Lisa Klein - Cate of the Lost Colony

A LSO BY L ISA K LEIN

Ophelia

Two Girls of Gettysburg

Lady Macbeths Daughter

Lisa Klein

For Carolyn French

Copyright 2010 by Lisa Klein

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

First published in the United States of America in October 2010
by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers
E-book edition published in October 2010
www.bloomsburyteens.com

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Bloomsbury BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

Klein, Lisa M.
Cate of Lost Colony / by Lisa Klein.1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Summary: When her dalliance with Sir Walter Ralegh is discovered by Queen Elizabeth in 1587, lady-in-waiting Catherine Archer is banished to the struggling colony of Roanoke, where she and the other English settlers must rely on a Croatoan Indian for their survival. Includes author's note on the mystery surrounding the Lost Colony.
Includes bibliograpical references.
ISBN 978-1-59990-507-5 (hardcover)
1. Roanoke ColonyJuvenile fiction. 2. Roanoke Island (N.C.)History16th centuryJuvenile fiction. [1. Roanoke ColonyFiction. 2. Roanoke Island (N.C.)History16th centuryFiction. 3. Raleigh, Walter, Sir, 1552?1618Fiction. 4. Elizabeth, I, Queen of England 15331603Fiction. 5. Great BritainHistoryElizabeth, 15581603Fiction. 6. Lumbee IndiansFiction. 7. Indians of North AmericaNorth CarolinaFiction. 8. OrphansFiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.K678342Cat 2010 [Fic]dc22 2010008299

ISBN 978-1-59990-651-5 (e-book)

Cast of Characters

Italicized names denote fictional characters; all others are historical figures.

IN ENGLAND

Lady Catherine Archer

Queen Elizabeth I

Lady Mary Standish , lady-in-waiting to the queen

Dick Tarleton, the queens fool

Frances and Emme , maids of honor

Anne and Veronica , ladies-in-waiting to the queen

Sir Walter Ralegh

Carew Ralegh, Raleghs brother

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, adviser to the queen

Sir Francis Walsingham, the queens spymaster

Earl of Shrewsbury, Queen Marys jailer

Lord Burghley, adviser to the queen

Humfrey Gilbert, Raleghs half-brother

Anthony Babington, plotted to assassinate the queen

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots

The Earl of Essex, Robert Dudleys stepson

IN ENGLAND AND ROANOKE

Arthur Barlowe and Philip Amadas, captains of 1584 voyage

Thomas Harriot, scholar; goes to Roanoke 1585

Simon Fernandes, pilot 1584, 1585, and 1587; an assistant to Gov. White

John White, painter; goes to Roanoke 1585 and as governor 1587

Ralph Lane, acting governor 1585

Sir Francis Drake, captain; rescues colonists 1586

Thomas Graham, courtier; later a soldier at Roanoke 1587

Abraham Cooke, captain of the Hopewell 1590

COLONISTS ON ROANOKE ISLAND

Eleanor Dare, John Whites daughter

Ananias Dare, Eleanors husband, an assistant to Gov. White

Virginia Dare, daughter of Ananias and Eleanor

Darby Glavin, an Irishman

George Howe, an assistant to Gov. White

Georgie Howe, son of George Howe

Joan Mannering, Georgie Howes aunt

Ambrose Vickers, a carpenter

Betty Vickers, Ambroses wife

Edmund Vickers, son of Ambrose and Betty

Thomas Harris, Betty Vickerss brother

Jane Pierce, a single woman

Roger Bailey, an assistant to Gov. White

Christopher Cooper, an assistant to Gov. White

Alice Chapman, a midwife

John Chapman, Alices husband, an armorer

James Hind, a soldier

Griffen Jones, a Welsh farmer

Edward Spicer, ships master; later, a captain

NATIVES OF VIRGINIA, OR OSSOMOCOMUCK

Manteo, a Croatoan Indian

Wanchese, a Roanoke Indian

Wingina, a Roanoke chief

Sobaki , Wancheses wife

Weyawinga , chief of the Croatoans

Tameoc , a Croatoan warrior

Mika and Takiwa , Tameocs kinswomen

Part I

Part II

Part III

Chapter 1

The Queens Maid

A t a young age I learned how quickly ones fortunes can change, a truth that never betrayed me. One day I was the beloved daughter of a Hampshire gentleman who had been chosen to serve the queen. The next, he was killed fighting in the Netherlands, and I was an orphan. My mother was already dead and my old nurse was almost blind, so I was taken to live with my aunt and uncle. They had three daughters of their own, none of whom desired another sister. Nor did my aunt want me, especially when it was discovered I had no inheritance, for my father had spent it all to win the queens regard. At the tender age of fourteen I was at the bottom of the goddess Fortunes wheel, poor and loved by no one. Not two months later, that fickle wheel had turned again, carrying me to the top.

The messenger stood by, waiting as I read the letter. Fresh tears sprang to my eyes at the first lines, but I blinked them away and read hastily to the end. The page trembled and I had to steady my hands on the back of a chair.

Read it to me, now, commanded my aunt.

So I did, my voice halting with amazement.

13 October 1583

To the Lady Catherine Archer

Though misfortune has befallen you, be assured your Father in heaven has not forgotten you, nor has your loving queen, who is mother to all her people. I understand your grief, for at a young age I also lost my father.

For his sacrifice on the field of battle, Sir Thomas Archer will be remembered as a most true and faithful subject. I am told that he loosed from his bow a keen arrow in you, his only offspring. Your attendance upon me at Whitehall I would consider a due and honorable extension of your fathers service. With all confidence that you will prove a young woman worthy of a place among my ladies, I remain your loving queen,

Elizabeth R

My aunt reached out to pluck the letter from me, but I held it fast to my bosom. The queen of England had penned this message and folded it with her own fingers! My aunt would not take it from me. I had little enough that was my own.

The queen requires me to attend her! I said, my voice rising with excitement. To be granted such a prize was like being invited into the firmament to shine next to the sun.

My aunt lifted her eyebrows in disbelief. Or was it relief? I knew she was thinking of her own daughters, who needed food, clothing, and dowries, while her husband did nothing but gamble and drink.

It is an honor she does not merit, she said in rebuke to the messenger. It will not take long to pack her things. Go, Catherine.

I floated from the room on a cloud, wondering if the queen was as beautiful as everyone said. Was her bed covered with cloth of gold? Did she eat from plates made of crystal? Were her shoes set with jewels? I would see these glories for myself, living in a palace and waiting on the queen daily.

My cousins, clustered in the hallway, sniffed and made sour faces.

Uncle always did think he was better than us, said the eldest.

I wanted to remind them that my father had died in the queens service, while theirs was little more than a drunkard. But I said nothing and only stuck out my tongue as I passed.

The queen had sent a litter for me, a covered chair atop a brown palfrey. A small chest with my few belongings was secured behind. We set out before dawn the next day. I felt like a grand lady riding so high, but I was a little afraid of falling off. The messenger on his horse seemed to be smiling at me, whether in pity or friendliness, I could not tell.