Chapter Three: Gone Forever

"He's gone forever! Vanished." Sir Hubert Hawley was in a daze, gazing blankly out the window of Hawley Manor. "Jack was lively, and very brave, always curious about the wilderness. When our cattle began disappearing, he wouldn't wait to gather men or call the local justice. Instead he went alone into the fens, and vanished forever."

"Who vanished? And what's a fen?" Catherine Howard was late coming down to breakfast. The beautiful young queen stumbled into the kitchen in bare feet and a flimsy robe, still rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Young Jack Hawley vanished into the fens. A fen is like a marsh, dear child, a low flat place filled with poisonous plants, thick pools of stinking mud and stinging flies." Anne of Cleves was already dressed for exploring, in tall leather boots, a doublet and breeches. She had risen early and borrowed the clothes from Jack Hawley's room. Sir Hubert's missing son had been quite slim. Had someone or something overpowered the boy late at night in the dark and foggy fens?

"No cattle, that means no meat or milk. Children go hungry!" Great big Helga was up and dressed as well. But Anne's old servant was wearing the keys and apron of a royal housekeeper. Helga had already taken charge of the kitchen since many of Sir Hubert's servants had run off after young Jack's disappearance.

"Oh, how dreadful! I can't bear to think of children going hungry. Perhaps Sir Hubert's son is hurt and lying in the swamp, all helpless and in pain. Let's go looking for him right away!" Catherine was wolfing down her food, but her shapely feet danced under the table, as though she couldn't wait to rescue the handsome young nobleman and tenderly nurse him back to health.

"Not so fast, pretty Kitty." Anne of Cleves caught the girl's gaze. "You are here at the king's command, to give comfort to Sir Hubert. You will take the carriage, and help him borrow supplies, livestock and crops from his neighbors. While you are busy with that, Helga will round up the servants and clean the manor. I will search the fens for the missing boy."

"But I want to go with you!"

"I search the fens," Anne of Cleves said firmly. Her will was much stronger than Catherine's and her eyes and voice were hypnotic. "Helga cleans the house. You go with Sir Hubert, and obey!"

"I go with Sir Hubert, and obey." Catherine repeated the words, almost like a girl in a trance. "But what do I wear? Can I visit the neighbors without a decent gown? What about my crown?"

"I pick out a dress, and you look lovely!" Helga rested her big hands on Catherine's slender shoulders, squeezing in a way that was both tender and firm. "Up you go now, and see what I have chosen for you. My little baby queen is so beautiful!"

"Oh, all right. I wonder if there are any boys nearby!" Catherine left the table at once, snapping her fingers and skipping up the stairs.

"The young queen won't give you any trouble," Anne of Cleves said, speaking to Sir Hubert in a low voice. "But you must stay alert, Sir Hubert. You must keep an eye on her. Together we will get to the bottom of what is happening around here!"

"I will do whatever you say, Lady Anne. I know you were queen once. But . . ." The fat little man sighed, and slumped in his chair, looking sad and bewildered and utterly defeated. "But whatever we do, I'm afraid my son is gone. Gone forever!"