Disclaimer: I do not own everything if I did I would be a millionaire producer and Goddess Supreme ^_^
A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The song I recommend "Gone away" by the offspring for this chapter to better feel the emotions.
~VXLP
"The sea has been divided, the cloud has attended on you on your way.
The rock has flowed with water, the manna has rained from heaven,
everything has concurred to promote your greatness
What remains to be done, must be done by you
since in order not to deprive us of our free will:
such share of glory that belongs to us -God will not do everything himself"
~The Prince by Nicholas Machiavelli
1559, December 22nd
Westminster:
It is before all things necessary, they had warned him that he should not be as so quick, or eager, to engage war on Scotland and France altogether, least until he considered all his other options. These he did not like. Henry did not like being told what to do, but leas of all he hated when his councilors insinuated he was wrong or proven him so.
Henry had no desire to be another Henry VIII. He did not want to make his brother's mistake of attacking France when the English fleet was at its weakest. His brother had been foolish to believe Gardiner and bringing back Wriothesley to retake his old position as Chancellor. All of which had cost him not only his popularity among the people turning into hatred, but the failure to hold Calais, their last French possession brought his armies to rebel against him.
He lied back in his chair and pondered on all the options members of his council had presented before him. He could either go to war now against France and Scotland together and hope for a victory that would acquire him the Scottish crown and the rebellious Scottish and French Queen who claimed to be the true sovereign of England given her religion. Or, disregarding the war lovers seated opposite side to his most loyal men, he could listen to the latter and refrain from attacking.
"England would be open then to attack. You would be inviting the entire French and Scottish fleets and their cavalry the last of which humiliated England long time ago ..."
Henry held up a hand too tired to hear objections. "I do not need another history lesson Bishop Gardiner, I am well aware what happened with Edward I and Scotland. We do not all need another session ending with our heads on the table because of your ranting"
William Cecil laughed raucously joined in by the other members who could not hold their laughter any longer. It was very rare to see someone stand up to Gardiner and put him in his place.
Nevertheless straight Gardiner made a point. Staying neutral for too long would prove Henry to be a weak, and powerless King for when war would come and his enemies, no doubt, would not blink twice when they order their soldiers to plunder everything and everyone in his country. He could not allow himself to be seem weak and powerless.
Damn, he thought. He went back to his earliest lessons, shared with his uncle, by Dr. Cox. A Cambridge man, staunchly Lutheran. Tall, arrogant, and cheerful when it was convenient, to the young Prince and his younger nephews. He had introduced him to Lutheran literature, along with his nanny and governess, he was the only one who confided in Henry his deepest fears and told him straight out, like Gardiner, what qualities a Prince needed to keep his Kingdom safe and obedient. Above all, he had remarked, obedience was the highest of all concerns in a Prince's mind. Of course all these lessons were not something new and particular to Cox, they derived from Machiavelli's book, and his grandfather's favorite, "The Prince". After Philip had proved to be a naive and useless monarch, with very little to give except for the introduction of a new coinage which Henry planed would remain unchanged for it had proven to be very beneficial to alleviate the country from the depression brought about by his grandfather's two successors.
He had began to read once again the famed and infamous book the Prince, a text he considered more valuable than any other. It had become Henry's bible, and one sentence always caught his attention:
'Princes AND republics concerned with keeping the state from corruption must above all see to it that their religious ceremonies remain uncorrupted and continued to be properly venerated, for every religion has its vital source in some one of its principal institutions ..."
Among many others, this sentence proved to be the first commandment that every King or ruler must obey in order to keep his people united:
"The rulers of republics or kingdoms must therefore seek to preserve the principles of their religion. Having done this, they will find it an easy matter to keep the state devout, obedient, and united."
Henry did not care squat what religion men, or women, followed. If they believed in Allah, Jehova, or God. It did not matter. But as long as they kept themselves loyal to another lord that was not their King, then it became his business.
The matter of Scotland and France though, unnerved him still and Cecil's voice brought him back from his day dreaming.
"What about the French rebels in the borders of France?" He questioned bringing many heads in his direction. "They have been a nuisance to the King, and especially to his mistress. There is also the matter of John Foxe. Mary of Guise insists we stop our support and his crusade"
He snorted. That witch Marie of Guise again. When were all these fanatics going to stop being thorns by his side? They were nothing but ideological fools whose minds dwindled on fantasy. Of course he had supported Foxe. Who would not if they were Henry's position? He was a reliable ally who had created from the orderly government James V had left for his wife and regent -Marie, a state of chaos that brought many headaches to the Scottish Catholic nobility. Henry did not particularly agree with the man's views, but he was a tool that they needed to create enough disorder that England would be forced to intervene for the welfare of the Scottish crown, after all cousins had look out for themselves and their interests -he mused.
A sardonic smile graced his features as he explained the use of Foxe's rebellion to the advantage of the English crown. It did not take them two seconds after he was finished to applaud his decision. These men, these learned men, were easier to control than the mobs, though both human they were easily ensnared by the eloquence and the complex words (when used right) by their leaders.
New things above all, intrigued them. And the reformation was still something new that not many understood, and those who did used it to their advantage to bring about "change" into their communities, and change had always been seen by scholars as the best of both options. Out with the old, in with the new, was the European way.
"However" Henry added seeing Gardiner and his partner in crime, lips moving. "if we declare open war against Scotland and France we would bring about a disaster. Much as these countries hate themselves, they hate more the idea of a Protestant and an English man destroying their flower of chivalry. If my men are keeping with current events, you know that Philip will not hesitate to aid his wife's family. He commands half of the world's strongest flotilla, and we are already on thin ice being accused of stealing his precious gold from the Americas. A war with one country we might win, but a war of three against one, seems hardly unfair"
"But England cannot close its borders. It has always formed alliance with other Kingdoms, if His Majesty would betroth one of the Princesses to His Imperial Majesty or the Spanish King's daughters ..."
"No, that will never happen! They are my daughter and I decide who I betroth them to! England's problem has always been in staining its royal lineage by marrying its offspring to foreign Princes. It has produced a series of problems to the line of succession."
"But you will close England's borders then? England needs commerce, without the wool to export to Flanders, or the jewelry the many products we rely on for our industry our country will be ruined! You will ruin England!"
Henry stood up abruptly banging his fists on the table, by the look on his face no one dared to speak or turn in his direction for unwanted attention or a scolding.
"You are overstepping your authority Bishop! Understand this, and this alone" he said in a low but menacing tone. His cold blue eyes made the Bishop flinch, he had not felt this nervous since ... the previous Henry. Like a lion he walked to where he was seated and paced back and forward in that little spot where Gardiner was, toying with him, enjoying the look on fear he gave him before devouring his prey.
He leaned and whispered to the man's ear. "I am the King of England, God's chosen, my power derives from God and the people he chose to be my servants. As vicar of Him, I can choose who lives and who dies. To speak against God's chosen on is to speak against God himself. Do you understand Bishop? Do you understand that you have not only questioned my authority but God's?"
Gardiner said nothing, the entire chamber stood petrified, seated no longer feeling comfortable in their cushioned chairs as Henry returned to his.
"Gentlemen" his tone changed as did his facial expression. It was as if the episode with Gardiner had not happened at all, and they knew best that they were too to put that behind them unless they wanted a worse reaction from their King.
"Let us turn to the Bouche and the exchequer, now you know that I am a reformer to the core, but I do not want to change much of my grandfather's tax system. Also to the matter of appointing a new archbishop to the see of Canterbury, I want the people to know that I am not changing tradition, merely making it richer. People must feel proud to call themselves English again." He turned to Gardiner knowing what went through the man's mind "I am sorry dear Bishop, the post will not be yours" Several men covered their mouths to keep themselves from laughing. Cecil and his new chief of security, Walsingham, were finding this too funny. Henry folded his arms waiting for the chatter to stop.
"Yes, very well moving unto that, I have one person in mind, and if everyone agrees with my decision we can have a new archbishop before the end of the year"
Several heads nodded.
One of the members raised his hand for permission to speak. Henry granted it. "Your Majesty and what about the book of prayer and the Act of Uniformity. Your uncle had explicit desires that no changes be made to it" It was Henry Carey, or Tudor as Henry loved to call him. He was his Aunt Elizabeth (recently elevated to Marques of Pembroke and Sussex in her own right) eldest cousin, son of her mother's sister, Mary Boleyn-Stafford. No one who had known her first husband had believed him to be his son, he looked a lot like his grandfather and bore striking similarity with his Aunt to be just more than first cousins. Another one of Henry VIII's bastards like Stukely and so many others that were part of his court.
"Ah Baron Carey, well that will not be a problem. I do not have any intention whatsoever to eliminate my uncle's Act, I simply wish England to have stability at last. You might think me a dreamer milord, but I am not the only one who is tired of the endless civil wars taring our beloved nation apart"
All heads nodded now.
"Modifying some of the Act's articles, taking some, putting in some new and leaving those that recognize my authority as head of the church will create a harmony between Catholics and Protestants"
"Are you absolutely sure this will cement your power?" Cecil was the first to question all his decisions, a man he trusted more above all though they disagreed on almost everything. He was one of the few who was allowed to be so bold in public and challenge his authority whenever the need arise.
"If I change the entire system of traditions that has been ingrained on every English peasant's mind since the time of Alfred the great, we can expect a social revolution to take place and that will cost us more to put down than all the wars we might have with foreign powers."
"Your uncle never had a problem sending armies against them" Baron Carey spoke out of place this time, and that did not sit well with Henry -who shot him a deathly glare.
"And look how popular that turned him in. I do not care for vanities or to be beloved like my brother, but I do know how useful it can be to create obedience from the mob. If they respect me, they respect you, they obey me, then they will obey my members of Parliament as well. Taking away the pope's authority was one thing, the abuses done by the church appointing foreign members in English sees was something the people grew tired off easily, they did not make much fuzz when they had the vicar replaced by an English pope. But what my uncle did was more than that, he took away their lands, his second Lord Protector closed down more monasteries and put many people in the streets, prices rose and even merchants were left penniless. I do not want to go through the same turbulent period he went because of his inability to make a decision. The traditions stay, however the English bible will remain with some changes of course, I want not only to be read in the universities. I want it to be read in every hospital, charity house, and new school we build. I want in time everyone from peasant to noble to have free access to it"
Baron Carey kept his mouth shut after the King's long monologue. This was a jealous King, far more than Philip had ever been. But with the support of the Protestant nobility, which were the richest in England, and the people who saw him as a phoenix emerging from the ashes of chaos that was created by his brother. Calais had become now an injury forgotten in the minds of the people, with Bavaria now an attached limb to mend for the loss of the French territory, the people had cheered.
He had enforced English governors in Bavaria, and following the advice of experience and Machiavelli, not wanting to repeat Louis XII failed enterprise in Northern Italy, he had personally been in Bavaria to see that the nobles there were not plotting behind his back. So far they were only two minor noble families that had shown discontent, but he had dealt with them soon after he had placed two English governors. The people had been surprised by the change of heart in their ruler soon after their deaths. He voiced in their native language, that he would make no changes in government. Bavaria would continue with its traditions, and the courts would administer justice with little change being made to to them.
It earned him the respect from the people, and with a strong fist he stroke whenever necessary or simply to inspire fear on his enemies, earning him also caution from his nobles.
Fear and wonder -his wife, the young and only daughter from his late governess, Katherine Seymour nee Parr; always advised were the two main elements that make a leader keep his power. His beautiful Mary had been a blessing. As children they had been best friends sharing mutual interest for the heavens and literature. Mary was very different from her mother though, she had her mother's beautiful hazel brown eyes and her love for knowledge that was only surpassed by the love she showed to their daughter, but she had her father's dark hair and much of her uncle's cunning.
She was a true Seymour, and with royal blood flowing through her veins by both her parents, made her a suitable bride. Better than any foreign Princess, he considered.
As he entered their chambers after a long and dull meeting with his council she greeted him, twinning her arms around his neck kissing his cheek.
"So how did it go?" she purred in his ear.
"Dreadful can't you see?" He pointed to his tired expression.
She let go of him chuckling lightly. "Come" she grabbed his hand and led him to their bed chamber "You must tell me more after you ravage me."
"I will but first tell me how are they? I have wanted to visit them but ..."
"Is alright Henry I know, I know." she said dismissively. "They are fine, our eldest, Victoria has your strength. That horse you had built for her she broke its head. Her governess was very afraid and stuttered when I forced her to tell me. She thought that I would scold her."
"How silly, we would never be so cruel, I am sure it was an accident."
"Perhaps, but she is growing more and more like you. She is not as needy as Kathryn, but she is very observant, she makes sure she looks at a person's eyes before giving that person affection. It is like she was pre born."
"She will grow to make a great Queen someday, that is ..." he rephrased seeing his wife's expression "a good Queen to her King."
"Henry ..." she began "England needs a heir"
He passed a hand through his dark brown hair. During the years it had turned dark brown and his appearance had changed drastically from his mother and grandfather. His shoulder had grown more broad, he had become more built, his cheekbones thinner and his hair less straight than his father's.
He sat on the bed, Mary following him. She was not going to stop until he gave her a straight answer. She was that insistent.
"Henry" she pressed. "You know your ministers would feel more secure if you have a son. The other countries I am sure would think twice before attacking, they would feel more threatened with a boy to succeed you."
"Mary childbirth is not a game, I almost lost you after the twins were born"
"But you did not and that is the point. Stop thinking of what ifs, and tell me if what you said to the council is true. Do you, or do you not want England to be safe?"
Henry said nothing.
"Well do you?"
"Yes! There you have it. I want England to be safe and for the Tudor dynasty to continue!" He threw his hands up in the air "There are you happy now my Queen?"
She made a funny sound, like a snort and a cry together. "Yes, now you can share my bed"
"Finally!" He said and took her plowing her for hours until, drenched in sweat, they fell asleep in each others arms.
"Where we are there is daggers in men's smiles" ~Macbeth, Ac II, Scene IV
"Life is but a walking shadow,
a poor player that struck and frets his hour upon the stage
and then is heard no more.
It is a tale told by an idiot,
full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing." ~Macbeth Act V, Scene V
Adiue, farewell ... were the first words the little girl with the big blue eyes says. Her eyes see everything, and with mute interest she escapes her brothers and her own, nanny's attention to seek the adults. Why are they so entrenched, so serious, so full with concern? She wonders. There is her guardian, the man she cannot call father. She does not know who her father is. Nobody has told her, nobody wants to tell her.
Little Elizabeth peers closer through the keyhole but she can barely see. She then puts her ear against the wall, now she can hear everything. She is lucky the walls are not too thick like the adults' heads.
She briefly turned to see if there wasn't someone looking for her. To her great confusion they were not. Sad, she found it that no one paid attention or asked about her whereabouts, but fortunate because finding she was gone would mean another scolding from her lord.
Then the voices she heard in her lord and guardian's study brought her ear closer to the door. Then it swung open, and all she could think of was drop to the floor and scramble under the table in the next room. Ironically that is where all the adults went. It was dark under there, and strange to be hiding on the cold stone floor alone -again. Normally she would love the game of hide and seek, but this was no game, no one was looking out for Elizabeth.
The Duke of Bavaria began to speak, she went unnoticed as usual. For the first time Elizabeth saw the look of concern on her Auntie Bessie's graceful features.
"Why she cannot come? The Lady Seymour will provide for a good home for both your children and your ward while you are gon-"
He held a hand and she became silent. Elizabeth's eyes now focused on her guardian. "She will not go anywhere." his decision was final. "As for my ward, she will not see a life of luxuries and pleasures she is to see if I send her to Lady Seymour."
"She is not happy here" It was not a question. And Elizabeth nodded, even if no one could see her or ask for her opinion. Her uncle wore a pretty blue gown with gold embroidery and a square neck, she was the wealthiest lady she had ever come to know, and along with Kate, the nicest.
Her Aunt continued to insist, her stoic presence a constant that often intimidated him. "I will not let a child be left in a house where she is ill spoken of. Lady Seymour has seen her intellect and seeks to create a haven for learning -for girls- such as she."
Philip shook his head vigorously and very firmly now he said now, with his hands turning into fists "No"
"But-"
"I said no and my decision is final Lady Elizabeth."
"Be careful Philip you forget who you speak to. I am the lion's cub and I have my father's heart. If I want to I can go straight to my brother and request him she be transferred to my custody or with the Seymours" Her Aunt yelled, and Elizabeth gasped but soon covered her mouth hoping they had not heard her. Thankfully they did not as they continued arguing.
She could not believe her Aunt. Sure, she had a temperament, she was widely known for that, but she was also known as "Sister temperance" by her uncle. Never had Elizabeth seen her this angry.
Her sister's last answer as her guardian's surprised her.
"It was what her mother, my sister, would have wanted. How longer is this treatment going to last? Do you hate Mary so much that you seek revenge on her by taking it against an innocent child? Spare me your commentaries of right and wrong Philip, we both know why you are doing this!"
"She does not leave this house, I will make sure that as long as I live she knows nothing but the misery her mother caused me when she fucked her father!" Philip barked and kicked his desk and that is when Elizabeth was discovered.
"How in the he-"
Elizabeth ran off before he could take her, she did not hear her Aunt's pleas or his angry screams, she locked herself in her bedroom and took her mother's "Angel of Wales" pendant and using it as a rosary (as they were forbidden by her uncle) she began to pray.
Elizabeth woke up from her nightmare. She had not been sleeping, but she had been dozing off after reading the English bible for what must have been the twelfth time in a day! She was bored, very bored with her never changing life. Just recently she had been appointed a lady in waiting to Queen Mary, her brother's wife who had blessed him with two beautiful Princesses, something the Kingdom rejoiced. But they would rejoice more if he had given them sons instead of two baby girls! She kicked the stool causing the bible and other books there to fall. All of which she had already read.
The chambers she had been given were not that big, and not worthy of the King's sister, but she was a bastard what more could she have expected? She was lucky that her brother had allowed her to be his wife's lady in waiting. And why would he not? When he was completely besotted with Mary Seymour. It was ridiculous. How people could be torn and manipulated so easily by one single emotion: Love.
It was an emotion Elizabeth detested. What good had it done for her? It had deprived her of a mother and father. When her mother was charged with adultery many lovers were forced under torture, and threats to their families and fear of their lands being taken, to confess that they had known her mother before her marriage to the Duke of Bavaria. Ha! As if her mother would be some kind of common whore! Half of those stories had changed and become more outrageous as time went by. Elizabeth no longer knew which to believe until she had found a letter hidden by one of her mother's former ladies in waiting, Jane Dormer.
She had asked Lady Dormer if the contents in the letter were true or fabricated. Some kind of sick joke, she wanted to think. She had always held the belief that her mother was not some whore, and deep down she was really Philip's daughter no matter how hard he denied it. She had even acquired the artistic ability to draw and sketch the many similarities she found between them after long hours of staring at his beloved favorite, Henry. What a disappointment it was when she found out that her mother had been what everyone was saying: a whore, an adulterer, a home wrecker. She had cried for days refusing to come from her bedroom in spite of Philip banging on her door and punishing her for three days without food, surviving only on bread and water as if it was lent.
Jane had explained that her mother was not the saint she wanted to be, but that she was neither a whore and that she and her father loved each other very much. If that was so -she had asked -why leave me and take my sister? Why pretend Henry is the rightful heir? Why did the golden boy have to be lavished with gifts and praised by the Queen Dowager, while she, the "bastard", had to be looked down upon by every member of court, including the Queen -who -God rest her soul- never, much as she tried, grew fond of her. Every time Katherine Howard saw Elizabeth she would see a trace of Mary. Elizabeth had been too young then to comprehend the situation, when at the tender age of four she had run up to the Queen Dowager to be hugged like Henry and Philip were, when the Queen seeing the little girl with the big dark gray eyes running to her, jumped back in fright and told Lady Seymour to take her.
It was the first time that Elizabeth learned what it was to be a bastard, it was the first time that she learned what she was and what she would never have: love.
There were many instances where she wanted to push Henry, to tell Philip who hated his brother that he was a bastard and not worthy of those titles, but every time she was about to, there was a small voice in her mind -her conscience she guessed, that stopped her from doing so.
Someday though, she vowed she would be as great as her brother and as great as their great ancestor, Isabel of Castilla. Someday.
She went to pick up the fallen books and the stool. It was not a hard work, she could carry very heavy things from the tasks she had been used to while in Hundson. Of the many things that changed, she was only glad of three. First that Kitty was dead and no longer she would have to hear her hawkish laughter praising Henry for every little thing he did that was considered an "accomplishment". Second that Edward VI was gone, she never agreed with the way he had governed, or rather let other govern for him. He was a big aloof fool, the only eyes he had were for books more than for women and his people. Last but not the least was death of Thomas Cranmer at the stake by her late half brother Philip. How she had enjoyed when she had been allowed by her half sibling to attend the burning. How the flames had danced around the man's body, she could not bare to hear anymore words praising his religion and his works, but she got her wish granted when the flames began to consumed the top of him and soon his screams turned to silence as the rest of his body turned to dust.
"Busy?" A voice from behind interrupted her thoughts.
"Your Majesty" she curtsied bowing her head low.
Mary Seymour laughed at the young lady in waiting. She knew all about Henry's secret, Jane Dormer's letter having reached her thanks to being a curious child at the time of her mother working for Henry's "father". She had kept the letter though a secret, and after snatching it from Elizabeth's bedroom she had kept it with her. She did not want to burn it because she felt that the day might have to come when Henry would have to learn the truth about his parentage. She did not want to put his kingdom in jeopardy, but living in ignorance was not an option for Henry nor believing himself higher than little Bess whom she was very fond of.
"Rise now, we have known each other for ages Bess."
Elizabeth acknowledged nodding very slightly, her eyes still glued to the floor.
"Come on sit next to me"
Without a word she followed her best friend and Queen's command.
"So how are you finding court life?" Mary inquired very interested in what her friend had to say about Henry's new court. "Don't you think is more merry and less dull than Philip's? He is very grumpy because I invited Jane Grey, you know the Queen Dowager to be one of my ladies in waiting and guests of honor. He considers her a nobody, as much of the court. But I know better, she is just a woman like you and me, hungry for knowledge, change ... love"
At this last work Elizabeth lifted her eyes from the floor and locked glances with Mary.
"What do you mean by that?" She asked back with her arms folded across her chest, much in the same manner -Mary saw- as her husband did when he was annoyed.
"Don't think I have not seen from your diet of books that you yearn for everyone's acceptance. You have lived with your Aunt since the Duke's death, and I know that I am the only one besides yourself and Jane Dormer to know the truth about your parentage and Henry's. It does not surprise me that when your Aunt looked after you and her lady, Kat Ashley spoke of Arthurian romances, you always opened your eyes wide as an owl. Face it Elizabeth you are no different than any woman who has come to court"
"No, you are wrong Your Majesty." She said her dark gray eyes, the only thing she had left of her mother's besides the angel of wales pendant her grandma gave her, that she had been allowed to keep. "I am very different, and I will never, ever fall in love"
"Never say never, it may happen when and with who you least expect it"
"I can tell you now Mary that I will never fall in love. Never and that is final. You can live a fairy tale with Henry and your Princesses, but who would ever want me? And would I be happy as you in a marriage arranged to some baron of low station, when we both know that as a daughter of the blood I deserve higher than any lady of court?"
Mary opened her mouth but Elizabeth interrupted her again.
"No Mary I can tell you now. Elizabeth Fitztudor will never have any master, and if I ever marry or I am forced to it will be a great misfortune for me"
Elizabeth rose and thanked Mary for her visit and then returned to her bedroom that she shared with another lady in waiting. She knew the reason behind Mary's visit which had been anything but social. Henry wanted to dispose of her as soon as possible, and what better way than marrying her off to some lowly baron or some member in parliament to buy his silence or get his favor? She was aware of her physical attributes and with her friendship with Mary and her Aunt (the power many suspected behind her brother) a lowly member of parliament or of the nobility would consider her a prize.
A/N: I know, I know long wait, more than a week it has been. But with the fall semester and taking on more classes it has been hectic to say the least, however most of the classes I am taking help me understand better of the period I am writing for my stories, and know the background of my characters better.
Only two chapters left, so stay tuned.
To answer to unnamed visitor: I enjoy your long reviews, long reviews are the best! as always. You will see more Chapuys and Mary in the next chapters, and their son becomes very important in the upcoming chapter as we do a time jump. Thanks again for your review.
Fact vs Fiction:
*Marie of Guise was James V, second wife. His first wife being Princess Magdalene otherwise known affectionately as "Magda" by her loved ones, of France. She died in 1538 very young at the age of eighteen and with no heir to give the Scottish crown who was like Henry VIII in the same predicament and without male heir, married another French, this time a noble whose family became very prominent when Mary Queen of Scots came to France to be raised in Henri II and his mistress (Diane of Poiters) court for her future husband, Francis II. Marie of Guise became regent after James V was defeated in the second Scottish uprising against the English in 1542. She did give many headaches to English monarchs going back to Henry VIII and ending with Elizabeth I.
*Fox is a real character who was a staunchly, extremely fanatical evangelical preacher who was instrumental in Marie of Guise demise and that of her daughter -Mary, Queen of Scots after she came back to Scotland following the death of her husband Francis II.
Mary Stewart was a great enemy of Elizabeth, after all you know the phrase this world is too small for the two of us, she will give as well headaches to Henry IX, and I hope you do not think too OC of real people, I will elaborate them in case more on them in the last chapters, and that you liked Mary Seymour and Bess, or the development there of.
With nothing more to say, you know the drill!
REVIEW!
~VXLP
