He wrapped her in the towel and lifted her from the water. “In that case I'd better take you to bed and make sure of it,” he said with a devilish grin.
Both Bess and William thought it politic that she remain in London, at least for the new queen's coronation, which was being planned for August 3. Bess couldn't wait to see Elizabeth again and decided that before she returned north she would find a way to see Frances also.
Elizabeth traveled from Hatfield to meet her sister at Wanstead, join her procession, and escort the new queen into London. Along the way noble and commoner alike joined Princess Elizabeth's retinue, until her escort numbered about one thousand by the time she met Mary.
Mary noted that Elizabeth showed her every respect when she made her obeisance, but she did not trust the girl. And as Elizabeth rode directly behind the new queen, wearing virginal white, with her glorious red-gold hair cloaking her shoulders, Mary became sullenly jealous and wondered for whom exactly the populace was cheering so wildly.
The day after her state entrance and coronation, there was a reception at Whitehall that filled the Great Hall, the Guard Chamber, and the Presence Chamber, where all Queen Mary's loyal subjects came to bend the knee, to pledge to be her obedient servant, and to wish her God's blessing.
Lady Cavendish, resplendent in Tudor colors of green and white, made her curtsy. Queen Mary did not speak to her, but when her agate eyes flicked over her, Bess experienced an involuntary shudder. Shrewdly, Lady Cavendish retired from the Presence Chamber, leaving Sir William in the company of Treasurer Paulet.
Bess found Elizabeth in the Guard Chamber, surrounded by so many younger nobles, it looked as if she were holding her own Court.
“Lady Cavendish, walk with me.”
The two striking redheads left the chamber to seek a more private place. Since Whitehall had over two thousand rooms, it was not difficult. “Your Grace, you look radiant.”
“Today I am heir to the throne, but I have never been in a more dangerous position in my life. Robin Dudley is in the Tower—she holds his life in her hands!”
“Cavendish believes that all blame will be laid at John Dudley's feet and eventually she will pardon the others.”
“I dare not plead his case; she hates me. She has supreme authority and will force me to Mass,” Elizabeth hissed.
“Your Grace, for your own safety you must obey her in all things,” Bess advised, fearing Elizabeth's disobedience.
“I must seem to obey her in all things. When she forces me to Mass I shall faint in the chapel, and that will send a signal to every Protestant in the realm that I attend under protest.”
“Cavendish and I are going to outwardly conform.”
“The venomous bitch is already spreading it about that I am not related to her by blood—that I am Mark Smeaton's by-blow!”
Bess took Elizabeth's hand and squeezed it. “Your Grace, no one seeing you can ever deny that you are Henry Tudor's daughter. People will know she is eaten alive with envy for your youth and your beauty. Your very aura is regal, and you draw every eye.”
“Aye, that is the problem. As soon as I may, I shall withdraw to Hatfield, live quietly as a nun, and bide my time.”
During the following week William and Bess discussed their future. His position with the treasury seemed safe at the moment, but as they had just seen, circumstances could change overnight.
“Derbyshire is a far safer place than London. Buying Chatsworth was the wisest thing you ever did, William.”
“We should expand our holdings in the north. The Earl of Westmorland has eight thousand acres of good pastureland for sale, only a few miles from Chatsworth. It would make us the biggest landowners in Derbyshire— after Shrewsbury, of course.”
“We cannot afford it!” Bess knew their expenditures were already greater than their income, for she kept a strict accounting of what they took in from their northern land holdings and what they paid out for the building of Chatsworth.
“I'll borrow the money from William Parr. My bribes of office will take care of the payments.”
When Bess looked shocked, his eyes filled with amusement. “Don't be such a little hypocrite; when it comes to business you are quite capable of being ruthless. When you do the accounting, don't put down the interest we pay Parr on the loan. Usury is strictly against the law.”
Almost immediately, marriage negotiations began between Queen Mary and Prince Philip of Spain. Bess hoped the marriage plans would occupy all the queen's thoughts and she would not waste her time plotting revenge. Bess heaved a great sigh of relief when Cavendish proved to be right about Lady Frances Grey's influence with her cousin, the queen. Henry Grey was released from the Tower by paying a heavy fine, and before Bess returned north she and William went by barge to Suffolk House to visit their old friends.
Bess did not know it, but it was the last time that she would ever see Henry Grey. Within a year of his release, Henry became involved in a plot to depose Queen Mary and set Elizabeth on the throne. When the revolt was over, Mary had Grey beheaded and for good measure sent his daughter Lady Jane to the block as well.
Princess Elizabeth was taken to the Tower and interrogated about her role in the treasonous plot. Her life hung by a thread for three long months, then she was released and sent to Woodstock, under guard.
Bess agonized over the Greys' tragedy, and William felt impotent that he had been able to do nothing to aid his friend. Bess could not get Elizabeth out of her mind and worried for her constantly. Bess herself was so safe and insulated here in Derbyshire, she was covered with guilt because the Cavendish fortunes seemed to be on the rise. Not only had she added to her nursery each year, everything they touched prospered. Their vast landholdings earned them a great income, and two full stories of Chatsworth were now complete, right down to the exquisite plasterwork frescoes. Bess filled her new home with the treasures she had been accumulating for years and entertained the great noble families in the northern shires.
Bess hadn't the faintest idea that because of their close association with the Greys and her close friendship with Elizabeth, the Cavendishes were in Queen Mary's disfavor.
Stories of the splendor of Chatsworth began to reach the queen's ears. It was said that Lady Cavendish had furnished fourteen bedchambers en suite with matching drapes, bed hangings, and covers, and that she displayed no less than sixty pieces of magnificent tapestry on Chatsworth's walls. Rumor said the ostentatious house was fit to entertain a monarch, but no invitation was ever extended to Queen Mary. When she learned that Frances Grey and her daughter Catherine were welcome visitors, along with Nan Dudley, it was like a slap in the face. These women had been married to Mary's bitterest enemies, who had gone to the block for plotting treason against her.