Anne made her way through the hallways and tried her best to ignore the smirks and the whispers behind her back. Ever since Hal had left court, Anne was again fodder for the gossips. She had tried her hardest to not let it faze her, but on days like today, it was difficult. When a particularly loud chuckle rang in her ears, she darted down a more secluded hallway. She hated running from them-showing any kind of weakness. She wanted to let them all know that their words couldn't touch her, but she knew she'd be lying.
She sighed and kept her head down, avoiding everyone's gaze. It seemed as if the whispers had grown over the last couple of days. Anne had originally thought that it was just due to Hal's departure, but Henry had called her to his rooms just yesterday to give her some unexpected news. Thomas Boleyn was being recalled to court.
Anne had not seen her father in over a year-ever since she had been locked away in the tower. She had heard that he had blatantly condemned her when she had been arrested-practically calling for the harshest of punishments to be inflicted. Upon her release, Henry had been kind enough to ask her if she had wanted him back at court and Anne had only hesitated slightly before declining. She had received a few letters from him while she was at her Pembroke estates, but they had all been fed to the fire unopened. She loved him-of course she did. She could still remember the countless times that she had run to him as a child and he had lifted her in the air-spinning her around while she giggled breathlessly. The 'papa' of her childhood greatly contrasted to the man he had become once she had the crown on her head.
Henry had been delicate when informing her of his actions, and for that Anne was grateful. It was within his right to bring whomever he desired to his court, but he had known that she was hesitant to come face to face with her father again. He had stressed that he had need of the man, but had offered to find another representative. It had been a hollow invitation, as Anne was expected to grant permission, but it was still a kind thing to do.
Henry had run both hot and cold towards her ever since the duke's departure. Most of the time he had been sweet and considerate-coming to her and asking for her advice, sitting with her and little Elizabeth, and just being overall pleasant. But on occasion, he had seemed almost angry with her, glaring at her over dinner, speaking to her curtly, and all but shunning their daughter. Anne sighed and continued on her way, the courtiers moving to let her pass.
Anne's thoughts were interrupted by a pair of shoes before her that did not jump to one side like the others. Her eyes raised from the floor to meet with a very unpleasant surprise.
"Master Seymour" she murmured quietly and dipped her knees. Technically she outranked Thomas Seymour, but she figured it would be better to show deference. Both Seymour brothers had been touchy around her, and the way Anne's day was going, she preferred to not rankle any existing argument. She moved to side step the man, but was stopped by an arm reaching around her, closing off her exit. His catlike gaze unnerved her as a smug smile came over his features. "May I help you?" She raised an eyebrow in annoyance.
"Lady Anne" he practically purred. "I've missed you the past few days. Court without your bright presence has been quite dull." His syrupy words dripped like honey as his arm snaked through hers, pulling her along with him. Anne was confused as she couldn't think of two moments in the past six months that she had had a conversation with the man. Why was he now seeking her out? Lord knows he wanted something from her-but what? It had to have something to do with Jane, but Anne couldn't think of what it could be. She allowed him to drag her through the halls and listened to him drone on and on. She was irritated that as they strolled together they drew more attention from the surrounding courtiers- exactly what she was looking to avoid today. The best she could do was not add fodder to the gossips
She plastered a brittle smile on her face and forced herself to keep up the conversation, saying just the proper responses to his words. Luckily, the Seymour man wasn't looking for too much from her conversation-wise. He seemed content just to chatter on about his hunt, or his new hounds, or other trivial matters. To be honest, Anne was quickly becoming deathly bored smiling and nodding to his words. She saw her brother across the hall and sent him a desperate look. His expression darkened, but he changed his direction to come up to them.
"Oh, George!" she called out when he approached. Anne was slightly confused when Thomas' grin only grew at the interruption, but shook it away as she smiled serenely at him. "Forgive me, Master Seymour, I fear I have much to discuss with my brother." She detangled her arm from the man and tried not to grimace as he bent over her hand and pressed his lips to the back. George still looked on murderously, causing a sense of unease to trickle into her mind. She knew that George, like herself, despised the Seymour brothers, but he usually did a better job of not showing it in public.
"It's no bother, Lady Anne," he smirked at George and her, "I'm sure we can continue our chat sometime in the near future. I feel as if we'll be spending MUCH more time together in the future. " His smug look did little to calm her nerves and as he sauntered away, she raised her eyebrow at George in question.
"Come, Anne" George said through gritted teeth, gripping her arm almost painfully. "We have much to discuss."