Chapter 5


 Despite her exhaustion, the constant and painful throbbing in her arm kept Catherine awake. Whenever she was about to drift away, a wrong movement tore her out of her foggy brained half-sleep. For without her painkilling remedy that was normally supplemented with some sleep-inducing herbs, her alarmed mind wouldn't come to rest, no matter how exhausted her body might be.
Henry's presence did not contribute to her relaxation either. She did not have to see him to sense his presence right behind her.

Another rustling revealed that he was still brooding over his map and yet she felt his eyes resting on her from time to time. So she tried to calm her mind down with sheer willpower.

Just when she was slowly slipping into unconsciousness, his presence suddenly became overpowering. Catherine was startled when her husband clasped her hips and shoulders and carefully moved her to the outer edge of the bunk to spoon her from behind. Henry wrapped his arms around her midsection shortly thereafter, prevented her from moving away from him, while he pressed his muscular body against her back and bottom in the most intimate way.

"Henry?!", her voice sounded less firm than she wished for. "What is it you are doing right now?"
"I'm looking for a reasonably comfortable position and I would appreciate if you'd keep still. This bunk is awfully small."
"Oh, so you've noticed?" she grumbled sarcastically and turned around despite his warning. Now the tip of her nose almost touched his. "Henry, why don't you leave me alone and sleep in your own plank bed?"
"Because this is my plank bed," he grumbled and his hot breath was brushing her cheek.
"Well, this is great."

"Does her Majesty have a problem with this arrangement?" Her husband's words sounded harsh and slightly accusing.
"Yes, of course I do have a problem with that. And why shouldn't I? We're literally strangers, Henry." His closeness was getting to her, depriving her of the air to breathe. Air that seemed to have become thinner and thinner since her escape several months ago.
"I'm not the one who took flight, Catherine."

His words prompted her to sit up in the darkness and stare down at her husband in bewilderment.
"It was you who left me with no other choice", she accused him outraged.
The surface under her wobbled slightly, which led her to suspect that Henry also had rosen to an upright position. "You threatened to kill me, Henry, and all I ever wanted was to save Francis' life."

"Francis? What has Francis to do with all of this?" Henry's voice roared through the tent and suddenly a candle was lit right next to her.
"Everything, Henry. EVERYTHING," she screamed with anger over so much ignorance. "You still don't get it, do you?"
"Apparently not. So explain it to me!" Her husband yelled back at her.

"Nostradamus' prophecy..." As soon as Henry heard her seer's name, he interrupted Catherine and grabbed her by her shoulders to shake her almost violently.
"Because of some squishy vision your self-proclaimed prophet had you've abandoned France, your children and your King?" Henry just stared at her and shook his head in disbelief. "Oh please, don't be so damn complacent. As if you had not secretly been pleased about my disappearance. You wanted to visit Rome for having our marriage annulled and you expelled Francis from the line of succession in order to clear the way to the throne for Sebastian! Have you ever wondered what is to become of Francis or your other legitimate children?" Catherine fiercely hit him with her uninjured arm but Henry lay his hands around her shoulders like a vice to stop her violent outburst.

"My children are just fine, Catherine. As fine as children can be who have been abandoned by their mother," Henry took a verbal blow that hit her deep in the guts.
"Don't you dare..." she threatened him with rage. They both knew damn well that her children were her most sacred treasure and that she would die without hesitation for each one of them.

"Your abscondence nearly killed you which would have made your children half-orphans, Catherine. Do tell, did you ever plan to return?"
Her husband grabbed for her left useless arm and held it up as if presenting her a piece of evidence.
"Surely I would not have left them with you and your whims. I just wasn't... ready yet." Her last words were a quiet and hesitant whisper.

"I know, Mother Agnes informed me about your condition. How are you doing, I mean really? What happened?" The sudden worry that resonated in his voice surprised her.
"It's none of your business husband, after all you've never been interested in my well-being before. So save your hypocritical sympathy for someone else," she replied irreconcilably and steeled herself against his unusual and insightful interest in her fate.

"You're making it very hard to be appreciative of your obstreperous behaviour." And although his statement sounded harsh, his words still radiated a certain warmth. "You are my wife, Catherine. So your health is very much of my concern." After hearing this statement she raised her uninjured hand and pressed it as hard as possible against his shoulder to free herself.

To her surprise Henry flinched first, then he groaned loadly. His hands released her left arm to palpate his shoulder with a painful expression on his handsome face.
"What?" she asked in alarm.
"Why does every situation always have to escalate with you?" he rumbled in a disgruntled mood and sat down on the cot.
"With me?" Catherine's voice almost overturned with anger over his one-dimensional perception. It was so like Henry – always blaming others. "May I remind you that it was you, who threated me because of your greed for England which forced me to take such drastic measures," she made clear vehemently.

Yet she stood there in front of him, brushing his hands aside to see for herself what was bothering him.

"Henry, that's infected!" Even in the sparse candlelight she could see the angry reddening around the wound's edge on his shoulder.
"It looks like we have at least one thing in common, woman. We're both miserable at looking after ourselves."

Catherine did not respond to his realization.
"Has anyone ever looked at it?" She asked instead and was happy to draw attention from her afflictions to his own.
"It's not half as wild as it looks."
"Yes, until the moment a sepsis carries you off. You should go and see sister Erica, she will certainly be able to help you."
"This will have to wait, we will be leaving tomorrow morning," he announced and removed her hand from his shoulder with gentle force.

"So you have decided what's going to happen now?" she asked cautiously and could no longer fight the discomfort that was slowly spreading through her innermost.
"Yes," he replied without further explanation and grabbed her by the hip to pull her down to their cot. "And now I want you to lie down and go back to sleep. You need to conserve your strength. Tomorrow will be an arduous day." Henry used Catherine's perplexity to gently force her into a horizontal position.

"And that means..." In order to interrupt her, her husband put his index finger on her lips.
"...that we are going to return to court. Exactly. And now shush!" Henry demanded and spread his fur over their bodies.
Catherine realized that any further protest would be in vain at this point. So she backed down for the time being and tried to find a reasonably comfortable position. But with every movement she collided with some part of Henry's body.

"Catherine," he grumbled in disgruntlement when her knee came dangerously close to his privates.
"This cot is too small for two," she complained instead of an apology and turned around once again. She wasn't used to sleeping in such confined space and eminently she wasn't used to Henry's closeness. A closeness she could feel in every fibre of her body.

Then all of a sudden she felt his hand sliding right beneath her buttocks and a second later she was being lifted fitfully into his arms. A small sound of surprise escaped her lips.
"Henry," she muttered warningly when she found herself lying half on top of him with his strong and masculine chest touching her stomach and breasts. Henry's hand was still on her backside to keep her from moving out of his grasp.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"This is a space-saving arrangement that neither strains my shoulder nor your left arm too much."
"Aha. Completely unselfish, I see," she commented dryly and shoved his hand away from her bottom.

Tada – another chapter for you. I hope you like it.

What do you think about it? All said or done? Or are there still some issues that need to be discussed. And what is Henry doing – or his hands? ;o)

Thank you so much for reading my fanfics and a special big THANK YOU and many virtual kisses to those who never get tired of leaving me a review.