Editing Bess of Hardwick (section)

===Fourth marriage===
[[File:Talbot arms.svg|thumb|200px|Arms of Talbot: ''Gules, a lion rampant within a bordure engrailled or''<ref>Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p. 1015, E. of Shrewsbury & Waterford</ref>]]
Despite being courted by several suitors, Bess did not remarry until 1568, when she married for the fourth time to become '''Countess of Shrewsbury.''' Her new husband, [[George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury]], was one of the premier aristocrats of the realm, and the father of seven children by his first marriage. Indeed, two of his children were married to two of hers in a [[Wedding#Double wedding|double ceremony]] in February 1568: Bess's daughter [[Mary Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury|Mary Cavendish]], aged 12, was given in marriage to Shrewsbury's eldest son [[Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury|Gilbert]], aged 16; while Bess's son, Sir Henry Cavendish, aged 18, married Shrewsbury's daughter Lady Grace Talbot, aged 8.

In the year before Bess and the Earl of Shrewsbury were married, a political disturbance arose in Scotland, which would profoundly affect their lives. [[Battle of Carberry Hill|Rebel Scottish lords]] rose up against [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], imprisoned her, and forced her to abdicate in favour of her one-year-old infant son, [[James VI and I|James]]. In May 1568, Mary escaped captivity in Scotland, and fled south towards England, seeking the protection of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth. However, the English authorities were not sure how to receive her. On 18 May, she was taken into protective custody at [[Carlyle Castle|Carlisle Castle]] by local officials.

Queen Elizabeth felt obliged to host and protect Mary, her cousin, against the rebellious Scottish lords. However, due to [[Mary, Queen of Scots#Claim to the English throne|Mary's persistent claim to the English throne]], Elizabeth also regarded her as a threat. Elizabeth had Mary moved to [[Bolton Castle]] in [[Yorkshire]], where she was lodged under the guard of [[Francis Knollys (the elder)|Francis Knollys]], pending the [[Casket letters#Conference at York, Westminster, and Hampton Court|York Conference]] inquiry, regarding Mary's fate. The inquiry results were inconclusive; yet Elizabeth did not set Mary free. Instead, Mary would be detained under the custody of the Earl of Shrewsbury, and his wife Bess. Elizabeth's instruction to Bess and her husband amounted to little more than Mary's house arrest. Mary reached her new residence, [[Tutbury Castle]], in February 1569, when she was 26 years old, and would remain in the custody of Shrewsbury and Bess for 15 years. Elizabeth shifted the costs of the imprisonment to Shrewsbury. It was recorded that Mary would use the couple's insecurities against each other, even convincing Talbot that Bess was stealing.<ref name=":1" /> Mary's presence in their home, as well as the financial costs and political tensions, may have contributed to the rift between Shrewsbury and Bess, which would lead eventually to the break-up of their marriage.<ref>Bess of Hardwick Empire Builder 2005 Mary S. Lovell p 210.</ref><ref>Roderick Graham (2009) ''The Life of Mary Queen of Scots.''  pp 314–316</ref>

While in the care of the earl and countess, Queen Mary lived at one or another of their many houses in the [[The Midlands, England|Midlands]]: [[Tutbury Castle|Tutbury]], [[Wingfield Manor]], [[Chatsworth House]],<ref>E. Carleton Williams, ''Bess of Hardwick'' pp 74–80</ref> and [[Sheffield Manor]]. Throughout this period, Bess spent time as Mary's companion, working with her on embroidery and textile projects. Indeed, all Mary's work later became part of Bess's historical collection at [[Hardwick Hall]].<ref>Lovell, 2005, pp 220–221</ref>
[[File:Bess of Hardwick as Mistress St Lo.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Bess of Hardwick, 1550s]] Bess joined Mary at Chatsworth for extended periods in 1569, 1570, and 1571, during which time they worked together on the [[Oxburgh Hangings]].<ref name="Digby"/> Bess sent Elizabeth I a remarkable dress as a [[New Year's Day gift (royal courts)|New Year's Day gift]] for 1577, according to Elizabeth Wingfield, who wrote;<blockquote>Her Majesty never liked any thing you gave her so well, the colour and strange trimming of the garments, with the rich and great cost bestowed upon that, has caused her to give out such good speeches of my lord and your Ladyship as I never heard of better, she told my Lord of Leicester and my Lord Chamberlain that you had given her such garments this year as she never had any so well liked her, and said that good noble couple, they show in all things what love they bear me.<ref>Alison Wiggins, ''Bess of Hardwick’s Letters: Language, Materiality, and Early Modern Epistolary Culture'' (Routledge, 2017), pp. 181–182.</ref><ref>[https://www.bessofhardwick.org/letter.jsp?letter=97 Bess of Hardwick's Letters, ID: 097]</ref></blockquote>

It was not until Mary was removed to another keeper, Sir [[Amias Paulet]], that she got into the trouble that would lead ultimately to [[Mary, Queen of Scots#Death|her execution]]. Previous to the Queen's change in custody, Shrewsbury and Bess separated for good. They had been apart, off and on, since about 1580; and even Queen Elizabeth had tried to get them to reconcile. Mary seems to have aggravated, if not created, their problems by playing them off against each other. The Countess spread rumors that her husband Shrewsbury had been in a relationship with Mary, a charge which has never been proved or disproved, and in any case which she later retracted,<ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Shrewsbury, Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of|volume=24|page=1017}}</ref> but seems unlikely given Shrewsbury's disposition and increasingly poor health.{{Citation needed | date=December 2013}} On his death in 1590, Bess became [[Dowager]] Countess of Shrewsbury. She lived mostly at Hardwick, where she built the new mansion Hardwick Hall, which inspired the rhyme, "Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall", because of the number and size of its windows.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.architecture.com/HowWeBuiltBritain/HistoricalPeriods/TudorsAndStuarts/ProdigyHouse/HardwickHallDerbyshire.aspx |title=Royal Institute of British Architects |access-date=20 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055242/http://www.architecture.com/HowWeBuiltBritain/HistoricalPeriods/TudorsAndStuarts/ProdigyHouse/HardwickHallDerbyshire.aspx |archive-date=21 September 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Levey, ''Of Household Stuff'', pp. 10–11; Levey, ''An Elizabethan Inheritance'', pp. 20–39 ''passim''</ref> She was indeed one of the greatest builders of her time at Hardwick, [[Chatsworth House]], and [[Oldcotes Manor|Oldcoates]].<ref name="EB1911"/>