A/N: So here is chapter three of the Queen and her Duke. I will say that this chapter is a bit of a filler chapter with not much going on, but it will all lead into chapter four which will be full and excitement and intrigue.

A huge thank you to everyone who has been supporting this story I have truly been blown away by the reception it has been receiving.

A special thank you to everyone who has reviewed or put myself or the story on their favourites/alerts lists.

As always I own nothing.

Please enjoy.

Chapter three:


2nd of June 1536

Suffolk Manor

Suffolk Manor was not nearly as grand or as large as the estates she had grown used to during her relationship with Henry, yet still it was a large enough manor that gave off an impression of being comely in a way it reminded her of Hever. Still Anne wished that both Henry and the Duke had allowed her to retire to Pembroke, to live on her own, yet that she knew had never truly been an option, she was not only Charles Brandon's wife, she was also his prisoner, despite the fact that she outranked him, she was still bound to do his will.

She had made sure to dress herself simply, yet appropriately for her new station and residence in a country abode. She had worn the gown throughout her courtship with Henry, but when she had become Queen she had deemed it to plain, yet now she thought she had reason to wear it again. The dress was a rich brown colour, with a low square neckline (adorned with simple jewels) and bell sleeves, her hair she wore down in lose curls. She thought she looked well enough to be meeting her new attendants and stepchildren.

She would have four of them now, and she could not help but wonder if her relationship with them would be any better than with her last stepchild.

They were all waiting for her in the front courtyard when she arrived, the Duke's three children (the ones that still resided there) with the large array of servants behind them. She of course, knew Eleanor and Edward well enough, after all when she had been married to the King she had been their aunt, Frances she was glad was not present, the Duke's eldest hated her as much as her mother had before her. Eleanor and Edward had always acted civilly towards her, and they had always been kind to Elizabeth.

Eleanor was the image of her mother, while young Edward was the perfect mix of Tudor and Brandon. The younger boy, Henry (perched on his sisters hip) Anne recalled his name being, looked very much like his father, and Anne was glad that at the age of only one he would not be inclined to hate her as his older siblings already did.

The whole lot of them dropped into bows as she came before them, it was almost as if she were a Queen again.

" Welcome to Suffolk Manor, Your Grace," Eleanor's lips moved but Anne could only hear her mother's voice.

" Thank you, Eleanor, " Anne responded with a nod of her head, both of the boys looked at her with a mixture of confusion and worry. Edward was thirteen now, and an earl in his own right, yet the poor boy had faced much sorrow in his years, she would be his third mother, Little Henry on the other hand, would not even remember his mother's existence Anne would be the only mother he would ever know, and Anne was determined to not let her hate of his parents cloud her interactions with the child. No child deserved to be raised without the love of a mother, " I am very glad to be here."

" These are for you," Edward said from next to his sister, pulling from behind his back a small bunch of flowers.

" Thank you my lord Lincoln," Anne said in a voice reserved for her daughter, before taking the flowers out of the child's hands with a smile. Eleanor's scoff from beside her did not go unnoticed but Anne did not make a mention of it. If she remembered correctly the girl was currently betrothed and due to marry in the next year, Anne would not much have to deal with her, she just prayed they could at least be civil until then.

Anne was shown the entirety of the property; her new stepchildren following close behind her as the servants led the way. Anne had taken young Henry into her arms almost as soon as the tour had began, to be truthful she did not take in much of the land, no doubt she would get lost more than once, yet eventually she knew she would find her way. If she had found her way around all the palaces and estates that had been in Henry pocession then Suffolk manner would be a simple thing for her to master.

More than anything she simply wanted to retire to her rooms, to have some time to herself, to rest and let her mind settle, and she took the opportunity as soon as it was presented to her, handing the young infant back to his governess claiming exhaustion from the long journey, only half a lie really.

Nan and Madge followed her to her new chambers close at her heels, as they always were; yet she dismissed them as soon as she entered the rooms that were now to be hers.. rooms that had had two previous owners. She was a Queen no longer she did not need them to be with her at all times.

It did not take long for the tears to begin flowing once she had been left on her own. Truly she didn't know what had set her off, perhaps it had been a glance at a piece of jewellery or a gown, most of her belongs had been gifts from him, there was hardly one thing she owned that did not smell of him or remind her of him in some way or another.

She would have most of it sent to poor houses, a few things she would keep, things that she could not bear to part with even if it did cause her sorrow, she would put them all in a chest and not look at them, but she could not part with them. She would ask for a seamstress to be bought to her tomorrow, she would need a new wardrobe, and new jewels and headpieces as well, but that could all wait until the morning. She needed to rest. She needed to properly say goodbye to all that once was and to all that would never be again.


10th of June 1536

Whitehall Palace

She had been Queen of England for just eleven days, yet she could feel the eyes of court trained on her, all of them waiting for a sign of pregnancy, as if it were at all possible for such a thing to occur so quickly. Changes however had been made.

The day after her marriage, Jane had deemed it necessary to create rigorous rules regarding the etiquite of dress at court, for her ladies especially she had been extremely strict. The flirtatious French fashions, that her predecessor, that whore, had been so fond of Jane had had abolished. The ladies of her entourage were to be dressed only in simple English fashions, with there only extravagance allowed being pearls, Jane wanted all of her ladies wearing girdles of pearls, such things in her opinion showed a level of class and refinement, such things her predecessor had lacked.

She had dismissed most of the woman that had been in Anne's service, her ladies were mostly her own relatives, with a few maids of Henry's choosing also in her service. Her household was not nearly as large as Queen Katherine's or Anne's had been, yet Jane was determined that all of her ladies, would act in ways that were respectful and dignified, they were to all act appropriately, and live by her new motto, as woman they were all bound to obey and serve.

Her brothers had devised her motto for her, Anne had had two in her time, The most Happy, and grumble all you like, this is how its going to be, While Queen Katherine had used the motto of humble and loyal, Jane's brother's had believed that Jane would be better off in using a saying of sophistication, one that would please the king with it's lack of pomp and arrogance, and so she was now bound to obey and serve, she was meak plain Jane, but she was the Queen of England, and if being meak and plain kept her position and her head, then Jane was more than glad to act the part. Her brothers had also created her royal badge, the image of a Phoenix rising from a castle surrounded by Tudor roses. Jane had thought it to bold, but Thomas had just scoffed, but it speaks the truth dear Jane, you rose from the ashes of Anne Boleyn, almost literally. Jane had shuddered at his words, before telling herself to forget about them. Anne was not dead; nobody had died to procure her place. Yet still she often saw the entwined letters of H and A around the castle, less often too she sometimes saw the odd H and K, all of it was a reminder that there had been others before her, others that had failed where she must now succeed.

She still did not feel quite secure, the King had taken and removed two wives before her until she delivered a son, she knew she would not be truly safe. Talk of a coronation had hardly even taken place, a water pageant had been held in her honour just a few days before, she had also taken meetings with most of the foreign ambassadors (with Chapyus being the most recent), but she was not yet crowned Queen, Henry had tentatively mentioned a date in October but Jane did not hold him much to it. Her father and brothers both warned her not to talk of such a thing, or to even mention it to the King. In her husband's eyes she must always be docile and compliant, a woman in love with her husband and bound by his will, they warned her that to mention such things to the King would make him doubt her emotions towards him. He could not be lead to believe that she had married him for a crown.

She did not know if she loved him, not in the way her mother and father had often talked about love anyway. He was her King and husband and so she often found herself in awe of him, yet she also found herself scared of him more often than not. She loved him at times, at times he was everything she had always wanted in a husband, and at times he wasn't and she didn't. At times she could not help but ponder if there would be another after her, he did not care or love for her as he had Queen Katherine or the concubine, not yet anyway, and he most certainly would not until she gave him a son, a son would secure his love, a son would make her Queen.

For now she was nothing more than the King's wife, a Queen in name and courtesy only, she would not have the same opportunities as her predecessors, she needed a son first, a son would give her the crown, a son would secure her life.


15th of June 1536

Hudson House

Mary stared at the man in front of her with a look of shock deep within her eyes. For many years he had been her fiercest ally, and in many ways a friend, when all others had abandoned her it was he alone who had remained by her side, now he looked at her like all the others once had, with sadness and pity but nothing else.

" You can not truly mean what you ask of me ambassador?" Mary questioned, her voice low but firm. She knew well enough that her conversations with the Spanish ambassador were being listened to and no doubt reported back to Cromwell, and the sect of heretics her father had placed around him.

" My Lady, I fear I have no choice," Chapyus responded his voice just as low, Mary could tell by his tone that his words grieved him, but it gave her little consolation, he was abandoning her still, even if it hurt him to do so, " Your cousin, the Emperor he feels that he can no longer support your claim, he wants to make an alliance with your father."

" And to do so he must abandon me? His own blood?"

" My Lady please, you know that none of this is easy for me to say…"

" Yet you say it anyway," Mary cut in unable to bring herself to feel shame when he flinched slightly under her words. She was to angry, to upset, " Tell me ambassador, what now can I do?"

" The emperor, begs of you to sign the oath, the pope will offer you clemency…"

" He would ask me to declare myself a bastard, to label my mother a liar, to say that whore Anne Boleyn was a rightful Queen, that Elizabeth…"

" Princess please I must implore you to remain calm." Chapyus reasoned raising his voice slightly in an attempt to put a stop to her hysteria, he had known from the beginning that this would be difficult.

" Forgive me ambassador, I forgot myself. "

" I know this is hard for you my lady, I myself cannot imagine the pains you have endured, but I can assure you that Queen Jane is very sympathetic to your cause, perhaps in time…"

" She is a catholic I have heard?" Mary questioned, as soon as her companion mentioned her fathers new wife, the woman quite intrigued her.

" She is rumoured to be," Chapyus responded evenly, he did not want to give the Princess too much hope that the new Queen would be in a position to meddle in her cause. Chapyus knew (as did most others) that the new Queen held little influence over the king and his affairs.

" They say she was a supporter of my mother of myself," Mary added, obviously the woman had felt no love for Anne Boleyn, and perhaps in time, this Jane Seymour would be able to bring Mary back into her fathers affections perhaps even to place her above Elizabeth. Mary still found it hard to believe that her half sister had managed to keep her place throughout her mothers fall, but then Anne had allowed for the divorce to happen, some even said that it was she who had asked for it.

" Yes, such things are whispered."

" I shall write to her then," Mary said firmly, she had no doubts that Queen Jane would be far more useful to her than Anne ever was, if Jane gave her father a son, he would no doubt give in to her every demand, "and ask for her to intervene to my father on my behalf."

" Princess, I am not sure if the Queen's influence will be enough, your father does not look to her as he did your mother or even the harlot."

" Is she pregnant?"

" Not as far as I can tell my lady,"

"Then I will wait until she is, a son will grant her the world." And my place in the succession.


A/N: So there it was an insight into our three main girls and how they are dealing with all the changes that are taking place around them.

Anne has travelled to her new home and met with her new stepchildren. For those who are wondering or are confused, Charles Brandon in history had a total of eight legitimate children and at the very least three illegitimate children in his lifetime.

His first two daughters Anne and Mary Brandon who were born to his second wife Anne Browne, in this story (as with the show) these daughters and any illegitimate children will not be included. With Mary Tudor he had a total of four children Henry Brandon (who died young) Frances, Eleanor and another Henry (who historically died in 1534), in this story all of these children exist with the only difference being that as with the show his youngest son with Mary Tudor will be named Edward and he will not die as he did in history in this story. With Catherine Willoughby Charles had two boys, Henry and Charles Brandon, in this story Catherine died giving birth to Charles who was a stillborn.

I hope that clears up any confusion that might be present.

Jane Seymour has begun her life as Henry's wife and Queen and already she is beginning to see that a life as a Queen is not as easy and simply as it might seem, especially not with Henry as her husband.

Lastly we saw how Mary Tudor is travelling with all the recent changes that are taking place. She is holding out hope that Jane will be able to hold some influence over her father and have her restored to the succession.

The next chapter will deal with the beginnings of the Pilgrimage of grace as well as some Anne and Charles interactions and both Anne and Elizabeth's return to court for the Christmas celebrations.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter; please leave me a review to let me know what you think.