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Bess held Elizabeth's bedgown, and the queen slipped her arms into the sleeves and wrapped it about her slender body. When Bess went into the dressing room, she was appalled at the disarray that met her eyes. She began to tidy up immediately and opened the huge wardrobe to put away some of the gowns. Bess was very efficient and methodical and had the dressing room tidy in short order.
Bess heard Robin Dudley's voice and paused in what she was doing, thinking she should withdraw so they could be private.
“Amy is dead!” Robin's deep voice seemed unnaturally loud.
“At last!” Elizabeth's voice sounded exultant.
“She was found with a broken neck at the bottom of the stairs.”
“What? You brainless, clumsy, stupid fool, Robin! By Christ's precious blood, you've ruined everything! Was this your idea of the perfect birthday gift for me? Amy was supposed to die in bed with the doctors hovering about her! How could you have committed this insanely stupid act?”
“Elizabeth, I didn't kill her!” Dudley's voice quivered with emotion.
Bess sank down upon a stool, her knees turned to water. She remained as still and silent as she could.
“You bloody fool, Robin. I don't cavil at murder, if it can be dressed up as something else, but this is beyond all disguise! The entire world will accuse you, but worse, it will point its accusing finger at me and condemn me !”
“Elizabeth, stop it. On my honor I had nothing to do with my wife's death. If it was not an accident, then it was suicide!”
“It was murder, you fool! If not by you, then by your worst enemy, to prevent you from marrying the queen.”
“Cecil! He's the only one with enough power, enough cunning and determination!”
“Cecil has been away for weeks negotiating a peace with Scotland. Take your bloody hands off me! It isn't what has happened that matters, it's what it appears to the whole world—and believe me when I tell you it appears that we have murdered your wife so that we can wed. If this crime can be proved against you, you will lose your head, you clumsy fool!”
“I wouldn't be the first lover you've abandoned to the block.”
Elizabeth gasped. “Lord Dudley, you will be taken to Kew under house arrest until there is an inquest into your wife's death.”
“I understand, madam,” he said coldly.
Bess heard him withdraw, and Elizabeth let out such a cry of anguish, Bess came to the door of the dressing room. Elizabeth stared at her in horror, as if she had forgotten her presence in the adjoining chamber.
“What in the name of hellfire are you staring at? You sly bitch, listening at keyholes! Don't you dare to look at me like that. You are nothing but a bloody hypocrite, Bess Hardwick. You and Cavendish poisoned his wife so he could wed you!”
Bess stiffened with outrage. “That is a lie, Your Majesty. I would not take my happiness at the cost of another woman's pain and suffering.”
“I would!” Elizabeth said defiantly. “I have! I had some damned good teachers.” The queen's amber eyes glittered dangerously. “If you open your mouth outside this chamber, I'll see that it's closed permanently.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Bess swept her a curtsy. “May I withdraw?”
“Yes, get out!”
When Bess reached the antechamber, the door opened and Cat Ashley entered. Elizabeth's cries and curses could be heard all over the apartments. “What has happened, Bess?”
“Something terrible, Cat. She experiences everything with the same deep passion I do. You had better let her scream and rage until she gets it all out.”
