h1strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; color: windowtext;"CHAPTER 2: GREENWICH PALACE/span/strong/h1
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"Anne and her retinue arrived at Greenwich Palace just before supper would be served. With the messenger forewarning the King of her arrival, she was able to ensure that her rooms and her ladies would be in perfect order by the time she reached. She entered her presence chamber through her privy chamber; she had come in through one of the back ways so she could wash and change out of her riding clothes before anyone of consequence saw her. Amidst the laughing, gambling, music, and chatter, Anne's eyes keyed in on the King sitting in the window with Jane Seymour, her sewing set to the side. Her cousin Madge stood and curtsied low. "Your Majesty", she said, loud enough for others to hear. The room grew slightly quieter and all of the ladies stood to curtsey and greet her. Anne nodded her head and smiled. She felt Henry's eyes on her and she had to muster all of her strength to smile warmly at him and ignore the fact that he had been in rapt conversation with that Seymour wench./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"She executed a graceful curtsey and came up smiling. "My Lord Husband". "Anne", he replied coolly. Anne kept her smile plastered to her face. "Mistress Seymour", said Anne, gritting her teeth, but trying to sound calm and polite. Jane stood and curtsied as she should have done long before. "Your Majesty". "I hope my husband the King is not too distracting to you; I know how committed you are to sewing shirts for the poor". Jane bowed her head and lowered her gaze. "Not at all, Your Majesty. The King's company is a pleasure". "I am sure", said Anne, her smile straining on her lips. "Then I hope you will not be very troubled that it is time for us to go into supper. I am ravenous and I cannot eat a thing until His Majesty leads me into the Hall". "Of course, Your Majesty", said Jane, in an annoying little subservient squeak of a voice. The King stood almost grudgingly and put out his arm for Anne to take./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"All of her ladies and his gentlemen followed behind in strict order of precedence. Once they were seated at the high table and the servers wiped their hands with the napkin, Anne turned to Henry and smiled. "And are you well today, husband?", she asked pleasantly. "I thought you would be at Windsor Castle for weeks", he replied rudely, ignoring her question. "You asked if we could wait a few weeks until you were well". Her smile did not falter. "I could not bear being parted from you any longer", said Anne sweetly. Henry made a little grunt of acknowledgement. Anne grabbed her goblet and took a sip of wine to cover her fading smile. It irritated her to no end that she could have a miscarriage that could have killed her, she too had lost a baby, she was the one in pain, and all Henry could think about was how strongshe/strong had failed stronghim/strong! emHe is such a spoiled child!/em she thought in annoyance./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"She stopped herself from thinking another ill thought against him, lest she cause her entire mood to sour. Right now, it was imperative that she appear as charming and good tempered as possible. Anne turned a dazzling smile to her husband. "And did you go hunting today, my love?". He nodded and took another gulp of wine from his goblet. "The quarry got away", said Henry flatly. Anne put a comforting hand on his arm and felt him tense up. They were in front of the entire court; she could hardly show the dozens of watching eyes that the King did not want her touch. She continued on in soothing tones. "I am sure that your merciful nature must have gotten the better of you. A huntsman such as yourself could surely clear the park of deer for a generation". Henry warmed a little from the praise. The tension in his arm slackened. "I have never seen a better hunter or rider than you, my Lord". "There are many new, young men at court", said Henry sulkily. "Young and virile and ready to hunt all day". Anne shook her head. "They are nothing to a seasoned hunter such as Your Majesty". /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"Henry gave Anne a small smile. "They are somewhat inexperienced, aren't they?", he asked. "Of course they are", said Anne reassuringly. It was like soothing her sister's boy, Henry's namesake, when his sister Katherine outran him in a race. His face was melting into a stupid simmering grin; reminiscing over his past youthful vigor and in admiration of himself no doubt. She could feel her irritation with him rising and threatening to bubble over. She snapped her finger at a server. "More wine for the King", she ordered. The server bowed and obeyed quickly. Henry took a sip and turned to scrutinize his wife. "And you are well?", he asked tentatively, a hint of melancholy creeping into his voice. "Perfectly well", said Anne, beaming at him. "Should you not be in your bed? Did the midwives not order you to your bed for weeks?". Now the self-pity was clearly evident in his voice. Anne wanted to scream in exasperation. He was surely mad to go from one emotion to the next in a matter of seconds!/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"She shrugged; a charming gesture she had picked up from the French court. "I was healthier than they realized. I am young, and strong, and resilient. Of course, I am perfectly well". His darkening face began to lighten. "While I was at Windsor, I was able to begin reading a new book on theology that I think would be of interest to you, my love", she continued, to stave off further questioning. "Perhaps later, when we are alone and it is quiet, I can read to you". "Perhaps", he replied gruffly. His gaze wandered absently over to where Jane Seymour was sitting. Anne pretended not to notice and her smile never wavered. "I am so looking forward to hearing your opinions, and mayhap, you can explain some things to me". Henry looked at her with slight interest now. Anne turned her head to the side to hide her smirk. He was always sweetened by someone seeking his "superior" wisdom. Anne was a scholar herself, and a theology enthusiast, and there was rarely a topic in theology where she needed his guidance to understand. Henry of course, was too self-aggrandizing to even consider that./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;""I'll come to your rooms later then", he agreed calmly. It was not as warm as Anne would have wished, but it was enough for her just then. She bowed her head and smiled demurely at him, as if it would be her greatest desire to hear his religious opinions; as if she herself had not actively worked to shape his current religious ideals! After the dinner and dessert courses were served, the King called for dancing. Anne, disgusted with his increasing gluttony, jumped up off her throne to be one of the first to dance. She touched the shoulders of five of her ladies to come and join her, making sure to touch the shoulder of Jane Seymour. She would show the court, and more importantly, she would show the King that she was no jealous, scorned wife. She was a Queen, with the graciousness of a Queen. If her husband had a favorite, she too would show the woman favor. She would show that she felt no threat, for indeed, who could threaten the Queen of England? Tactically, she also made sure to tap her beautiful, young, fertile Howard cousins. Among them was her cousin Mary, Duchess of Richmond and the wife of Henry's acknowledged bastard son, Henry Fitzroy. All of the Howard girls were enchanting beauties, with dark promising eyes, or bright luminous ones, dressed like little queens, and elegant as Italian dancers. They glittered like brightly colored jewels next to the dull plainness that was Jane Seymour./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"Anne clapped her hands and the musicians struck up the tune for an intricate dance from the French court; one of Anne's favorites. She knew they would play such a tune. The musicians knew her tastes well. Her cousins were graceful and light on their feet. Jane Seymour was not a bad dancer, but she was better at slow, stately dances, and high-spirited country dances. In a quick, elegant dance such as the one they performed, she was less graceful and got quite turned around by some of the steps. Graciously, Anne guided her, with a smile that was as sweet as an older sister might have. No, she was nothing at all like a jealous wife. She could feel the King's eyes on both of them so she was careful not to even glance in his direction. She wanted to make it look as if she were discreetly helping her dull and deadly pale lady-in-waiting. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"See here, husband/em, Anne thought. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"See what you have, compared to what you have been pursuing/em. The King was certainly watching her, though in her stolen glances, she could not tell if he watched her with desire, as he used to. Anne could hear a little murmur from the courtiers and caught the last part of someone saying how strong she must be to recover so quickly from her miscarriage. She smiled inwardly at that as she twirled in time to the music. If anyone said anything similar to that in the King's hearing, it would work to her benefit. When the dance was over, the court clapped as the ladies curtsied to the King. The musicians began playing another song; a spritely country jig. Dozens of courtiers joined the dance and Anne laughed merrily as her brother George spun her around and then switched partners. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"After three more sets, Anne decided to go and sit next to her husband again. She had nearly forgotten the pain in her belly and in her privates. Jane had sat down after that first dance, and Henry had continued to watch Anne dance. That was something at least. As Anne headed to the dais, she knew her skin would be flushed from the dancing, although she was still in pain. It would give her a healthy glow and support her claim that she was well. And she knew that the Tudor green damask gown she wore suited her, and she was wearing her hair loose. Anne smiled at him. "Enjoying yourself?", he asked, as if he was not much interested in the answer. "Of course, husband. But I should enjoy myself all the more if you were to partner me". "Not tonight. My leg hurts". "Perhaps a game of cards then, my Lord?", Anne asked, before he sunk into self-pity over his injury that had never properly healed. Henry hesitated. "Yes, you can call for a pack of cards". Anne nodded and had someone bring over a deck. "And who shall you have to partner?", she asked. "Mistress Seymour", he said, almost at once. Anne wanted to lunge at him and curse him for a fool. Yet, her smile did not falter. "Then I will partner her brother, Sir Thomas, and we will make it a sibling rivalry"./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"Anne and her retinue arrived at Greenwich Palace just before supper would be served. With the messenger forewarning the King of her arrival, she was able to ensure that her rooms and her ladies would be in perfect order by the time she reached. She entered her presence chamber through her privy chamber; she had come in through one of the back ways so she could wash and change out of her riding clothes before anyone of consequence saw her. Amidst the laughing, gambling, music, and chatter, Anne's eyes keyed in on the King sitting in the window with Jane Seymour, her sewing set to the side. Her cousin Madge stood and curtsied low. "Your Majesty", she said, loud enough for others to hear. The room grew slightly quieter and all of the ladies stood to curtsey and greet her. Anne nodded her head and smiled. She felt Henry's eyes on her and she had to muster all of her strength to smile warmly at him and ignore the fact that he had been in rapt conversation with that Seymour wench./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"She executed a graceful curtsey and came up smiling. "My Lord Husband". "Anne", he replied coolly. Anne kept her smile plastered to her face. "Mistress Seymour", said Anne, gritting her teeth, but trying to sound calm and polite. Jane stood and curtsied as she should have done long before. "Your Majesty". "I hope my husband the King is not too distracting to you; I know how committed you are to sewing shirts for the poor". Jane bowed her head and lowered her gaze. "Not at all, Your Majesty. The King's company is a pleasure". "I am sure", said Anne, her smile straining on her lips. "Then I hope you will not be very troubled that it is time for us to go into supper. I am ravenous and I cannot eat a thing until His Majesty leads me into the Hall". "Of course, Your Majesty", said Jane, in an annoying little subservient squeak of a voice. The King stood almost grudgingly and put out his arm for Anne to take./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"All of her ladies and his gentlemen followed behind in strict order of precedence. Once they were seated at the high table and the servers wiped their hands with the napkin, Anne turned to Henry and smiled. "And are you well today, husband?", she asked pleasantly. "I thought you would be at Windsor Castle for weeks", he replied rudely, ignoring her question. "You asked if we could wait a few weeks until you were well". Her smile did not falter. "I could not bear being parted from you any longer", said Anne sweetly. Henry made a little grunt of acknowledgement. Anne grabbed her goblet and took a sip of wine to cover her fading smile. It irritated her to no end that she could have a miscarriage that could have killed her, she too had lost a baby, she was the one in pain, and all Henry could think about was how strongshe/strong had failed stronghim/strong! emHe is such a spoiled child!/em she thought in annoyance./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"She stopped herself from thinking another ill thought against him, lest she cause her entire mood to sour. Right now, it was imperative that she appear as charming and good tempered as possible. Anne turned a dazzling smile to her husband. "And did you go hunting today, my love?". He nodded and took another gulp of wine from his goblet. "The quarry got away", said Henry flatly. Anne put a comforting hand on his arm and felt him tense up. They were in front of the entire court; she could hardly show the dozens of watching eyes that the King did not want her touch. She continued on in soothing tones. "I am sure that your merciful nature must have gotten the better of you. A huntsman such as yourself could surely clear the park of deer for a generation". Henry warmed a little from the praise. The tension in his arm slackened. "I have never seen a better hunter or rider than you, my Lord". "There are many new, young men at court", said Henry sulkily. "Young and virile and ready to hunt all day". Anne shook her head. "They are nothing to a seasoned hunter such as Your Majesty". /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"Henry gave Anne a small smile. "They are somewhat inexperienced, aren't they?", he asked. "Of course they are", said Anne reassuringly. It was like soothing her sister's boy, Henry's namesake, when his sister Katherine outran him in a race. His face was melting into a stupid simmering grin; reminiscing over his past youthful vigor and in admiration of himself no doubt. She could feel her irritation with him rising and threatening to bubble over. She snapped her finger at a server. "More wine for the King", she ordered. The server bowed and obeyed quickly. Henry took a sip and turned to scrutinize his wife. "And you are well?", he asked tentatively, a hint of melancholy creeping into his voice. "Perfectly well", said Anne, beaming at him. "Should you not be in your bed? Did the midwives not order you to your bed for weeks?". Now the self-pity was clearly evident in his voice. Anne wanted to scream in exasperation. He was surely mad to go from one emotion to the next in a matter of seconds!/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"She shrugged; a charming gesture she had picked up from the French court. "I was healthier than they realized. I am young, and strong, and resilient. Of course, I am perfectly well". His darkening face began to lighten. "While I was at Windsor, I was able to begin reading a new book on theology that I think would be of interest to you, my love", she continued, to stave off further questioning. "Perhaps later, when we are alone and it is quiet, I can read to you". "Perhaps", he replied gruffly. His gaze wandered absently over to where Jane Seymour was sitting. Anne pretended not to notice and her smile never wavered. "I am so looking forward to hearing your opinions, and mayhap, you can explain some things to me". Henry looked at her with slight interest now. Anne turned her head to the side to hide her smirk. He was always sweetened by someone seeking his "superior" wisdom. Anne was a scholar herself, and a theology enthusiast, and there was rarely a topic in theology where she needed his guidance to understand. Henry of course, was too self-aggrandizing to even consider that./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;""I'll come to your rooms later then", he agreed calmly. It was not as warm as Anne would have wished, but it was enough for her just then. She bowed her head and smiled demurely at him, as if it would be her greatest desire to hear his religious opinions; as if she herself had not actively worked to shape his current religious ideals! After the dinner and dessert courses were served, the King called for dancing. Anne, disgusted with his increasing gluttony, jumped up off her throne to be one of the first to dance. She touched the shoulders of five of her ladies to come and join her, making sure to touch the shoulder of Jane Seymour. She would show the court, and more importantly, she would show the King that she was no jealous, scorned wife. She was a Queen, with the graciousness of a Queen. If her husband had a favorite, she too would show the woman favor. She would show that she felt no threat, for indeed, who could threaten the Queen of England? Tactically, she also made sure to tap her beautiful, young, fertile Howard cousins. Among them was her cousin Mary, Duchess of Richmond and the wife of Henry's acknowledged bastard son, Henry Fitzroy. All of the Howard girls were enchanting beauties, with dark promising eyes, or bright luminous ones, dressed like little queens, and elegant as Italian dancers. They glittered like brightly colored jewels next to the dull plainness that was Jane Seymour./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"Anne clapped her hands and the musicians struck up the tune for an intricate dance from the French court; one of Anne's favorites. She knew they would play such a tune. The musicians knew her tastes well. Her cousins were graceful and light on their feet. Jane Seymour was not a bad dancer, but she was better at slow, stately dances, and high-spirited country dances. In a quick, elegant dance such as the one they performed, she was less graceful and got quite turned around by some of the steps. Graciously, Anne guided her, with a smile that was as sweet as an older sister might have. No, she was nothing at all like a jealous wife. She could feel the King's eyes on both of them so she was careful not to even glance in his direction. She wanted to make it look as if she were discreetly helping her dull and deadly pale lady-in-waiting. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"See here, husband/em, Anne thought. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"See what you have, compared to what you have been pursuing/em. The King was certainly watching her, though in her stolen glances, she could not tell if he watched her with desire, as he used to. Anne could hear a little murmur from the courtiers and caught the last part of someone saying how strong she must be to recover so quickly from her miscarriage. She smiled inwardly at that as she twirled in time to the music. If anyone said anything similar to that in the King's hearing, it would work to her benefit. When the dance was over, the court clapped as the ladies curtsied to the King. The musicians began playing another song; a spritely country jig. Dozens of courtiers joined the dance and Anne laughed merrily as her brother George spun her around and then switched partners. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Verdana',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"After three more sets, Anne decided to go and sit next to her husband again. She had nearly forgotten the pain in her belly and in her privates. Jane had sat down after that first dance, and Henry had continued to watch Anne dance. That was something at least. As Anne headed to the dais, she knew her skin would be flushed from the dancing, although she was still in pain. It would give her a healthy glow and support her claim that she was well. And she knew that the Tudor green damask gown she wore suited her, and she was wearing her hair loose. Anne smiled at him. "Enjoying yourself?", he asked, as if he was not much interested in the answer. "Of course, husband. But I should enjoy myself all the more if you were to partner me". "Not tonight. My leg hurts". "Perhaps a game of cards then, my Lord?", Anne asked, before he sunk into self-pity over his injury that had never properly healed. Henry hesitated. "Yes, you can call for a pack of cards". Anne nodded and had someone bring over a deck. "And who shall you have to partner?", she asked. "Mistress Seymour", he said, almost at once. Anne wanted to lunge at him and curse him for a fool. Yet, her smile did not falter. "Then I will partner her brother, Sir Thomas, and we will make it a sibling rivalry"./span/p