Summary: The Princess Mary Tudor had a brief but loving courtship with Philip of Bavaria. What if The King hadn't sent him away so soon, would things have gone further?
"Would you like me to kiss you again?" Philip asked before kissed her softly on the mouth and although Mary had set herself against him because his beliefs were so different from her own staunch catholic ones, she found herself responding to him. Her lips moved with his gracefully, stirring feelings she had never felt before within her chest.
"Philip..I..." she stumbled not knowing what words were appropriate in this situation or how to convey her feelings to him without seeming too bold, these were things her mother should have taught her on becoming a woman but had been unable to as she was shut away from her, banned from all contact by her father, The King of England.
"Hush my sweet Princess" He silenced her lips by pressing his own against them again briefly before whispering in her ear "will you come for a walk with me tomorrow afternoon?" He took her hand in his and placed the other against her cheek "please say yes, I fear that you will leave the for the country and will forget me before I have had chance to win your affections" He waited with bated breath for her answer.
"Of course your grace, I would be most honoured" She replied happily for she had been lonely for so long and this man no matter what his beliefs was surely sent to save her from being an old maid in a country where she was least loved by her father and all but ignored by the rest of court except for the few supporters of her mother who were too afraid of her fathers wrath to show themselves to her openly.
"Princess" He bowed low for effect.
"Rise Your Grace" she said quietly "You should be careful who hears you call me that" She told him earnestly "My Father took my title of Princess when he bastardised me." her eyes looked to the ground to fight the tears.
"My sweet Princess, You are the heir of Isabella and Ferdinand and Daughter of the great Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VIII making you a true Princess of England." He place a finger under her chin and lifted it " Even if that were not so my Lady, I would still strive to make you my Duchess as a more graceful and kinder spirit never drew breath, of that I am sure" He took her hand and kissed it.
The shock upon Mary's face at his forwardness was visible for all to see but she soon replaced it as she remembered the kind words about her mother and herself he had just uttered.
"Your Grace, I fear for your safety if anyone was to hear you talk like this" She said loud enough for anyone eavesdropping to hear but in a softer tone added; "but I thank you for your support none the less, your love for myself and my mother touches me greatly" They walked together at a slow pace maintaining a respectful distance between themselves all the while, 2 of Mary's ladies in waiting walking 6-8 paces behind as chaperone. "I leave for the country tomorrow, my sister the Lady Elizabeth is looking forward to it, a holiday of sorts for her for she works so hard at her studies all the year round. She can already speak 3 languages fluently and is working upon learning Greek too. It pains me to think of who her mother was and what she did to my own mother, but I am sure a brighter child never walked this earth"
Mary spoke with a great fondness of her little sister for all the struggles that her birth had borne her, she could not blame the child for them as she had been left motherless and alone in this world as much as herself ,and Mary was determined that they should look after each other in this life as no other else would.
"You are so faultless my Lady, even above what would be expected of you, you are the epitome of Christian friendship and I should endeavour to be more like your good self." Philip wooed her and this brought a blush to her cheeks.
"You are too kind my good sir, you flatter me greatly" Mary responded "I fear you heap too much praise upon my head and place me on a pedestal so high that I must surely fall" Her eyes once again fell downwards and the Philip once again raised her eyes to his and held them solidly with his own.
"If you should fall my Lady I would be more than glad to catch you" his eyes seemed to be staring into her very soul and the blush that filled her cheeks spread to her chest and the top of her bosom that was peeking above the top of her dress, he was captivated by her beauty. "May I kiss you again Princess? One to take with me back to Bavaria so I may dream of you after our parting?" his eyes searched for her permission and seeing no refusal he kissed her chastely on the lips aware of her chaperones. "I shall write to you, your grace and I hope we can meet again soon" Mary's eyes filled with tears at the thought of the long separation from the man she had loved only so short a time.
"I would like that my Lady" He smiled "I would like that very much." they returned to walking together , now in companionable silence.
Mary awoke the next morning, dressed quickly and was surprised to see the note sat upon her sitting room table. She tore it open eagerly.
My most gracious Princess,
I Feel I must apologise for my forwardness yesterday it was not my intention to frighten you with my talk of marriage. I know that I am but a lowly Duke and not worthy of your hand, yet I find myself drawn to your beauty and kindness of spirit like a moth drawn to the brightness of a flame.
It suffers my heart greatly to see the burdens placed upon your delicate shoulders and I wish no more than to ease them as fully as I am able.
Please write back as soon as you are free to do so I set sail for Bavaria tomorrow so although I will not receive your letters for some time, I will await their arrival most impatiently.
Your ever loving servant,
Philip.
She walked straight to her bureau and hastily wrote a short reply.
My most persistent admirer,
I had promised to write to you yesterday so why would you fear that I should not?
I once again thank you for your kind words, they do my heart good to hear them it is as though I am not quite as alone as I once thought. I am not afraid of your talk of marriage, I almost welcome it and would be planning with you if not for our difference in religious beliefs. I hope greatly there is a way for us to combat this obstacle in time for I wish to get to know you better.
Please be safe on your journey and may god be with you.
Lady Mary Tudor.
They travelled to her house in the country stopping briefly to visit their young brothers household. The Prince of Wales was well but with the long journey ahead of them they only stayed for a brief respite before continuing on their way.
"Elizabeth, are you looking forward to our time together? I have missed your company whilst I have been at court." Mary asked her young sister.
"Yes sister, I have also missed you greatly but find myself a little jealous that you should get to go to court and see our father. He doesn't visit me or call for my presence often" The young girl looked thoughtful.
"We are just daughters Elizabeth and as you know his majesty is very busy running our great country, his little free time is spent with our brother as he needs the kings guidance more than us as he will be king one day." Mary explained as gentle as possible "You are also still so young, I fear our father doesn't want court life to interrupt your studies." she added "You are still working hard at your Greek texts I am told?" Mary inquired.
"Oh yes Mary it is one of my most favourite lessons" She enthused.
"Good we should thank the King with a letter thanking him for his generosity with your tutors." Mary instructed.
"Yes sister" She answered obediently "Can we go riding next week?" She asked eagerly changing the subject, this was supposed to be a holiday, a break from school work.
"We can do anything you like Bessie" Mary smiled indulgently.
Lady Mary Tudor,
I hope this letter finds you as it leaves me, in good health and spirits.
I feel as though I have known you much longer than I have but that is not hard as I have heard of your courage and kindness often.
When I think of your beauty I am lost for words, please say you will be mine? I leave your good country in less than one hour, take good care of yourself my sweet,
Philip.
Philip,
I cannot commit myself completely to you just yet. I fear gods wrath against me for you do not follow the true and right religion. I cannot allow myself to be wed to a man and to give that man children if they will be raised as heretics. I fear that this will keep us apart my good friend but believe me when I say I am full of grief because of it.
Myself and my dear sister are happy here, it is as if all that happened between our mothers was never so, we have a great bond that should surely never break. She is clever and witty and sometimes I wonder what thoughts lie behind those dark eyes that are so like that woman's yet with the innocence of youth behind them. Still it is true that they are like hooks to the soul, I sometimes wonder if she can hear my thoughts and know my feelings with a single glance but of course I am just being silly and superstitious. We have gone riding a few times and she likes to stop and sketch the countryside or write poetry as the mood strikes her. I am teaching her how to dance and act like a true lady, because I never had the friendly guidance that should come from ones own mother but neither of us have that luxury.
I hope you don't mind me talking of her to you as she is of great importance to me and I know you will not betray my trust.
Until next time my friend,
Lady Mary Tudor.
Mary,
I long for the day when I may see you again, hold your hand and kiss your soft lips.
Of course your little sister should be loved by you, you do great service by taking such care with her.
As for my religion I am not so set in my ways dearest that I would deny any children of mine the right to follow whichever path they choose. If you were to be their mother then of course I would trust in you their spiritual well being. You may have heard that I am Lutheran in my beliefs but to be quite honest with you I am not sure what I believe in. perhaps you could give me an education in Catholicism someday as you seem so devout.
I must go as I have some work to attend to.
With loving friendship,
Philip.
As Mary read his latest letter she was stunned he would give up his religion to have her as his wife. He must love her so. She wrote back with haste.
Philip,
Your words are yet again, too kind.
I would be honoured to tell you what I know of my beliefs but the true and only rightful place to learn of gods teachings is in the church itself. I shall ask a priest I trust to write to you.
I am returning to court in a weeks time as the English summer draws to a close and Elizabeth must go back to her lessons. My father, the King has asked for our presence back at court first. It would seem he has new wife and we are to meet her. I hear she is even younger than myself! Also she is cousin of the woman who usurped my mothers rightful place as queen. I fear I shall have little patience for her. I only hope god may find me the strength to be polite in her presence.
Hopefully you can visit England again shortly? I will be most eager to see you too.
Farewell for now,
Mary.
A/N: thats all for now please let me know what you think. Sorry its a bit choppy because of the letters it will get better once Philip returns to England.