The Traitor's Daughter by Barbara Kyle

Author:Barbara Kyle [Kyle, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2015-04-07T04:00:00+00:00

Robert stared at the food before him. Roast goose. Halibut with saffron sauce. Borage and fennel salad. Nutmeg custard tarts. He ate, but felt in such a rocky state each dish tasted alike. Kate’s accusation had stunned him. And sent a flag of caution waving wildly in his mind. She had paid the clerk for a look at the transcript, she’d said. How had she known where to find it? And how did she know Lord Burghley well enough to threaten to take her concerns to him? How was she in a position to do that?

“More wine, Robert?” His grandmother’s voice broke into his thoughts.

“Thank you, my lady,” he said. “It is a fine Rhenish.”

The three sat in Lady Thornleigh’s solar, a small bright room adjacent to her library. Kate was being served a custard tart by a footman.

“A gift from Lady Mildmay,” their grandmother said, beckoning another footman to fill Robert’s glass. “In thanks for my gift of pears to her. Our orchard has produced a happy abundance.”

He managed a smile. He drank some wine, watching Kate as she bit into the tart. She has lived with Father these last ten years. He’s likely on friendly terms with Burghley. That must explain it. Still, her questions had been sharp, a field of thorns. He had barely slithered through.

At least he had convinced her, thank God. “You shall not tell Father, nor anyone,” she had gently assured him when their grandmother had called them in. “And nor will I. It shall be our secret.”

Yet Robert did not feel easy. Kate was not the naïve outsider he had thought.

The women’s talk, as they ate, turned to Father. Lady Thornleigh was saying he had sent a note confirming that he and his wife would attend the private supper she was planning. “He is so delighted to have you home, Robert. And to think that Kate found you. It is so good to have the family whole again.” She cast a reassuring look at Kate and added, “Your father will soften toward you, too, my dear. It is just a matter of time. He is a man who loves his children. Robert, you and I must work on him.”

“Indeed, we shall, my lady,” he said.

“Don’t worry, Kate. We’ll bring him round.”

Kate smiled. “With such sturdy advocates, how could I despair?” Bravado on her part, Robert thought. She seemed less than certain.

Lady Thornleigh raised her glass. “To the family.” They all drank.

Their grandmother, enjoying her wine, launched into tales of their father’s seafaring exploits. She spoke of his sea battle off San Juan de Ulua in Mexico fourteen years ago when he’d captained the Elizabeth, one of seven ships in Sir John Hawkins’s trading expedition. The Spaniards had attacked, sinking several vessels, and Father’s had been one of the few to make it home. A few years later, she went on, he attacked one of Spain’s pay ships in the Channel carrying gold to King Philip’s troops in the Netherlands.

“Your father delivered the gold

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