Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a long wait, but things have been a little crazy. Hope this chapter's ok for you. I wanted to put in the scene where Henry asks Catherine for a divorce but I couldn't seem to find it :(
Thanks to:
Its-Blondie-1996, ILoveThee and PrincessOfSilence for following.
ann1981, I got mugged by a penguin, AngelicaLeighton87 and Daniellexx for favouriting.
Charlie Belle, dark-lelu, HermioneandMarcus, Anne, Benny Jude Road and kiralol101 for reviewing! :D
Charlie Belle - I know, it was sad. Hope you like this one!
dark-lelu - Glad you liked it, sorry for the delay.
HermioneandMarcus - So glad that you liked the last chapter, hope you like this one too.
Anne - Glad you liked it! Sorry for the delay. Anne will be coming in a lot more in the next couple of chapters. Natalie Dormer is amazing :D Part of me feels a little sorry for Catherine, but hey-ho :) I will go check out your stories as soon as I can, thanks for the favourite.
Benny Jude Road - I know, the losing of the baby was sad :( But don't worry, good things will come. Glad you thought Henry/Evie was sweet :) You'll have to wait and find out.
kiralol101 - It is a horrible thing to lose a child, I agree. I thought it would be really cool for Evie and her Ladies to have a close bond, and I would assume that if their Mistress needed help then they would appear as fast as possible. Henry being Henry, I guess ;D Anne will be making her appearances soon :) I love reading your reviews, they're always full of amusing ramblings; please keep them coming :)
Hope you guys enjoy!
Taming the Unfaithful Husband
Charles Brandon/OC
No copyright infringement intended
Chapter 14;
It had been a week since Henry had had his near miss with Death and Evelyn found herself staring unseeingly out of a large window in the Great Hall accompanied by a handful of her Ladies. She had not been outside the Palace for about two weeks; always finding reasons to stay indoors.
Thankfully, the bleeding from the miscarriage had stopped but Evie found herself surprisingly saddened by the fact. It had made it all real. She had lost her first baby; the first chance at raising a life had now passed. At least the bleeding had kept the illusion of a child with her for a little longer.
The Duchess' thoughts were interrupted when a familiar face appeared through the window's glass pane. Charles smiled briefly at his wife before making his way inside.
With a little difficulty, Evelyn dragged her gaze away from the scenery outside the window and turned her head to find her husband as he came to stand beside her chair. Charles bent down to one knee to her left and took her pale hands within his own, much pinker ones.
"How are you, my love?" he asked, concern for her sparking in his eyes.
"I am well." she replied, but the croak in her voice said otherwise.
"Good," Charles continued, not addressing the matter at hand until he could figure out a way to make his wife happy again, "Now that I have been assured by your Ladies that you are now fit to travel, may I suggest that we begin moving arrangements to travel to Suffolk? You have seen your brother's recovery and how the experience has made him a better person. Perhaps what you need now is a change of scenery."
Evie took a moment to think about what her husband was saying. He wanted to take her to Suffolk and away from her home. Evelyn knew it would be coming soon enough and had even welcomed the idea at first, but now - with recent events - the Duchess found herself wanted to remain in the comfort of her childhood home for a little longer. However, she was a married woman now, not a little girl, and a married woman had responsibilities. Responsibilities including becoming head of a household.
Pushing her shoulders back with new resolve, Evelyn turned her head towards her husband, blonde curls fluttering against her neck.
"Of course, my husband, for I am brimming with excitement to see my new home." The smile she accompanied the words with was just a tad too bright. If Charles noticed, he didn't say a thing; he simply rose to press a soft kiss to her forehead and leant his head against hers.
"I love you."
"I love you too," she whispered, meaning every word.
Soon after his chat with his wife, Charles had set several of Evelyn's Ladies to begin packing her things from her chambers for the journey to Suffolk with the instructions to bring whatever the Duchess would want.
Charles, himself, had given orders to two of the servants to pack the small amount of belongings that he had brought with him for his stay in Court. He had then taken himself off to the Great Hall and was contemplating his thoughts in a jug of mead.
He had noticed Evelyn's apparent reluctance when he had brought up making the move to Suffolk. His only motive behind the suggestion had been, due to her recent heartbreak and all of the confusion and drama involving his dear sister-in-law, Margaret, was that perhaps a change of scenery and something to keep her occupied may be a helpful thing for the woman he loved more than his own life.
The Duke was awoken from his thoughts by a heavy thudding sounding through the otherwise quiet room. Charles raised his sky blue eyes to find Henry thundering towards him.
"Charles," he barked, practically throwing himself down into the seat beside his friend, "I must talk to you."
For a second, Charles froze. Had Henry heard about his plans to move Evelyn to Suffolk? Had it angered him? He was saved from his musings when Henry spoke.
"I have been faced with a dilemma. As a now married man yourself, I ask your advice." The King paused and waited until Charles nodded for him to continue.
"If your marriage was one that had been cursed from day one- not that it is, of course!" Henry quickly reassured his brother-in-law, "But if it was, and you were faced with the prospect of a marriage with a beautiful woman - that you chose! - who could bear you a son and the only thing you had to do was get a divorce; would you do it?"
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, was by no means a stupid man. He had heard about the King's flirtations with one of the Queen's Ladies, but had not thought the interactions to be as prominent as they evidently were. He knew that his answer would influence his friend's decision and he knew that he must think of the feelings of Henry, the Queen and even Evelyn before voicing his opinion.
"Well... I would imagine that it would be a very delicate situation," Charles said, keeping up the façade and Henry nodded his agreement, "May I ask why my marriage would be cursed in the first place?"
"Your wife would have been married to your brother."
"Ah, well Your Majesty, I would take into account of how a divorce would affect my wife and perhaps if I had any children. Then, I suppose if I could not find a better way to resolve the situation, then a divorce would perhaps be something to think about."
The King bobbed his head as if in thought. "So, a divorce is the only answer."
"But, Henry," Charles attempted again to influence the King's decision; "Couldn't you perhaps find a Priest or contact the Pope to bless your marriage?"
Henry's gaze snapped up and his eyes hardened at Charles' slip up. "I fear not Charles, for the travesty that is my marriage has long since been destroyed."
With that, the King swept out of the chair and then the door just as quickly and loudly as he had arrived; leaving Charles to contemplate if the King and Queen's divorce would be another thing that was his fault. He lowered his head into his hands with a helpless sigh.
Evelyn sat herself down on top of her bed with a soft sigh. She had been supervising and helping her Ladies to pack all of her treasured belongings and clothes into trunks and crates in preparation for the move.
As the day had drawn on, the handful of Ladies that would also be travelling to Suffolk had also begun to pack their own things and only Jasmine and Anne were left in the room with the Duchess.
"Is everything alright, Your Grace?" Anne asked, putting aside one of Evie's day dresses and taking a seat beside her.
"Of course, why would something be the matter?"
Anne and Jasmine shared a quick glance before Jasmine continued, "Well, Your Grace, ever since the Duke brought up the subject of moving to Suffolk, you seem to have withdrawn a little."
Evelyn moved her gaze to the Lady Jasmine to see that she too had the concerned look in her eyes as the Lady Anne did. "I can assure you that I am most well; thank you for your concern. I suppose that I will miss my childhood home and all of the memories that I have created here."
"But you will make many new memories with your husband in your own home," chirped Anne.
Evie gave what seemed like the first real smile in a long time. "You are correct, my Lady, and you will both be there when they are made." she said, holding out a hand to each woman that was gladly accepted.
"Always." Anne and Jasmine chorused.
A few hours later, Evelyn decided to go and look for her husband, to banish any bad feelings that he had about her not wanting to move to Suffolk. She would ensure that he knew she was happy; happy with him and happy with the life that they would build in their new home.
However, as she glided along the long corridor, blazing torches lining the walls and lighting her path, Evelyn heard a muffled sob from behind one of the wooden doors. Evie racked her brain as to the purpose of the room so that she could identify who would be inside at this time of night.
After a moment of thought, the Duchess came to the conclusion that the room was one that was hardly used - even since her childhood - and she could not think of any kind of list as to who would be sobbing inside the room.
Her curiosity getting the better of her, Evie gently pushed open the door. In her mind, ensuring the happiness of one of the country's people overtook the need to find her husband.
When the door had been opened enough that she could see into the room, Evelyn took a moment to make out the figure before her. It was clearly a woman by the sounds that she made and the long curtain of black hair that fell about her face. The woman was curled into what seemed to be an upright fetal position while she sat on a cushioned chair facing a large window. The dark dress that she wore seemed as though it had been woven from very expensive cloths so she must be someone important.
As if sensing her entrance, the woman swiftly turned her head to face the intruder and Evelyn's gaze was shown the sorry image of the Queen with puffy, red eyes and tear marks across her cheeks.
The Duchess took a couple of hesitant steps forward after closing the door behind her, just to see if the Queen would demand that she leave. That didn't happen. Catherine simply stared up at her sister-in-law with a look of such sorrow in her eyes that Evie rested a gentle hand on her back and began to murmur soft reassurances as the Queen's sobbing slowly quieted enough for her to speak.
"H- He wants a d- di- divorce," she cried.
Evelyn's brow wrinkled. What could have possibly provoked her brother to demand a divorce from his wife of four and twenty years? The answer hit her like a horse; Anne Boleyn, of course.
As one of the Queen's Ladies, Henry would have seen the younger Lady often around Court and she had heard about his growing affections towards the girl. Deciding not to mention the new object of the King's affections to Catherine herself, Evie simply patted her sister-in-law's back quietly.
Although they had never been especially close, Evelyn had always been fond of Catherine and had often come to her with any problems that she would have liked to go to her sister, Mary, about if she weren't in France. It was easy to say that the Queen had always been a role model of the Duchess' due to her strong nature and unwavering love for her elder brother and their child. Now, it seemed that the latter would become a moot point.
"They want to take Mary away from me! She is my daughter... mine," Catherine's voice had begun with something close to a roar, but had faded to a quiet murmur. It was as though she knew that her opinions on the matter would be completely disregarded but still felt as though she should try to make a difference.
The noise in the room faded to a quiet hum, only broken by the sniffling of the Queen as she calmed herself and stopped the flow of tears.
"I apologise for my outburst," she said, when she had regained her composure, "It seems that my emotions got the better of me."
"Please, do not apologise, Your Majesty, for divorce is a topic that can surely mess with one's emotions."
The Queen gave a soft smile in agreement and motioned for Evelyn to take a seat in the matching chair opposite her. The Duchess did and folded her hands neatly in her lap.
"Henry seems to think that our union is cursed and that is the reason why I have not given him a son that survived for more than fifty-two days," her voice gentled at the last part, "I hear that you too have been through the horror of a miscarriage."
Evelyn's hand flew to her stomach before she realised that there was nothing in there anymore. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Catherine took Evie's hand in hers and smiled, "You will be a wonderful mother. It may not be soon but you will bear many children for your husband."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The Queen and the Duchess spoke a little more about matters in their own lives and Evelyn couldn't help but notice every time that Catherine changed the subject whenever they strayed too near to her divorce and her daughter.
Evelyn's mind flew to thoughts of Charles and how big their family would be in a few years time. She could picture it clearly in her mind's eye; Mr. and Mrs. Brandon standing proudly outside their home, smiling happily as several small children played and laughed around their legs. With the thoughts, it seemed as though a huge weight had been lifted from her chest.
Charles was making his way along the hallway back to the chambers her shared with his wife, hoping she would be inside. He had not seen her since the morning when she had left to begin packing her things for the imminent move. He was minding his own business when a door opened to his right. Out popped Evelyn, a small smile on her face. She hadn't noticed him passing yet, so he approached with quiet footsteps.
The Duke wrapped his arms around his wife's waist and bent to whisper in her ear, "I was wondering where you had gotten off to."
Evelyn gave out a small squeak of surprise before recognizing her husband's voice and allowing herself to settle back into his broad chest.
"Apologies, my husband, for I had left our quarters with the hope of finding you before becoming distracted with another matter."
"What other matter is this?" he asked; his hold on her tightening in possessiveness.
"Nothing like that, I can assure you," Evie took Charles' hand and tugged his a little way down the corridor towards their rooms before continuing, "I heard a sobbing from the room you saw me exit. It seems that my dear brother has asked the Queen for a divorce."
Evelyn felt her husband stiffen at the mention of 'divorce'. She turned to him and lifted a concerned hand to his cheek. "What is it, my love?"
Charles closed his eyes for a moment, relishing in her touch, before responding, "Henry came to see me earlier, he was asking about divorces. I think I may have said something to provoke his actions."
Evelyn was impressed at his honesty on the subject; what she didn't like, however, was the guilt that filled his beautiful eyes after his confession. She rose up on her tiptoes to press a soft kiss to the cheek that she wasn't cradling already.
"You know my brother, whether he asked for advice or your opinion, he was only looking for you to mention his views even if in a negative way. I remember once, Henry had come to find me to ask my opinion on which colour to have his new doublet made it - blue or green. I clearly said, 'I don't like the idea of green, I think that you should choose blue', he responded immediately by saying, 'I agree; blue would be a terrible choice', and then he left," the Duchess smiled in memory, causing Charles to smile too, "This was not your fault. Please understand that, my love."
The Duke nuzzled his nose against Evie's in appreciation for her words. "Thank you," he whispered and hugged her closer to his chest.
They stayed like that for a while before moving themselves back down the hallway to their rooms. The couple changed for bed and were cuddled up beside each other when they next spoke.
"Are you ready for the move?" Charles questioned quietly.
Evie smiled and said, "I am. I look forward to making a home with you."
Charles nuzzled her neck and sighed. "Thank the Lord."
The pair laughed and snuggled up tighter, falling into the waiting arms of slumber.
So... what did you think? Got any ideas/questions/comments/thoughts, let me know! I love getting your reviews, you're all so sweet! The move will be the next chapter and then Anne will definately be making her appearances :D See you next week!