I DO NOT OWN THE TUDORS. I LOVED SARAH BOLGER'S PORTRAYAL OF MARY TUDOR.
Whitehall Palace. A week later.
Once the King had settled into his new life as a free man once more he found himself unable to think of much else but that of making his new interest, Catherine Howard, Queen of England. He marveled at how much easier the divorce from his former Queen this time had been around. Anne of Cleves was no Katherine of Aragon, claiming to care for her adopted country yet was unwilling to do the best thing for it by allowing him to take a wife that would provide him with the heir the country desperately needed. In that way she reminded him of his beloved Jane who had never once allowed her pride to make a mockery of the position of Queenship unlike his two consorts before her. Yet this did not change the fact that he was physically repulsed by her and had been cruelly mislead by that of Cromwell into taking her as a bride. The only thing he could ever feel towards the woman was brotherly affection whereas what he felt towards Catherine was more befitting that of what a man should feel for his wife.
While the King was immersed in his thoughts of Catherine Howard opposite him sat two men: Anthony Barker, Duke of Springfield and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer. The three of them had gathered after a conversation between Anthony and the King wherein he expressed a feigned interest in the specifics of the English religion and Cranmer himself had been curious of the nature of the religion in Anthony's home country.
Anthony himself was struggling to keep himself together. Now that Queen Anne was no longer Queen he knew exactly who King Henry had his eyes on but still he had to hear it from that man himself. Perhaps then he could gage how strong the relationship was and if there was any possibility of freeing Catherine from her fated doom.
"So, your Grace," Archbishop Cranmer said as Anthony downed his ale. "Tell me more about the religious situation in your realm." Anthony tried to hide his disdain for the topic. The Barker brothers had been raised in the Catholic church by their parents, but they had eventually stopped going. This had mainly been due to the fact their parents often neglected to take them, both of them instead preferring to indulge themselves in activities such as drinking which, combined with the inconsistent Church goings, had helped to shape Anthony into a firm agnostic. However, in a time when the nature on a person's religion could see them put to death and the worship of Christ was central to the lives of these people Anthony knew it was best to make himself appear to be a Christian believer. Or at the very least do enough to not get him convicted of being a heretic.
"Well your eminence," Anthony stated. "There is a large percentage of Catholics in our nation. However, having seen how porrly you were treated by the Vatican during your Great Matter, we have become more receptive to the rationally of the Evangelical faith and have taken into serious consideration our nations own relationship with the Catholic Church."
"That was wisely done on Pritzker's part," Henry replied. "I am grateful that I was able to free myself from the decadence of a corrupt church. After all I still am inclined to moods of melancholy when I think about how much time that traitor Clement wasted procrastinating on my annulment."
"Forgive me if I overstep, but has his majesty given any thought as to who will take up the title of Queen?" Anthony asked as he changed the subject into one that had been on the minds of many, particularly courtiers eager for their rise to power, as Henry drank a big swing of ale.
"The Lady Anne of Cleves was a good woman, whom...now we no longer are tied by the bounds of marriage, I respect deeply." the King admitted. "But she simply was not meant to be my wife. It was Cromwell's doing and he's in the Tower where he belongs. I suppose I just haven't found a woman whose vigor and love for life matches my own...until recently."
"Recently?" Cranmer inquired, urging the King to name his new crush. It was vital to Cranmer that the woman in question was a supporter of the reformed faith, having a Queen who was not so could have catastrophic impacts on the work Cranmer had spent most of his life working towards.
"I have begun to pay court to the Lady Catherine Howard, niece of the Duke of Norfolk," Henry admitted. Anthony and the Archbishop tried to look pleased for their King, but they couldn't not. Anthony recalled that Thomas Cranmer didn't care for Catherine until he watched her led away to the Tower; having viewed her as nothing but a mouthpiece for her uncle's Catholic viewpoints.
The eldest Barker was filled with indignation at the thought of Catherine, a seventeen year old girl, having to make love to a man who was old enough to be her old man. Despite the fact that every interpretation of Catherine Howard made her look like a ditzy slut who got what she had coming, Anthony knew that wasn't fair. She was a wonderful girl and she deserved a guy who would be good to her. Not Mannox, not Francis Dereham, not Thomas Culpepper, and certainly not the fat bastard that was Henry Tudor.
"Your majesty, happy news indeed," Anthony lied as he swallowed a full mug of ale, hoping that his bile would go down with it. It would be dangerous to cross the King's temper on this subject. At this point Henry VIII still considered himself 'in love' with poor Catherine and would be brutal to any perceived opposition.
While his brother was sitting through a painful mid day drink with the King and Archbishop, Ethan Barker was having an awkward experience of his own. Anne of Cleves was visiting from Hever Castle and true to her word, she had arranged for Duke Ethan and Princess Mary to meet. The pretend Duke was shaking on a leaf. Blind dates had never worked out for him in the past and the last thing he or Anthony needed was for Mary to go running to her father and get them both banished from court; or worse. Even though the relationship between father and daughter had never been partially given all her father had done to her mother it would still send the King into a rage on matter of family honor to hear his daughter being disrespected by someone.
Eventually, Henry's ex wife walked in. Behind her, was one of the most beautiful women that Ethan Barker had ever seen in his life, not at all like the faded beauty that her portrait from later in her life would have him believe of her. She had beautiful brown hair, fair white skin and a set of fiery brown eyes. Ethan felt arousal and intimidation simultaneously.
"Your Grace!" she exclaimed as the two embraced gently.
"Lady Mary!" Ethan exclaimed with the same enthusiasm. While he could see a momentary flash of pain in Mary's eyes at the use of the title 'Lady' one could never be sure of who was watching and therefore Ethan thought it best to stick with her official title.
"May I introduce the King's eldest daughter: the Princess Mary," Anne said as she turned to Mary. "This is the nobleman from Illinois. His Grace, Duke Ethan of Chicago."
"Your Grace," Mary said as she curtsied and he bowed his head.
"My lady, may I have the honor of kissing your hand?" Ethan asked as humbly as he could. Mary nodded as she offered her hand and the Duke put it to his lips. The three sat down as a couple of ladies that Anne had been allowed to keep, brought them wine.
"Lady Anne of Cleves has told me a lot about you, your Grace," Mary said as they all sipped their wine.
"Only good things, I hope," Ethan said nervously as Henry's eldest child nodded.
"She says that you tell the most amusing stories," she replied as Anne nodded.
"Ja he does," the former Queen said. "I enjoyed him telling me about ze game that his people play with ze bats."
"You mean baseball Lady Anne," Ethan clarified. "We do take pride in our national pastime."
"Forgive me your Grace, but am I to assume that like the Lady Anne, you too are Protestant?"
"Um no your highness, I am Catholic actually." This wasn't entirely a lie. Ethan was baptized into the Catholic Church. He didn't go every Sunday, but he went on Christmas and Easter and he had attended mass back in the US before he and Anthony began to study abroad. Mary gave the Duke a small smile. Being the zealot that she was, Mary Tudor would rather go celibate than marry a non-Catholic.
"That is good, what about your brother: Lord Springfield?" Mary inquired.
"My brother is of the opinion that religion is of little importance," Lord Chicago admitted as Mary's face turned serious. Even more than she disliked those not of the true Catholic faith were those who did not believe at all. At the very least, heretics believed in the savior Jesus Christ. "That is not to say he isn't a devout Christian madam, simply that my brother chooses to put his attention elsewhere for the most part."
"How have you liked England so far, your Grace?" Anne asked, trying to change the subject away from the complicated matter of religion.
"It is a very pleasant country," Ethan admitted. "Truth be told, I find England superior to Illinois in many ways."
"Truly?" Mary asked in surprise.
"Yes, it's very quaint," he continued. "Here a fellow can stop and smell the roses once in a while." Ethan didn't care for the social media generation that he had come from where everyone put such importance on likes and followers and how many hearts a tweet received. He preferred the medieval life.
"I am pleased to hear that your Grace," Mary said as she sipped her wine.
"I am pleased that you are pleased Lady Mary," Ethan spoke in return. "I must admit that when the Lady Anne of Cleves invited me to be introduced to you, I did not know what to expect; but now I see that you are nothing short of amazing your highness. If I may be so bold, I would claim that your beauty exceeds that of ten Illinoisan women combined." Mary tried to hide the streak of red that appeared on her cheeks and failed miserably.
"I think you mean to flatter me, your Grace," the eldest Tudor child claimed.
"I mean to tell the truth," Ethan replied as he really started to turn on the charm. As socially awkward as he was, he did manage to pick up a few tips from Anthony over the years. "You may take it as you will. You possess such admirable qualities: beauty, brains, piety. You truly are the heir of Katherine of Aragon." This got Mary's attention.
"You know my mother?" she asked.
"I knew of her," he clarified. "The stories of her noble and pious ways reached us in Illinois. She was a true Queen. Our people thought her to be a saint among mortal women. Upon news of her death, our people were inconsolable. I am truly sorry for all the grief that befell you both during her final years." Ethan was of course referring to the rise of Anne Boleyn. It was said that Mary had despised the woman and had rejoiced when she died.
"Your kind words mean a great deal to me...your Grace." Mary said sincerely. Not many people would be bold enough to mention the disgraced wife of Henry VIII who had stood firm in her rightful position as Queen of England. Doing so could anger her farther, yet it was nice to be reminded that her mother was beloved by a great many of people.
Duke Ethan and the two women spent another hour enjoying each other's company. Eventually, their meeting came to a close and Anne of a Cleves bid them both farewell. After Anne had left, Ethan and Mary shared a brief moment together.
"I enjoyed your company very much, your Grace," Mary said as the Duke made to leave.
"As did I," Ethan replied. "The only thing that troubles me is that I do not know how to get you out of my thoughts." Mary blushed again and smiled at Ethan's remark. "I would very much wish to see you again your highness...with supervision of course, as is proper."
"I would enjoy that considerably," Mary said as Lord Chicago kissed her hand once more and made his exit. As he walked away, he could have swore that he heard a faint squeal of delight coming from the room.
WILL ETHAN BE ALLOWED TO COURT MARY TUDOR? REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.