Chapter 9 Summary

Queen Elizabeth insists that she does not need to marry anybody. Mary, Queen of Scots, is pressured by the Scottish Catholics and the King of Spain to marry Lord Darnley and declare themselves King and Queen of England. The Scottish Protestant lords proclaim it illegal to impose a Catholic king on Scotland without Parliament's consent. Nevertheless, Darnley is proclaimed king in Edinburg, and the next day he and Mary marry. Mary also has her long-coveted support of Spain in her endeavors.

Elizabeth has a bad summer. Kat Ashley dies, and Elizabeth grieves her loss. She is a faithful friend and always cries bitterly over deaths. Even though she and her lover Robert quarrel, he still believes he will marry her. Elizabeth continues to visit the sick and dying. Cecil draws a table for and against Robert as King-Consort. The "againsts" outnumber the "fors...