Anne Boleyn's stomach tied up into knots when her Lady in Waiting Madge, timidly announced that the Duke of Suffolk was in her Chambers and requesting to speak with her. The fact of the matter was that Charles Brandon made her incredibly uneasy, definitely more so than some of her other enemies at Court, while Thomas Cromwell, Eustace Chapuys and the Seymours were all calculating and precise, the Duke was not. She found that she could never be quite certain as to his intentions or of his motives and while she knew that he wanted both Henry and England to be free of her, the ways in which he went about achieving said desire were rather inconsistent in both effort and tactic.
He was a conundrum in more ways than one, he was a supposed religious man whose strong morality apparently dictated that he could not just sit by and watch the 'outrageous' treatment of the former Queen Katherine and Lady Mary by Boleyns without hating them as monsters, but he could so easily put all of that aside in order to work with her family to serve his own self-interest, as he once had. And then there was of course, the other thing about him that unsettled her and that was the way he looked at her sometimes. Perhaps that was what unnerved her the most, the dark and intense, penetrating gaze that put a large uncomfortable knot in her chest.
Slowly rising from the cherry oak armchair she had been resting in, Anne gently placed her needlework on the nearest table beside her and took a deep breath readying herself for whatever lie ahead. With her chin raised proudly Anne walked with a steady stride passed the heavy curtains that separated her private bed Chambers from her common room and straight over to where the Duke stood in the center of the space.
Charles bowed slightly once he saw her "Your Majesty."
"Your Grace" Anne replied with an incline of her head "What brings you here?"
The Duke's dark blue eyes flickered around, making a quick study of the room and of her Ladies in Waiting as they worked quietly around her Chambers carrying out their daily duties, he pursed his lips "Your Majesty, might I request to speak with you privately?"
Anne frowned wary of being alone with a man who very obviously did not wish her well, however as he continued to stare down at her, she began to understand that he would not share his purpose for being there until they were indeed alone, sighing she motioned for her Ladies to leave them. The girls then filed neatly out of her Chambers, one by one. Once the door shut with a soft thud signaling that they were now alone, Charles suddenly seemed somewhat at a loss as to what to say.
Anne fiddled nervously with the two rings on her left hand, anxiously pulling the bands up her slender fingers, twirling them before pushing them back down, she repeated the action several times as she waited for him to end the silence that seemed to be stretching on, but when he continued to remain quiet, she finally huffed "Your Grace I assume you came here with a purpose"
His eyes snapped up to hers upon hearing the slight bite in her words, and something akin to anger flared in his expression. With a tightly clenched jaw he regarded her "I came to inform you that His Majesty will not be sharing your bed and company until further notice, as some distressing rumours have reached his ears and until he had gotten to the bottom of them, His Majesty would prefer to keep all informal interactions to a minimum"
Anne gaped at him, "I..I.. What?!"
"Some distressing rumours have reached the King's ears-"
"Ridiculous lies that you no doubt, brought to the King's attention and then strived to convince him that they were truths!" She spat at him, she honestly could not believe it, the fact that Henry could even entertain the idea that these horrid rumours were true was hurtful and dreadful enough, but that he had chosen Charles Brandon deliver the news to her, well that was truly the straw that broke that camel's back. Anne imagined the Duke had probably begged the King to let him be the one to distribute the news to the Queen he so loathed.
"I assure you Your Majesty, I had no part in these rumours" Charles said irritably "And perhaps Madam, if you had acted little bit more like the Queen you are supposed to be, the King would not be so quick as to believe them!"
Anne glared heatedly up at him "How dare you speak to me like that!" Taking a step forward, she pointed a long, slender finger at him "I am a Queen, the Queen of England no less, I am the Kings true wedded wife and I will not be spoken to like that by anyone, but most especially not by you!" The nerve of the man thinking that he could speak to her in that manner, however the fact that the Duke's words were eerily similar to something her brother George had recently said to her only served to further fuel her rage.
"And what do you mean by especially not me? Your Majesty" Charles spoke her title mockingly, and Anne fought the urge to strike him.
"You, who have made your distain for me oh so clear, you the man who constantly plots and schemes with my various enemies to have me removed from my position as Queen!"
Charles' eyes narrowed and there was a distinct edge to his words "Like you plotted and schemed to get there"
A deadly, calm fury swept over her and she curled her fingers into fists to keep them from shaking too violently, nostrils flared Anne replied "I will remind you one last time who you are talking to," She then took a further step towards him, eating up the space between them she looked down her nose at the Duke even though he stood almost a head taller than her "And may I also remind you Your Grace, that if it were not for my family and I, the King may never have forgiven you for marrying his sister, and you could very well be without a head right now"
Charles Brandon's growl was pure music to her ears.
"Your arrogance will be your downfall, I promise you that Suffolk." A smile crawled up upon Anne's face as she took in the venomous rage that gleamed brightly in his dark eyes.
"And you're a fool to make enemies with those now closest to the King"
"Make enemies? HA! You were my enemy long before I ever did you any wrong Charles" Anne then shrugged "The odd thing is I honestly liked you when we first met, and even then after. Before you achieved what you wanted from my family and then revealed whose side you were truly on"
Anne stared up at him with melancholy ghosting around her features, the effects of which made her looks take on a haunting beauty.
Charles' lips found hers unerringly, and she went ridged with shock, her entire body suddenly felt as though it was made from some kind of stone, a heavy, unyielding stone that made it near impossible for her to move. His lips pressed roughly over hers and tasted mildly of rich fruits making Anne wonder absentmindedly if he had been drinking wine before he came to deliver the King's news. It wasn't until Charles' tongue flickered along her bottom lip that she responded in any way, the light touch sending lightening sparks of heat to shoot rapidly down her limbs, she shut her eyes and slowly parted her lips allowing him to slip inside her mouth. Anne's knees then went weak with the first caressed of his tongue to hers, but Charles grabbed her upper arms before she could fall. His kisses were so different to Henry's, the King's kisses were passionate, unyielding and demanding, while Charles' kisses were skilled, practiced, intoxicating and made her feel an embarrassingly large burst of delight and desire.
He then pulled her roughly up against him, pressing her firmly along his body from shoulder to thigh. Heat rushed throughout her body and she grabbed at him, clinging on desperately to his broad shoulders. Anne whimpered as his large hands caressed their way down her back and over her waist, tracing her curves with authority until his hands cradled her bottom and her face burnt brightly red. Charles then began to walk, forcing her to move with him until he had her pressed back against the wall, Anne ripped her mouth from his and gasped greedily for air, her fingers lifting to tangle in his hair, pulling sharply as his mouth hungrily kissed its way along her porcelain jaw and down her neck.
Charles's lips then found her pulse point and sucked down hard, causing Anne to throw her head back and moan loudly. With a low growl of satisfaction, he shifted his hold and lifted her up, making her instinctively wrap her legs around his waist, the best she could in her heavily layered dress. Their lips quickly met once more in a violent and frenzied battle for dominance, their teeth scrapped and tongue clashed and low wanton moans vibrated between them. Liquid fire rushed through Anne's veins down to the apex between her thighs, and a scorching need grew there making her roll her hips against his hardened manhood in a flustered attempt to ease the throbbing. The action caused them both to freeze, Charles slowly pulled his lips away from hers, the dazed and confused look on his face she was sure mirrored her own, that and the deep want that danced in his rich blue eyes. Anne loosened her grip on his shoulders and he let her slide slowly down until her feet touched the ground, their heavy pants being the only sounds to be heard.
Charles then sluggishly stepped away from her and turned his back, running his hands through his hair in a frustrated motion. He stayed that way for several moments with is back to her, taking the occasional deep, steadying breath as he tried to get a hold of himself. Anne waited with her back still pressed against the wall, she pushed the crumpled layers of her skirt down, running her hands over it to try to remove all the creases as her breath slowly evened out. By the time Charles finally turned back to face her, her heartbeat had slowed to its regular rhythm and she felt fairly certain that she was no longer blushing like a maid. Charles swallowed roughly as he stared at her, the beginnings of an accusatory scowl developing on his face, the effects of with were slightly ruined by the fact that his lips were still mildly swollen from their kiss. Anne fought the urge to roll her eyes, it was just typical that the Duke was going to try to blame that small moment of insanity on her, when he was the one that practically threw himself upon her. Well no, she refused to allow him to put the blame for that, whatever in God's name that had been, on her. So, Anne glared back at him, she would not be intimidated by the coldness of his scowl and she would not allow herself to think about the dampness between her thighs.
"Get out." She growled, pointing a sender finger at the door.
His nostrils flared, but despite this he straightened out his clothing and then did as she had ordered, marching away from her towards the Chamber's door and slamming it behind him without a word as he left. It was only then, once she was alone that Anne cried out in horror at what had happened, her hand coming up to slam over her mouth as she felt tears of anger and embarrassment begin to blur her vision. She couldn't wrap her head around what had just taken place, it made no sense, it had been so stupid and dangerous. Anne squeezed her eyes shut as her tears began to slip silently down her cheeks, if Henry or Cromwell or anyone had walked in at the wrong moment, she and the Duke would have both been sent to the Tower, her marriage and her life would have been at an end and Elizabeth would have been left alone in the snake pit of Court without anyone to protect her from her father's temper. She was furious at herself and at Charles Brandon, she was also terribly confused by what she had allowed to happen, why had she let him kiss her, why had she kissed him back and by God why had she enjoyed it so much. Because she had enjoyed it, and now she felt terrorized by the thought of what could have happened if they hadn't have stopped, what some part of her had wanted to happen. She couldn't understand it, Charles Brandon hated her and she him, but it seemed as though the second his lips touched hers her body had betrayed her and her mind had left her.
"Oh God!" Anne cried out, panic building within her stomach, what if her Ladies had heard something, they could all be on their way to the King right at that moment to inform him of her betrayal. She rushed towards the door, fear beginning to choke her only to come to an abrupt stop as the door swung open and her Ladies in Waiting began to wander back inside her Chambers, giggling and chatting idly amongst themselves, none of them seeming to notice her distress for several moments.
"Your Majesty, are you alright? I hope it wasn't bad news?" Nan asked her gently
Anne spluttered for a moment before she shook her head "No, I'm well thank you Nan, it was just some news from the King." She let her eyes flicker over all the bright, open faces of her Ladies and realized with utter relief that they must not have heard a thing.