"Well done, Anne!" Thomas Boleyn placed a warm hand on her shoulder and she gazed up from her warm chair by the window. Anne had been pleased to have the day off from her services and had been looking forward to spending the whole afternoon reading. She had been annoyed when her father had entered the room and was even more irritated by his interruption now. "I knew I could trust you to advance this family! I don't know what you've done, as I thought the king was losing interest as of late, but you play to win, Anne, like always!" Her father's jovial tone had Anne curious.

"What are you talking about?"

"Elizabeth's betrothal, of course!" Now he had her full attention.

"What?!" How dare he betroth their beautiful daughter without even consulting her?! She jumped from her seat, oblivious to the book that had been in her lap. It tumbled to the floor, but she stepped over it, closer to her father. "What betrothal?"

Boleyn looked slightly off put, obviously expecting her to be pleased, but answered her quickly. "The princess is to be betrothed to the Duke of Orleans! How have you not heard? And I am to arrange the whole thing!" His excitement was rolling off of him, but Anne was still nettled.

Yes, this was a match she greatly approved of, but she and Henry had discussed that even after their divorce, Anne would be involved in any betrothal made for her. The king had left her out completely! This was her daughter as much as it was his. The king had quite the gall to ignore her for almost a month and then set up their daughter's future like this.

Her annoyance must have been clear on his face because her father frowned at her. "You were not aware?" Anne shook her head stiffly. The joy was gone from his face as he glared at her. "Wipe that look off your face, Anne! He is honoring your daughter with a promising marriage and he is honoring this family by having me in charge of the ceremonies. You will go to him and thank him and ask if there is anything you can do to thank him!" Anne's eyes narrowed at his disrespect and at the clear implication of what he wanted her to do. "I thought you'd be happy!" Fed up with her, he stormed from her rooms just as quickly as he had come.

As she let the information sink in, she calmed slightly. This was an excellent match for her precious daughter and she knew that had she been involved with the decision, she would have no qualms accepting the little boy as her son-in-law. King Francis had always doted on her and she had no worries that Elizabeth would be mistreated at all. Francis loved children, especially smart, well-learned, pretty children and Elizabeth was all you'd ever want in a daughter of France. Anne knew that the dauphins wife was whispered to be barren and if this was true, Elizabeth had a good chance of becoming a queen. Yes, it was a wonderful match. Anne was only irritated that she had been left out of such a major decision for her little girl.

How dare he? He had avoided her ever since that night she had learned about Hal and his witch of a wife. Henry had looked at her so distraught and broken, gripping her as a drowning man would grasp at straw. He had looked as if he had needed her desperately and seeing him so vulnerable had reminded her of their early courtship days. She had been so confused that night, with such a waterfall of emotion coming down on her. The news of Hal's impending divorce had shaken her and even now she didn't really know what to do with the information. But having Henry go from being so vulnerable with her to practically snubbing her at every turn was irritating.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to return to her book. Perhaps she would visit her little daughter later this evening before dinner. She'd start really teaching her about french court. It would soon be her new home. And she would speak with Jane in the morning when she reported to her duties. She hadn't really had a moment alone with her in a while either and she wanted to ask what the queen knew about what was happening in the north.