Elizabeth I by Margaret George Read Free Book Online Page A

knew what happened,” he said.
    My heart sank. This was only partial news. Had our fleet been disabled by the wind and then destroyed by the Spaniards? Did all of England now lie open before them?

    No one knew. We waited at Richmond as the days ticked by—August 2, 3, 4. The guards never left me, and all the entrances to the palace were sealed. We kept our trunks packed and slept little.
    We feared the worst—that the Spaniards were even now marching toward London. “But,” I told Marjorie, “we can comfort ourselves that all of England will not be conquered, no matter if they capture us and overrun London. There is more to the realm than the south counties and London. In Wales and in the north, the terrain is rough and the people rougher. The east is full of marshes and fens. If the Spanish cannot subdue the Netherlands after thirty years, they could never pacify us. New leaders would rise if I and my entire government disappeared.”
    “We breed fierce fighters,” she said. “We would make their lives hell if they occupied us.”
    “And if they tried to station enough soldiers here to quiet us, they would leave the Netherlands empty and lose them,” said Catherine.
    I looked at them. They did not even pretend to be calm. Both their husbands were out fighting the invaders, and they had no word of them.
    “Ah, ladies,” I said. “We stand and fall as one.”
    But what was happening?

    Late that night, Lord Hunsdon came to Richmond. I welcomed him with both dread—to hear what he had to say—and relief—to know the worst, if worst it was.
    Although over sixty now, he was still a towering commander. I bade him rise. He drew himself up and said, “Your Majesty, I am here to convey you to a place of safety. You must leave London.”
    “Why?” I said. “I do not move an inch unless I know what is happening.”
    Catherine could not help herself; she stepped forward and embraced her father, murmuring, “Oh, thank God you are uninjured.”
    He patted her shoulder but talked over her head to me. “Even my news is old, though I have been kept abreast of it. But this I know: The Armada has reached the area of the Solent and the Isle of Wight. There have been two clashes already, the first at Plymouth—where we managed to escape being trapped at anchor and got the wind gauge on them—the next at Portland Bill. Neither was conclusive. Drake captured Nuestra Señora del Rosario , laden with treasure. It did not even put up a fight. When the Spanish captain heard who confronted him, he immediately surrendered, saying that Drake was one ‘whose valor and felicity was so great that Mars and Neptune seemed to attend him.’ ”
    Drake. It did seem that, at sea at least, he was unconquerable. “Then what?” I asked.
    Hunsdon ran his hands through his thick hair. “The Armada kept going, and the English kept pursuing. So far the enemy have not been able to land. But the Isle of Wight will offer ideal conditions to do so.”
    “We have strengthened it,” I said. “There’s a huge defensive ditch, and Governor George Carew has three thousand men at the ready. We have another nine thousand militia guarding Southampton.”
    “Our navy will do all in its power to keep them from getting into the Solent waters and thus gaining access to Wight. It will depend on whether they can thwart the Spanish from using the flood tide to their advantage.”
    “And all this is happening—now?”
    “I would guess at dawn. That is why it is crucial that you come with me and my soldiers to a place where the enemy cannot find you.”
    “What are you trying to say? That you are certain the Spanish will land, that we are helpless to prevent them?”
    “I am only saying that if they land, the road to London is easy from there.”
    “But they have not landed. Not yet.”
    “For the love of God, Ma’am, by the time we know they have landed you will look out your window and see Spanish helmets! I beg you, protect yourself. Do not let