As ever, full credit to Baron Munchausen for polishing up the chapter!
Chapter 10
"Mama, I told you this because I love you," said Mary as she knelt before her mother and held her hand. For so long she had been the child of her father's heart. For too long...
She should have realized that her true allegiance was always and should always be to the woman who had brought her into the world. She was nobler than her father could ever be, or so it seemed to her in that moment.
She and Matthew had been discussing it for days. How on earth were they going to break the news to the Queen that her days as the Queen of England were soon to be over?
In the end, the Princess had decided it was best if she were to talk to her mother alone.
But now from the look on her face she wished he was there with her. To help to console her mother.
She just wished there was more shock and less grief on her face. The Princess was not the only one who had feared this and seen it coming.
"I know you do, my darling girl, and I can't think what I can do to thank you. How much time do we have? Do I have?"
"Carson is going to try and make sure the King does nothing until my wedding. We can try and buy you two or three months, but we already told papa we are eager to marry."
If she had only held back.
Cora shook her head. "The two of you have to settle. You are not pushing the wedding back."
"We can hold off."
"No. No, I am not going to do that. But I can at least do something."
Mary looked at her mother with new eyes and fresh admiration. She had not thought she was going to be so pragmatic.
There was going to be a time to cry for her marriage. There was going to be a time to grieve for what she and the King had had what now felt a long time ago.
But it was not yet.
"There is an authority which is higher than papa. I think - Matthew and I think you should write to Rome to try and get support."
The Queen observed her daughter with shock.
"You have discussed this with the Duke?"
"Of course, I have mama. He was there with me when Carson brought the news... mama, for now you must not say anything, you know that don't you? This is more than Carson's life is worth and I am not going to let something happen to him."
The Queen nodded. She had known the two of them were friends and the Lord Chancellor, while he had never been close to her had always, always looked after her daughter.
And for that she was grateful. If she was not going to get to be there for her then she was glad she'd still have him.
"No, no the two of us are going to protect the Lord Chancellor no matter what," she said as she looked back at her daughter. "Rome is a very good idea," the Queen said through a thick throat as she shut her eyes.
If only she had been able to carry her son to full term then things would be so very, very different to the way they were then.
She would have been Robert's Queen until the end of their days. He would have loved her above all others.
She put her hand to her throat as she swallowed. This was going to take some getting used to.
"My darling Mary, I love you beyond words. But I need a moment now to gather myself. We can write to the Pope tomorrow."
For now she had to grieve. She did not have to say what she was thinking.
Her daughter kissed her cheek and curtsied.
"Mama, if I can do anything, anything at all for you..."
The Queen nodded and Mary withdrew.
As soon as her daughter left the room, two tears slipped down her cheeks and out of her bed chamber came the Lady O'Brien.
She took the hand of the Queen. She felt so guilty for she saw now she should have done more. She had known as soon as that harlot had come to court that she was going to be trouble. And now she had been proved right.
"Did you hear that?" Cora questioned.
O'Brien nodded. "I did, my lady, and I cannot tell you how sorry I am. She is not - that whore could never compare to you," she said firmly as she tried to find the words.
Cora shook her head. "Jane is the last of my worries. I have to make things safe for my girls now."
If she was to be divorced then the girls were all going to be called bastards and...
"I need a sit down and a drink if I am going to be able to face this," she said as she let her lead her back into her inner chamber.
She had a lot to think about.
X x x
"The priest is going to be here tonight," said Anthony as he approached his lady and put his hands lovingly on her shoulders.
The last week had been a very busy one for him.
Ever since Edith had brought him round to the idea they should wed on French soil, their life had been more than a little busy.
She had had to identify which maids were going to be able to help them, and then they had got to work arranging the ceremony. It was to be a rather smaller affair than her last wedding of course.
Smaller than even his last wedding.
But that was not what was important, to either of them. The important part came after.
"And then the two of us can begin to live our lives."
"Yes," he said as her bent down to kiss her, but for the first time ever, she pulled away.
His eyebrow rose in question.
"You can kiss me when I am your wife and not before," the dowager queen decreed.
After the two of them waited to be together for so long, she decided it was time for the two of them to wait for everything...
Because now, it was sure to come to them.
X x x
"Carson, I have some good news for you!"
That was not the way the Lord Chancellor had thought the King was going to greet him. All the way down to his apartments, he had been able to feel his heart rate rising.
If it came out that he had warned the Queen then the wrath of the Lady Hughes really was going to be the last thing on his mind.
As it was, for now it seemed he was safe
"What is that, my lord?" he asked humbly.
"It does seem as if the traitor Pamuk's father fell from favour not so very long in his own land before his son did in this one. The Turks could not give a damn that their once favoured son is not going to be returning to them."
When he had said to the Lord Chancellor that they had to execute the Turk, the King had known Carson had been far from happy about it. After all they had not brought him over to England because he was insignificant. He had had a job to do and he feared that diplomatic relations were going to worsen.
As it was, lady luck had smiled on them for once.
"That is good news, my lord." Carson still did not understand why he had had to die. The King had said it was something to do with his lady, and so he had done it for his lady Mary.
But he had not been completely sure.
"Isn't it? Have you any good news for me?" the King asked pointedly.
"I have been looking into the matter in hand and I have discovered there may be some basis in theology for your majesty's divorce." Carson admitted.
Ever since he had told Mary what had happened he had felt as if he was bound to her. As if he was bound far more to the Queen than to the King.
But he had to remember he was the King's man. He was the one who had raised him high.
He was the one who could take his life if he wished to. And as much as he pledged himself to the Princess, he had still had to do what the King had asked him to.
"I am glad. As long as things are going along like this, then I will remain most pleased with you. The date for the wedding has been set. Four weeks after the return of my poor daughter Edith." The King looked solemn. "She will return to us in two weeks."
"Yes my lord, her apartments are being made ready."
"Poor child she is going to be distraught. Imagine going all that way..." he sighed, then once more changed the subject. "There is another matter too. With the fall of Pamuk, Lord Braxton and his son feel it is time for the two of them to return to the country for a while. I want their apartments made ready for the Lady Jane. Even though it is not widely known that she will soon be Queen, God willing, I do not want her waiting on Cora any longer. Not now, it is not right."
"I will see to it that your good lady can be housed there as soon as possible," he said to him.
The King nodded. "Good. I know if there is no one else on this earth I can rely on, then I will always have your loyalty," Robert said to his man with what seemed to Carson now, arrogance. He would never have dared to think so before hand.
If there was one person on earth who was always going to have the loyalty of the Lord Chancellor then it was not the king but his eldest daughter. She was the one he could never in all faith abandon, he thought to himself.
"You can rely on it, my lord," Carson said to him and for a moment worried that the King was going to hear the lie in his voice.
He did not think it had ever been so obvious.
But either the King was not listening or too focused on thoughts of Lady Jane for he did not seem to register it at all.
"Is there anything else, my lord?" he asked as John Bates came into the room with his majesty's breakfast.
"Not currently, Carson."
"Then I will take my leave."
As he did so he caught the eye of John Bates and he was sure he was able to see something that appeared to be pity there. He was not sure if he liked the fact that he was pitying him but he knew why. He did not know if he was able to trust him either.
But he had a sudden feeling he was not completely on the side of the King when it came to the divorce.
And if the two of them - the King's most trusted servants - were not on his side... then who was going to be.
Troubling times were coming.
It was with a heavy heart Charles went back to his office. For the first time in years, he felt the desire to leave court before the overwhelming desire to protect his lady once more over took him.
He had to stay strong. Now more than ever.
But he had not completely abandoned his lord yet. And suddenly he feared for the King.
And for his reign.
Just because he did not want the King to succeed, did not mean he did not have a care for the succession after all.
Upon going into his chamber, he found his page William was there and he was waiting with a cup of wine.
"I do not think I have ever needed that more, Mr. Mason."
He could not put into words how lucky he had got when he had found William. Now there was a man whose loyalty could not be questioned.
Unlike himself.
"While you were with the King, the Lady Hughes came." He informed him.
"Did she leave a message?" asked the Lord Chancellor as she sat down.
"Yes. She just said thank you," William informed him.
To the page it made no sense. But to Charles, it was the validation he had needed.
Somehow he knew he was doing the right thing.
X x x
"My lady, the material from France is here. Do you want to have the fittings this afternoon or in the morning?" asked Anna as she looked at Mary.
The lady herself was at her virginals with her lord stood by her side, listening as she played.
"Let us strike while the iron is hot. This afternoon."
Her wedding dress was the most important item of clothing she was ever going to wear.
And for all the worry in her life, she was very much looking forward to adding the Duchess of Manchester to the list of her titles.
"Are you going to be able to entertain yourself for a while?" she turned teasingly to Matthew.
"I must say I would far rather remain - "
"The impertinence! You've not got a chance of that, darling!"
"Then in that case, I guess I am going to have to attend my mother. She is having the Dowager Queen for tea this afternoon."
"All of her?" Mary asked as she raised her eyebrow. The two of them smiled at one another before Mary's face turned soft.
"That will be a very trying afternoon. You have my sympathies."
"I am sure I do," he said as he stood by her side with a smile.
She turned to him. It felt as if the two of them were getting so caught up in what was going on with her mother and her father that they were forgetting that this marriage was not solely political. It had started out that way - but it was not anymore. "Are you looking forward to the wedding itself?"
"Yes. Darling, I am looking forward to all kinds of things."
"Don't make me blush," she told him as she leant over to kiss him.
What she was not going to tell him was that she was as well. After Pamuk she knew it would be the easiest thing in the world to shut herself off from the man she loved.
But she wanted Matthew. And he was a very different kind of man to the kind Pamuk had been.
X x x
"I may not know you too well but I know when something is wrong," said Anna as she went out into the gardens.
Bates turned when he heard her voice.
She had been helping tidy the rooms of the Princess Mary when she had seen him out there with his shoulders slumped over. He was not the happiest man, she had always known that. But that day there was more to it.
As she touched his arm, he smiled. She had been nothing but good to him since he had arrived. When he had come to court, he had done so to get a job. He had not thought he was going to find such a friend. He had not thought friendship such as hers even existed.
But how on earth was he meant to confide in her what he knew? The King did not want his desire to be divorced to be public knowledge.
"There is. And I thank you for trying to help me but I do not think I can tell you what's wrong," he explained. "But you being here is enough."
Taking her hand, he sighed.
"You are an enigma, that is for sure," she told him as she held the hand in hers. Now he had given it to her she had no intention of letting it go.
The two of them walked along. "If I am honest with you, then I think I know what is wrong," she relieved him of his burden.
"I do not think you do."
"I know that the Queen is in trouble," She said quietly to him.
He looked at her with shock on his face. "I did not think anyone knew. How did you find out?"
"You know as well as I do that I cannot tell you that. I would not want to put you in a position that you felt pressure in. But what I am saying is that if you do need to talk about it, then you can," she told him. "And you know if you need to talk to me then I will be your counsel. I promise you that. You can trust me, John Bates."
"Thank you Anna. That makes me feel ... better."
The two of them walked in a comfortable silence.
X x x
"You are so beautiful."
Anthony could say no more. They did not do her justice, but she rendered him speechless.
The way he had said those four words was going to live in her mind until the day she died. They were said with such meaning and such feeling...and were said to her the moment she got to the altar to become his wife.
This is what it feels like to be a real bride, she thought to herself. She could not feel more different than when she was marrying the King.
This was the way it felt to love. That was something Edith had feared she was never ever going to get to feel. But Anthony had changed all of that.
"You look so... handsome," she said as she looked down at the floor.
For all the love between the two of them, the altar at which the two of them were going to marry was not the place to flirt at. This was the most solemn day that she was ever going to live through.
There was going to be no third marriage. It was only going to end in death and if it was not her own, then she was going to go into a convent and wait for the day she was going to be back with him.
There was never going to be a soul which fit her own like his.
They took one another's hands and knelt before the priest, the moon shining through the stained glass window...
And before it the two of them swore that they did. They did love one another above all others, and they would forsake every other living being for the other...
That they would love one another, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. ..
She would serve and obey him and he was always going to keep her safe.
And what God had put together that night while the two of them had stood professing their love surrounded by candle and moon light... No man could ever put asunder.
If they had wed in the morning then they would have gone on for breakfast, to eat together as equals as man and wife for the first time. As it was, they retired to her chamber and dismissed her maids and his manservants.
"I could not love you more," he promised as he took her hand and kissed the back of it, softly making his intention to fulfil her wish known.
He was no old man and he was not Louis. And she would rise the next morning his wife in every way. Something quite primal came over him as he looked into her eyes. He could not remember ever wanting Maud in the way he desired Edith. He had loved her with all his heart...
But he loved his little queen suddenly with a passion he had never quite experienced before.
If he had to sell his soul to the devil for that one night with her, then he would. But thankfully it was not required.
"I know that," she said as she put her hands behind her back to undo her corset, to only be stopped by a shake of his head.
"Allow me," he asked as he brushed past her and began to undo her dress.
She had not expected to ache so soon, but when he removed her sleeves and kissed her shoulders the moment they became bare she could not deny it to herself.
Desire was a sin - thus, she would pray to God for forgiveness when she rose the next day, But for that night, she would trespass against him. Her skirt came undone quite easily once he had removed her corset, leaving her in nothing but her thin undergarments.
She seemed ever so tantalizing as the two of them swapped roles. He could see her youthful, full figure through the material. And he was thrilled to know it belonged so suddenly and miraculously to him.
"You could have any man in the world. Why me?" he asked as she began undressing him, loosening his doublet. "You're the most beautiful princess in Europe."
She paused for a minute.
Why him indeed? The first thing that sprung to mind was the fact he was the first person she felt had ever really bothered to see her.
There were so many who had given her that title. But he was the first to make her feel it. He had kept her safe and sane when there was not another man on the earth who would have even dared to.
He did not fear her father.
But all that suddenly felt terribly long winded. So she just cupped his face, and sighed longingly.
"Well those eyes for a start," Edith whispered. "And they are in themselves quite enough of a reason to be going on with."
Bending down as if she was a lowly maiden of some god forsaken village, she removed his shoes, his hose, his tights...
Until he wore nought but his shirt.
And that was when she suddenly felt rather nervous. She was a teenager, in foreign land, about to take part in a deed that was equally foreign.
She felt herself breathing heavily.
Placing a heavy kiss on the forehead of his little bride, Anthony made her look at him. "We don't have to."
"I want to - it's just... different... but not... kiss me..." she begged as she stood on her tip toes, the soles of her bare feet leaving the floor as he pulled her into his arms.
Pulling at her thin undergarment, he exposed her shoulder and kissed it once more. She found her own lips pressed up against his ear.
"Are you sure?"
"Oh yes," she sighed. He was her safety, her defender, her friend... and most importantly, her husband. Her own dear soul. "Please..."
She needed to say no more. Bending down, he swept her bare feet off the floor and picked her up, making her giggle. The two broke apart and shared a secret smile before she wrapped her arms around his neck and began kissing him earnestly once more.
Anthony made for the marital bed.
No more desire, no more longings... just one another, at last.
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