Disclaimer: I do not own The Tudors.
Chapter 1 – A New Beginning
Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, walked through the halls of Hampton Court, nodding to those who bowed and moved out of his way. He was on his way to attend the King, for Henry never let Charles stray far. He was about to enter the presence chamber when he heard voices, speaking low and in secret..
"Queen Anne's place, and subsequently ours, will never be secure until Katherine and her daughter are taken out of the picture." One voice said.
"I do not believe we need to fear overly. The King has sent Katherine from court and her daughter is hidden away in the Welsh marches and has not been seen in some years." Said a second.
"Hidden in Wales, yes, but hidden at the historical seat of the heir to the throne. She still rules there as Princess of Wales!"
"But with Katherine gone-"
"And how long can that last? All of England knows is as fickle as the weather. No, better that they were gone, and Anne have no obstacle to the throne." Charles could not believe what he was hearing. They were planning to kill not only the Queen, but the Princess Mary as well! He entered the presence chamber, giving no sign that he had heard anything untoward, and approached the King with a bow. Once he was given leave to stand, he came even closer and asked the King for a private audience. The King granted him, leading him into the anti-chamber.
"Your Majesty, I fear I must bring you unpleasant news." Henry cocked his eyebrow in question. "On my way here this day, I heard men speaking of a plot against the Dowager Princess." Henry did not seem overly concerned. "And against the Lady Mary." He forced himself to call her lady instead of princess as he truly wanted. Hearing his daughter's name Henry's head snapped up. Charles had his undivided attention.
"And what was this plot against our daughter?"
"They spoke of eliminating them both and leaving the path to the throne clear for Queen Anne." Charles wasn't entirely sure why he told the whole truth, knowing as he did of Henry's temper where Anne was concerned, but he supposed he wanted to see if the King still cared for his wife and daughter enough to take this seriously.
"And I suppose it was her father or brother or uncle plotting against us." Charles was glad to hear that a plot against Henry's daughter, if not his wife, as Katherine still was in Charles' mind, was a plot against the King.
"Nay, I did not recognize the voices, but they are, no doubt, supporters of Anne's. And while there is nothing wrong with supporting her," Charles made sure to say, "There is with the way they wish to go about it." Henry nodded in acceptance, but Charles could see that it still did not hit home.
"Henry," said Charles, a pleading tone in his voice. "You cannot deny that some supporters of Queen Anne are dangerous. Men who openly support the Dowager Princess and denounce Anne have been poisoned. Two others, who have made no secret of their dislike of the Lady were found dead just yesterday. While it might not be the lady herself or her family who are doing the plotting, there are others who do it in their name; who would see eliminating the Dowager Princess and Lady Mary as the ultimate goal."
Henry said nothing but nodded and lapsed into deep thought.
oo00oo00oo
With all the dignity of a princess, which she was born and raised to be, and which her father's mistress wanted to take from her, Mary threw the letter from her father into the fire. This was the third such missive and she knew her father who was also her king, would not be pleased that she had been blatantly ignoring him. However, ignore him she did for she knew that the letters, while written by his secretary's hand, were dictated by the Great Whore and her family. As her mother before her, Mary would not yield to one such as Anne Boleyn.
oo00oo00oo
"The Lady Mary has once again sent no reply to Your Majesty's letter." Said Cromwell at a meeting of the Privy Council. Henry gritted his teeth as he thought of his daughter and her continued defiance.
"Your Majesty, surely now something must be done." Said Thomas Boleyn, Lord Wiltshire. "This is the third time she has defied you."
"I know how many times she has defied me, Lord Wiltshire, and need no reminder from you or anyone." Henry spoke. Ever since he began proceedings to divorce Katherine, his daughter had become a sore spot with him. He could not allow her to retain her title of princess, nor show her favour so long as both she and Katherine continued to defy him. However, he still loved his daughter and wanted what was best for her.
"Perhaps we should send someone to take care of her." Said George Boleyn, Lord Rochford. Henry's head snapped in his brother-in-law's direction. He did not like the way Lord Rochford had spoken.
"And what would you suggest, Lord Rochford?" asked Henry with a dangerous tone. "How do you suppose we 'take care of her'? She responds not to direct orders from her father and king, nor to being stripped of her title and the accompanying lands and monies. What would you have me do? Send my daughter, my own flesh and blood, to the Tower? Or the block?" George's face transformed into one of remorseful caution.
"Your Majesty, I did not mean to suggest anything so drastic, merely that something must be done."
"I know exactly what you meant, my Lord, and I like it not." George and Thomas looked to each other, both knowing they were on dangerous ground and not liking the reason for it. "Need I remind you, that while Mary is my daughter, she is also Katherine's? As it is, we stand on the brink of war with Spain, as well as with Rome itself. Their forces would see the death of many Englishmen, and together they would overrun England in a matter of months. How do you think the Holy Roman Emperor, Katherine's nephew, would react to the death of his cousin, or for that matter his aunt?" Neither George nor Thomas had an answer, though they knew none was needed.
"No, Mary's death would gain us nothing, and lose us much. Nor would I ever put my child to death." He stared at both Boleyn's with his most kingly glare. "And should any harm come to her, no one will be above suspicion." He held his glare until both Boleyn's grew visibly uncomfortable.
"If I might make a suggestion, Your Majesty?" asked Cromwell, treading carefully. Henry nodded. "Perhaps a marriage to one of Your Majesty's trusted friends would solve this problem. Her husband could take her in hand and curb her defiance, while ensuring her safety." He added hastily. Wiltshire immediately latched on to that idea, liking the possible outcomes.
"Yes, an excellent idea Mr. Cromwell. George would be more then willing to fulfill this duty, Your Majesty. The Lady Mary would-"
"Your son is promised to Jane Parker, an advantageous match that we desire greatly." Interrupted Henry. There was no way he was going to allow a Boleyn to get their hands on his daughter. "But the idea has merit. We will think on it and reveal our decision on the morrow." The King stood and the councillors sprang up as well, before bowing and filing out, having obviously been dismissed.
"Charles, stay." Said Henry to his oldest friend. Charles turned and stepped to the side, allowing the others to exit. Henry also dismissed Cromwell before leading Charles into the anti-chamber and pouring them glasses of wine.
"What did you think of all that?" Henry asked.
"Your Majesty-"
"No, Henry. I ask not as your King, but as your friend. I want the truth, Charles. Even if you think I won't like it." Charles sat opposite Henry and took a sip of wine before speaking.
"I think the Boleyns are planning something for your daughter. She's a threat to them, one they want eliminated so the children Anne bears you will have no competitor to the throne." Henry nodded, having known that already. "I also think your insistence that she not be harmed will go a long way to rein them in, for the time being, and will also pacify the people, and the Holy Roman Emperor. You were right that he wouldn't take kindly to the death of his cousin or aunt. It would start a war, one that at the present time, we cannot hope to win." Again Henry nodded.
"The people have not warmed up to Anne yet." Said Henry. "They still hold Katherine, and Mary, dear to their hearts." Henry noticed Charles stiffen. "I do have eyes and ears, Charles. I know what is said and thought about Anne. I also know that given the chance, she will prove to them to be a worthy Queen. They just need time." Charles settled for nodding. He did not agree with Henry at all. He believed, and rightly so, that the people would never revere Anne as they did Katherine. However there were some things you just didn't say to a King.
"What think you of marrying my daughter off to force her compliance?"
"I think the idea has merit." Charles admitted. "However, you would have to think long and hard and choose very carefully who her husband would be. Should she land in the hands of a Boleyn, or one of their friends, or someone they can buy or threaten, she would be in even greater danger than she is now."
"Which is why I have already reached my decision. I do not have to think long or hard about whom to give her to. There is only one man I'd trust to keep her safe. And to force her compliance." He added as an afterthought. Charles was glad Henry's primary concern was his daughter's safety. "That man is you, Charles." Charles stiffened, wondering if he heard correctly. Once he was sure he did, he kicked himself for not realizing this was Henry's intention from the beginning. Asking him to stay, asking for his truthful opinion, confiding in him. Something was up, yet Charles had not seen it immediately.
"Are you quite sure, Your Majesty?" he asked. "I was your daughter's uncle, after all." Charles hated bringing up Margaret with Henry for it was a sore spot between them. However, he needed to remind him that the last time he joined the royal family it didn't go over too well.
"Yes. You're my oldest friend, Charles. I trust no one more then you. I know you will never betray me." Henry resolutely ignored the subject of Margaret. Both men stared at each other for a moment, the silence reigning, until Charles spoke.
"If that is what Your Majesty desires, I shall of course, be happy to comply." Henry smiled and seeing that things had turned away from the seriousness and back into the playful, yet respectful, nature of their friendship Charles couldn't help adding, "Only I beg of you, do not make me call you father." Henry let out a booming laugh before standing and leading the way out of the anti-chamber.
"You will ride to Ludlow Castle immediately and collect your bride. I shall inform the Privy Council of my decision tomorrow, after you've gone." Charles nodded. "I will send with you a letter, also informing my daughter of my decision."
"What if she treats that letter like the last three?" Charles couldn't help asking. Henry stopped in his tracks, the laughter gone from his face. He seemed to be thinking carefully, before forming a response.
"Do what you must. You are not only to protect her, but also to force her co-operation. She is to be your wife, take her in hand if need be." Charles nodded, knowing that response came from the King and not the father. It was clear that while Henry would not stand for his daughter being unduly harmed, he would also not stand for her continued disobedience, and he truly believed that Charles would have to take his bride in hand.
oo00oo00oo
"His Grace, the Duke of Suffolk." Announced one of Mary's ladies, one of the few who remained when her father cut off her income and she could no longer pay them. Mary looked up as the Duke entered and was glad that he was the one her father had sent. The Duke had always been kind to her.
"Your Grace." Said Mary, making a show of putting her book aside and rising. Whether the Duke had been kind to her or not, her father had still sent him for reasons Mary cared not for.
"My Lady." He gave her a short bow and then took out the letter the King had written, handing it over though he explained what it contained.
"His Majesty has sent me to entreat you to see reason. He asks that you return to court, where he shall see you married-"
"Married?!" she exclaimed raising her eyes from the letter to look at the Duke.
"Has my father, the King, resorted to marrying me off in hopes that a husband will be able to force me to acknowledge that his marriage to my mother, the Queen, is invalid, and therefore I am not a princess, but as bastard? That the Great Whore is Queen in my mother's place? For I assure you, Your Grace, that no husband will succeed where my father and King has failed." She held the letter out to him, effectively dismissing him. However, instead of taking it and leaving, Charles' face grew hard at this little slip of a woman's continued defiance.
"In that case, His Majesty has commanded me to remove you forcibly from Ludlow and bring you to him at court."
"You would not dare touch me. Princess or no I am still the King's daughter." Her face grew just as cold as his, though he noted that she was completely in control of her emotions where he was beginning to lose control of his.
"And you are to be my wife." He said and watched as Mary's eyes widened, though that was the only outward sign of surprise. "Had you read the entire letter, or allowed me to finish speaking, you would have seen that the King has commanded we marry, thus the reason he sent me here." He took a few steps towards her and noticed as he approached that she was tiny in both stature and girth. He towered over her by more then a head. "My Lady, allow me to make this quite plain. If I have to throw you over my shoulder, carry you to my horse, and ride with you the entire way to London, I shall do so."
"You wouldn't dare." She all but breathed.
"Would you care to test that?" he asked. "Your father has given you to me, and you may rest assured, my Lady Mary, that your disobedience ends now. I will not tolerate it." When she said nothing he smiled slightly and left her side, calling for a servant and ordered her to begin preparations for the Lady Mary's departure. He ordered her to pack everything the Lady herself would need for the journey to London first and then to send the rest to his home in Suffolk. Mary watched as her household obeyed the man who would, if he and the King had anything to say about it, soon be her husband. Once Charles was assured that his orders were being followed, he returned to Mary whom he saw had read through the letter and looked confused and unsure.
"Now, my Lady, will you be coming willingly, or shall I be throwing you over my shoulder?" Mary looked like she wanted to argue for a moment, but decided to bow her head in submission. She knew she couldn't avoid her father, her King, for forever, and the Duke obviously would not be denied.
"Excellent." He said seeing her acquiescence. "I'm sure you will wish to change for the ride to London. We leave as soon as you are packed."
The ride to London was shorter than she remembered. Granted whenever Mary had traveled between London and Ludlow she took with her her entire household and anything a princess could possibly need or want. Now she traveled with anything her maid could shove into a couple saddlebags; and she traveled alone with the Duke. They rode hard and the usual week long journey turned into three days. They stopped at noble houses along the way and while the occupants were happy to welcome the Duke of Suffolk, they were a little weary of Mary as they were unsure where she stood in the King's graces. When the Duke informed them that he was bringing her to London on the King's orders and that they were to be married, with the King's blessing, the nobles' demeanour changed and they welcomed Mary as well; Charles could see that many of them were thankful that they could openly show deference and affection for their princess. When they arrived in London, Mary was greeted by one of the Anne's own ladies and said that she had been assigned to her until after the wedding. The lady in question was Jane Parker, soon to be Lady Rochford. Jane was kind and endearing towards the younger woman and took her under her wing for the following days, often never leaving her side. However, there was one place that Jane could not follow Mary.
"The Lady Mary Tudor." Announced a page as Mary entered the anti-chamber off the throne room. She had been given new clothes, the first in a couple years, and was thankful that looking the part of a princess allowed her to hide behind her royal persona when she met with the King. She was also thankful that this meeting was between her and her father, without Anne in sight. Mary had no doubt that when she met Anne it would be with the Great Whore seated on her mother's throne, playing at being queen. Mary sank into a deep curtsey before the King and remained there until given leave to rise. Henry stared at his daughter and could not believe this woman was his child, for she was a child no longer. At seventeen years, she had grown into a beautiful young woman who reminded him greatly of her mother when Catalina had first come from Spain.
"Mary." He breathed and reached down, taking her hands and raising her up. She kept her eyes down with a respectful murmur of 'Your Majesty.' He cupped her face and turned it upwards to look at him.
"Father." He said, looking into eyes so like his own, the only part of her she seemed to have inherited from him.
"Yes. Father." She said quietly. He looked down into her eyes, noting that she was a full head shorter then him, definitely taking after her mother. Her short stature, while a slight hindrance to one as tall as him, and her new husband Charles, who matched the King in height, was by no means a point against her beauty. In fact, he noted, her small size added an aspect of vulnerability to her, which he knew Charles would pick up on. While his daughter was fully equipped to deal with those around her, her size and delicate features would force Charles to be extra careful with her safety; a fact Henry was pleased with. Henry kissed her forehead then led her to a seat at the table and poured them wine.
"I want you to know, that no one shall harm you, in any manner, from this point forward." Henry had not meant to begun with that, nor had he even intended to say it at all, however seeing his child for the first time in years brought up feelings he had forgotten he had. "Upon your marriage, we shall also accept your husband's signature in place of yours on the documents you refused to sign." Mary hung her head, outwardly properly chastised. Inwardly she was wondering what game her father played for he had just handed her a free pass in regards to those atrocious documents. She would not have to sign, not have to give up anything before God, even if by law she had done so by way of her husband. For Mary, who feared much more for her immortal soul then her Earthly body, this meant the world. "Upon your marriage we shall also confer on you and Charles the style of Royal Highness." Another spur of the moment decision. Seeing Mary now he could not conceive, for whatever reason, not hearing her addressed as 'Her Royal Highness.' Somehow seeing her addressed merely as 'my Lady' was an affront to her, and by extension to him as her father. This was, for now, his only child and though she was no longer a princess, she would be treated as his beloved pearl, as she had been since birth; those feelings he'd forgotten about were much stronger than he thought. "While you are no longer a princess by right of succession, you are royal by right of blood, and by extension your husband as well. You both shall be known as Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk." He leaned forward and grasped her hand. "Forgive me, for while I decree you royal, I cannot call you princess." Mary simply nodded and they both looked at each other, both wondering why he asked for forgiveness and why he even bothered with excuses.
"The wedding shall take place in but a few days. The sooner you are married, the sooner you shall be safe." Mary looked at him inquisitively but he didn't elaborate. He would not tell his daughter about the threats against her, nor would he admit the pains he took to protect her. They spoke for awhile, starting to regain the bond of father and daughter, but after about an hour they were interrupted by the opening of the door, without any warning. Henry looked up ready to thrash the person who disturbed them, however stopped when it was Anne who walked into the room. She wore a smile, though her eyes betrayed her dislike of Mary, and the cozy scene she had walked in on.
"I'm sorry but I could not wait to greet her." She said. Both Henry and Mary rose and Mary schooled her features into a neutral expression as her father greeted Anne. When they turned to her, Mary all but bobbed a small curtsey and muttered 'madam.'
"Mary. It is wonderful to finally meet you." Anne said grasping the younger woman's hands. "I just know we shall get along splendidly!" Mary said nothing and Anne dropped her hands and went to sit down, making a show of her pregnancy and placing a hand on her swollen belly. "I have nearly everything prepared for the wedding, so you need not worry about a thing. It will be a small affair, as is fitting for the King's illegitimate child, but it will be splendid nevertheless." Mary stiffened at Anne's words and Henry's expression darkened.
"She may not be a legitimate child by right of succession, but she is still my daughter." He said. "And you will do well to remember that." The King was obviously not pleased with Anne and Mary took it as her cue to leave. She thank her father and made to curtsey before him, but instead he grasped her hands and pulled her to him, holding her close and kissing her forehead before sending her on her way with Anne completely forgotten.
A/N - This is a combination of an old story I wrote several years ago and additional new stuff as well. It is based on the premise that Henry has much stronger paternal instincts, and feelings, then he actually did.
I tried to stay true to the history with things like titles and styles but there will be things that are incorrect, so please remember that this is a fanfiction and be kind.
Review please!