It had such a fascination for her that she could talk of nothing else, and she often made Lady Paton very uncomfortable by her remark; for what would happen next if fashionable ladies took upon themselves to set the clergy right upon such a thing as the translation of the Testament?
Audrey protested against this view of the matter, declaring she only wanted to know what was the truth—to know the mind of God and the Lord Jesus Christ—and no one could blame her for this.
Lady Paton did more than blame her. She was very angry about the whole matter. But fortunately Lady Audrey was summoned to go with her mother to visit an aunt at Little Sodbury, in Gloucestershire; and so her visit to Woodstock was abruptly terminated, to the great relief of Lady Paton, who feared that the holy fathers at the monastery would hear of her talk about the New Testament and be offended about it. She was angry even with her own darling Margery, and bade her lock up the book in the oak-chest, and by no means allow anyone else to see it.
But before she went, Lady Audrey had copied several chapters, and these she took with her, and made no secret of what she had done when she joined her mother.
The Countess was amused that her daughter should appear as a learned lady; for the King's daughter, the Lady Mary, was being well educated, and his sister was accounted a learned lady, and many of the noble dames she had met were having their daughters educated, to share in this new learning people were talking about, and as a young widow Audrey would have a right to talk and express an opinion, which she could not as an unmarried girl.
At the manor house, at Little Sodbury, they met the tutor of the family, who had known Erasmus, and had been both at Oxford and Cambridge, and at dinner frequently the talk turned upon the difference between the translation of Erasmus and the Latin Vulgate; and from Master William Tyndale, Audrey learned a good deal more of the gospel truth—expounded both in conversation and in preaching.
To him she showed her precious sheets of St. Matthew's Gospel in English, and he seemed very much struck with the idea.
"Why, if we could only get the Testament properly translated and printed in the new printing presses, it would be better than all the preaching," said the young man, who could think of nothing but how the new doctrine that he had learned from God's word should be made known to others.
In spite of his duties all the week, he went out preaching in the surrounding villages on Sunday, without fee or reward; nay, he was thankful if any parish priest would let him use his pulpit to speak out boldly and plainly, and tell the people that the whole law of God was contained in the Scripture, which if they could read for themselves they would be able to judge whether the doctrines of the Church were true or not.
Sometimes Lady Audrey and another friend would join the children and their tutor in a ramble through the fields, or climbing the Cotswold Hills; but wherever it might be, the talk of these two would come round to the discussion of translating the Scriptures into English; and Tyndale listened with the greatest interest to the account she gave of Miles Paton translating the Gospel for his sister, and afterwards making other copies for friends, to maintain himself at the university.