The Quality of Mercy Read online

  “Come to me, daughter.”

  Approaching with a coy smile, Rebecca took a soft velvet pillow and sat at her father’s feet, her overskirt and petticoat billowing over the floor. She curled up against his leg. He reached down and entangled his fingers in her thick, black hair, then stroked it as he would the fur of a lapdog.

  “Has the Queen summoned you yet, Father?”

  “You can answer your own question,” Roderigo said. “You seem to know much about my affairs.”

  “You’re angry at me for telling Dunstan the words of Philip’s letters to you,” Rebecca said. “So be it. Punish me if you desire, but I did it out of love. I’m worried for Miguel’s safety. For yours as well. Essex is clever and vicious.”

  Roderigo stroked his daughter’s cheek. He felt saddened by the burden that the mission had imposed upon her.

  “Don’t worry about me, Becca. Worry instead about your lack of husband.”

  “I need not a husband.”

  “Bah.”

  She said, “There’s none suitable who bids my calling.”

  “Lord Holderoy?”

  “You can’t be serious, Father. He’s too fat and too old. His seed is no doubt less than copious.”

  “The Earl of Nottingham?”

  “A pompous snot.”

  “Marquis of Cumberland?”

  “Father! He is a Papist!”

  “He is also rich and mad for you, daughter.”

  “I will not marry a Papist!”

  “Aye, you truly are your father’s daughter,” Roderigo said. “Filthy swine are the Catholics. They burn relapsed conversos as readily as firewood. And the Protestants are no more gentle. Luther, who openly courted the Jews at first, became angered by their refusal to convert. The serpent recanted his praise and went on to blame all the ills of the Continent on the recalcitrant Semites. They all disgust me, the Gentiles. And yet we are completely dependent on their mercy. As much as I plot and plan, it all comes down to the good graces of a tolerant monarch. As of this moment I sit here powerless. I can do nothing until Her Grace beckons me to court.”

  “Poor Father,” she cooed. “Chafing at the bit while the evil Essex schemes.”

  Roderigo said, “I scold you for repeating my words, and still I talk too freely to you. Don’t mind my affairs.”

  “But I care for you. As you care for me. That’s why you’ll not insist that I marry just for marriage’s sake. Besides, I’m still young—”

  “Not so young anymore. Your mother had borne me three children afore she was twenty.”

  “And the Lord took them all before their majority—God rest their souls. A young womb yields unripe fruit. Better to wait until the tree grows strong.”

  “Bah,” he sneered once again. “Don’t prattle about unripe fruit. You desire freedom.”

  “No,” Rebecca protested. “Only the proper bridegroom.”

  “Which means no husband at all,” Roderigo said. “You’re true to your stars, my child. A Scorpio with the moon in Gemini—a fatal sting that’s mercurial in nature.”

  “Nonsense,” Rebecca said, giving him a playful slap.

  “A bellyful of children should calm you down.”

  “Again nonsense. A bellyful of children will only make me fat and contemptuous to my husband. You wish not that for me, do you, Father?”

  “I wish you to be happy. And a gentlewoman cannot be happy without a husband.”

  “But—”

  “What would you do without a husband?” Roderigo asked.

  “I’d have much to do just being your daughter.”

  Roderigo smiled. “That is not a sufficient position in life.”

  “It is all the position I need.”

  “You need to be a gentleman’s wife.”

  “I should like to continue to help you with your patients. Spend valuable time ministering to the ill. Haven’t you said that I am your extra set of hands—skilled hands?”

  Roderigo kissed those hands. “I cannot reason with you on this issue of marriage. You distract me with silly talk about your hands. If you force me to become a tyrant, I will, Becca. You will marry when I see fit, and now I’ll hear nothing more to the contrary.”

  Rebecca said nothing. Silence was her best weapon against her father’s obstinacy. It had worked in the past, and it seemed to be working now. Roderigo’s face softened. He asked her how she spent the last days of her second period of mourning.

  Rebecca replied, “The hours are long when one is weighted down with boredom.”

  “I asked you not whether you spent your hours contentedly,” Roderigo replied. “Answer my question.”

  “I sew and read.”

  “And do you do what your mother requests?”

  Rebecca paused a moment, puzzled. “I do all that Mother asks of me.”

  “And you’ve almost completed your tasks?”

  Rebecca’s face lit up with understanding.

  “Marry, you mean the forged papers—”

  “Quiet,” Roderigo interrupted. “Keep your voice low.”

  Rebecca whispered, “I’ve finished one set and am busy penning another.”

  Roderigo smiled and stroked her cheek. “Well, then. And your music?”

  Rebecca replied that Grandmama said she wasn’t allowed to play music until the thirty days of her second period of mourning were over. She told her father she only had six days left, trying to sound casual, but the relief in her voice was too evident. Her father had noticed it and arched his eyebrows in disapproval.

  She added, “Aye, Father, a month of mourning officially for Raphael, but for years he will live in the heart.”

  Rebecca sensed that she had said the wrong thing. Her father tensed.

  “Raphael was a wonderful man,” he said.

  “Aye.”

  “He deserves a true mourning, not simply an official one.”

  “I understand,” Rebecca answered.

  “I think not.” Roderigo pushed her away. “Leave now.”

  “Father, I’ve always been a dutiful daughter to you,” Rebecca said. “I would have been a dutiful wife to Raphael. But I was not passionately in love with him.”

  “You would have learned to love him.”

  “I’m not denying that,” Rebecca said. “Some note in my voice has offended you. I pray you to pardon me.”

  “I don’t want apologies, Becca. I simply want you to wed for your own sake. Find a suitable man that pleases you. Because if no man is to your liking, you’ll simply have to marry one you dislike.”

  “Father—”

  “No more said about it!”

  Roderigo curled the tip of his beard with his finger, cleared his throat, then said, “I’ve received word that Uncle Solomon has safely arrived in Turkey.”

  “Thanks be to God,” Rebecca answered quietly.

  He sighed and tried again. “Did I tell you about the letter that your brother sent me?”

  “Two times. Ben is well and is enjoying Venice. He eats a great deal—less meat, more bread.”

  “Did I tell you about their eating geegaw—a fork they call it. They spear their food—”

  “Aye, you told me.”

  “Ben said they eat using these toys for fingers because their hands aren’t clean.” Roderigo laughed.

  Rebecca was not amused. “Shall I go now?”

  “No. Your beauty warms my bones,” said Roderigo. “Stay. And do not sulk.”

  “As you wish.”

  “Stubborn girl,” Roderigo muttered.

  Before Rebecca could reply, Martino walked in the room, panting with excitement. A gentleman wearing royal livery had arrived with a message to deliver to Dr. Lopez. Rebecca stood up and looked at her father. His face held an expression of concern mixed with excitement. At last. Some word from the Queen. It was, of course, a double-edged sword. Father had been summoned, but for what purpose? Rebecca’s heart started hammering, her head suddenly felt light. Please God, let all be well.

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nbsp; Roderigo commanded Martino, “Let him in. But give me some minutes to make myself acceptable.” To Rebecca he said, “Dress me quickly.”

  Immediately she began to truss his points, lacing firmly the ribbons of his gown.

  “Where are your shoes?” she asked.

  “My boots are—”

  “Nay, Father, not your boots. Your velvet shoes—the ones topped with roses.”

  “Need I my velvet shoes?”

  “Father!”

  “They are in my bedchamber.”

  “I will retrieve them along with your garters. And a new ruff as well. The one you wear sags pathetically under the weight of your beard.”

  She was off. He was elated. The Queen had sent for him. Was Essex out of favor? Did she desire to use his secret contact in Spain? Did she need news from Solomon Aben Ayesh’s well-connected band of Levantine spies? Did she simply desire his counsel?

  Suddenly he stopped and felt a cold shiver run through his body.

  Could the Queen be actually ill?

  Perish the thought! If her life ended, so would go all his power.

  He picked up his bag and checked its contents. A few elixirs, a few powders. He was lacking the necessary medicines—the purges, leeches, potions, poultices. Thank God Rebecca and Sarah were so meticulous in stocking the stillroom.

  Rebecca was back with a new ruff and his shoes. Quickly she placed multiple layers of lace and wire around his neck. Her father seemed calm, he wasn’t trembling or breathing hard, but his color seemed unusually flushed. Her own fingers were stiff. God give him strength, give her strength. Let this be a portent of good things to come.

  “My medicine bag is nearly empty,” Roderigo told her.

  “Tell me what you need.”

  Roderigo listed the medicines: a jug of leeches, trefoil, thistle, walnut shells, cheese mold, fungus on rye—women of that age are known to have bleeding of the privates.

  “Perhaps a sprig or two of parsley mixed with dragon water,” Rebecca suggested. “The condition of Her Grace’s teeth is quite poor.”

  “Aye, parsley with water, and dried mint as well. And my special purge.”

  “Done,” said Rebecca. “Shall I ask Martino to show in the messenger?”

  “Aye…wait.”

  Rebecca stopped.

  “Am I presentable?” Roderigo asked.

  “More than presentable, Father. Comely.”

  Roderigo smiled and blew her a kiss as she left.

  The messenger entered—a young man wearing the royal arms. He was just a boy, Roderigo thought, with hardly more than fuzz for a beard. Yet Roderigo quaked before him as if he were the Queen herself.

  “Does Her Grace find herself in good health, sir?” Roderigo asked.

  “I know not,” the gentleman answered.

  “Come, sir,” Roderigo insisted. “Surely you were informed—”

  “I was told to call you to court,” the boy said. “One does not inquire about the Queen’s business if one wishes to keep his head.”

  Roderigo swallowed dryly.

  “I shall prepare to leave at once.”

  “A steed shall be waiting for you.” The messenger turned on his heels and left.

  Revolting little roach, Roderigo thought. Unbecoming for a Queen to use such young rats as messengers. The little worm had a voice as cold as snow. It had sent a shiver through Roderigo’s spine. He looked up and saw Rebecca carrying an armful of vials.

  “Come, daughter,” he said. “Tarry not. Place the medicines in my bag.”

  She did as instructed, then looped an amulet around his neck. This one was arsenic paste sewed in dog skin, she explained.

  “It will guard you against Black Death should the Queen be inflicted.” She pulled out a white crystal pebble from a jug. “Open up.”

  Roderigo stared at the crystal. His mother-in-law had always insisted that the salts protected better than any charm the “wisemen” wore. Its taste was bitter, though not as bitter as the plague, Roderigo thought. He’d treated many patients steeped in Black Death, and not once had he or a member of his family been cursed with the disease. The hag might be a wretched old thing, but her potions were strong and effective. There were already mutterings that the false Protestants were not only secret Jews, but agents of Satan as well. How else could they circumvent the ubiquitous plague?

  Marry, Roderigo thought, let them mutter. I shall live. He plucked the salt out of Rebecca’s hand and swallowed it.

  “I shall take one also,” Rebecca announced.

  “For what purpose?” Roderigo asked.

  “Oh Father,” she blurted out. “Let me come to court.”

  “Impossible,” Roderigo answered, not unkindly.

  “The Queen was very fond of me,” Rebecca reminded him. “She brought me comfits and jellied quince. She loved my singing. My virginal playing made her weep.”

  “Another time, Becca,” he said. “Once my favor has been firmly restored in her eyes.”

  “If she is ill, I can assist you. I’ve come with you diverse times to visit the ill at St. Bartholomew’s.”

  “This is the Queen.”

  “How often did I stand by your side when Lord Leicester was ill?”

  “He was not the Queen.”

  “Her body is still human. If she is ill, I can help—”

  “Go away, daughter. I have no time for your foolishness.”

  Rebecca knew she should respect his wishes, but the last twenty-four days had been so confining. She envied her brother, off in Venice, her cousins gallivanting about. Only she and Uncle Hector had shown any respect for Raphael. True, she had been his betrothed, but it didn’t seem fair that only she should be cloistered. Rebecca argued,

  “Had you not told me I should have been born a man so I could have practiced your chosen profession?”

  “But you’re not a man.” Roderigo shook his head. “Aye, not a man at all.”

  “I’m better equipped than Ben,” Rebecca said.

  Roderigo glared at his daughter, angry at being confronted with the truth. Ben was an open wound in Roderigo’s heart. A wonderful boy, kind and good-hearted, but not as clever as Roderigo had wished. A curse to have a quick-witted daughter and a dull-witted son.

  “Even if I would have permitted you to accompany me under ordinary circumstances, I would not allow it now,” he said sternly. “You’re in mourning, Rebecca.”

  “I pray you, Father.” She sunk down on her knees and grabbed his hands, kissing his jeweled fingers. “I must leave here. I feel as if I’m being enveloped by the blackness I wear. I must escape or I’ll go mad. I beg of you.”

  Roderigo withdrew his hands and said, “Your playacting may have its desired effects on young hearts, Becca, but my ears are deaf to your antics.”

  Rebecca’s despair looked honest. Roderigo helped her to her feet and kissed her cheek. He said, “The Queen may have summoned me for reasons other than illness, little one. There is no place for women in politics.”

  “Then what is the Queen? A bear? A goose? Aye, she must be a dog because oft you call her a bitch—”

  Roderigo slapped her across the face. “Your tongue needs a knotting.”

  The slap was a light one—a warning that she’d gone too far. But she remained undeterred. “The Queen’s a woman. Does she not involve herself in politics?”

  “Bah,” Roderigo said. “You refuse to give up. Go away, silly Becca. You irritate me and I’m in no mood to be irritated.”

  “Please, Father,” she implored. “If you have no need of me, I shall parade my wares around the galleries. Handsome and rich courtiers abound. Many are single, many are very well regarded. Who knows who may buy the merchandise? How am I to find a husband if you keep me locked up in these walls? I ask you so little, Father. Cosset me this one time.”

  “You are the most pampered, spoiled, self-indulged young lady I have ever met!” Roderigo said harshly.

  But his eyes were smiling. She knew she had won.


  “Have your maids prepare you quickly,” he said. “If you’re not done by the time I depart, you shall be left behind.”

  Rebecca’s heart took off in wild anticipation. To visit London-town. What a glorious place it was in springtime. Full of excitement and bustle. Stalls packed with the latest wares, ladies on the arms of their lords, bedecked in the most fashionable of dress. New sights and smells. New faces. She wanted to throw herself at her father’s feet and kiss his shoes in gratitude. He was taking her away from these walls, this prison. She should have vowed never to anger him again, should have showered him with obsequious words of praise. Instead all she said was thank you, her voice surprisingly cool and detached.

  Chapter 10

  The Queen was in a foul mood, made even fouler the moment Dr. Lopez walked inside her bedchambers. Her Majesty’s personal sleeping closet, though modest in size, was opulent in style. The walls of the chamber were covered with silk cloth embroidered with the royal coat-of-arms. Velvet drapes sewn with silver and gold thread hung over two arched windows that provided the Queen with a view of the rose gardens. Her Majesty’s poster bed was carved from walnut, its mattress topped with down-filled counterpanes, and velvet and taffety pillows. Elizabeth sat on a throne, positioned to the left of her bed. Next to the royal chair stood a table upon which sat a porcelain water basin and pitcher, both leafed with gold.

  Lopez gave the obeisance of reverence—the customary bow given to a monarch—and started to advance, but the Queen commanded him to stop.

  “Who called him!” she demanded of the High Treasurer, Lord Burghley.

  “But madam, you are ill—”

  “You whale!” she screamed at Burghley. “You swine in black. You Puritan! Get him out of here!”

  Burghley shrugged haplessly at Roderigo and their eyes met. Not a true friend, Roderigo knew. Impossible to keep one’s neck whole and trust anyone in power. But at the moment he was an ally, their connection the hatred of Essex.

  “Go!” the Queen commanded Roderigo.

  Her nightdress was soaked with perspiration. Yet her teeth chattered. She adjusted her wig—locks of flaming red hair knotted formally and entwined with diamonds and sapphires—then threw her sable-trimmed robe over her chest.