Chapter II

January 24th 1536

Charles Brandon had never considered himself an impatient man. In fact, compared to his king, he could claim to be the calmest man at Court. However, the looks the king had been sending towards his daughter had already caught the attention of the kings wife, Queen Anne, and it had put his beautiful daughter in danger. She was oblivious of the kings attention, preferring to stay alone in their shared quarters sewing or out in the gardens with a book in her hands, but he was not willing to risk his childs safety. Which was why he had requested an immediate leave from Court, not wanting to let his daughter spent much time there.

"The Duke of Suffolk, Your Majesty" The crier announced him, before letting him in and disappearing behind the door.

He walked inside Henry's office to see him writing in an old parchment with as much earnest as when he was younger and trying to impress one of his mother's ladies. He sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk and waited for his friend to be finished.

"My friend, I heard you are planning on leaving today, is it true?" Henry said, leaving the letter on the side, and looking curiously at him.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I would like to have all my children together at home soon" Charles explained. He saw the look on his friend's eyes and realized his intentions "My daughter, Alice, is impatient to finally meet her siblings"

"Oh, yes. Lady Alice... How is she? Is she accommodating alright?" He asked in what he prayed was a nonchalant way but by his friend's tense body, failed completely. The only times he'd seen the girl in the two days she'd been in the castle, she was sitting in the closest bench to her newly found favourite flowers of the garden reading, and if he was honest with himself, those had not been enough times, he had yet to talk to her since that very first day.

"She's alright, excited to be going home" Charles answered him, with a raised brow "She's found real happiness in the gardens. I'm sure she will miss it once we leave"

"Oh... Is she not returning with you?" The king asked in surprise. He'd thought that since Alice was not married yet, his friend would bring her back to Court to start looking for prospects; and maybe, he would be willing to let him court his daughter.

His relationship with his wife was deteriorated to the point of no return, thanks to her inability to give him his long-awaited heir. He and his council had been looking for ways to end the marriage without making it seemed as if he'd been wrong all along, if her current pregnancy ended in another miscarriage or if the babe turned out to be another girl; and once everything was done, he would need a new wife. He'd been fooling around with a few of the ladies in his wife's company for years, and he thought he'd finally found love with one of them, Lady Jane. However, since the arrival of his friend's daughter, he'd found himself unable to be in the presence of his queen or his mistress. His mind would always go back to the beautiful Lady Alice and his sweet smile, and the way she laughed to all of the pranks made by the court's children. The image of her sitting on the gardens caressing the petals of some of his flowers was permanently suck in his mind. He had a lot to think about.

"No, Your Majesty. She wishes to stay and take care of little Henry, given that his governess had recently died" He explained, watching a shadow passed over his friend's face.

And that was the honest truth. He had received a letter from Lord Brent, the officer he had left in charge of his household, begging him to came back from Court and sort his affairs there after the passage of Lady Wrangell, his son's caretaker. Two of his daughters were already married and with children of their own and his other two had recently gotten married, and even though they were spending a few weeks in Suffolk to welcome their stranded sister, they had no duty towards there months old brother.

However, after informing his Alice of the situation, his daughter had demanded to let her take care of her brother. He knew the exact reason why she had offered herself: she felt guilty about all the brothers she had never got a chance to meet before they had been taken away by God. He had seen her with the children of the courtiers, she had been the talk between the Queen's ladies for her sweet and caring attitude towards their sons and daughter. Apparently, the children had nothing but praises for his daughter. Although, he appreciated some of the comments made, he would had never refused his daughter's wish. If he couldn't trust her with her own brother, all hopes of a united family that he'd had for years would be in vain. It also helped that she would be far away from Court and the king's attention.

"Couldn't you just name another governess?" The king asked with the petulance of a small child, as he crossed his arms over his chest. He couldn't try to pursue her if she was not at Court with her father. He could, of course, do it through letters but he'd done that with Anne, and his heart didn't allow him do it again, Lady Alice deserved better than that.

Before they could continue their conversation, the door of the office opened and the crier exclaimed, out of breath "Your Majesty, Your Grace, the Lady Alice is hurt. Sir Anthony had sent for you, Your Grace"

For the first time in a long time, both men agreed in something. They raised in unison, with the same terrified looks on their faces, and ran out of the room without letting the poor man say anything else. The lords and ladies in the halls were stunned to see two of the most powerful man at Court rushing past them, forgetting about what was prim and proper. They arrived in time to see the Anthony Knivert pacing in front of the closed door of the Duke's quarters. The young knight had his hands on his head while muttering something unintelligible to the other man in the hall, Sir Francis Bryan, who was sitting on the floor next to the door and had small smirk on his face. They both stood straight at the sight of their King and his friends.

"Where is she?" Charles exclaimed, stopping any courtesy the two men could do. He didn't have time for his friend's ego to be inflated while his daughter was injured.

The man signalled to the quarter's door, at the same time it opened and let the physician walked out. The old man seemed startled to see the three knights in front of him, and more so because the very same King of England was there with a worried look in his eyes.

"How is she? What happened?" Charles interrupted once again the physician's try to bow in his haste to know about his daughter. The king didn't seem to mind the lack of courtesy, and was waiting anxiously for an answer.

"Lady Alice is well. She has a bump on her head and a small cut on her forehead. She feels dizzy which is normal and nothing that a few hours of rest can't fix" He explained and was quickly dismissed, while the four men walked inside the room and found Alice sat on the armchair closest to the window, with her eyes closed, in a simple but comfortable light blue dress.

"Is Her Majesty alright?" She asked in a whispered, a terrible headache stopping her from speaking louder. She opened her eyes to looked at his father, although she stopped for a moment to bow her head slowly to the king.

Her feelings towards King Henry were mixed. On one side, she found him enchanting. With his fit appearance, his beautiful smile and his friendly nature towards her, she could imagine herself falling completely in love with him. However, his current marriage and his attitude towards his own family made her want to stay as far away from him as possible.

He had basically discarded his lawful wife of more than twenty years, and their daughter, because Anne had bewitched him and he, as a mere mortal, had fallen for her carnal promises. She and his poorly chosen inner circle had changed the whole course of the country by making him separate from Rome, and inflating his ego more by giving him more power that was healthy for an already powerful king, without thinking about all the consequences that it would have in a few years. More so, when he had always declared himself as a devout Christian, and was named Defender of the Faith because of it.

The Emperor had never been afraid to talk to his wife about the problems in Europe that the Protestant and the English Reformation were causing. However, what had worried him the most had been the fates of his aunt and cousin. His aunt, Catherine, had died a few weeks ago after been isolated from the world and separated from her daughter for more than two years; after all the good deeds she had done for the king and his country as queen, she had died disowned and alone. It was not fair. Mary, his cousin, was ill most of the time and the few moments she was not, she was force to serve her half-sister, Princess Elisabeth, as if she was a commoner and not the daughter and granddaughter of kings and queens. The Emperor suspected, as she did, that Lady Mary would find her end sooner than she should, after her mother's death.

"Her Majesty? Why would she be anything but alright?" Henry asked her, stepping in front of Charles and breaking the silent eye battle between father and daughter.

"The children were not looking while playing. They didn't see Her Majesty and I talking in the gardens. I had to push her out of the way or she could have gotten hurt when they came running towards us" She explained, softly, after a small pause and a quick look to the two gentlemen standing behind the king and her father

"Queen Anne is alright. She is resting her quarters now" Sir Anthony replied to her previous question, knowing well that the girl was lying to His Majesty.

The children had been playing on the other side of the garden and hadn't got closer to them in any moment. Queen Anne, on the other hand, had been bluntly arguing with the sweet Lady Alice, who had not even raised her eyes from the red flower in her hand, a red anemone, and when the young girl had given step close to her and said something in a low voice, she had pushed her awat. The girl had hit her head against the corner of one of the nearby benches and started bleeding from the head, the Queen and Nan Seville had hurried inside the castle leaving her unconscious and alone. He had been talking with Sir Francis near one of the fountains and had seen the whole thing. When they had noticed the blood covering the floor, they had picked her up and brought her to her quarters, calling for a physician on their way there. Neither him or Lord Francis understood her reasoning for lying when she could gain a lot more by simply telling the truth. Anne had made a lot of enemies inside the Court, who would support any claims against the queen, just for the pleassure of seeing her been brought down of her high horse.

"I'll talk to Anne about being more careful. Now that she is with child, she must remain inside the castle" Henry told her, taking her hand in his "Are you really alright, my lady?"

"Of course, Your Majesty. I just wish to rest for a while before going to Greenwich Palace for the tournament" She said, closing her eyes slightly.

"Of course, my lady. We'll leave you to rest" He said, standing up and indicating for the other man, except Charles, to leave "According to your father, this is your first jousting tournament, so I'll make sure to save you and your father one of the best seats we have to offer. Rest well, Lady Alice"