Anne walked into her room only to see her brother George standing there. At first she looked for one of her servants to scold them for not telling her, but she was too tired to scold anyone. Her hair had been matted to her face by the rain, and her clothes were all but soaked. Brandon had been right to give his cloak to wear, if he hadn't she didn't know how bad she would look now. Still George stared at her and seemed to be speechless. "George what is it? You look as if the very kingdom were coming down around you." George looked at the floor and bowed slightly, he knew never to forget such a thing. Anne had always been one to vary in moods.
Anne saw him bow and shook her head telling him to rise. "Brother, we are family have you forgotten such a thing? Tell me, what troubles you so that it robs you of your ability to speak?" George looked at Anne motioning to her cloak or lack thereof. "Forgive me, but your cloak is here. Who's can you wear so shortly after your husband's own death?" Growing angry Anne sat down to hold her temper within; guilt could take on many forms to people. She was sensible enough to be careful with what few emotions she did show even her family. "You forget your place brother. I would soon die rather than even think of what you're suggesting. If you must know the cloak belongs to Charles Brandon, I'll have it cleaned and then returned."
George knew that he was to tread lightly, yet he had never truly learned how to do so. His words came out bluntly more so than he had hoped. "Anne, why were you even wearing it?" He studied her face and then knew he had gone too far. Hearing her voice rise in volume only helped to worsen how far gone he truly was. "Am I not still able to make decisions for myself? Am I not Queen Anne till my daughter has her coronation, which I left in your very hands? What say do you have in who I see, or for what purpose?" As quickly as Anne's outburst had started, it ended. She looked out the window watching the few drops of rain run down the glass.
Waiting for Anne to calm George lowered his voice praying it would show respect. "Anne, you are still my sister. I seek only that you maintain your pride, and to secure your daughter's place as ruler. Men like Brandon never change, and you speaking with him alone will no doubt be known by the whole court. What will father say when he hears of this? What business did you have that was so great it couldn't wait for council first?" Anne ran a hand down her cross only to have the memory of Brandon's surprise come to the surface of her thoughts. She shook her head, she should never think of him again let alone his smile. Was her brother truly right to wonder about her actions?
Anne turned to face her brother showing him only kindness in her face. "I am sorry brother, you only wish for the best. That is why you are to protect the interests of my daughter above anyone else. I did not seek council because the matter was already decided. I only wished for reassurance that Mary saw her mother, and no harm came to her for it." George looked past Anne out the very same window she had a moment ago. Anne was changing, and he hoped it wasn't due to the cross around her neck. Rumors had started that Brandon had turned into a religious man, and Anne doing so would only lead to further rumors and speculation within the court.
Religion was creeping into everything lately, and George knew it was a destructive force. "Anne, I only urge you to seek council first. Kindness in the wrong hands can lead to death when those unworthy are trusted." Anne nodded her agreement before speaking. "Very well brother, I will make sure to seek council first. Now if you will please let me get out of these horrid clothes I'll see to it myself this cloak is cleaned and sent." George smiled seeing his sister cheering up and promise to act wise from now on. "Very well, I beg your leave." Anne watched her brother leave before she had her servants see to it she had a change of clothes brought to her.
Brandon's cloak laid on her bed almost forgotten until Anne saw it again. Her fingers traced the surface as she thought back to Brandon. There were so many questions within herself that she couldn't sort them out entirely. Brandon had wished her only ruin from the moment he saw her at court, yet he had extended to her a form of kindness. He seemed to haunt her thoughts the more Anne tried to forget him, and that alone troubled her greatly. Henry had been Brandon's best friend, only to be turned away by Anne's own doing. She looked at the floor debating how to make it right, and then broke her promise to George. Anne had been Queen of England, why should she seek council now?
When Brandon heard the horseman arrive at his house he thought little of it; however when he saw the coat of arms displayed on his shirt he did worry. The horseman was a messenger of the royal family, and Brandon could only expect the worst. The man greeted him with kindness, yet handed him a letter and package before racing off his duty done. Once inside his house, Brandon began to open the package first. He was amazed to find a red cloak with a small cross embroidered onto it. Brandon had often seen the needlework himself, yet not on anything he owned. It was done often on Henry's clothing, and he knew then that Anne had embroidered it herself.
Brandon found a smile on his face, though he was unsure why. Perhaps deep within him he knew that it was due to Anne's kindness. He would never tell a soul that now he was starting to think of Anne as less than an enemy, but simply more of a person. There was a slight moment of pause before he opened the letter. He stared at the seal that marked it, a sign of Henry and Anne's love. From the moment they were married Anne's name had replaced Catherine's own. Brandon should have felt bitter about seeing it, yet his heart had somehow warmed to it. He opened the letter and dropped it when he was finished reading it. Anne had invited him back to court personally, though he had thought her an enemy.
Thomas Boleyn stormed into Anne's room pushing past the servant that announced him. "What were you thinking? My very own daughter associated with that bastard's name!" Anne suddenly knew that there were indeed rumors at court. Her father was red with rage, yet Anne remained calm. She had been taught that patience was an advantage when she had married Henry. "Father, they are simply rumors. They will go away soon and I assure you none are true." Her father seemed to only be in more of a rage from her words. "Simply rumors? Have you lost your mind child? They will ruin you! A bastard to bed the king's widow? I'd hunt down the very ones that dare spoke of it first."
Anne stood there in shock, of all the rumors she had never expected that one to circulate so quickly. "Father you do me a great wrong to think I would bed Brandon! How dare you even speak of it?!" Anne watched her father seem to calm knowing the worst of his anger was yet to pass. "How dare I? Your very brother confirms that you were with him! He said that you had his very cloak around your shoulders! If even the servants saw you the rumor would be as good as true!" Anne breathed slightly knowing she had Brandon's cloak returned, and that she should have never worn it now. "Father what would you have had me do? Ride in the rain? The air is chilled and the rain would surely be my death if that were true!"
Anne's father sat down only to stare at her. "You were in his very house! There is no reason to be in a room with a man alone let alone his house! How could you consider it proper?" Anne spoke softly as a mother would to calm their own child. "Father, what's done is done and I cannot undo it. You know these rumors are false as does George, nothing else should matter. The court loves gossip and soon the rumors will amount to nothing." Thomas Boleyn rose out of the chair and nodded. "Henry taught you well, he taught you had to control your anger and suppress it." Anne smiled a bittersweet smile at the thought of Henry. She still missed him and his name sounded foreign on anyone else's tongue but her own. It just was still too hard to feel that hole in her heart.
Anne lay on her bed and cried after her father had left. She couldn't deal with the thought of what people were thinking about her. Henry's death seemed like it was yesterday to her, and people thought she had already moved on. Deep down she wondered if her God could even forgive her now. She had invited Brandon back to court out of an act of forgiveness, an act of penance. Still the thoughts bothered her, had she truly done all this for forgiveness? Anne still couldn't speak Catherine's name, yet she had tried to make things a little better for her. Was she simply trying to rob her of Brandon's very presence by asking him to court?
Anne knew she had just opened up doors that lead to many different outcomes and problems. Perhaps she had just cost Elizabeth her throne. Worried from the thought Anne knew she had to see her daughter. She had her servants fetch her coat and then left to go see her. Though she was just a few halls away, the distance felt like miles. She picked Elizabeth up and held her softly. "My darling Elizabeth, no harm shall ever befall you my love." Her words thinned out in the air, but they still sounded sweet to her. Anne knew she would give her very life to spare her child. Any decision she made would never be to ruin her daughter, consciously or not.
Brandon had ridden to the place and sought Anne, only to have her servants direct him down a series of hallways. He refused to believe Anne could want him at court and he needed to talk to over with her. A Queen was never to be refused, yet one could always hint at a better outcome to sooth her temper first. He opened the door only to find her holding the Princess Elizabeth. She was asleep in her mother's arms and for a moment Brandon couldn't believe that a small child could cause so much trouble within a kingdom. He bowed at once only to Anne look at him startled, and then he thought she smiled at him for a moment, and for a moment he smiled back.
