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He sat silently as the fire crackled before him. He stoked the flames and returned to his chair and poured himself more wine. It tasted bitter. Extremely so. The woman in his bed gave a soft sleeping moan and rolled over still asleep. George spared her a lingering look before his eyes returned to the orange heat. Jane Parker was a good lover and although they were not married, betrothed was just enough. Since his sister had come to the throne, he had hit the jackpot and was in a few weeks time, going to marry one of the prettiest girl's at court and gain a very handsome dowry.
Jane was a wife any man would desire. Fair, dark blue eyes, small but delicious breasts, wide hips for child bearing and a passionate bitch in heat. She was no virgin although she pretended to be. They all pretended to be except…
He bit his lip. Mary had been his first virgin. Curious, frightened, warm and resistant. He remembered entering her body hard and hot for the first time and how she had yelped in pain. He had kissed away her tears constantly apologizing and had been so moved at how fragile a creature she was.
After all they did say that the devils loved the innocent. At least he knew now why the barbaric pagans use to sacrifice virgins to their non-existent Gods. It was a wonderful feeling plucking the petals of a sweet innocent rose. The power and domination that came with it were wonderful, the vulnerability and delicacy of the victim was exquisite. Mary had been delicious. There was no other word to describe it, but despite the 'manliness' he had felt at despoiling her, it had left him with a guilty feeling later.
She was the king's daughter. A banished princess. Their worst enemy. Their unholy union was an abomination in every sense, yet he couldn't help the strange feelings she stirred within him. Pity, the want to protect, fondness, care. Those were his feelings towards her and none of them had been ill indeed until today. When his father had told him someone special was coming to court to recognize Anne as queen, he had thought Thomas More had finally left his little cacoon of hypocrisy and had bent to the king's will.
How wrong he was. How sweetly wrong. When his eyes had set upon her beautiful melancholy face as she observed the scrolls on the table, his heart began to beat a thousand times faster. What was she doing here? And then realization had struck him. She had given up. She had given in. But why? What did she want? He closed his eyes when he remembered how she had found his face among the great lords and had stared at him expectantly. Almost pleadingly…
He rubbed his temples. As much as he had wanted things to be alright for her, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that her presence at court was a bad omen. He had not expected Katherine's daughter to give up. Despite him finding her crying in weakness, he knew she was the type of woman to wallow in her own self pity and that she would fight a battle she couldn't win and die with her Spanish pride.
And he doubted very much she wanted to make amends with Anne. For some reason he felt that she had a score to settle with him. It was as if she wanted something from him, but he didn't know what. It was just a feeling he had and he very much didn't want to get involved with her or even see her too much. It wasn't that he hated her but he hoped she wasn't harbouring any thoughts that he could be her secret lover here. As much as he wouldn't mind being in her royal warmth or running his fingers through her hair, he knew it was too dangerous.
He absolutely could not make a lover out of the king's daughter nor could he fall in love with her as much as he wanted to. His feelings in regards to her were so mixed up, but he knew if he thought with his cock then heads would fucking roll. And that was something he had to prevent at all costs for the sake of his family. For the sake of Anne. Grumbling and realizing that all this deep thinking had finally made him tired, he took off his robe and headed to bed with his betrothed.
However, the feel of Jane's naked body against his didn't help block out the conflicting feelings in his mind nor did she stir any great feelings of affection within him. She was a wife, just something for display and his evening's amusement. He could write her poetry, lavish her with gifts and sing her songs, but his heart didn't belong to her. To no one at all.
George spent the next few days attending the king on Privy Council meetings, attending hunts and watching the dances. Jane Parker annoyingly remained at his side, but her sense of loyalty and devotion somewhat moved him. There was no sign of the Lady Mary as the queen informed him that she had been very ill in Hatfield and enjoying the return feast had taken its toll on her. The physicians thought it best if she stayed away from the excitement for a little while. It was a relief for George as he didn't have to face her, but sometimes he couldn't forget the beautiful look of her sad blue eyes.
There was talk on what to do with Thomas More and hints for him to be arrested and tried for treason if he did not recant. There was some other news about the dismantling of another monastery that the queen took interest in and then his father asked if him if there were any signs that Anne was with child. George shook his head but promised to ask Anne if need be.
Everything was up to her. An heir was needed for the throne and even he could see that Henry's patience was wearing thin. Sighing a bit, George decided to head to his chambers to rest for a while before the king and queen had their public dining tonight. Making a care to avoid his pretentious betrothed, he turned down the main halls where it gradually became emptier. His mind wasn't particularly focused on anything until he accidently bumped into someone. He turned his head to mutter an apology, but stopped dead in his tracks and froze. "Lady Mary," he breathed.
"Is it true?" Katherine said painfully. Mistress Darrel nodded and the Dowager Princess's eyes turned to William Brereton in an effort for him to deny the news he brought. "But why?" She choked feeling her heart constrict in her chest. "Mary had been fighting for so long just as I have. Why would she give up? Why now?" Brereton knelt before the queen and grabbed her hands.
"I have absolute faith in the princess and I don't think for a minute she did this willingly. You heard the rumours Your Grace. She was very sick at Hatfield and she only complied with the king after a mysterious visit from the Harlot to her brat. The witch must have done something to coerce her. Threatened her with poison perhaps? The princess probably had no choice but to accept," William said bitterly.
Katherine took this in with great consideration and bit her bottom lip. If they were doing something to threaten her daughter then she would have to get her out of there and safely deport her to Spain. There was no choice. Katherine never thought she would have to resort to this, but war seemed like the only option.
"Are you sure it wasn't a foolish decision she made in hopes of persuading the king into making her the heir again?" William's mouth tightened into a thin line at the prospect and shook his head. "I don't think the princess is as foolish to persuade the king into anything and her education has not made her a fool. It is that evil harlot Anne Boleyn who has done something."
Painstakingly, Katherine nodded and spared a look at her only loyal lady in waiting before turning back to Brereton. "We have to work quickly. Make sure this reaches Ambassador Chapuys. It may take a few months, but that is all the time we need to inconspicuously slip her away from court and bring her to the coast to board a ship to Spain. I will let my contacts know and have a letter delivered to the Emperor with my plans."
William nodded and touched her hand in an admirable gesture. "And what will you do Your Majesty?" Katherine smiled wryly, but her eyes were filled with fierce determination. "I will gather an army and go to war in order to save the king. The whore has drenched this country in sin and heresy. It was too much to hope for the king to see that he was wrong and so I have no choice. The witch has attempted to beat my daughter-England's heir into submission and corruption, but I will not have it," she said strongly.
William kissed her hand. "But we must save the princess first," Katherine added and her word was final.
She hadn't expected to cross paths with him especially at a time like this and it left her speechless. She hadn't seen him for some months now, but he was as handsome as she remembered him. "Sir George," she said politely being aware of the threat of spies. George smiled at her and all she could feel was her racing heart and the heat that went to her cheeks.
They had only made love once and yet he still had such an effect on her. "Where were you headed to?" She asked casually in an attempt to steer him in a conversation with her. It was hard to keep the smile plastered all over her face when George looked like he wanted to be elsewhere. "I was just heading back to my chambers to rest actually. Are you well my lady?"
She swallowed hard and offered him a wan smile. "As well as can be," she said sadly feeling a pang of hope when she saw his gaze waver to sympathy. A few awkward moments of silence passed before she opened her mouth to speak again. "I-I…I wanted to talk to you," she said in a barely audible whisper.
George's expression was beyond bewilderment and he looked around to make sure no one was watching them before grabbing Mary close and hissing in her ear. "It never happened Mary. Please forget it. Whatever hopes you had of continuing such a relationship, you can put it away. You need to understand how much danger you can land me and yourself into so please, for both our sakes, pretend it never happened."
It hurt him to see the astonishment on her face, but this was for her own good and his. He turned to leave her, but she grabbed his arm. There were tears in her eyes. "So what happened meant nothing to you at all?" She whispered in pain. In distress, George buried his face in his hand before gazing at her sharply. He could be nice and tell her it meant everything (which was what he wanted to say) but that would mean her having false hopes of him being her secret lover.
It was too much to risk and despite her beauty and sweet character, it just wasn't worth it. He did not love her. At least not enough to risk everything for her as lovers in fables did. He was no Lancelot and she needed to accept that and so he took the cruel way out. "It meant nothing to me. I was hot with desire and you were conveniently available. I have gotten what I wanted and now I do not care anything for you or any feelings that you wish to convey to me. I am sure you can find hordes of other lovers at court."
It was cruel and he was silently hoping she wouldn't fall to the floor in despair, but it had to be done. She had to forget about him. There would be other loves, perhaps a husband sooner or later and then she would have children to content herself with. Did she honestly want to ruin herself by pursuing him into her bed? Why else would she 'want to talk' with him? It had to be about that, what else?
He observed her for a few moments and saw her expression go stone cold. She stood there as still as a statue with her fists clench. He closed his eyes and stifled a groan before attempting to leave her again.
"George!" Her voice was sharp now and she stalked up to him. He raised his eyebrow in contempt as he watched her grit her teeth and eye him with such hatred that she could have put his own sister's vindictiveness to shame.
"What?" he barked not caring if anyone caught him speaking in such a manner to the king's daughter. "What do you fucking want?"
She seethed through her teeth and closed her eyes before opening them and locking them straight on his.
"I am with child."
