Margaret Sheldon was born into a very important family as the daughter of Sir John Sheldon and Lady Anne Sheldon. She was not only a Howard girl but also a Boleyn girl, which gave her, from birth, great things to aspire to.
She grew up living in a very nice home called Shelton Hall in Norfolk. Her uncle, Thomas Howard controlled the duchy of Norfolk and also controlled the lives of each and every Howard and Boleyn girl in his grasp. One day, only a few days after Margaret turned sixteen, she was called to the drawing room of Shelton Hall by her father, and was instructed to wear her best dress and be on her best behaviour. Margaret questioned this, but as always, did as she was told and showed up promptly in the drawing room in her best dress. The servant at the door knocked on it for her, waiting for Sir John to beckon back.
"Is it my daughter?" Sir John's voiced called in question from beyond the doors.
"Yes sir." The servant replied.
"Let her in then."
The servant nodded kindly to Margaret and opened the door for her. She passed by him with a smile, entering the drawing room of her home. Inside she saw her father and mother, standing together, their eyes on her intently. She looked beyond them to see another man standing with his back towards her as he looked out the bay windows of the drawing room.
"Daughter." Sir John said plainly as Margaret entered the room. He did not even call her Margaret.
Margaret stood still and dropped into a deep and graceful curtsey. "My Father, Lady Mother." She addressed them. She waited for the other man to be introduced before addressing him.
Sir John's face suddenly broke into a grin. "You have an important visitor, daughter."
Madge raised her eyebrows. "And whom might that be, father?" She rose from her curtsey as she responded.
Sir John puffed up his chest and turned to his right, preparing to introduce the guest. "My lady, your lord uncle, the Duke of Norfolk is here to see you."
Margaret did not even wait for Lord Howard to turn around to face her. She immediately dropped into the deepest curtsey she could manage and inclined her head. "My lord Norfolk." She connected her eyes with him as he turned to see her in her curtsey.
He motioned with his hand for her to rise. "My Lady Sheldon." He nodded his head shortly to her, as he eyed her with interest. "You have become a beautiful lady indeed."
Margaret rose from her curtsey, keeping her keen eyes on her uncle. She heard it was not often he handed out compliments. "You are too kind, my lord."
He did not react to this. "I have come to see you for a very important matter and I can see now in your composure and your looks that you are very ready for the task at hand."
From her peripherals, Margaret could see her father and mother's faces, which both bore sly smiles of happiness. She would be their first to go to court, and they all knew it, she acted as if she had no idea what to expect though, as she knew this would please her uncle. She inclined her head once more. "My lord uncle, I will willingly accept any task you think I am ready for, and I assure you that I am ready for anything, in my mind and in my heart."
The duke turned himself again towards the window, looking out for a few moments before speaking. It was as if he enjoyed the tension he caused the Sheldon's, who were all standing still waiting for him to announce his task. When he finally turned back to them, his face was blank, giving no hints to what they all already knew he was going to say. "You are to come to court, my lady, to be a lady-in-waiting to Lady Anne Boleyn, your cousin." He paused for a moment for reactions.
Margaret curtseyed again, as deeply as the first time. "My lord uncle, I am so grateful for this task. I will do as you wish."
"Yes, you will. As you must know, Lady Anne is advancing very quickly in this world. She is very much favored by the king, even more than her sister, the Lady Mary. The king has given her beautiful chambers in Whitehall and has allowed her to acquire some ladies-in-waiting, to her pleasure. As I am very close to the king and Anne, they allowed me to choose who should come to court and I am happy to say that I have chosen you. I hope you will prove at court that my decision to do so was a good one for, if you prove otherwise, you will be sent home immediately and will not be allowed to return."
The duke's final words were very harsh, but Margaret did not falter. "My lord uncle, I will go to court and be a lady-in-waiting to the Lady Anne and I promise you, upon our family name, that I will not fail you. I will be the image of a perfect lady while I am at court and show no faults."
He nodded firmly in reply. "You must. There is only room at court for respectable women, so you must be a model one, as a lady-in-waiting to the Lady Anne. We want her to look good and if you, or any of her other ladies, act inappropriately, Anne's image will be effected and I will not tolerate that." He made a tight fist with his hand. "She is so close to achieving more than any other Howard has ever achieved, even me, that if anyone or anything screws this up, they will be severely punished."
Margaret nodded obediently. "I understand, my lord. I only know how to be a polite and respectable woman and I would never dare make Anne or our family look bad. I will be a model Howard and woman for all those at court."
The duke did not say anything for a few moments. He placed a hand on his chin, rubbing it slowly. A look of satisfaction appeared on his face and he replied: "Very well Margaret. You are to go to court at the beginning of next week then. I assume you know all the dances and how to play music?"
She nodded very quickly in response. "Oh, yes my lord uncle. I love both very much."
He nodded his head firmly and looked to Sir John and Lady Anne Sheldon. "I will send a carriage to take her to court on Monday. Make sure she is ready, that her languages are perfected and so on. She must be a model lady as she has promised."
"Of course my lord. We will have some new dresses made and have her review all her languages, practice her music and prepare her for court life." Sir John replied dutifully, his joy hidden in his tone.
The duke nodded shortly to Sir John and then turned to Margaret once more, approaching her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and grasped it tightly. "I will see you at court and call upon you the day you arrive to discuss your role further. See you at court, Lady Sheldon." With those final words, the duke left the room. Margaret stood in her spot, her eyes still where the duke had been standing only moments ago. She slowly averted her gaze to her mother and father, who grinned at her with pleasure.
"We are very proud of you Margaret." Sir John said, looking to his daughter. He rarely ever called her by her name or congratulated her on a job well done.
Her mother nodded. "Yes, we are. When you were young we always thought it would be Mary but as you got older, your beauty became much more extravagant than hers."
Margaret curtseyed to her mother and father. "Thank you both."
Sir John approached her, followed by her mother who followed behind him. "No daughter, we thank you."