George looked around the festivities. This was the third wedding he attended in recent months, including his own. He observed his new wife exchange pleasantries with Queen Catherine. Kathy had managed to adapt well to the French court. His mother and sister Annie welcomed his wife to France with open arms which George was grateful for as he would not know what to do if his own family did not like her. Surprisingly Queen Catherine had also approved of George's choice in wife which made the Scots Queen seethe with jealousy.
George did not see what Mary had to be jealous of as she would one day be Queen of two countries. Francis was practically beaming with joy at his new bride. George wouldn't admit aloud but Mary was beautiful in her wedding gown. He didn't always dislike Mary. When she first arrived in France George made an effort to be nice to her. Unfortunately Mary took George's kindness to mean something else. George had no illusions regarding his status as a royal bastard and knew very well that nothing could ever happen between them so he kept his distance. However Mary was stubborn and was use to getting her own way. She followed him everywhere. Fortunately for George he was in the constant company of his nephew Francis so no one in court suspected anything was out of the ordinary but Queen Catherine was no fool. Catherine saw how Mary tried to make George jealous by getting close to Francis and she did not like it one bit. Catherine never questioned George's loyalty as he didn't like the idea of Francis' feelings being played with either.
George had hoped that Mary would somehow grow to love his nephew as George himself was growing to love Kathy in his own way. However things were not starting well as Queen Mary approached him, "Well who makes the most beautiful bride me or my cousin?"
George raised his eyebrow at Marys' question, "Which cousin are you referring to your majesty? If you are referring to Elizabeth, I would say you're both beautiful in your own way."
The Scots Queen laughed at George's diplomatic answer, "And your wife Lady Katherine?"
George might have known what Mary was after but he wasn't going to play her game, "Then as her husband I will have to say that Katherine is the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. Good day your majesty."
George decided to leave the room to get some much needed air but it had seemed that he wasn't the only one who had a problem with unwanted suitors. He saw his sister Annie and his brother the Duke of Orleans engaged in a heated to discussion, "What seems to be the problem here?"
Annie saw her brother and immediately stood by George's side for protection, "I told his grace I had no wish to be his mistress."
"Mistress?" George was enraged. He knew how his brother Charles treated his mistresses and he did not want that for his sister. "I do hope my sister is mistaken dear brother."
"She is George." Charles tried to placate his brother, "I've spoken with the King and he will contact Rome about granting me a special dispensation to marry Annie. After all you're just a bastard so my union to your sister could hardly be considered incestuous."
Annie was furious with Charles' words but not half as angry as George was but he remained calm. "Until I see such a document from Rome you will no longer be allowed to be alone with my sister. I will not have her reputation be tarnished."
"As you wish dear brother." Charles bowed mockingly then smirked at Annie, "I'll see you soon my love. We'll have much to discuss."
Annie wanted to vomit. Now she could see why Elizabeth was so against the idea of marrying him. As he left she turned to George, "The Pope won't grant him the dispensation will he? After all the Pope doesn't like our family so I would doubt he would allow me to marry a Prince."
"I don't know Annie." George voiced his concern, "Charles is further down the line of succession. The Pope may even consider it an opportunity to bring the Boleyn family to heel."
"We're not Boleyns!" Annie shouted in frustration, "I don't want to be his wife!"
George could understand Annie's frustration but he was still annoyed with her, "Why didn't you tell me or Mother that he moved his attentions towards you? We could have stopped it if we had known sooner."
"I thought I could handle it on my own." Annie muttered guiltily, "I didn't think he would suggest marriage."
"I will speak with the King and see what can be done." Though George was uncertain as King Henry was desperate to have Charles married off. King Henry of France would be all for a marriage that would distract Charles from his fixation on Princess Elizabeth. "In the mean time you shall go to Boulogne and be with Mother. Hopefully whilst you're away Charles can find something else to fixate on."
Annie hoped George was right but something told her that Charles wasn't going to go away. Charles had missed his chance with Elizabeth he would not fail in getting what he wanted this time.
Elizabeth was reading by the window whilst her husband was out dealing with lordship matters. Normally Elizabeth would have joined him but lately she hadn't been feeling that well. However Elizabeth was not concerned as she had feeling that this was no ordinary illness. She placed her hand over her belly trying to imagine the small life growing there. Before Henry Brandon she could never picture herself being a mother but the thought of his child growing inside of her was something wonderful.
She was just thinking of a way to tell Henry when her husband came in carrying something, "Morning my love." Henry kissed his wife and handed over the bag he brought in, "I had the servants pick these for you since I know you've had a fondness for them in recent weeks."
Elizabeth reached into the bag and pulled out a most delicious looking apple, "Apples." Elizabeth smiled and kissed her husband. "It seems as though I cannot keep any secrets from you my love." Not many men that Elizabeth knew of would be as observant as her own husband.
"Well you did say you wanted honesty between us." Henry smiled as sat next his wife placing his hand over her belly excited at the prospect of having a child.
"I wanted to tell you but I wasn't sure that my suspicions were correct." Elizabeth placed her hand on top of her husbands' enjoying his warmth.
"You're rarely wrong Elizabeth." Henry placed his arm around his wife and kissed her head.
"You keep saying things like that dearest husband and you will have the most happiest wife." Elizabeth laughed kissing husband with enthusiasm.
"If this is the reward I get for doing so then rest assured Elizabeth you shall be the most happy." As their kiss became more heated they were suddenly interrupted by one of their servants much to Henrys' displeasure. "This better be important." Henry snatched the message from his servant and began to read.
Elizabeth suddenly saw her husband go incredibly pale as he read the message. "Is there something wrong?"
"Your sister wants us to return to court." Henry spoke quietly, "Your brothers' illness has taken a turn for the worse."
Elizabeth was distressed. She had always hoped that her brother would somehow pull through but to hear he may not was upsetting. "If my brother is on his deathbed then I must go to him but the physician said I couldn't be exposed to any illness at such an early stage of pregnancy."
"I could go in your place." Henry squeezed Elizabeths' hand in comfort, "I'm sure your brother and sister would understand."
"I should be there." Elizabeth cried into her husbands' arms. "My brother shouldn't be ill. He should be sharing our joy with us."
"It's in Gods' hands now Elizabeth." Henry continued to comfort his wife kissing her Tudor red hair. He had to be strong for her but who would be strong for him. Henry Brandon did not want the throne but if King Edward were to die Elizabeth would be next in line and Henry would be ruling alongside her. It was something Henry wasn't ready for and didn't know how to deal with.
Kathy observed as her sister in-law Annie paced room. Mary Stafford sat sewing by the fire though Kathy could tell her mother in-law wasn't really concentrating as she kept making mistakes in her work. They were all awaiting news from George regarding the Duke of Orleans marriage proposal. At first Kathy didn't quite understand why the Stafford family objected to the match as to an outsider it seemed like an advantageous one. However after learning of the Duke's history with the Princess Elizabeth and his other conquests it was easy to see why Annie was so reluctant to wed the Duke.
Once again Kathy thanked God for her own good fortune. George was always respectful towards Kathy and never begrudged her studies. Kathys' mother Frances had always told her daughters that men didn't like wives who were more intelligent than them. George enjoyed being challenged intellectually as he said it kept his mind sharp. Slowly but surely Kathy was growing to love her husband which was not surprising as most of the French court loved George despite the circumstances of his birth. Most women would have felt intimidated having a husband whom was admired as George but Katherine was no ordinary woman. Katherine possessed the same Tudor charisma that her cousin Elizabeth had which had earned the respect of not just the court but the Queen of France herself.
Her thoughts were interrupted with her husbands' arrival. He barely had the chance to sit down before Annie bombarded him with questions. "Well? What did the King say? Is the marriage going to go ahead?"
Mary tried to calm her daughter down, "Annie please allow your brother to speak."
George looked completely exhausted as he sat next his wife. Kathy had offered him some wine to drink which George took eagerly. "It seems my brother is going to allow the marriage to go ahead."
"The Pope agreed to the dispensation?" Annie exclaimed in shock. She didn't believe the Pope would approve of such a marriage.
"He's the Pope." George muttered darkly as he sipped his wine. "He can do as he likes."
"Can you not ask your English relatives for assistance?" Kathy asked quietly.
"Not without starting a war." George looked sadly at Annie, "I'm sorry sister. I really did try to persuade the King against the marriage but it appears Henry was desperate to have Charles married off."
It was true that King Henry did want his brother to be married off. Ever since Elizabeths' marriage to Henry Brandon had been announced Charles had become a thorn in King Henrys' side. Not only had Charles accrued gambling debts but he bedded a few daughters of wealthy French nobles with each noble expecting to be compensated for their daughters' stolen virtue. Anne Stafford had been a welcome distraction. Unlike the other women who gave their maidenhead to Charles too easily Annie had refused him despite the words of flattery and trinkets he would offer her. However when Annie had threatened to leave France for good and stay with her cousin Elizabeth in England Charles refused to let her escape him so easily. Charles went to his brother the King to gain his permission to wed Anne Stafford.
Both Charles and Henry agreed to keep the arrangements from the Stafford family until they were granted a dispensation from the Pope. George had done his best to keep his religious allegiance private for his familys' safety. If George were to refuse the match after his Holiness had granted the dispensation the Pope would give King Henry grounds to take both Calais and Boulogne back by force. England would of course rush to the Stafford familys' defence but it would not be without any bloodshed. As a duel citizen it was up to George to please two Kings' rather than one and it was proving to be a difficult task.
Seeing her childrens' distress Mary had decided to speak with her daughter privately, "George, Kathy would you mind leaving us for a few moments. There things with Annie I need to discuss."
As soon as George and Kathy left Annie cried into her mothers' lap, "Mama I don't want to be his wife."
"I know my love." Mary stroked her daughters' hair soothingly, "However as women we must make the best of our situation."
"How?" Annie cried looking into her mothers' eyes, "I don't love him and I'm pretty sure he doesn't love me either."
"You may never grow to love your husband but you shall always love your children." Mary smiled wiping the tears away from her daughters' cheeks. "I may never have loved William Carey but I loved the children he gave me even if they no longer love me. You my child will be far more luckier than I was. The French royal family would never dream of taking your children from you. In fact my dear they will be counting on you to safeguard Orleans future because we both know that so far Charles has been neglecting his duties as Duke of Orleans."
"I'll be the Duchess of Orleans." Anne confirmed.
"Yes my dear and one day God willing your son shall inherit after his father." Mary had always tried show her children that there was some things that were more valuable than titles or wealth. However Mary knew her daughter would find no love or joy in her marriage to the Duke so she had to find something else for her daughter to look forward to. It was unfortunate for Mary that she had to revert to some of her own fathers' teachings in order to provider her daughter some comfort in an unhappy marriage. Maybe Charles could prove Mary wrong and be a good husband to her daughter but sadly Mary remained unconvinced that he would. Instead Mary decided to prepare her daughter for what was to come even if it broke her heart to do so.
Mary Tudor has initially been surprised at her sisters' absence. She knew Elizabeth had great affection their brother and would have wanted to be by his side in his final moments. Mary could not deny it anymore, her brother was dying. If Mary could have blamed anyone for Edwards' deteriorating health it would be Jane Seymour. Jane's actions had hurt Edward to such a degree that he thought just sharing her blood was curse. Mary tried to remind him that he was also a Tudor but he did not see it in himself. He became disgusted by his appearance and ordered all mirrors to be removed from his presence.
Mary had hoped that news of their sisters' pregnancy would lift Edwards' spirit. Edward smiled as Henry Brandon told him the news. "A new Prince or Princess for England." Edward patted Henry on the arm, "I must congratulate you Brandon for you have done far more for England that I ever have, or ever will."
Mary and Brandon shared a look of worry for the King, "You mustn't say things like that your majesty." Henry spoke quietly, "My wife will be most distressed if she heard you speak this way."
"His grace is right." Mary agreed, "Stress is not good for the child which is why you must get well dear brother, if not for your own sake then at least for Elizabeth and her child."
"You're right of course sister." Edward looked deep in thought, "I must rest." Both Mary and Henry helped the King into a more comfortable position and left him to his rest.
Henry Brandon leaned against the door in utter to defeat thinking of Frances' final words to him before she was executed. Whether Henry liked it or not what she predicted was coming true. "I need him to get better."
"Then my sister has chosen her husband well." Mary observed sadly, "There would be many men in at court and in Europe for that matter who would love to be in your place right now."
"I never wanted the throne." Henry protested, "I married Elizabeth not her title."
"I know Hal." Mary squeezed his arm in reassurance, "You don't know how happy it makes me to here you say those words but that doesn't mean you can run from your responsibility not just to Elizabeth but to England."
Henry knew Mary was right but he still had his doubts. "But what do I know about ruling?"
"It's almost like being the Duke of Suffolk I suppose." Mary tried to explain, "Except the land you'll be looking after will be much bigger and you won't be doing this alone. If I know Elizabeth she won't be sitting quietly while you'll make all the decisions."
"No." Henry Brandon smiled to himself. "That doesn't sound like her at all but I wouldn't have her any other way." Elizabeth was a bright intelligent politician. She was born for this role. Who was Henry to deny his wife her birthright.
AUTHORS NOTE: I feel I must apologise for the slow updates but I have recently had some distressing news. My mother has been diagnosed with stage one cancer. Although stage one cancer is easily treated it was still upsetting for the family to hear. My mother had taken writing course herself and was very proud when I started writing some stories of my own.
I don't like leaving a story unfinished so I will continue to write but sadly my updates will not be as frequent as they once were. Thanks again for your reviews and support.