In a short time Katherine died, Lady Jane having been with her through
hours and days entirely too sad for such a young girl to have witnessed,
but as Katherine clung to Jane, the loving girl gave no heed to her own
grief or pain. The loss of his wife seemed a terrible blow to Thomas
Seymour who at once decided to break up his household, and to send Lady
Jane back to her father, but suddenly reconsidering, he wrote, begging
that after all he might keep her with him, saying, "My lady, my mother
shall and will, I doubt not, be as dear unto her as though she were her
own daughter, and for my own part, I shall continue her half-father, or
more. . . ."
But the Marquis was unwilling to agree to this proposition, and Lady
Jane who was now extremely pretty, went with her parents to Dorset
House, their London residence. Here Seymour visited the Marquis and
urged that Lady Jane be left in his care, repeating that he would try to
make a brilliant marriage for her with the King, but when he found that
her father would not consent, he made a practical offer of two thousand
pounds, five hundred of it to be paid at once, for which sum he was
again to become Jane's guardian. At that time, the Dorsets, never
wealthy, were deeply in debt, and this amount of money would do much to
mend their affairs, so the offer was accepted. But at the same time the
Marquis wrote to the Duke of Somerset and spoke of some negotiations he
was conducting for the marriage of Lady Jane with Somerset's eldest son,
showing that he felt it wise to have more than one string to his bow,
and in some way to marry Lady Jane to his own advantage. Dear little
Lady Jane, fate surely did its worst for you, and never a nobler soul
was born than you--poor little nine days Queen!
But to go on with our story. As a result of fierce quarrels between the
Admiral and his brother, the Lord Protector, Somerset caused the arrest
of the Admiral, who was imprisoned and died on the scaffold, a victim of
his brother's treachery. At that time, Lady Jane was still at Seymour
Place, but at the arrest of Seymour, returned to Bradgate, but her
parents' ambition for her had not been quenched and at once they began
to have her cultivated to occupy the high position which they were
determined she should some day fill. From that time her education was
entrusted to the celebrated Aylmer, who was not only famous for his
learning, but in close touch with the master minds of the century, and
through him Jane became acquainted with several of the most learned men
of the day. She was soon a fine scholar in science, Greek, Hebrew, and
Latin, as well as various modern languages, and praise of her keen young
mind and brilliant conversation was expressed by all who talked with
her.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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