The Lady Mary to the Lorde Protectour and the rest of the Counsaile. 27. Iune. 1549.
MY Lorde, I perceiue by letters directed from you and other of the kinges maiesties Counsaile, to my Controller, my Chaplaine, and master Englefelde my seruaunt, that ye will them vppon their allegeaunce, to repaire immediately to you, wherin you geue me euident cause to chaunge mine accustomed opini∣on of you all, that is to say, to thinke you careful of my quietnesse and wel doings, considering how earnestly I wryte to you for the stay of two of them, and that not without very iust cause. And as for maister Englefeld, assoone as he could haue prepared himselfe, hauing his horsses so farre off, although yee hadde not sent at this present, would haue perfourmed your request. But in deede I am much deceiued. For I supposed ye would haue waied and takē my letters in better part, if yee haue receiued them: if not, to haue ta∣ried mine answere, and I not to haue found so litle frendship, not to haue bene vsed so vngently at your hands in sending for him, vpon whose trauail doth rest the only charge of my whole house, as I wryt to you lately, whose absence therefore shall be to me & my sayde house no little displeasure, especially being so farre off. And besides all this, I doe greatly maruaile to see your wrytinge for him, and the other two with suche extreeme wordes of pearill to ensue towardes them, in case they did not come, and specially for my Controller, whose charge is so great, that he canne not so∣dainly be meete to take a iourney: which woordes in mine opini∣on needed not (vnlesse it were in some verye iust and necessarye cause) to any of mine, who taketh my selfe subiect to none of you all: not doubting but if the kinges maiestie my brother were of sufficient yeares to perceiue this matter, and knewe what lacke and in commoditie the absence of my said officer should be to my house, his grace woulde haue beene so good Lorde to mee, as to haue suffered him to remaine, where his charge is. Notwithstan∣ding, I haue willed him at this time to repaire to you, commaun∣ding him to returne foorthwith for my very necessities sake, and I haue geuen the like leaue to my poore sicke prieste also, whose life I thinke vndoubtedly shall be putte in hasard by the wet and colde painefull trauaile of this iourney. But for my parte I assure you all, that since the king my father, your late maister and verye good Lorde died, I neuer tooke you for other then my frendes: but in this it appeareth cōtrary. And sauing I thought verily that my former letters shoulde haue discharged this matter, I woulde not haue troubled my selfe with wryting the same, not doubting but you doe consider, that none of you all would haue bene con∣tented to haue bene thus vsed at your inferiours handes, I meane to haue hadde your officer, or any of your seruaunts sent for by a force (as yee make it) knowing no iust cause why. Wherefore I doe not a little maruaile, that yee had not this remembraunce to∣wardes mee, who alwayes hath willed and wished you as well to doe as my selfe, and both haue and will praye for you all as hearti∣ly, as for mine owne soule to almightye God, whome I humblye beseeche to illumine you all with his holy spirite, to whose mercy also I am at a full poynt to commit my selfe, what soeuer shall be∣come of my body. And thus with my commendations I bid you all fare well.
From my house at Kenninghal, the 27. of Iune.
Youre frende to my power, though you geue mee con¦trary cause. Mary.