Jessie and Katie sat at the large kitchen table in the biggest kitchen Jessie had ever seen. The pair were drinking tea and Jessie was expectantly awaiting the unravelling of what promised to be a history of her family.

“Thornwood Grange has been around since Elizabeth I’s time and in fact was under construction during her father’s time, Henry VIII.”

“My very subject at Cambridge.”

“But you know nothing of your relationship to those times?”

Jessie shook her head.

“That may seem strange to you, but it’s probably due to the way two brothers, twin brothers, became bitter enemies during Elizabeth’s reign.”

“And who were they?”

“Jerome and James Fordham.”

“I have an uncle called James and one of my brother’s is named James.”

Katie smiled. “The name James does feature a lot in your family history.”

“You uncle, Sir James Fordham, is Lord of the Manor, Marchem Manor, in fact. Also, in Worcestershire and north of the city, whereas this place is south of the city. Your family, due to the rift between the two brothers, has always suffered from a schism, brought on by the love of one woman.”

Jessie suddenly realised where this tale was going. “The brothers loved the same woman.”

“Indeed,” Katie said. “It was said she married one of them, in secret. There is no proof and if it did happen, the marriage has never been recorded. Historians are divided as to whether or not the marriage took place. Part of your family, at the time, were closet Catholics. Keeping your Catholic faith secret during Henry’s reign was an absolute necessity, especially if you or someone in your family was part of Henry’s court. The boy’s father, Sir William Fordham, was an official in the King’s secret intelligence service. If he or one of his family were found to be Catholic, well, nine times out of ten if one got on Henry’s wrong side, your life would be forfeit.”

Jessie’s eyes widened. “Tell me, who was a Catholic and did Elizabeth know this?”

“The twins were both in love with Elizabeth, she was in love with Jerome. James was a Catholic, as was his mother. He loved Elizabeth but that love was spurned. James could do nothing against Elizabeth, so he took his revenge out on his brother. Your family, a family heavily dominated by males, became split and the hate was passed down, generation to generation.”

Jessie scowled. “Surely I would have read something of this in my studies?”

“Elizabeth was young, bright, and cautious, learning how to survive in a world dominated by men and political intrigue. Her earlier life was very much up and down, depending on the political intrigue of the day and where her father’s loyalties lay on an increasingly unstable basis. Later in life she did have a lot of male friends like Robert Dudley, Walter Raleigh, Francis Drake and Robert Devereux. She got very close to Dudley and there was speculation she married him. There are many and varied myths surrounding Elizabeth. But the fact is, the Fordham twins from their early twenties, suddenly took to hating each other and that has been passed down, family to family. Say whatever you like, there is more than meets the eye to the life and times of Elizabeth and in many ways, the life and times of those close to her.

“Both Jerome and James were working for, or participating in, spying and associating with spies. Jerome was very much involved in weeding out spies within both Henry’s and Elizabeth’s court. James, on the other hand, was involved with many an intrigue on behalf of Catholic Spain and Elizabeth’s half-sister, Mary.