Beauvallet guide

Summary

Characters

• JuanRivalFrom Chapter 1
• MariaHelperFrom Chapter 1
• GerardAlso BeauvalletHelperFrom Chapter 1
• NicholasAlso Beauvallet, NickLeadFrom Chapter 1
• PhilipGatekeeperFrom Chapter 1
• PerinatVillainFrom Chapter 1
• DominicaLoveFrom Chapter 1
• ManuelHelperFrom Chapter 1
• DangerfieldHelperFrom Chapter 1
• JoshuaAlso DimmockHelperFrom Chapter 2
• DrakeHelperFrom Chapter 2
• Lady BeauvalletHelperFrom Chapter 3
• Elizabeth, Queen of EnglandAlso Queen ElizabethGatekeeperFrom Chapter 3
• WalsinghamHelperFrom Chapter 7
• GuiseOtherFrom Chapter 8
• Don Diaz de LosaAlso LosaHelperFrom Chapter 9
• Matteo de VasquezGatekeeperFrom Chapter 9
• BeatriceAlso CarvalhoVillainFrom Chapter 9
• DiegoAlso CarvalhoGuardianFrom Chapter 9
• RodriguezAlso CarvalhoGatekeeperFrom Chapter 9
• M. de LauvinièreAlso Henri de LauvinièreGatekeeperFrom Chapter 9
• CristobalAlso The GovernorGatekeeperFrom Chapter 16
• CruzaOtherFrom Chapter 16

Chapter by chapter

Storylines

• Juan challenges Nicholas Beauvallet and the Venture; the ensuing battle ends with the Spanish resistance broken and Juan captured and sent toward his longboat.

  • Juan's removal with companions is confirmed, closing the immediate confrontation and captivity.

• Juan seeks partly to impress Dominica through his challenge, then regrets endangering her and Manuel; his subsequent insistence on escorting them is forcibly frustrated.

• Manuel seeks to protect Dominica from the English sailors and secure her release through an audience with their commander.

  • Dominica receives her baggage and a cabin beside Manuel's, and both are invited to supper as guests; her release remains pending.
  • Nicholas personally escorts Manuel and Dominica ashore and secures lodging, completing their release from the English ship.

• English sailors subject Dominica to unwanted touching, restraint and a forced kiss; she fights them, and Nicholas intervenes violently to free her.

• Nicholas becomes Dominica's protector against his sailors while also overriding her wishes and physically controlling her; her fear gives way to anger, suppressed attraction and growing curiosity.

  • Nicholas's attention and teasing deepen Dominica's mixture of indignation and attraction; his renewed physical restraint and subsequent release sustain their unequal contest.
  • Nicholas makes his marital interest explicit, kisses Dominica without consent, restrains and shakes her, but subsequently commits to wooing her and disavows marriage by force.
  • Nicholas's restraint provokes Dominica's blow, regret and tears. His release, apology and protection from observation soften her toward him, and their flirtation culminates in a kiss.
  • Dominica recognizes her romantic attachment; exchanged rings and openly reciprocated affection establish mutual courtship, while Nicholas promises protection without confinement.
  • Dominica welcomes Nicholas's arrival with admiration, accepts his dance invitation despite her declared refusal to dance, and seeks a private reunion that brings joyful relief.
  • Dominica fears for Nicholas's safety and weighs the uncertainty of trusting him; his promises of care lead her to consent to leaving with him.
  • Dominica anxiously anticipates Nicholas's conduct at their leave-taking; he holds her hand despite her attempt to withdraw it, and she eventually frees it.
  • Dominica fears for Nicholas, acts to protect him and understands his silent instruction amid the danger.
  • Dominica greets Nicholas's arrival with joy; he frees her and secures her immediate escape.
  • Dominica's concern for Nicholas becomes explicit: she urges Joshua to return to help him, offers to remain hidden alone and refuses to sleep until she knows he is safe.
  • Dominica's shyness and doubts yield to confidence in Nicholas, contentment in their escape and marriage.

• Dominica privately wants to sail with Nicholas despite her public refusal, concealing the attraction that complicates her opposition.

  • Dominica's attempt to ignore Nicholas coexists with renewed attraction and disturbance, continuing the division between her outward opposition and private response.
  • Dominica finds Dangerfield less engaging than Nicholas, enjoys alarm at Nicholas's approach, softens toward him and recognizes their shared adventurous disposition, while continuing her outward resistance.
  • Manuel accepts Dominica's performed aversion, preserving her concealment from him, while she recognizes her attachment and reveals her affection to Nicholas.
  • Dominica remembers Nicholas's ring and promise with renewed hope, then judges his coming impossible; she deliberately conceals their romance from Beatrice through indifference and disparagement.
  • Her formerly concealed attraction culminates in an openly acknowledged marriage.

• Manuel seeks to bring himself and Dominica home to Spain; his illness makes a return to the Indies and a prolonged delay especially undesirable.

  • The Venture gets under way, beginning the promised passage, though arrival in Spain remains unfulfilled.
  • Joshua proposes landing Manuel promptly in the Canaries because he fears Manuel will die aboard, but Nicholas insists on taking him to Spain.
  • Nicholas swears Manuel will end his days in Spain and pledges to land both guests there; Manuel's need to settle his affairs makes the return more urgent.
  • Manuel and Dominica reach Spain and are brought safely onto dry land, with overnight lodging arranged.

• Nicholas undertakes to remedy Manuel and Dominica's predicament by taking them aboard the Venture as guests and conveying them to Spain; he orders their accommodation and baggage transfer, and their embarkation begins.

  • The accommodation and baggage arrangements take effect, the voyage begins, and Manuel and Dominica are received at supper.
  • Nicholas rejects the proposed Canaries landing and reaffirms Spain as Manuel's destination.
  • Nicholas renews his undertaking to deliver Manuel and Dominica to Spain, expressly placing their landing before his later return to court her.
  • Nicholas carries out the promised conveyance to Spain through a night landing near Santander and arranges accommodation ashore.

• Dominica asserts control over her person and passage by threatening Nicholas with his dagger and testing his response; he disarms and carries her aboard, and she abandons physical resistance as futile.

  • Nicholas revives the dagger encounter by offering the weapon, which Dominica refuses, then again controls her hand and wrist before releasing them.
  • Dominica attempts retaliation and escape, which Nicholas physically prevents. She nevertheless asserts her refusal to marry him and later leaves.
  • Dominica asserts fearlessness and strikes Nicholas when he restrains her; he immobilizes her hands, then releases her when she cries. Their contest over her freedom of movement remains unsettled.

• Manuel doubts Nicholas's good faith, and Dominica rejects his assurance that he can take them to Spain; the promised voyage remains a test of his credibility.

  • Manuel accepts courteous treatment doubtfully, and Nicholas exposes his suspicion about stolen cups. News of Juan's release and Nicholas's account of giving quarter provide further grounds on which to assess his conduct without settling their distrust.
  • Manuel's doubts now concern Nicholas's extraordinary reputation and marriage intentions as well as his good faith. Nicholas gives explicit assurances against forced removal to England, but Manuel remains uncertain how to understand his declarations.
  • The successful landing fulfills the promise Dominica disputed and supplies practical proof of Nicholas's good faith toward both guests.

• Dominica wants to discover more about Nicholas, whose strength and conduct increasingly intrigue her.

  • Dominica learns Nicholas's identity, rank, family connections, appearance as a gentleman, and account of Juan's treatment; she also raises the witchcraft attributed to him.
  • Dominica observes Nicholas directing the captured cargo inventory and learns that he intends marriage and plans to follow her to Spain within a year.
  • Discussion with Dangerfield supplies his view of Nicholas's appeal and independence; direct encounters reveal Nicholas's laughter under provocation and remorse at her tears, and Dominica recognizes an affinity with him.
  • Dominica investigates Nicholas's plans and learns his landing arrangements, infers his smuggling activity, and gains knowledge of his family motto, language and standing among his men.
  • Dominica learns how Nicholas entered Spain under an assumed identity and where he and Joshua can be reached.

• Joshua's handling of Dangerfield's displaced clothes and exclusion of his servant provoke the servant's indignation and anger.

• Maria resolves to resist further confinement and defend Dominica.

  • Maria's protective resolve becomes an intention to attack Nicholas after learning of the kiss. Dominica orders her to stay, and Maria adopts a continuing role as her escort.

• Dominica plans to assert her position as an honoured guest through splendid dress and jewels, then to ignore Nicholas while captivating Dangerfield.

  • Dominica pursues and intensifies her attentions to Dangerfield, but Nicholas finds the strategy amusing, and she finds Dangerfield dull by comparison and turns their conversation back to Nicholas.
  • Dominica welcomes Nicholas's replacement of Dangerfield and abandons attempts to use Dangerfield in her flirtation, ending the plan.

• Dangerfield develops captivated admiration for Dominica, whose deliberate attention makes him part of her contest with Nicholas.

  • Dominica encourages Dangerfield's advances and feels flattered attraction, but her criticism of his hero shocks him; their exchange returns to Nicholas, and Dangerfield leaves the pair alone.
  • Dominica prefers Nicholas's company and stops drawing Dangerfield into her flirtation, removing her encouragement of his role in the romantic contest.

• Nicholas intends to marry Dominica and make her an Englishwoman within a year; he commits to wooing her, disavows marriage by force, and promises to follow her to Spain.

  • Nicholas actively pursues intimacy, kisses Dominica, declares his love and marriage intention to Manuel, and specifies that he will return to Spain to win her without coercion despite paternal opposition.
  • Nicholas obtains Dominica's conditional promise, gives his ring as a pledge, receives assurance that she will remain unmarried, and renews his commitment to claim her in Spain before the year's end.
  • Nicholas announces his marriage intention to Gerard, names Dominica as his chosen bride, and reaffirms his sworn plan to seek her in Spain within a year; Gerard's warning introduces further opposition.
  • Nicholas reaffirms his sworn commitment to reach Dominica and moves toward execution through a timetable, prospective French papers and a travel licence.
  • Nicholas reaches Spain in pursuit of Dominica and discovers the guardian through whom his search can continue.
  • Nicholas makes concrete progress toward reaching Dominica, entering her guardians' household and securing access to a ball she is promised to attend.
  • Nicholas fulfils his promise to follow Dominica to Spain, reaches her privately and arranges another clandestine meeting; marriage remains unachieved.
  • Nicholas renews his commitment to bring Dominica away and care for her, and she agrees to accompany him.
  • Nicholas commits to following Dominica to Vasconosa and carrying her away to the coast within a specified time.
  • Nicholas's captivity and the pressure for Dominica's immediate marriage to Diego obstruct his intention to marry her.
  • Nicholas reaches Vasconosa and acts to carry Dominica away; learning her probable whereabouts redirects his pursuit to the hunting lodge.
  • Nicholas marries Dominica, brings her to England and presents her to the Queen as his wife and a new subject.

• Dominica explicitly refuses Nicholas's proposed marriage, while he persists in his intention to win her.

  • Dominica continues resisting Nicholas through retaliation and physical protest, although reconciliation and a kiss complicate her opposition. Nicholas remains determined to marry her; no acceptance is recorded.
  • Dominica replaces outright refusal with a conditional promise to Nicholas, assures him she will remain unmarried and openly reciprocates his affection.

• Dominica possesses a dangerous book that she wants to conceal from Manuel; Nicholas discovers and takes it, frightening her, before returning it.

• Maria intends to accompany Dominica whenever she leaves her cabin, acting as her duenna after learning that Nicholas kissed her.

  • Maria leaves Dominica's service to marry, ending her ability to carry out her intended accompaniment.

• Manuel seeks to keep discussion of his fever from Dominica; Nicholas learns the reason for his warning, and Dominica leaves before their private conversation.

• Manuel seeks to settle his affairs before his death leaves Dominica without his protection.

  • Manuel's concern for Dominica's future takes concrete form in plans for stricter supervision and an arranged marriage.
  • Manuel's death ends his ability to settle his affairs personally; Dominica is now under her aunt's guardianship. These events do not establish whether he completed all his intended arrangements.

• Manuel admires Nicholas as a prospective husband but rejects his marriage to Dominica because he is an enemy and heretic; Nicholas declares that paternal opposition will not stop him.

  • Manuel's marriage plans create a practical obstacle to Nicholas's courtship; Dominica promises to remain unmarried and Nicholas persists in his intended return.

• Manuel intends to place Dominica under stricter supervision and arrange her marriage; she recoils from that future and assures Nicholas she will remain unmarried until he comes.

  • Dominica marries Nicholas and reaches England, superseding the projected supervised marriage in Spain.

• Dominica secretly prepares a farewell gift for Nicholas and gives him her gold thumb ring as a remembrance.

• Joshua commits to accompanying Nicholas on his next adventure and protecting their interests, despite preferring to remain at home and being offered that freedom.

  • Joshua accompanies Nicholas from Alreston to London and accepts Nicholas's direction when the closed gates provoke him.
  • Joshua accompanies Nicholas into France, protects him through warnings and practical assistance, helps conceal the killing, and explicitly renews his commitment despite another opportunity to turn back.
  • Joshua accompanies Nicholas into Spain, maintains their cover and receives concrete duties for protecting their belongings, contacting the ship and seeking news.
  • Joshua fears that Nicholas's exposure and the ambassador's suspicions will defeat their undertaking, but takes heart at concrete journey preparations and is included in the Tuesday departure plan.
  • Joshua preserves his freedom, establishes what happened, secures Nicholas's valuables and sword, and escapes to remain able to help.
  • Joshua investigates Diego's movements, undertakes to contact Nicholas, prepares escape transport and successfully retrieves Nicholas's instructions.
  • Joshua waits despite fearing a trap, reunites with Nicholas, supplies the prepared horses and equipment, and proposes their route toward Vasconosa.
  • Joshua gathers local intelligence, prepares horses, accompanies Nicholas into the grounds, warns him of the King's men and helps restrain and remove Beatrice.
  • Joshua accepts the painful contingency of leaving Nicholas, subdues Luis, warns of pursuit and takes charge of Dominica's escape.
  • Joshua obeys Nicholas's orders despite wanting to remain beside him, brings Dominica to safety and prepares for Nicholas's return.
  • Joshua helps complete the escape and homeward journey; Nicholas and Gerard explicitly recognize and reward his service.

• Gerard wants Nicholas to marry and abandon dangerous wandering to secure the family succession; Gerard and Kate have considered suitable brides.

  • Nicholas returns home married, fulfilling Gerard's wish that he take a wife; abandonment of dangerous wandering and the succession remain unconfirmed.

• Gerard opposes Nicholas's determination to seek Dominica in Spain, fearing that the Inquisition will capture him.

  • Gerard brings Kate into the dispute and counters her romantic sympathy, but Nicholas confirms his seriousness, challenges Gerard's objection through the family precedent and declares that he will not be restrained.
  • Nicholas escapes Spain and returns alive, ending the immediate danger underlying Gerard's opposition.

• Nicholas schedules his preparations around a London visit, a possible visit to Adela, a return within a month and departure on his quest in about three months; his journey to London begins.

  • Nicholas visits Adela, reaches Paris, and travels south to a tavern near the Spanish frontier, where he commits to departing after breakfast. His planned quest is underway, though the frontier crossing remains ahead.

• Drake urges Nicholas to abandon the Spanish venture, but Nicholas remains committed to fetching Dominica.

  • Nicholas completes the venture Drake opposed, returning with Dominica as his wife and recounting the adventure to Drake.

• Nicholas plans to obtain French papers through his French kinsmen, especially Belrémy, to enter Spain; he rejects his smuggling port because it risks exposure and will seek another route if necessary.

  • Nicholas obtains a French pass naming Gaston de Beauvallet from Eustache, but learns that the ambassador could expose that impersonation in Madrid. He subsequently adopts Claude de Guise's identity and messenger cover instead.
  • The entry objective is achieved using Guise's credentials rather than papers obtained from Nicholas's French kinsmen; Nicholas and Joshua reach Madrid.

• Nicholas seeks royal permission to travel to Spain; the Queen leaves his request undecided, while Walsingham intends to grant a licence for the intelligence the venture may yield.

  • Nicholas obtains the licence to travel from Walsingham.

• The stranded Frenchman seeks one of Nicholas's horses, resents his refusal, and attempts to steal his mare; Nicholas catches him and kills him after the Frenchman attacks with a sword.

• Nicholas and Joshua conceal Claude de Guise's death by burying him secretly; the landlord believes the Frenchman left without paying, while Nicholas retains his papers.

• Nicholas intends to impersonate Chevalier Claude de Guise, using the dead man's papers and his cover as a secret messenger to Philip to further the Spanish venture; Joshua knows the assumed identity.

  • Nicholas sustains the assumed identity through palace inspection, secures a personal audience, delivers the dispatch and gains court access. Philip and the assembled company accept his claimed identity, although the ambassador subsequently seeks verification.
  • Nicholas uses the Chevalier identity and de Losa's sponsorship to gain introductions, enter Casa Carvalho and obtain a social invitation.
  • Nicholas uses the Guise identity to enter the ball and obtain a formal introduction to Dominica, though Diego draws attention to his unusual standing outside the Ambassador's court.
  • Nicholas discloses his impersonation and its use in entering Spain to Dominica, bringing her into knowledge of his cover.
  • Nicholas gains widespread acceptance as the Chevalier de Guise while sustaining the impersonation through questioning by the French ambassador's agent; whether his answers withstand verification remains unknown.
  • Perinat publicly identifies Nicholas as Beauvallet, undermining his assumed identity and bringing him into custody.
  • Nicholas remains captive after identification as Beauvallet, and Beatrice also recognizes him. Joshua nevertheless preserves documentary and testimonial support for the Guise identity.
  • Nicholas maintains his assumed French identity and invokes diplomatic protection, but the ambassador cannot authenticate him and confinement prevents further pursuit of his venture.
  • Nicholas's performance strengthens Cristobal's and the guards' belief in his French identity, although official verification remains pending.
  • Nicholas has openly declared himself Beauvallet to Cristobal, and Philip orders his recapture under that identity, defeating continued reliance on the Guise impersonation with the Spanish authorities.
  • Nicholas now uses a claim of royal pursuit authority on the road; Beatrice recognizes him as Beauvallet, and he openly states his purpose to her.

• Nicholas delivers Guise's dispatch personally to Philip and must await the king's answer, expected in about a week.

• Diaz de Losa becomes the supposed Chevalier's appointed host and sponsor at court, admitting Nicholas to Spanish society while exposing his identity to further scrutiny.

  • De Losa supplies the introduction that admits Nicholas to Rodriguez's household.
  • Losa's patronage helps establish the supposed Chevalier's recognition in Madrid.

• The Venture waits offshore for Nicholas's signal; Joshua is to hide their belongings if Nicholas is captured and signal the ship if Nicholas dies or remains absent for ten days.

  • Nicholas's capture activates the contingency: Joshua removes their essential belongings and escapes. No signal to the Venture is recorded.
  • The Venture answers the agreed signal, sends its boat and receives the fugitives.

• Nicholas seeks Dominica's whereabouts through news of Manuel and learns that, following Manuel's death, she is under Beatrice de Carvalho's guardianship.

  • Nicholas obtains the Carvalho address, visits the household and learns that Dominica will attend its forthcoming ball; her whereabouts are established, although he has not yet seen her.

• The French ambassador's scrutiny threatens Nicholas's impersonation: Nicholas escapes the conversation relieved, but Lauviniere secretly initiates verification of Claude de Guise's identifying details.

  • The ambassador's suspicion produces direct probing by an agent, and Joshua learns of the threat to their undertaking.
  • Lauvinière discloses his suspicion of imposture to Philip; the pending French inquiry now governs the delay in deciding Nicholas's fate.
  • A messenger is dispatched to France to verify Nicholas's identity, bringing discovery closer.

• Beatrice intends Dominica to marry Diego; Joshua suspects the impoverished Carvalhos seek her inheritance, but their financial motive remains unconfirmed.

  • Beatrice confirms the family's interest in Dominica's possessions, maintains confidence despite her resistance and exploits her dance with Nicholas to press Diego's suit.
  • Dominica maintains her refusal to marry Diego and commits herself to leaving with Nicholas.
  • Diego renews his proposal, and Beatrice refuses Dominica's demand that she abandon the marriage scheme despite hearing of Diego's unwanted handling.
  • Beatrice remains concerned about Tobar, while Diego expects to secure Dominica at Vasconosa.
  • The intended marriage to Diego becomes urgent and is pressed as a means of protecting Dominica and helping Nicholas; Dominica forms an intention to marry Diego in exchange for his help.
  • Diego confirms his intention to marry Dominica and admits that he initially sought her wealth, while claiming that he now loves her. His financial motive is established; Beatrice's remains unconfirmed.
  • Diego is mortally wounded and Dominica escapes his custody, defeating the immediate means of securing their marriage.

• Nicholas seeks access to Dominica through acquaintance with the Carvalhos and attendance at Diego's birthday ball; he obtains an invitation and Beatrice's assurance that Dominica will attend.

  • Nicholas attends the ball, gains formal access to Dominica, dances with her and secures a private reunion.

• Nicholas and Diego develop immediate mutual antipathy beneath their formal acquaintance, with Diego concealing his hostility.

  • Rivalry over Dominica turns mutual antipathy into visible anger. Diego wishes to wound Nicholas, disparages his position and threatens lethal retaliation for an insult.
  • Dominica recognizes Diego's hatred of Nicholas from his words and warns Nicholas of it.
  • Diego interrupts Nicholas's conversation with Dominica and gives him a veiled warning; their antagonism becomes acknowledged, and Diego subsequently discovers Nicholas's false pretext for dismissing him.
  • Diego's concealed hostility becomes a wish to wound Nicholas and then an armed attack after he accepts the identification.
  • Diego's hostility acquires a belief in Nicholas's diabolical assistance and a concrete intention to arrange his pursuit if he escapes.
  • Their concealed hostility becomes a lethal duel in which Nicholas mortally wounds Diego.

• Dominica refuses to marry Diego and rebuffs his intensified pursuit; Diego responds to her rejection with sullenness and threatens harsher treatment.

  • Dominica vows never to marry Diego and rejects his gifts and dance invitations. Diego persists and interprets her acceptance of Nicholas as a deliberate affront.
  • Dominica explicitly tells Beatrice that she will never marry Diego.
  • Dominica again rejects Diego, escapes his attempt to hold and kiss her, and uses his conduct to threaten an appeal to Tobar.
  • Diego increases his surveillance, restrains Dominica physically and concludes that Nicholas is her lover intending to take her away.
  • Nicholas's danger puts pressure on Dominica's refusal, producing an intention to accept an immediate marriage for his sake; Diego also escalates to physical coercion.
  • Diego's threatened harsher treatment becomes a forcible abduction. Dominica resists her captors with her whip and appeals unsuccessfully to the household guards.
  • Dominica's rejection hardens into contempt and explicit defiance. Diego escalates from persuasion to threats against her reputation and sexual freedom, but her resolve prevents immediate capitulation and he postpones enforcement.
  • Diego's coercive pursuit ends with his mortal wounding and Dominica's release.

• Dominica resists Beatrice's prospective control and is unsettled by her amused tolerance, endorsement of convenient marriage and discreet affairs, and insistence on outward religious conformity.

  • Dominica recognizes the financial purpose of the marriage scheme and suspects the ball serves the Carvalhos' control. Frightened by Beatrice's confidence, she shifts from seclusion to public resistance, possible outside help and control over her appearance.
  • Beatrice asserts control over Dominica's public appearances and announces the household's impending move, while Dominica maintains her refusal of the intended marriage.
  • Dominica confronts Beatrice over Diego's conduct and the proposed marriage; Beatrice's advice provokes genuine anger, and her refusal to relinquish the match sustains their conflict.
  • Beatrice acknowledges Nicholas's identity and her admiration for him while asserting control through removal, marriage and warnings of inquisitorial danger.
  • Beatrice grants Dominica supervised freedom to ride, then knowingly permits Diego to seize her and directs the household to resume freeing the coach.

• Dominica hints at reformed religious beliefs to Beatrice, who tolerates private heresy but urges religious observance and concealment from Frey Pedro; Dominica complies with the outward forms.

  • Dominica invokes religious retirement as an escape from marriage and claims her dissent is past. Her present beliefs remain unestablished, but religious conformity becomes part of her defence against Diego.

• Dominica will attend the ball and make her pallor and refusal to dance a public sign of her treatment by the Carvalhos.

• Dominica plans to end her seclusion, seek a deliverer and use Tobar's willingness to help to alarm the Carvalhos without accepting his marriage designs.

  • Dominica accepts Nicholas as her deliverer and abandons her refusal to appear in society, creating an opportunity for further contact.
  • Dominica turns the threatened appeal to Tobar into a means of securing removal to Vasconosa. Nicholas endorses the scheme, and Beatrice commits to leaving Madrid before Tobar arrives.

• Beatrice uses Dominica's acceptance of Nicholas as a dance partner to undermine her grounds for refusing Diego.

• Nicholas plans to climb to Dominica's garden-facing chamber for a private conversation when she signals with a lamp after everyone is asleep.

  • Dominica checks the household, signals with her lamp, and admits Nicholas after he climbs to her balcony; their private conversation takes place.

• Nicholas proposes taking Dominica from Vasconosa to the coast, where the Venture can receive them.

  • After learning of the delayed household departure, Nicholas supports Dominica's means of accelerating it, studies the route, plans to travel with Joshua on Tuesday, and vows to take her to the coast before her second night at Vasconosa.
  • Nicholas's arrest prevents him from carrying out the planned removal of Dominica from Vasconosa to the coast.
  • Free of prison and informed of Dominica's departure, Nicholas sets out with Joshua on a route toward Vasconosa, renewing progress toward fetching her; the coastal escape remains unaccomplished.
  • Dominica is diverted to Diego's lodge, obstructing the proposed departure with Nicholas from Vasconosa to the coast.
  • Nicholas brings Dominica to the coast and successfully transfers her to the Venture.

• Dominica and Nicholas arrange further contact through Joshua, her Monday appearance at Alonso de Alepero's house, and Nicholas's intended visit to the Carvalho house.

  • Nicholas obtains another conversation with Dominica and makes his intended visit to the Carvalho lodgings; these contacts let him coordinate the Vasconosa scheme and learn of her impending departure.
  • Nicholas and Dominica meet again, but she warns him to keep away; his subsequent arrest obstructs further contact despite his insistence that he will keep his later engagements.
  • Joshua establishes contact with both Dominica and Nicholas and relays an imperfectly understood warning about her removal; their originally arranged meetings remain disrupted.

• Nicholas considers travelling south to inspect the fleet at Cadiz after gathering intelligence about its strength.

  • Custody prevents Nicholas from pursuing the contemplated journey to inspect the fleet at Cadiz.

• Beatrice plans to remove Dominica from Madrid before Tobar arrives, taking her to Vasconosa the following Tuesday ahead of Rodriguez.

  • Removal from Madrid gains urgency, and Diego presses for immediate departure; Beatrice identifies the suspicion an unexpectedly early departure would attract.
  • With Tobar travelling to Madrid, Beatrice brings the proposed departure forward from Tuesday to Saturday, conditional on Dominica remaining free of suspicion.
  • Beatrice has taken Dominica out of Madrid toward Vasconosa, and Joshua reports that their party is travelling without delay; arrival is not established.
  • Beatrice carries Dominica north from Madrid, putting the planned removal into effect; arrival at Vasconosa is not established.

• Diego resolves to watch Dominica closely, suspecting that the supposed Chevalier courts her and intends an elopement; Beatrice dismisses his jealousy.

• Dominica tries to protect Nicholas from recognition by keeping him away, distracting Perinat and seeking a chance to warn him; after his exposure, she denies the identification and obeys Nicholas's signal to remain silent.

  • Dominica actively maintains Nicholas's disguise by disputing the accusation and attacking Perinat's reliability, but learns that Beatrice has recognized him.
  • Dominica's denial reaches Philip through Lauvinière, extending her effort to counter Nicholas's identification.

• Perinat recognizes Nicholas as Beauvallet and publicly exposes him; armed attacks and demands for investigation culminate in his arrest by the Guards of Castile.

  • Nicholas is escorted away under armed guard, and Joshua confirms both his capture and Perinat's identification.
  • Perinat's accusation reaches Philip and prompts investigation, but Philip defers Perinat's deposition to the Alcalde and orders continued custody rather than an immediate determination.

• Joshua stages a servant's theft and flight to explain his disappearance and the missing valuables, while leaving Guise's pass for searchers and spreading an account that supports Nicholas's assumed identity.

  • The search finds the staged theft and hears the tapster's account of Joshua's flight. Nicholas reinforces the account by demanding Joshua's capture, displaying anger over his missing sword and relief that his papers remain safe.
  • Allen identifies Joshua's supposed flight as a possible deception and warns Philip that Joshua may be assisting Nicholas, undermining the cover story.

• Beatrice seeks to protect Dominica from suspicion through a swift marriage and a protective account, using the threat of Inquisition questioning and Nicholas's danger to press her compliance.

  • Dominica escapes Spanish custody and marries Nicholas, removing her from Beatrice's immediate power to compel a protective marriage.

• Diego intends to warn his father to send the King's men to Vasconosa if Nicholas escapes.

  • Diego travels ahead to Vasconosa, putting him in position to warn his father; the events do not establish that he has delivered the warning.
  • Although Rodriguez initially withholds Nicholas's probable destination, he ultimately warns Philip about Vasconosa, and a royal pursuit party is dispatched there.
  • The King's men arrive at the Great House in Vasconosa, consistent with Diego's intended warning, though these events do not establish who sent them.

• Nicholas claims French protection as the Chevalier de Guise; Lauvinière seeks to suspend proceedings until France answers his inquiry into the claimant's identity.

  • The inquiry into the claimed French identity proceeds while Nicholas remains detained pending information from France.
  • Nicholas's admission of his identity and escape replace the suspended identity inquiry with orders to recapture Beauvallet, defeating his current claim to protection as a French envoy.

• Philip considers a Mass as a test of the prisoner's identity; Nicholas has himself suggested that test.

• Luis seeks Nicholas's surrender to the Inquisition and Allen urges pursuit of heresy, while Philip delays action to protect French relations and conceal his dealings with the Guises.

• Philip orders Nicholas courteously confined under lock and sentry until Lauvinière's intelligence arrives, making Cristobal responsible for his safety, treatment and custody.

  • Nicholas remains under guarded confinement, but Cristobal grants exercise, garden access, books and writing materials in keeping with courteous custody.
  • Nicholas overcomes his keepers, incapacitates Cristobal and leaves the prison; the ordered custody fails.
  • The ordered confinement ends through Nicholas's successful escape, and Philip learns that Cristobal's custody has failed.

• Nicholas plans an urgent escape through an unbarred upper room and the governor's garden, anticipating killing his door sentry; Joshua is to bring rope to the opposite wall next evening and throw it across at Nicholas's whistle, while preparing horses for the escape.

  • Nicholas escapes confinement and evades interception. The alarm and guarded garden defeat his intended route, so he substitutes the Governor's disguise and coach; the planned rope rendezvous is not shown taking place.

• Cristobal and the prison guards increasingly trust Nicholas as a wrongly imprisoned French gentleman; their confidence brings him greater freedom of movement and information useful for escape.

  • Nicholas exploits the gaolers' acceptance of his complaint to isolate and overpower one of them. His subsequent assault on Cristobal and disclosure that he is Beauvallet end the relationship founded on his supposed innocence and French identity.

• The prison authorities pursue Nicholas after the alarm, blocking his routes through the house and garden; pursuit continues outside, but the soldiers intercept an empty coach.

  • The unsuccessful Madrid search expands into orders to the Frontier and ports, followed by a mounted party under Cruza with authority to commandeer horses and orders to reach Vasconosa before Nicholas.
  • A soldier's passage suggests an effort to close the frontier, and the King's men reach the Great House while Nicholas is inside; he escapes through the grounds before they intercept him.
  • Pursuers reach the lodge and attempt to capture Nicholas alive; he wounds several, deceives their search and rides away, but pursuit remains unresolved.
  • The pursuit reaches Nicholas's route and villagers attempt to intercept him, but he conceals himself and his horse in the forest; the guards ride past toward the Frontier road.
  • The soldiers detect and pursue the fugitives, but the rescuing seamen enable their embarkation and departure from Spain.

• Nicholas improvises an escape by binding and concealing Cristobal, taking his insignia and clothes, and impersonating him to leave in the Governor's coach.

  • Nicholas leaves in Cristobal's disguise, abandons the coach before interception and safely rejoins Joshua.

• Nicholas and Joshua intend to ride out of Madrid, taking the Frontier road as far as Burgos before making for Vasconosa to reach Dominica.

  • Despite losing the road, horse trouble and delays, Nicholas and Joshua leave Madrid, turn off the post road at Burgos and reach Vasconosa.

• Philip determines that Dominica's possible involvement with Nicholas warrants investigation of her religious faith, exposing her to the danger Rodriguez sought to avert by concealing Nicholas's probable destination.

  • Dominica reaches England and receives the Queen's recognition, placing her beyond the immediate reach of Philip's proposed investigation.

• Diego stages a masked attack to abduct Dominica and take her to a lodge where only Luis the valet is present; Beatrice recognizes Diego and allows the abduction to proceed.

  • Diego completes the abduction to the Vasconosa hunting-lodge; the escort disperses, leaving Dominica isolated with him and Luis.

• The apparent bandit attack conceals Diego's abduction of Dominica. Beatrice learns his identity and destination, while Dominica detects the bloodless fighting without learning who directs it.

  • Dominica identifies Diego beneath the mask, recognizes the destination and learns his marriage purpose. His claim of sole authorship does not disclose Beatrice's knowing acquiescence.
  • Beatrice maintains the brigand account and represents Diego as searching for Dominica, but Nicholas infers that Diego abducted her and took her to his hunting lodge.

• Dominica seeks to escape the hunting-lodge and reach Beatrice; Diego locks her chamber, and the window offers no safe exit.

  • Nicholas opens the locked room and lowers Dominica to Joshua, who leads her away from the lodge; her escape succeeds without reaching Beatrice.

• Dominica counters Diego's coercion by threatening to enter a cloister with her wealth and insisting that violating her will cost him her fortune; his hesitation gives her hope that resistance can hold him off.

  • Diego's mortal wounding and Dominica's rescue end the need to deter him through threats concerning her fortune and a cloister.

• Diego decides to let anticipation weaken Dominica's resistance, granting her a night and a day before forcing marriage or a sexual relationship.

  • Nicholas intervenes before Diego can carry out his intended coercion, mortally wounds him and frees Dominica.

• Nicholas conceals his flight behind claims of royal business and authority to pursue Beauvallet, inducing roadside witnesses to mistake the fugitive for his own pursuer.

• Nicholas and Joshua prepare to extract Dominica from the Great House at night, tethering fresh horses nearby and planning to carry her before Nicholas to Villanova by a side track to avoid suspicion.

  • The extraction adapts to the hunting lodge and arriving pursuers: Joshua receives Dominica through the window and leads her away, while Nicholas stays behind. Arrival at Villanova is not established.
  • Joshua completes Dominica's extraction by carrying her through the wood to the inn at Villanova.

• Nicholas confronts Beatrice over Dominica, restrains her when the King's men arrive, and carries her out of the house bound and gagged, intending to leave her in the spinney.

  • Beatrice has been left in the spinney as Nicholas intended, and Joshua approves the action after learning of Dominica's captivity.

• Nicholas intends to reach Diego's hunting lodge to recover Dominica and declares that he will kill Diego.

  • Nicholas reaches the lodge, mortally wounds Diego and frees Dominica. Diego is described as dying; his completed death is not separately confirmed.

• Nicholas will divert pursuit while Joshua takes Dominica to Villanova, where Nicholas promises to rejoin them; Joshua reluctantly accepts leaving him behind if necessary.

  • Nicholas draws the guards away and evades them while Joshua carries Dominica to Villanova; Nicholas then rejoins them at the inn.

• Nicholas misleads the guards into expecting an escape through Dominica's window, conceals himself behind the arras, then slips out and takes a guard's horse.

  • Nicholas rides away on the seized horse, breaks through the crowd and escapes the mounted guards.

• Joshua's admiration for Dominica's courage develops into devotion, and she endorses his service to Gerard.

• Dominica enters Nicholas's English family and society as his wife, receiving an affectionate family welcome and recognition from the Queen.

Places

Spain, Santiago, The island of Dominica, The Indies, Vigo, England, Canaries, Santander, Plymouth Sound, Plymouth, Hampshire, Cambridgeshire, France, Normandy, Worcester, Toledo, Venice, Manor of Basing, Worcestershire, London, East Chepe, London Bridge, The inn, Devil Tavern, Gallant Howard, Westminster, Madrid, Paris, The Frontier, Puerta del Sol, Inn of the Rising Sun, Alcazar, Sevilla, Burgos, Plaza de Oriente, Mentidero, Calle Mayor, Valladolid, Casa Carvalho, Vasconosa, Alepero house, Casa Noveli, Picardy, The lodge, Villanova, Nonesuch