I was more than happy to take in young Thomas and baby Mary. With Mary, I had to get used to changing napkins again, of course, and as my own breasts provided no milk for her, I had to hire a wet nurse. Sarah and Sybil adored their young cousin and constantly wanted to help care for her, while Thomas provided companionship for Edward and William.

Despite our harmonious family life, our dear country was soon plagued with social unrest. The citizens rebelled against the imposition of church services in English, and there was also the problem of what to do about vagrants trespassing on private property. There was talk of branding a letter 'v' for 'vagrant' on their chests to discourage this practice.

"How barbaric!" I exclaimed when I heard of it. "Those poor people don't even have a place to sleep at night!"

Ned insisted that the property of the landowners must be respected, but I was able to convince him to disallow the branding practice. The majority of the people, however, disliked my husband's rule, and in February of 1550, the protectorate was taken from him and given the the Earl of Warwick, John Dudley.

"I suppose it's for the best," Ned said to me as we journeyed back to Hever Palace. "I never really enjoyed the administrative side of ruling a country, anyway, as I'm really a warrior at heart."

Several years passed. Our Edward grew from a chubby boy to a handsome, dashing young man with a striking resemblance to his father. Our Anne likewise developed into a willowy, graceful young woman with breasts and curves. One day she came to me pale and shaking with fear.

"I fear that the Lord shall soon call me home," she mumbled.

Very concerned, I felt of her forehead. "Why, you don't feel feverish," I told her. "Do you hurt anywhere?"

She nodded. "I'm cramping terribly in my lower abdomen, but that isn't the worst of it. I'm also...passing blood from my womanly parts."

"Let me see." She showed me, and instantly I knew that there was nothing to worry about. "What's happening to you is perfectly normal," I assured Anne. "You've simply started your monthly courses. They'll come once a month from now on, until you're married and with child. They stop once you become with child and then resume after the babe is born."

"But why must women have monthly courses except for when they're with child?"

"It's one of the mysteries of our heavenly Father that aren't for us to question," I replied.

Our young nephew, the King of England, wasn't nearly as fortunate. At the tender age of fifteen, he lay seriously ill with consumption. Ned and I journeyed to Whitehall Palace to see him alive for what we were sure would be the final time.

We arrived to find him lying in bed weak and pale, with beads of sweat on his forehead. A dark-haired young woman sat at his side, sobbing. I recognized her immediately.

"Lady Jane Grey!" I exclaimed. "I'm His Majesty's aunt, the former Anne of Cleves." We embraced, and she clung to me for comfort.

"I can't bear to lose him!" she cried. "I know that God's will must be done, but I do love him so, and our betrothal was just about to be announced before he fell ill!"

"We must be strong, and have faith that he will recover." As badly as I wanted to comfort the young woman, we both knew that there was little hope.

"If the Lord calls him home, the future of our beloved country will be in peril," she moaned. "As you know, His Majesty's older sister Mary is a devoted Papist, and if she becomes Queen, she will return idolatry and superstition to our land."

I didn't quite know what to say. Since marrying Ned, I'd embraced the religion of the Reformation but lacked the passion for it that some of its adherents, including my nephew and, obviously, Lady Jane as well, shared.

"We must remain strong," I repeated helplessly.

"Aunt Anna?" Edward had awakened and called for me weakly.

"I'm right here," I told him.

A spasm of coughing hit him. I held his head up so that he could take a few sips of water. "Good of you to come see me," he said.

"But of course I would!" I replied.

"You've just met my cousin, Lady Jane Grey," he continued, his voice a bit stronger now. "She shall be my successor rather than my sister Mary. Northumberland and I..." Another fit of coughing seized him. "Northumberland and I have agreed to that. All that's left is to make my beloved cousin see that it must be this way. Can you help me, Aunt Anna?"