Not About Angels Chapter 3, a tudors fanfic

I have nothing to say other than I hope you enjoy this chapter. And Happy Halloween for those of you who celebrate the holiday.

*More information, along with credits and disclaimers can be found below.

RHatch89: Thank you!

Emmettluver2010: I imagine, even though there was a certain way to act in public, that many of the females of Court were sometimes one of the guys. I'm glad you pointed that out.

HermioneandMarcus: Thank you!

sweetieraquelchukwurah: Usually reviews like yours don't bother me, but this is the third time someone has done this and I'm honestly sick of it. Do not review on one of my other stories just to ask for me to update another. When my inspiration and muse for Gods and Monsters comes back then I'll update it, but for the time being I'm working on other things. I'm sorry if I sound rude, but next time PM me. I just find it so disrespectful when people do that because authors work so hard on something only to have people ask for another story. So, like I said before, PM me.

Chapter 3: 15th September, 1514; Whitehall Palace

Rosemary knew Jane Popincourt fairly well.

She was French, living among the English for around twelve years now. She had a position at the English court, first in the reign of Henry VII, as a distinguished tutor to teach French to the princesses Margaret and Mary, and Rosemary, too; and later in 1509, on the accession of Henry VIII, she was appointed a maid-of-honor to Catherine of Aragon.

During the Battle of the Spurs just last year, Henry's troops captured a number of French nobles, notably Louis I d'Orléans, duke of Longueville. No one knew for certain if the Duke had met Jane at the French court or not, but as her countryman, they were introduced upon his arrival at the English court and they soon began a liaison. This damaged the reputation of Jane, who was in her mid-to-late twenties, an age by which a woman would have been expected to be married. When the Duke returned to France, Jane remained in England and started her affair with Henry.

However, she wanted to return home. She was no longer welcomed at court.

"The scandal," Lady Maud Parr said as she shook her head. "I would be utterly ashamed of my daughter."

Lady Jane Guildford, an elderly woman who began her career with Elizabeth of York said, "They come and they go. My old eyes have seen many girls with the likes of her and she won't be last. But she won't last very long either. Everyone knows that the King has wandering eyes."

"She's not even that pretty." Anne Wotton stuck her nose up in the air, looking as if the sight of Jane made her sick.

Mary Fiennes looked over her delicate shoulder at the French woman and said, "She certainly did pop in court."

The younger girls broke out in a mass of giggles while the older ladies looked highly unamused with the immaturity. Rosemary found herself stifling her smile when Lady Guildford gave her a stern, motherly look.

Clearing her throat and giving the two younger girls a semi stern look, Rosemary said, "It's not proper to gossip in public."

"But everyone's talking about her," Mary whined. She was the youngest, only being thirteen, and she was basking in the freedom of court. She was the only daughter of Sir Thomas Fiennes, 8th Baron Dacre and Anne Bourchier. So one could only imagine how lively and excited the young girl felt to be away from her parents.

"You are a lady to the Queen," Lady Maud Parr snapped. Ever since two years — when her child Catherine was born — Lady Maud had more of a motherly aura to her. "You will act like a proper lady within this court and represent our Queen with respect and dignity."

Anne and Mary both bowed their heads, ashamed, like they had been scolwed by their own mothers.

Lady St. Leger swiftly made her appearance known and took up one of them empty spots. She leaned forwards and whispered, "Have you heard the news?"

"About Jane?" Anna piped up.

"What?" Lady St. Leger shook her head. "No. The King's new mistress is hardly any news worth to talk about. I was talking about Wolsey."

Rosemary interest spiked up. "What of him?"

Lady Guildford made a disgruntled noise and Lady St. Leger sighed. "Honestly, Jane, leave if you do not wish to hear this." Lady Guildford huffed, but she didn't move.

Satisfied that she could continue, Lady St. Leger made sure no one else was listening before she said, "The Queen has informed me that Wolsey has been appointed as Archbishop of York."

Rosemary's eyes widened. "Why?"

"All of Wolsey's affairs have prospered since Henry became the King," Lady St. Leger said. "Of course the church would recognize that."

"Did His Grace vouch for him?" Rosemary asked.

"It's more than likely," Lady St. Leger said.

Rosemary began to curse Henry in her thoughts on his sheer stupidity and she damned Wolsey to the darkest burning pit of Hell. That man was a no good snake and the fact that he had Henry in his corner was something to be concerned about. Wolsey wasn't a man who should've been underestimated; he was cunning and ambitious, resourceful and clever. All the qualities that higher power men feared in a lesser one because that meant the one lower in status was more than willing to get himself dirty and everyone around him dirty as well.

"There's also talk that the Pope will make him a cardinal!"

"Excuse me," Rosemary said. She got up from her seat and fled the common room, looking for her brother. She was certain that she would find him seducing some poor witless maiden, but instead he was talking to Anthony and William. With a smile, she interrupted their conversation and whisked her brother away. "I need to barrow Charles for a moment."

Dragging her brother through the almost deserted hallway, Rosemary didn't stop until they came to an alcove and hissed, "Is he out of his bloody mind?"

"Who?"

"Henry."

"He usually is," Charles chuckled, but when Rosemary just stared at him, he stopped. Instead, he cleared his throat. "What has he done this time?"

Obviously Charles hadn't heard the news yet, but Henry always was a complex man who had many things going on.

"He hasn't told you?" Charles shook his head. "Wolsey's been made Archbishop of York."

Charles looked greatly confused. "But Henry can't appoint Wolsey as Archbishop."

It had been said many times that Rosemary had more wit and common sense to her than Charles did. Her brother was smart enough to make a name for himself and to survive the battles and to seduce women into his bed (although his good looks and charms certainly helped with the masses he had plowed through), but Charles didn't always use his brain. Rosemary knew he had one, he surprised plenty of times in the past before, but she also knew that he actually used it far and few at times. It could have possibly been a man thing since every male thought that they were always right by some sort of default, but in that precise moment, all Rosemary wanted to do was slap her brother until the blood flow reached his (apparently) rusted brain.

"The church made him Archbishop," Rosemary said with a very noticeable eye roll. The word imbecile almost slipped off of her tongue, but she caught it before she could accidentally start an argument with her brother. "Henry vouched for him."

Charles finally caught up with where Rosemary was taking the conversation and shook his head. "He never mentioned it to me. You know damn well if he did I would have tried to talk him out of it. The last thing we need is Wolsey gaining more power."

"It's too late now."

"Unless the church figures out he's broken some rules."

"No one even knows his mistress's name, or that he's bribing others."

"It's Joan Larke."

Rosemary raised an eyebrow, impressed. "How do you know that?"

"Mary doesn't like the man either, so she hired a man to follow Wolsey around. Found out he keeps her in Bridewell."

"Bridewell Palace?" Charles nodded his head. "Does Henry know?"

"I doubt it," Charles said. "Wolsey's smart enough not to mention that he has a mistress around Henry, considering that Henry had that place built as a residence for himself."

The building itself had been a project of Wolsey's given to him to be overlooked by Henry. Rosemary knew that Henry wouldn't have been pleased if he found out Wolsey only took to the project just so he could have someplace to stash his mistress.

Before the plan could form in her mind, Rosemary turned her attention back to Charles. "When did Mary tell you this?"

"A few months back," Charles said nonchalantly. "Why?"

"Did she tell you in person or did she write a letter?"

"She wrote a letter. She mentioned an illegitimate child, too."

The bastard was another useful piece of information to use against Wolsey, but Rosemary put her devious plan to the side as she gave her brother an accusing look that held no judgement. "Did it smell of her perfume?"

Charles blushed. "I can't recall."

Rosemary snorted. "It didn't smell of lavender and fresh grass?"

"Shut up, Rosie."

"You're a lovesick fool," Rosemary laughed. But despite her jokes, she was glad Charles found someone. "When did you two start writing?"

Rosemary and Mary wrote to each other once every month ever since Henry had agreed to the negotiated peace treaty with France that Wolsey had set up.

"Almost a month after she had left," Charles said.

With a heavy sigh, Rosemary said, "She's engaged, Charles."

"I know that."

"That's never stopped you before," Rosemary pointed out. She sometimes feared that God would punish her brother too harshly for committing adultery like it was some sort of sport.

"She's in France, Rosie." Charles rolled his eyes, although they looked sad when he remembered how far away Mary was. "There's nothing I can do."

Defeat hadn't sound right coming from her brother's lips. She knew her brother all too well and knew that he'd find someway to have Mary, Henry be damned. Those two would end up together even if that meant they had to go against the one person they both loved.

"And there's the fact that she's Henry's sister," Rosemary reminded him. "Just be careful." She knew that hurting Henry was one of the last thing Charles ever wanted to do.

Charles rolled his eyes and escorted his sister back to the main hall. "You make it seem like we'll marry one day."

"I do love the name Frances for a girl," Rosemary said mockingly.

"Don't you have enough nieces?" Charles asked with smile.

"I only have two and I never see them." Rosemary pouted at her brother and gave him an accusing glare. Anne Browne had been a sweet lady who had given Charles two beautiful baby girls — Anne and Mary, the latter had been named in honor of Rosemary.

"I've secured a place for Anne at the court of Archduchess Margaret of Savoy and Mary is with her."

Rosemary continued to pout. "It wouldn't kill Anne to write to me."

Charles chuckled at his sister's childish behavior. Rosemary adored her nieces and showered them both with love and affection anytime she saw them.

"I'll tell Anne to write to you next time I receive her letter."

"You should have told her to do that in first place," Rosemary said, but she smiled graciously. "But I do suppose it'd be nice to have a nephew to spoil."

"What name do you like for a boy?"

"Anyone of them, as long as it isn't Henry."

~Page Break~

The day had been uneventful just like the rest. After the Royal court had returned from France, everyone fell back into their usual patterns. Charles went back to prancing around the court as he defiled woman after woman; Henry returned to his kingly duties and defiling woman after woman, too, taking a mistress here and there; the Queen resorted back to praying that her marriage would be fixed; and Rosemary continued on with playing the role of the perfect bride to be.

Rosemary hadn't seen much of her fiancé and she thanked God everyday when she didn't run into him. If anyone asked, she would tell them that he was home at Brecon Castle, awaiting for her arrival. No one seemed to believe her, they all knew how cruel Buckingham could be, but it seemed to do the trick. Everyone would just congratulate her and wished her the best with pity in their eyes.

By now, almost every nobleman of the court had heard of Buckingham's plot to overthrow Henry. You had those who chose to stand by the King, those who were with Buckingham and those who were standing idly by. And, of course, people had their thoughts about Rosemary. She had heard her fair share of whispers about her being spread around court from person to person, and she could even feel them burning holes into the back of her head at times. She knew that their judgement and curiosity was a given, but she scoffed in anyone's face if they thought that she'd ever betray Henry. Albeit, he was an egotistical arsehole who had more whores under his belt than manners, but she loved him nonetheless. He had been a brother to her throughout the years they had been together and she would defend him until her last dying breath.

Rosemary also noticed that Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Ormond had taken a particular interest in her. Every move she made, they watched; every word she said, they listened to closely; and everywhere she went, they followed. She wasn't sure why they were following her, but she had a strong inkling that Buckingham had put them up to it. She had seen them many times before around Buckingham and she knew that both men entertained the ideal of Buckingham becoming king, but she wouldn't stand for having them follow her around. The last thing she needed was someone checking up on her and reporting her conversations that she had with Charles to her fiancé, who already hated her brother.

But Norfolk and Buckingham following her fiancé's orders didn't surprise her, it was the fact that she had also seen the brother-in-laws speaking with Wolsey. Now that struck Rosemary as odd. She didn't think that Wolsey would so carelessly give his alliance to Buckingham unless there was definite proof that Buckingham would be victorious in his assassination. That was, unless, Wolsey was helping Buckingham carry out his ridiculous plan. She was unsure of Wolsey's motives, but she didn't like either outcome that had conjured up in her mind.

"Lady Brandon, may I have a word with you?"

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Rosemary turned around and walked towards Wolsey as he stood outside his office chambers. "What can I do for you, Archbishop?"

Wolsey's lips twitched at the use of his new title, boosting his ego no doubt. He gestured Rosemary into his office. "I would like to talk in private, if that is alright with you."

"Certainly," Rosemary said as she stepped into the room. She took a seat and watched Wolsey closely. She was in the lion's den now and she felt like the prey as Wolsey stared at her. "What would you like to talk about?"

Wolsey took his seat behind his desk and folded his hands, making himself appear to be less hostile and cunning than he truly was. "I hear that your wedding is soon to come."

Rosemary nodded her head.

"How do you feel about that?"

"It's my duty, is it not? God created man and woman to marry so that they can create more of His children."

Wolsey forced a smile. "Yes, yes, of course. And how do you feel about your fiancé?"

Rosemary narrowed her eyes. "What is this about, Wolsey?"

The Archbishop dropped the smile and said, "How well do you know your fiancé?"

"Not well enough," Rosemary admitted. "But who ever does?"

Wolsey ignored Rosemary's question and pulled something out of his desk. It was stack of parchment paper and he carelessly flipped through them. "I have multiple reports that your fiancé has committed multiple acts of treason."

"Like attempts of assassinating the King?" Rosemary rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Everyone knows this, but yet he's still walking around a free man. Why is that? Because like you said, it's treason."

"We have no proof."

"When did men like you need proof?"

"His Grace wants us to have definite proof," Wolsey said with a curled lip. "If it were up to me, Buckingham would already be in the Tower and executed tomorrow, but we are all humble servants of His Grace and must oblige by his rules. I have, however, orchestrated a group of men who are acting as spies for me."

"Who?" Rosemary asked with suspicion. No nobleman liked Wolsey, so it was hard to believe that there would be any willing to work for him.

"I believe you've noticed them following you."

"Norfolk and Boleyn?" Rosemary almost laughed. They were two respectable, well known noblemen. There was no way, come hell or high waters, that they'd ever do something for Wolsey. "And, pray tell, how did you manage to get them to do your bidding?"

"With promises that His Grace would bestow upon them more riches, and titles, and land, of course," Wolsey said with a smirk.

"Of course," Rosemary said with an eye roll. "If Norfolk and Boleyn are working for you then what do you want from me?"

Wolsey smirk became all the more predatory. "You, my dear, are the perfect weapon."

Rosemary didn't like the look in Wolsey's eyes and she hated to admit it, but it sent chills down her back. She didn't trust her voice so she just stared at him until he continued on with his explanation.

"You will be the true reason behind Buckingham's downfall. You'll soon be his wife and I suspect that you'll play your part well. And by that I mean you must be the perfect wife; you will produce heirs, smile and say nothing. You will always be subservient to your husband, a mother to his children and a docile adornment to his household. You will be his ideal wife."

Produce heirs? Rosemary always got a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach whenever she thought of producing children with Buckingham. She knew a mother loved all her children unconditionally, but how could she love something that also came from Buckingham — something that would always be half of him? It almost, if not truly, seemed unthinkable.

Clearing her throat, Rosemary said, "And how will that contribute to his downfall?"

If it was possible, Wolsey's smirk grew. "You will be the perfect unsuspected spy. No doubt Buckingham will talk around you because you will be his wife and a female. He won't expect you to have the backbone to go against him since he terrifies you, correct?"

Rosemary glared at Wolsey again, but the Archbishop held his hands up in surrender and said, "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Lady Brandon. I do believe that Buckingham terrifies everyone just a little."

"You don't seem terrified of him," Rosemary said.

"What reasons would I have to be terrified of Buckingham?"

"You know why," Rosemary said, watching the Archbishop closely. "He believes the King has given you too much power."

Wolsey simply laughed. "All that I possess is through hard work and the grace of God."

Rosemary highly doubted that, but she kept her opinions to herself. "So you want me to report whatever Buckingham is planning?"

"His every move."

"I doubt he'll let me send letters to His Grace, let alone you. How do you expect to receive my letters?"

"I'm positive you're brother will help you."

"Charles hates you," Rosemary pointed out.

"And so do you," Wolsey said. He looked her dead in the eyes and dropped his smirk. "I hold a great loathing for the both of you as well, but for some reason His Grace holds the two of you in high regards above everyone else, and he'd do anything for you. Just like the two of you would do anything for him. Besides, I do believe that your brother hates Buckingham more than he hates me."

Rosemary knew he was right, on both accounts. The siblings would die for Henry and Charles greatly wanted to watch Buckingham burn. "I'll talk to Charles."

"Good." And the smirk returned. "If we can all work together I'm sure we can dissolve this issue rather quickly."

–I am in no connection with the productions and networks stated above. I do not get paid to upload this story.

–Rosemary Brandon and the plot of this story are of my own creation.

–This chapter was edited and looked over by my beta HPuni101.

–Jane Popincourt was the very first mistress of Henry VIII. She was French and had previously served as a maid-of-honour to the Queens of Louis XII and Francis I. Jane arrived at the English court to teach Princess Margaret and Princess Mary French. When she first arrived, England was ruled by Henry VII who died not long afterwards. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509 she was promptly made a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon. Just five years later she was known to be the King's mistress.

–Thomas Wolsey was appointed Archbishop of York on 15 September, 1514.

–Joan Larke was the mistress of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and the mother of his two illegitimate children.

–I've made a mistake in the previous chapters pertaining to Mary Tudor's (the sister) marital status. As of now in the story, Mary is only engaged. She married Louis XII on 9 October, 1514.

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Until next time! xoxo