“I am sorry you have metamorphosed my letter and made that masculine which was efemenat. My ambition is to be thought a modest woman, and to leave the title of a gallant man to you.”
Five affectionate letters follow, but they contain nothing of world-wide interest. The last states Margaret’s intention of going to Paris, and in a sixth she says:—
“There is nothing will please me more than to be where you are, and I begin to admire Paris because you are in it.”
Both Newcastle and Margaret were afraid of the Queen, for in the next letter she says:—
“I know not what counsel to give concerning the Queen, but I fear she will take it ill if she be not made acquainted with our intentions. If you please to write a letter to her and send it to me, I will deliver it the day you send for me. I think it no policy to displease the Queen, for though she will do us no good she may do us harm. I send my maid about some business, and she and Lady Brown”—the wife of the English Ambassador—“shall agree about the other thing you spoke of.
“Pray consider that I have enemies.”
From the following letter it would appear that the Queen had been informed of the proposed marriage and that she was very angry. Obviously Margaret was expecting a wigging:—
“I have not been with the Queen yet. I hear she would have me acknowledge myself in a fault and she not to be in any, but it will be hard for me to accuse myself and to make myself guilty of a fault when I am innocent, but if it be the duty of a servant to obey all the commands of a mistress though it be against myself I will do it, if it be but to bring myself to the use of obedience against I am a wife. For the hindrance of our marriage I hope it will not be in their power. I am sure they cannot hinder me from loving.”
From the next missive it is clear that there had been an encounter between the Queen and Margaret and that a truce had been patched up merely for appearance’ sake. It is also pretty evident that the Queen would have stopped the marriage altogether if she had had the power to do so.