Waking Elizabeth (19 page)

Ronan
wrapped his arms around me and drew me into his chest, “How do you feel?”

“Sad.
 
I feel sad for her,” I answered, almost
wishing I could give that particular vision back to her.
 

“This
will be the hardest place you’ll see,” Ronan kissed the top of my head.

We
exited the Chapel and I spotted yet another tomb on the opposite side, this one
a little larger than Elizabeth’s.
 
Ronan
sensed my curiosity and ushered me towards it.
 

“Mary,
Queen of Scots,” I mouthed her name as I read the plaque.

“Originally
Elizabeth was placed in the tomb with her grandfather over there,” Ronan
pointed towards the tomb of Henry VII and his wife, “But three years after she
was buried there, James moved her body to her own tomb and built the monument
you see today.
 
At that time, he also had
his mother’s body relocated here and this larger monument erected in memory of
her.”
 
Ronan turned me around and pointed
to various monuments around me, “You see, most people won’t understand the
significance of where King James placed his mother.
 
Mary is placed behind Henry VII’s mother and
in front of Henry VII’s own daughter, Margaret.
 
This was an indirect way to emphasize his mother’s right to the
throne.
 
If you think about it, both Elizabeth
and Mary are out of the line of inherited power in another room,” again Ronan
pointed towards the tomb of Elizabeth in the other room.

I
was staggered by the unadulterated politics that Elizabeth endured even after
her death, “She would hate that.”

“Yes.
 
She would.”

Chapter
20

W
e left Westminster
to my general relief and went to a Pub around the corner for a light
lunch.
 
I was quietly eating my fish and
chips and reflecting on all that I had learned today when something Ronan said
came back to me, “You told me in the chapel that only once did Elizabeth
verbally name a successor.”

“Yes,
only once.”

“And
it wasn’t James?”

Ronan
lifted his beer and took a long sip, “No.
 
It wasn’t.”

“Who
was it?
 
She didn’t have any heirs that
anyone knew of.
 
Even though there were
rumors that she had children.”

Ronan
eyed me from across the table and I could tell he clearly objected to those
rumors, “No heirs,” he affirmed.

“So,
who was it?”

“Dudley,”
his answer was short and swift.

“Robert?
 
Her … lover?” I asked in disbelief.

“Yes.
 
The very one.
 
Remember when I mentioned that at 29 she was very sick with
smallpox?
 
She nearly died and was
confined to her bed for weeks.
 
He was
there, every day with her.
 
Refusing to
leave her bed side.
 
He barely ate or drank.
 
At some point when William Cecil came in to
discuss important business and it was then that she said she wanted Robert to
be Protector of the Kingdom if she should die.
 
Luckily she didn’t and honestly I’m not too sure what would have
happened if she had.
 
Mary would have
made a move for the throne with Elizabeth dead, regardless of her wishes for
Robert.
 
He likely would have been taken
prisoner and executed.”

I
shuddered at the thought.

“You’ve
seen a lot in the last few days.
 
Are you
overwhelmed yet?” Ronan leaned across the table, his fingers reaching for mine.

I
hadn’t really thought about it until he mentioned it, but, now that he had, I
was yearning to do something that involved a little less … soul searching.
 
“I could use a day or two of something
mindless and fun.
 
Maybe Jess will be
free for a little shopping or something.”

“Is
her schedule pretty solid while she’s here?” he asked me.

“Yep.
 
She’s a workaholic and her brain is going
24/7.
 
She keeps long hours and if there
is a free 15 minutes, she’ll stuff something in there.
 
She’s a machine,” I laughed, “But I’ve kept
you away from work long enough.
 
They’ll
throw you in the Tower for abandoning them … oh wait, you already live there,”
I winked at him playfully.

“I’m
leaving tomorrow for a few days to see my parents,” he looked down thoughtfully
where our hands rested on the white tablecloth, our fingers entwined.

I
was aware of the look on my face and I fought desperately for it not to convey
the sadness I felt at hearing those words.
 
I struggled in an effort to sound like the news didn’t affect me,
“That’s right.
 
That should be fun.
 
Maybe Jess will take pity on me and spend
some time with me.”
  
It had come out
wrong.
 
Like I needed to be pitied since
he wasn’t here.
 
I was about to say
something to correct this when he surprised me.

“I
know it’s … spontaneous, but I was wondering … if you would like to join me?”

My
heart soared.
 
I could barely contain the
smile on my face, “Really?”

“Of
course,” he seemed excited that I hadn’t flat out denied him, “It’s only two
hours north of here.
 
It’s a large
estate, you’ll of course have your own room.
 
I thought it would be a nice break for you from the saturation of historical
information and a good way to see what’s outside of London.”

I
hesitated, only because I didn’t want him to offer solely because he thought I
would be alone with nothing to do without him here, “It sounds wonderful,
Ronan, but I can’t help but feel I’m imposing.”

He
looked at me, shaking his head, “Ellie, you’re not imposing.
 
I asked you to come … you’re over thinking
it.”
 

I
was hearing that a lot lately, from him and from Jess, “Since the second I
stepped into your office I’ve monopolized all your time.
 
I’m starting to feel a little guilty.”

“I
have freely given my time, and don’t regret a second of it.
 
I want you to come.
 
I would miss you if you don’t.”
 
His bold stare held me hostage.
 
How
could I refuse?

I
was packing a small leather bag that I had purchased at a boutique across the
street from our hotel, my cell phone perched on my shoulder, pressed against my
ear as I listened to it ring.
 
When Jess
answered she sounded cheerful.

“Hey,”
I said hesitantly, “How’s your day?”

“Good.
 
Everything is running smoothly and on time,
which is a change.
 
These English are
sticklers for time.
 
So different than
back home.
 
It’s refreshing,” she
answered.

“So.
 
I know its short notice, but … would you be
totally offended and hate me if I were to go with Ronan to his parents house
this weekend?
 
I know you have some tours
to do and I was going to come with you, and I can, if you need me to go,” I
trailed off.

“Um,
Ronan asked you to go to his parent’s house with him this weekend?” she asked
calmly.
 

“He
did.
 
I turned him down at first, but he
persisted … in a nice way of course.”

“Well,
I hope you are packing
as
you’re
asking me this.
 
Of course you need to
go!
 
Did you seriously think I was going
to stop you?”

I
smiled as I packed the leather bag, “I’m packing.”

“You
better be!”

“Are
you sure?
 
I hate leaving you alone,” I frowned.

“I’ll
be fine.
 
I do have a full weekend and
when I don’t have dinner plans I will order in room service.”
 

“I
hate to think about you alone up here eating in the room.”

“Why?
 
I can put on that fluffy robe and rent some
movies and totally charge it to the government or Blair for that matter.
 
How fun is that?”

I
loved her.
 
Truly loved her.
 
“Thank you Jess,” I zipped the bag and sat on
the edge of the bed, “Dinner tonight before I leave tomorrow.
 
Just you and I, okay?”

“Don’t
give me a pity dinner!
 
If you already
have plans with Romeo, I’m fine with that.”

I
laughed, “I don’t.
 
He has to square some
things away at work anyway.
 
Seriously.
 
We’ll have
dinner.
 
Just you and I.”

The
next morning Ronan had planned to come get me from the hotel at nine so that
Thomas could drive us to the station in order to catch the morning train to
Somerset.
 
I’d never traveled by train
before.
 
I didn’t count the Metro system
in DC as a train and I had only taken it a handful of times.
 
I still felt a tad guilty about leaving Jess
behind but she assured me that she would stay busy all weekend and to go and
have a good time.
 
I was up early,
excited about the trip and the chance to spend a weekend with Ronan in the
country.
 
I took my small weekend bag I
had purchased and packed to the hilt down to the lobby to wait for him
there.
 
I smiled from the corner of the
room when I saw him wheeling his bag in, dressed in jeans and a button down
casual shirt with a blue jacket.
 
He took
his sunglasses off upon entering the lobby and was headed for the elevator when
he spotted me smiling at him.

“Hi,”
he greeted me with an outstretched arm.
 
I tucked myself into his chest for a hug and he kissed me lightly on the
lips, “I was headed up to get you.”

“I
got ready early, so I figured I would meet you down here,” I answered, gazing
up at him.

He
smiled wickedly, “Still don’t trust me alone with you in your room?”

“
You
are the one that should be careful
about being alone with
me
in the
room,” I answered, gliding a finger along the well manicured scruff of his jaw.

His
eyes blazed with a hunger I clearly recognized and that rivaled my own.
 
I wonder how long we could keep this up.
   

“Ready
for the train?” I grinned.

“I’m
ready to have you all to myself for a few days,” his eyes never left mine.

“I’m
all yours,” I pulled away from him and reached for my bag.
 

Ronan
instantly took it from my hands, “I’ll take that.”

“What
a gentleman.
 
Thank you,” I smiled at
him.

He
flashed me a rebellious smirk, “I want you to save your strength.”

I
could feel the heat spreading across my neck and up my face as I followed him
out the door and towards Thomas who was waiting on the curb.
 

The
train ride was thrilling.
 
I sat in a
window seat so Ronan could point out different things on the way there.
 
The sensation of the train gliding through
the countryside was lulling and several times I rested my head against his
shoulder as he stroked my arm.
 
When we
arrived at Bridgewater station I was just about to ask how we would journey to
his house when I saw him waiving to a man standing next to a very beautiful
vintage Rolls Royce.

“This
is Allister.
 
He’ll be taking us to my
parents house, Broadmore Park,” Ronan walked to Allister and shook his hand,
“Allister, this is Ellie.”

The
younger man fidgeted with his hand and smiled shyly at me, “Pleasure,” he
mumbled, reaching out to take the bags and put them into the trunk.
 
I slid into the large leather back seat of
the classic Rolls and looked at Ronan with wide eyes.

“This
is beautiful,” I whispered, “I feel like I’m on Downtown Abbey.”

“I
can take you to Highclere Castle if you want, that’s where they film
Downtown.
 
It’s about 2 hours from our
house,” Ronan settled into the seat beside me, grinning.

“Of
course it is,” I whispered to myself and shook my head.

We
rode through the small town before venturing out onto a country road, passing
very few cars in the process.
 
Vastly
different than London, I was entranced by the rolling hills that surrounded us.
 
Every once in a while a stone cottage would
dot the hillside in the distance and I wondered if that was our
destination.
 
He had said very little
about his home except that his parents owned a farm.
 
After about 20 minutes we turned down a dirt
road and approached a stone wall with an iron gate.
 

“I’ll
get it, you pull on through,” Ronan said, jumping from the car and opening the
gate up so that Allister could pull the car through.
 
I watched as Ronan latched the large gate
behind us and then hopped back into the car.

I
looked out the front window at the impressive estate in the distance atop a
hill and my mouth opened in disbelief, “You said your parents owned a farm,” I
whispered.

“They
do,” he leaned back casually in the seat, “A large farm … but a farm.”

“What
part of this is a farm?”

“There
is a barnyard, over there …,” he pointed out his window in the distance where I
could see some cows and sheep roaming.

“There
is nothing about this that is a farm,” I laughed, turning to him.

“It’s
a sizable farm,” he answered, “I might have misled you … a little.”

The
house was enormous, on par with Hatfield House or one of the other places on my
itinerary.
 
It was a light red stone
Georgian mansion, if I had studied my architecture accurately, at least 3
stories high and easily the size of a hotel.

“Your
parents live here?”

“They
do.
 
It’s been in our family for several
generations.”