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“And so eftsoons Jesus preserve you and send my cousin Frances a good hour and your honour a glad grandmother.

“Scribbled at London... January, 1568.”

Evidently this “Frances” is the eldest daughter of the Countess, who married Sir Henry Pierrepoint, and whose child is awaited.

Matters as regards the Earl of Shrewsbury did not move so fast as one would expect. It was not till June of 1568 that the final orders reached the Earl to make ready his “castle” of Tutbury for the reception of his romantic royal prisoner. Mary was now at Carlisle, and the part which the Earl was to play in her entourage as suggested in contemporary letters has more the character of that of a prominent cavalier in a princely retinue than that of a military gaoler. The description in the French ambassador’s letter reads well:—

“A castle named Tutbury, which is only one hundred miles from here”—London—“and is a very beautiful place as they say, especially for hunting, in which, whenever it takes place, the Earl of Shrewsbury, who has a portion of his estate in that neighbourhood, is ordered to give her his company, along with other Lords and gentlemen thereabout.”