for her talk. As I depart I ask if she's ever thought of doing a biography of Arbella, "I'm not planning to" she says, "I think just about every angle's already been covered."

I nod. It's usually the case with royalty.
 
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I am fortunate that Peter Ackroyd is in Derby for the day. His latest work- a history of England in the Civil War Period- is both pertinent for my article and the subject of a speaking tour. We meet, at his insistence, on the Market Square rather than at the University where he was giving his talk earlier. The square is relatively busy- though Derby is still reeling from the fire that has forced the closure of the nearby Assembly Rooms last year- and we retire to a nearby cafe to talk over a pot of tea.

We get to the meat of the conversation quickly. I want to know how it was that such a comparatively unexpected succession actually occurred.

"The thing to understand is that it wasn't all that outlandish a suggestion to make. By the latter part of Elizabeth's reign, indeed for the entire reign though it grew more acute over time, the question of the succession was one that was gripping the entire nobility and government and the choices were really quite limited. The Queen was clearly never going to have children, the Yorkist claim was considered unviable even by the supposed claimant, to go for any of the 6 catholic claimants was considered unthinkable after the execution of the Queen of Scots. The Greys were a busted flush, the Beauchamps considered illegitimate. That left, in essence, three claimants, Anne Stanley and the two Stuarts- James and Arbella."

"And Anne was descended from the younger sister."

"Yes, though equally by that token Arbella was the junior claimant in the Lennox line. Anne Stanley's real problem was that she was just too poorly connected, and what advantages she had- being English, eligible and potentially pliable to the will of the noblemen- were also held by Arbella who had far more powerful backers."

"But James was still the more likely candidate"

"Yes, he always seemed to be the Queen's preferred candidate. Even to the end they thought she'd give the final say to him and that would be the end of it, but that last illness killed her before she had the chance. The court was paralysed with indecision- James or Arbella?"

"And they decided to go for Arbella."

"Yes, it was a close run thing but those calling for an heir raised in England and wanting to avoid the personal union just won out by forging an alliance with the people who wanted a weak monarch they could control."

We both laugh at the irony of this. Within a couple of months of being crowned the young queen had made a love match with William Seymour and Bess of Hardwick had risen in power as the only person who Arbella could be guaranteed to listen to.

"What was the mood like in Scotland?" I ask.

"Rather badly at first. Plots and schemes to remove Arbella, or to secure a marriage alliance between their eventual children, circulated quickly. None of them came to much of course, events moved too quickly for them."

He looks a bit wistful. I ask how he thinks her reign would have gone if she'd lived longer.

"Difficult to tell. Protestant of course, but Arbella never seems to have cared for religion particularly. And Bess really dominated the reign, very much the power behind the throne. As for when she inevitably died, who knows. Arbella was headstrong, may have forged her own path entirely, or been used as a tool of various magnates. And of course, James might have got to her anyway."

We talk for a while longer and then say our goodbyes. While I'm in town I stop at the Cathedral to pay my respects at the tomb of Bess of Hardwick. It is highly elaborate, befitting of the woman it memorialises. Arbella of course is buried at Westminster Abbey, but there is a tablet for her here as well. It seems fitting really for, despite everything, even ascending the throne seems to be insufficient to prevent Arbella from being overshadowed by her grandmother.
 
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Ah... a brief, Lady Jane Grey-esque (well, a bit longer, it seems) interlude between Elizabeth and James I. The lack of butterflies, and Mr Ackroyd's wistfulness, suggest she didn't live long and history otherwise continued relatively apace.

You write well, Alex - I will admit I haven't read much of your work as I'm a filthy Post-1900er (and I always will be), but your narrator has the convincing air of a writer for a history journal.
 
Ah... a brief, Lady Jane Grey-esque (well, a bit longer, it seems) interlude between Elizabeth and James I. The lack of butterflies, and Mr Ackroyd's wistfulness, suggest she didn't live long and history otherwise continued relatively apace.

You write well, Alex - I will admit I haven't read much of your work as I'm a filthy Post-1900er (and I always will be), but your narrator has the convincing air of a writer for a history journal.

Thanks very much. I must admit I've been borrowing stylistically a bit from yourself and Roem to try and get the right sort of journalist/article writer, but when cribbing you might as well crib from the best;)
 
Yikes, another Lady Jane! Well, if there was enough anti-Scots/Stuart sentiments, teehhee!

And the POD seems to be there was no "nod" by the dying Queen Elizabeth when James Stuart's name was uttered. I always thought that was just Cecil's propaganda to justify the choice of James (by Cecil and his fellow nobles). Still, it is plausible in this TL they were more uncertain, perhaps James is seen as less stable?

Looking forward to more! :D
 
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My next stop at Bolsover lies a scant few miles north of Hardwick and, like that edifice, is a Cavendish creation- in this case of Charles and William, son and grandson of Bess herself. Beyond the setting- perched on a high crag over the surrounding countryside- and the Italianate style the two structures are as different as can be. Hardwick was built as an exercise in cutting edge architecture, a family home to display the wealth and power of Bess. Bolsover, though meant to impress, is more of a throwback, the Little Castle a pastiche of medieval design built on the site of the keep of a medieval castle- the walls of which still define the groundplan. This was, first and foremost, a pleasure palace for a family who normally resided at the nearby Welbeck Abbey.

It is high summer and the crowds are large, many drawn by the displays of Manège in the Riding House based on the writings of William Cavendish himself. My own visit takes me to the opposite side of the courtyard however. I meet John and Ian in the Star Chamber- though Ian insists it should be called the rose-en-soleil Chamber- and we immediately start chatting.

John and Ian have been volunteers here for over 2 decades, and more importantly they are also local historians. My previous visits have established a rapport, not that it's difficult to do with these two, and we exchange some stories, myself commenting on signage oddities observed at a recent visit to Corfe Castle, and they on the latest goings on at Bolsover. Though they have disputes over pet theories and ideas on interpreting elements of the decoration, they are united in their disdain for some of the actions of the London-based higher-ups in English Heritage. John can't resist pointing out some of the inaccuracies in the new audio guides, Ian recounts a recent visit from an Art Historian who managed to conclude that the elaborate paintings the Little Castle is famed for had no allegorical meanings, despite all evidence to the contrary.

I feel tempted to ask their opinion of the million pound restoration of the room we're sitting in, particularly the reproduction furniture and tapestries, but hold my tongue, I am here on business after all. Instead, I bring up the Arbella-related merchandise I spotted in the gift shop on my way in.

"Absolute nonsense of course" Ian remarks "construction here didn't start until a few years after her death."

"It's all down that film of course" John adds "I told them when they were location scouting that it was the wrong place- she was up at Welbeck. But they told me it didn't have the right look, which is fair enough it' been rebuilt a fair bit since, and they didn't want to reuse Hardwick"

"It's really quite frustrating." Ian says, "We're always having to explain it to people who come round and want to know which room she stayed in. At least Charles actually did come here so there is a royal connection even if it's not the one they were expecting."

I ask how Arbella's brief reign affected the family.

"Well," John says "not all that much. Charles, William and Henry- the three brothers- were quietly supportive of the Queen of course, and Bess was angling for some titles, but the Seymour match pushed them into the background to a degree."

Ian offers his thoughts, "I expect they'd have been prominent at court in any case, but Arbella's death came so soon that there wasn't time to advance any plans"

"She was" I ask, "Visiting Charles at Welbeck just before it happened wasn't she?"

"Yes." comes John's reply, "they could give you all the details there of course, but it was the first royal progress and Welbeck was a natural place to stop between Nottingham and York".

"Really the whole visit was uneventful" Ian buts in "There was the attempted break-in but that's usually exaggerated, the Queen was never in any danger at Welbeck".

"Not that it really mattered" adds John.

I nod and ask if there were any difficulties for the family after James's belated inheritance.

"There were some questions of loyalty for the first couple of years" John muses, "Charles was cleared of any involvement in the death very quickly- not that James would have been too bothered if he had been- but it took a fair amount of work to regain favour at court."

"I think James realised they weren't going to be a threat early on though" adds Ian, "the inheritance came from Arbella's father, rather than Bess, so the only question was if they might support another candidate- Anne Stanley for example."

"It became clear very early on though that they viewed James as the rightful heir, no questions asked." John says, "it was Bess who was the real schemer, and after Arbella's death she retired to Hardwick. She just lived to see Charles and William invited back to court in early 1608."

"In the end" Ian offers, "the whole business did very little to hold them back, especially after the exemplary conduct of the family in the Civil War. That really cleared the slate of any lasting mistrust.

I smile at the thought, by 1660 William, Charles's son, was Duke of Newcastle and his cousin was Earl of Devonshire, both branches of the family firmly ensconced in positions of power and influence. The arrival of a large group of tourists fresh from the manège display brings our conversation to a close. I make my goodbyes, promising to come back soon for, in John's words, a "proper chat" and I exit through a small courtyard and down a flight of steps. There is a viewpoint here over the wide valley, spanning from the tower of Hardwick Hall to the south, just visible through the trees, to an office block in the north I am assured, by the nearby information panel, is in Sheffield. Looking in that direction I am struck by a sudden thought. I have never actually been to the site of Arbella's death, and I should really see it for myself. With a day to spend before my next, and final, interview I decide that it's time for a return visit to York.
 
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York is one of the country's best preserved medieval cities, and walking along Stonegate I am right in the heart of it. There may be a larger proportion of later buildings than the Shambles, but when 'later' translates to 'Georgian' there's not much to complain about. Number 32 is one such building, a 3 story brick townhouse, relatively plain but pleasantly proportioned. What it isn't, however, is the building that stood here when Arbella made her final, fateful, visit. The 15th Century half-timbered structure opposite, however, gives a good idea of what it would have looked like.

There is a small rectangular plaque on the wall detailing the history of the building, not that it's strictly necessary. After all the first assassination of a woman by firearm would be notable even if the woman in question didn't happen to be a Queen. I've purchased a full-colour reproduction of one of the more famous, and purportedly accurate, paintings of the event, and lining it up with the street I find that I can pinpoint the exact place where the royal couple were when the shot was fired. A open window on the third floor of number 32, the gun hidden initially under a cloth hanging, the single shot causing panic in the street and the young queen falling from her horse, fatally wounded. Despite much conjecture there's no evidence that the gunman- a French catholic, was at all linked to the Catesby Plot of a year later, but it's the sort of detail that appeals to the public and so, like Arbella's mythical visit to Bolsover, it remains a popular story.

There are a few tourists taking photos, of the plaque and of the ground near where I was looking. Walking forward I come across the other, much earlier, memorial to the event, a simple cross inscribed on the cobblestone where the Queen breathed her last. I look around at the crowds, and find myself with a sense of detachment about the place. This might have been the location of her death, but beyond making an appearance on the city's ghost tours, there's no real connection with Arbella here. My curiosity, if nothing else, satisfied I depart.

********

Peregrine Andrew Morny Cavendish, better known as Stoker Cavendish or the 12th Duke of Devonshire if one wants to be formal, is a rather jovial man who seems determined to avoid fitting the stereotype of a member of the aristocracy. When I arrive at Chatsworth, the ancestral seat and family home of the Devonshire line, the recently re-gilded windows a gleaming in the sun, the estate seems a perfectly preserved late relic of the pre-war era, but this is only part of the story however. Where the 11th Duke struggled through death duties and the nadir of the country house to restore and maintain Chatsworth, most notably opening it to the public, the 12th Duke has sought to bring the estate into the 21st century, as exemplified by the items of contemporary art that now dot the hallways.

When we meet in privacy of the Yellow Drawing Room it is hard to tell that the crowded masses are passing just overhead, a feature of the solid construction of the house. I open with condolences for the recent death of the Dowager Duchess and am granted a warm, and honest, smile. The Cavendish family have long maintained good relations with the populace, a feature which meant that the Parliamentary seat purchased by Bess in 1572 remained a family affair, in one way or another, until the Labour landslide of 1945, remains strong and the late Dowager Duchess was very popular in the county. After a small amount of small-talk I embark on my reason for being here.

"How is Arbella remembered in the family?" I ask.

The Duke pauses for a moment before answering.

"She rarely comes up in conversation. It's a tragic story of course, and part of the history of the extended family, but she had very few links to Chatsworth."

I bring up the paintings in the collection, most notable being the original of the one I was holding in York.

"Well," the Duke replies, "She's never been entirely forgotten. It's just never been particularly important."

"Have there ever been ambitions towards the throne since?" I ask, and the Duke suppresses a bit of a chuckle.

"No, not at all. I think Bess quite weaned the family off that notion."

The irony of the statement is not lost on me and I grin in return. I ask what the Duke thinks Bess would have made of the eventual marriages.

"Well, assuming she would consider the Bowes-Lyon and Spencer links to be close enough to the family is an interesting question. I rather think she would though. All in all I think she'd be wondering what took us so long"

"Do you ever wonder about what would have happened had Arbella lived longer?" I ask.

"Only idle musings." Comes the reply, "Not much point worrying about it after all."

My time with the Duke is drawing to a close, as we wrap up I congratulate him on the birth of his Great Niece, and Goddaughter.

"Victor's very proud of course" he replies, "and no matter what anyone says it's a love match. I'm very happy for them."

I ask his opinion of the name, the reason indeed for this entire article.

"Oh I approve entirely" he answers, then gives me a knowing wink, "Let's just hope our second Arbella lasts longer than the first."
 
Ah, one other minor POD in Victor Cavendish living.
I quite like the touch of a future Arbella II.
 
Ah, one other minor POD in Victor Cavendish living.
I quite like the touch of a future Arbella II.

Yeah, I'll admit it was partially to try and work out a way of having a Cavendish daughter of suitable age for the machinations ;)

I get that the Unicorn is Scotland, but who is the Stag?

The house of Cavendish, represented by 3 stags heads in the coat of arms. It's a reference to the marriage of Arbella's parents.
 
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