“What has to be done?” I ask as soon as we are outside, walking down the stone stairs towards the watergate. We came in a barge without flags and standards; I was anxious that as few people as possible knew that she was meeting the man accused of treason and named as her lover. She is alight with excitement. “I am going to tell the Parliament to appoint me as regent,” she says. “Edmund says the lords will support me.”
