As the Sparks Fly Upward (16 page)

The rest of the men at the table were the powers of English government. At the farthest end from the queen, next to Sir Francis Drake, sat Adam Winslow. He listened now to Sir Francis as he urged Elizabeth to strike at Spain with every force that could be summoned. This was an old argument, and though Drake had plundered Spain's treasure ships, King Philip hesitated to declare war.

“That would mean war,” Elizabeth said. “We have not the money for war.”

Drake sat up straighter and challenged the queen as few men would dare to do. “My queen, we must strike Spain. If we do not, they will gain the power to strike first. They are even now building ships, and they aren't fishing ships, either!”

“No, indeed!” Adam exclaimed. He was the youngest member in the room and was not really a member of the counsel, but was there at Drake's request. “We could take their ships and more of their treasures and gain power over them.”

Everyone in the room turned and stared at Adam. It was unheard of for a man so young to be so outspoken. Elizabeth, however, smiled. “You speak too rashly, young man.”

“I beg your pardon, Your Majesty.” Adam tried to look humble but failed miserably. “I only want to see you rule the greatest nation on the face of the earth. And to see you do that, we must defeat Spain.”

The meeting went on for thirty minutes more, with Drake arguing for the first strike against Spain. Elizabeth, however, was determined to forbid it and finally dismissed the meeting, abruptly stating, “We will hear no more of this.” She rose, and
the men rose with her. They started to leave, but Elizabeth said, “Captain Winslow, a word with you.”

Adam went at once to the queen. “Yes, Your Majesty, what is it?”

“How is your family?”

“Very well, indeed. They speak so well of you, especially my father.”

“He is a dear man. I wish there were a hundred thousand like him in our kingdom. And your mother, is she well?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“I'm glad to hear it.”

“Your Majesty, there is one matter that I hesitate to mention, but it means a great deal to my family.”

“What is that, Captain Winslow?”

“It has to do with my brother, Colin. I believe you have met him?”

“Yes, I met him when he was younger. Now he is gaining quite a reputation as a healer.”

“Exactly, Your Majesty. It grieves me to tell you that his career has been brought to a halt.”

Elizabeth stared at Adam. “Indeed, how did that happen?”

“It's the College of Physicians. They have wrongfully excluded him, taken away his certificate. He can't practice medicine without it.”

Elizabeth suddenly cursed. She was plainspoken always, but from time to time profanity came across her lips. She exclaimed, “I will not see your brother mistreated!”

“He has great talent. Anything you could do would be greatly appreciated by all of our family, Your Majesty.”

“You tell your brother not to worry. I will see to this matter.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The queen left, and Drake came to stand beside Adam. He had to look up to stare at the tall young man. “What was that all about? Did she rebuke you for speaking so plainly?”

“No, it was something else entirely, Sir Francis. My brother is in trouble and she has promised to help him.”

“Well, if she has promised, hang on to it. Sometimes she forgets.”

“She will not forget this, Sir Francis!”

“You must bring Mary, Queen of Scots, to trial!” Lord Burghley said. He and Walsingham had met with Elizabeth before she had seen the full counsel. Both had been trying for months to get Elizabeth to see the danger her sister queen could cause her.

“I cannot attack a sister queen. She has her authority from God the same as I do,” Elizabeth replied staunchly.

Walsingham sighed. “Your Majesty, she has forsaken her rights as a queen.”

“Queens or kings cannot be deposed. They are chosen by God to lead their people.”

“She has led her people to terrible straits. The Scots were happy to get rid of her. They did not worry about the divine right of royalty.”

“That is their problem; that is what they have chosen. I'll hear no more of this.” Then she suddenly smiled, for these were the two men she trusted most. “I know you think I am wrong in this, but you must let me have my way. Go now, Walsingham, I have more people to see.”

Walsingham left, but Burghley remained. “What is next on my agenda, William?”

“You summoned the College of Physicians for a meeting.”

“Yes, have them come in.”

Burghley nodded at the soldier at the door. At once, he opened the door and a group of twelve men entered the room. They all bowed deeply, and the queen said, “I'll make this a very short meeting. It concerns the charges you have brought against Dr. Colin Winslow.”

“He is not a doctor!” Regis Perry said abruptly. He had no
gentleness about him and he was accustomed to having his own way, but he was now facing a woman who
always
had her own way.

“Do you speak so to me, Dr. Perry?”

“I—I apologize, Your Majesty, but this man is dangerous.”

“I will hear your cause.”

Elizabeth sat for the next fifteen minutes listening to the charges, all of which seemed irrelevant to her. When they were finished, she finally said, “So, your chief displeasure is that this man is not a good candidate as a physician because he does not pay attention to
old
books and the
old
authorities?”

“That is right, Your Majesty. He has no respect for the most trusted authorities.”

“Are the old authorities always right?” Elizabeth demanded.

“Perhaps not always, Your Majesty. But we must respect them.”

“Respect, yes. But this man is doing great and wonderful new things that, it seems to me, none of you have thought of. I have made my decision. You will certify him completely.” She paused and looked out at the men, who were struck by her words. Perry opened his mouth to protest, but one look at Elizabeth's face and he shut it instantly.

“I trust you understand me. There will be
no
unpleasantness toward Dr. Winslow. He will be given full accreditation. I command you, Dr. Perry, to make out the certificate and deliver it in person. Do you understand my orders?”

Perry swallowed hard. “Yes, Your Majesty.” Indeed he did understand them. There was no mistaking Elizabeth, queen of England!

Colin looked up when he heard knocking at the door of Teague's house. “Who could that be, Dr. Teague?”

“I'm not expecting any patients, but you'd better go see. Someone is probably sick.”

Colin rose and answered the door. He stared with astonishment at the man who waited there, then said, “Dr. Perry, will you come in?”

Dr. Regis Perry swallowed hard and managed to mutter, “Thank you, Mr. Winslow.” He stepped inside and saw Dr. Phineas Teague, who was standing at a window. “Dr. Teague, how are you today, sir?”

Teague smiled. “Very well. Will you be seated, sir?”

“That will not be necessary. I have something for you, Mr. Winslow.”

Colin watched as the man reached into the leather bag that was dangling from his belt and pulled out a paper. He saw that Perry's face was pale.

“This is your certificate to practice medicine,” Perry said, and the words were obviously hard for him to utter. He held out the paper. “You are now a fully qualified member of the College of Physicians.”

Colin took the paper and his face lit up. “Look, Dr. Teague, I'm now officially certified!”

Teague came over and glanced at the paper, then looked sharply at Perry. This made Perry very uncomfortable and he mumbled, “Well, sir, that is all I have to say. Good evening—and congratulations, Dr. Winslow.” He managed to get the words out despite the fact that he was gritting his teeth ferociously.

As soon as the man was out the door, Teague shook his head in wonder. “That man has never done a kind thing in his life. What could have changed his mind?”

Colin's face glowed. “It had to be Adam.”

“I don't understand you.”

“I shared my problem with him about getting certified, and he said he would make it right. Obviously he took it to the queen, and she had a hand in this.”

“Of course! Perry would never do this, except from a direct command of the queen herself.” He put his hand on Colin's
shoulder. “So, Dr. Winslow, as I may now call you, I have a command for you.”

“A command?”

“Yes, go home. Your parents need to hear this. You need to talk to your brother and give him proper thanks. And you need some time off.”

“I would like to go home,” Colin said thoughtfully.

“Off with you, then. When you come back, we'll find some fresher corpses than the last one we had!”

11

June 30, 1583

M
idsummer had come, and the sun scorched the earth even in the late morning. Colin, who had been home for several weeks, knew it was time for him to return and take up his work with Teague. He had discovered that his visit home had brought back painful memories of Adara, and tears came to his eyes often. He thought,
I wasn't kind enough to her. Now she's gone, and I can't do anything for her.

Then one morning, when he was packing his clothes, his parents came to him and said, “We want you to have this, Son.”

Colin took the money that his father handed him. He was surprised by the weight of it. “Why, what is this for?”

Eden smiled and put her arm around him. “We want you to have some money to spend on something for yourself. I'm sure you need instruments or something that will help you with your profession.”

Colin shook his head. “You don't have to do this, you know.”

“This is something we want to do. You never spend anything on yourself. Get some stylish clothes. Make a splash when you get back to the big city.”

Colin reached out and took his father's hand. “Thank you, Father, and you, Mother. I'm sure I'll find a use for it.”

“Where are you going this early?” Eden asked.

“I'm going out to see Meg. I haven't visited her since I've been home. If it won't offend you, I want to give her some of this money. I know she needs it sometimes.”

“Do whatever you please. She is a good friend of yours.” Brandon smiled. “People still call her a witch, but I notice that more and more go to her when they are sick.”

“I'll be back in time for supper, but I think I must leave tomorrow morning.”

Colin left the house and mounted his horse. He passed many of the field workers, who all smiled and greeted him. The men pulled at their forelocks and the women curtsied. He had always been friendly with all the servants and greeted them with a smile.

By the time he reached the woods, the sun was a quarter of the way up in the sky. He took several shortcuts to Meg's cabin, and along the way pulled some herbs he knew Meg would have use for. As he approached the door he called out, “Meg, are you home?”

The door opened and Meg Caradoc stepped outside. A tiny smile tugged at her lips. “Well, at last you come to see me. You've been at home a long time, and I've been waiting for you to come.”

“I'm sorry, Meg, I should have come earlier. But look, I've brought some herbs for you.”

“Come in the house, boy. Let's see what you have there.”

Colin followed Meg inside and dumped the contents of the bag on the table in the center of the room. She plunged her hands in the herbs, pulling up samples and exclaiming with pleasure, “Pansies! I have been needing some of those. They've been scarce around here.” She picked up another plant with sharp pointed leaves. “Borage. I've got a use for that. Old Andy Milton has got the pestilent fever. This will help him if anything will.”

“Angelica, balm, and melancholy thistle,” Colin added.

Meg looked up and smiled. “You've done well; you haven't forgotten your herbs.”

“No, I haven't. As a matter of a fact, I use them quite a lot. You'd be shocked at what some so-called doctors feed their patients.” He shook his head in disgust. “They use beaver glands, crayfish eyes, sparrow brains, duck livers, and other things too disgusting to mention.”

“I expect they kill as many as they cure,” Meg said with anger in her voice.

Colin laughed. “You're right about that. But I've been certified, Meg, by the College of Physicians. It was the queen herself who got me in.”

“Well, she has more sense than I give her credit for.”

“Oh, Meg, Elizabeth is a well-educated woman. I was surprised to find out she curses her fair share,” he said with a hint of a smile. “All her royal maids and all the servants say her language would put a sailor to shame.”

“Doesn't surprise me one bit. Her father was that way. Henry the Eighth was one to swear, he was. Now sit down.” Meg turned to the fire and said, “I'm going to make you a meal you will never forget.”