Chapter V
May, 1550
The best physicians in England clustered around the unconscious Arthur, murmuring and prodding him, while Mary and Anne waited anxiously outside.
"He is in the best hands now," Mary tried to assure her. She herself was genuinely worried. The tennis ball had hit Arthur on the side of his head after Suffolk shouted out a warning. Mere seconds after that, an arrow hit a nearby tree, only a small distance away from Arthur's body.
She wondered if it was fortunate that Suffolk accidently whacked the ball at Arthur's head. It certainly saved Arthur from an assassination, but at the cost of critically injuring him.
"Edmund is too young," Anne said worriedly, referring to her second son. "He is only a boy of thirteen! How long will the people tolerate a regency?"
"Henry VI had a regency for at least fourteen years of his life," Mary reminded her. "He was only an infant when he succeeded the throne."
"Yes, but his regent was his uncle. A man. The people love you, but for how long? How long will they support you as England's regent? What if they blame you for being responsible for Arthur's injury and restricting his power? Not all female regents – ahem, Isabella of France – are viewed well. You have been fortunate this far, but for how long will good fortune be your ally? I assure you, one day, you will be deserted. We all will."
"Let us hope Arthur recovers."
Anne nodded anxiously. "Will you forgive him?" she said suddenly.
"For what?" asked Mary.
"It is not a surprise that royal princes can be...rebellious to their elders. However, Arthur arranged – behind our backs – for your youngest daughter to marry the Dauphin of France. Will you ever forgive him for doing so?"
"I do not know. Having a French alliance had always been part of my political plans, but I never thought I would send my Margaret to France at such a young age. I fear to know what he is plotting for my other children behind my back, and even for your unmarried daughters!"
Anne shuddered.
With Henry VIII, she had a total of six children: Elizabeth, Arthur, Princess Jane (now sadly deceased), Edmund, Duke of York and his twin sister Cecily, and young Princess Eleanor. All of them – except Elizabeth and Arthur – were currently residing in Beaulieu Palace with Mary's children.
"I heard rumours," Anne confessed. "The Swedish ambassador had been seen roaming around Court quite frequently in the last few months. I'm worried Arthur wishes to marry one of my daughters to a Swedish prince. However, after he announced the French alliance, I find it strange that he wants an alliance with Sweden, as it is a Protestant kingdom."
"It will be more humiliating if he sends one of my daughters to Sweden," admitted Mary bitterly. "They were all raised Catholics and for one to be sent to a Protestant kingdom...that would be an embarrassment I could never forget."
"I fear there is more Henry in him. I always wanted to believe he is a perfect knight like King Arthur of the legends, but I'm afraid he is more Tudor than both of us together."
"You are right...hopefully it is not too late for him to change."
"That will not happen. He has found his true nature."
"Yes. As another King Henry VIII."
Gloominess settled on the two women as they continued waiting for news. Anne wondered if Elizabeth should be told the news of Arthur's injury.
"No," said Mary, as if reading her thoughts. "It is best if Elizabeth remains in the dark. If she comes here and the King recovers, he may not react well. Besides, I rather the Dudleys be unaware of it."
Anne gave her a questionable look. "You do not trust our new family members?"
"Family members by law. I am pleased Elizabeth married the man she loves, but that does not stop me from viewing her in-laws with a great deal of suspicion, that does not regard religion. Well, not much. If you ask me, I am quite pleased Arthur dismissed Lord Warwick from Court. It is a pity he did not discharge the two young Dudleys, but at least Warwick is not here. I always will love Elizabeth and accept Robert as a member of our family, but when it comes to the other Dudleys...I really hope they do not think themselves as part of the royal family."
"I won't be surprised if they do."
Before Mary could reply, one of the physicians – Dr John Fryer – hurried out with a worried and slightly bewildered expression.
"Your Majesty," he said, with a quick bow. "Your Royal Highness. I bring um, good news. His Majesty has woken up and he will recover without a doubt. However...um, his memory has been...distorted."
Isabella sat alone on a stone bench in the gardens, engrossed in the words of the English Bible. Mary had her educated as a Catholic and forbade any of her ladies to own a copy of the English Bible. To the public, Mary was a religiously tolerant woman, but Isabella knew that she was fulfilling the obvious wishes of their mother – for both of Catherine of Aragon's daughters to be devout Catholics.
"What are you reading, Your Highness?"
Isabella instantly shut the English Bible and looked around wildly. To her relief, it was the Countess Seymour of Sudeley who stood in front of her.
"I apologise, Your Highness," she said hastily. "I didn't mean to startle you!"
"Lady Seymour!" said Isabella, relieved. "Forgive me! I did not see you! Your lord husband gave me this...book earlier today." She handed the Bible to Lady Sudeley.
As she expected, Lady Sudeley's eyebrows shot up. "My husband gave you this?" she said, taken aback with shock. "Your Highness! If the Lady Protector discovers you reading this, you will be immediately sent to the Tower and punished! She will never forgive you! You must allow me to return this to my husband or our library in Sudeley Castle!"
Isabella shook her head. "I wish to continue reading this."
"Your Highness!"
"The Lady Protector has no right to dictate my life! She declares herself my loving sister, yet she never acts lovingly towards me. Just because she is a strict Catholic does not mean I must dedicate hours upon end in the chapel like a nun. She knows full well-" She stopped as she remembered Lady Sudeley was not aware of her marriage to Artie Pole.
"Full well?" prompted Lady Sudeley.
"She...she knows full well that I have no desire to be married to God and live the rest of my life in an abbey or convent. Times like this, I wish I lived in a different kingdom."
"Your Highness...England is your home. The Lady Protector is extremely busy with ruling England on behalf of the King. Once the King reaches his majority, she will have more time for you. Gaining her attention through religious rebellion is not the wisest move, Princess."
"I never mastered Latin..."
Lady Sudeley looked at her, surprised. "You received the best tutors in all of England! Even I – a mere knight's daughter – can read, write, speak and understand Latin quite fluently!"
"I know." Isabella looked down miserably. "The tutors the Lady Protector assigned me were much colder than the ones that taught me when I was under Lady Salisbury's care. My lessons were more irregular as the Lady Protector grew busier. I am more fluent in French and Spanish than Latin, which is unfortunate as I would always be forced to pray alongside the Lady Protector whenever she visited me."
Lady Sudeley sat beside her and patted her hand. "It is not too late to learn. Go and talk to Princess Elizabeth. I heard she is quite an expert in mastering languages – Latin, French, Spanish, Flemish, Italian and learning Greek, I believe?"
"Elizabeth is good at everything."
"Except obeying orders."
Isabella's lips formed a smile. "That is something the Tudors excel greatly in. Disobeying orders. Most of them inherit that temper as well!"
"Cecily tells me you are often alone."
Isabella's smile immediately disappeared and was replaced with her usual unhappy expression. "I am a prisoner here," she said sadly. "I can wander wherever I wish and I can order whatever I want. However, she doesn't trust me and she never will. A husband will be chosen for me and I will be whisked away from existence to the countryside. Then again, I never felt at home here in Court. I suppose the gardens are the only place I actually feel at home."
"Why don't you join me, Thomas and our children for supper today?"
Isabella brightened up. "Really?"
"Of course! Cecily is keen on you meeting the rest of her sisters and brothers, and you seem to be in need of company, Your Highness."
"No one has ever invited me to supper before," Isabella said with wonder. "When I was younger, I longed to be invited to one of the Lady Protector's family gatherings, but I never was. Not even for Easter or Christmas ever since I was ten."
"You are more than welcome to sup with me, Thomas and our children." She smiled broadly and motherly at Isabella. "Why don't you come with me? I heard you love to read, and Thomas and I have quite an extensive library. Will it interest you?"
The two ladies rose and exited the gardens.
"It is quite a journey to Sudeley Castle," remarked Isabella. "Are you sure it is wise to leave now? We may be needed at Court."
"I do not mean we travel to Sudeley Castle today!" laughed Lady Sudeley. "Like all well-learnt ladies, I bought a collection of books from the library with me to Hampton Court. Unlike the late Henry VIII, our King Arthur prefers to stay in one royal residence for quite some time, and I thought it was wise to bring some books with me!"
"That sounds splendid, Lady Sudeley!"
"It is, my Princess! Come! I have many books to show you."
Lady Sudeley escorted Isabella to the Sudeley apartments and gestured for her to enter. Isabella gasped as she went in the common room and saw numerous shelves filled with books – old books, new books, fat volumes of books and thin books.
"I would've brought more books with me," said Lady Sudeley longingly. "However Thomas told me that if I did, I wouldn't have had enough room for my gowns, and Sudeley Castle would be stripped of a large library! Perhaps you could read this, as a favour to me." She went across the room and pulled out a volume that Isabella recognised as new from the beautifully decorated cover.
"I had a copy sent here from Italy," Lady Sudeley explained. "I was told it was an interesting book, but when I received it, I found it was in Italian rather than Latin! You were educated in Italian, were you not, Your Highness? Perhaps you can translate it for me?"
Isabella looked uncertainly at the book Lady Sudeley held out. "Maybe you can ask Elizabeth to translate it instead?" she suggested.
Lady Sudeley's smile broadened. "Oh no, Your Highness. You see, Princess Elizabeth is already a darling of England due to her quick wit. How would you feel being a writer or a translator?"
"A writer?" Isabella's eyes widened.
"Indeed, Your Highness! You can be remembered throughout history as an English royal writer! The first English princess to have translated books from Italian to English? What do you think?"
"Is it possible?"
"Everything is possible now, my lady! The late Queen of Navarre was an accomplished writer before her death. Here." Lady Sudeley pulled out another book. "This is Miroir de l'âme pécheresse," she explained. "It is a religious poem the late Navarrese Queen wrote. You said earlier that you are more fluent in French than Latin. Why don't you translate it to English? You may find it more enjoyable than roaming around alone in the gardens."
Isabella nodded slowly. "You are right. I have been lax in my studies for the last year. It is time I return to books and knowledge. I have complained about the Lady Protector not spending time with me, but it is I who is at fault. The Lady Protector is a highly literate princess and will not want to spend her time with me – a boring, stubborn girl."
Lady Sudeley nodded approvingly. "Good choice, my lady," she complimented. "If you wish, you may join me and a couple of my friends for light refreshments twice a week. If you are interested, I will write to you. Oh, and the Duchess of Suffolk is one of my friends. You know her, don't you? In a way, she is a member of the royal family. My group of friends and I talk in different apartments in case there are those who listen at doors. I believe you are a trustworthy lady, Your Highness, but these...conversations...you must understand, they are private. I will be deeply disappointed if I discover you betray our conversations and secrets." She looked at Isabella gravely. "Do you understand?"
"Yes," promised Isabella, excited to be part of a secretive society of noblewomen. "I will never speak a word to anyone else."
"Very good. Would you like to begin translations?"
Isabella nodded enthusiastically. "I cannot wait!"
Lady Sudeley smiled. She quietly slipped Isabella's English Bible onto the shelf between two other books of similar size. "It will be safer here," she advised. "If you wish to read it again, you are more than welcome to visit me in the afternoons or mornings. Now why don't you get comfortable? I'll go and find you a stack of parchment, quills and bottles of ink."
Isabella sat on the closest chair and her eyes leisurely browsed the shelves, longing to devour all of them at once.
Lady Sudeley returned with a bunch of parchment, a large bottle of ink and a quill. "Here," she said, putting them on the table in front of Isabella. "I thought you may want to copy the English translation again if you make errors in the first attempt. You're more than welcome to spend the night here if you so wish. We always have an extra bed as there is always at least one child ill and in the countryside. It won't be long before the King decides to send my children away. Thomas says he dislikes young children and will issue an edict stating all courtiers to be fourteen years of age excluding those granted permission and members of the royal family. If he manages to declare the edict this year, Cecily will have to go with her siblings to the countryside for two years."
"That will be a shame," commented Isabella. "Why does the King dislike young children?"
"Thomas says he finds them taking up unnecessary space in Court residences with a habit of ruining flowerbeds in the gardens. Honestly, thanks to the Dowager Queen and Lady Protector's bedchamber development for their children, the idea is copied for all us nobles. Our daughters sleep in the same chamber while our sons do so too. Even in a small room, a couple of beds can be placed next to each other and they can share a large wardrobe. Very efficient method of conserving space."
"Will he allow me to stay at Court?"
"Why wouldn't he, Your Highness?"
"I am not part of his family. It is only thanks to the Lady Protector's good will and authority that I am at Court at all. It is only a matter of time before I am sent away."
"You can always be a part of my family." She gave Isabella another warm smile. "Would it be better if the Lady Protector is aware you are here tonight?"
"I doubt she will mind."
"But to be on the safe side?" pressed Lady Sudeley.
Isabella sighed. "Very well. I will write a letter to her. I assure you, Lady Sudeley, the Lady Protector will not care. She will only remember me when she thinks of our mother."
Before Lady Sudeley could respond, Isabella reached for the quill. Your Royal Highness, she scrawled quickly. I thought to inform you that I will sup and spend the night in the palace apartments of the Right Hon. Earl and Countess Seymour of Sudeley and their family. I hope you are well and wish to hear from you soon. Your obedient sister, Princess Isabella, the Countess of Lancaster.
"I will ask one of my maids to deliver it to her," offered Lady Sudeley.
"Thank you," said Isabella gratefully. She had no desire to be announced to the Lady Protector like any other noblewoman. "You are indeed a good friend."
"I am happy to assist a royal princess such as yourself."
"This is actually quite enjoyable, Lady Sudeley. I thank you for telling me the joy of literature and translation." She smiled as she showed Lady Sudeley the sentences she had completed. "Tell me about yourself, Lady Sudeley."
Time passed much quicker as Lady Sudeley embarked on her tale. "I am one of the three surviving children of Sir Thomas Parr and Maud Green," she began. "I have a brother – Sir William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton (a gift from the Lady Protector after he married Anne Bourchier, 7th Baroness Bourchier) – and a sister – Anne, Lady Herbert (wife of Sir William Herbert) – who are both younger than me. Of course I have nieces and nephews." She smiled as she thought of them.
"I heard you were a widow when you married Lord Sudeley."
"Yes. I was seventeen when I married Sir Edward Burgh. If he surpassed his grandfather and father, I would've been a baroness. We had no children. After him was John Neville, 3rd Baron Latimer. He was practically an invalid with two children of his own, but he was kind and generous to me. With John, I also had no children. I returned to Court as a widow for the second time, and fell in love with Thomas. Lord Latimer left me a considerable fortune, and as I had no children, I was considered a good spouse for him by his family, hence our marriage."
"Now you have six darling children with Thomas. I heard about poor Geoffrey. It is always a tragedy when a child dies."
"A misfortune an unmarried woman – and men – can never hope to understand. Ah well, I still have my six healthy, beautiful children."
Isabella nodded. "I will translate every day," she vowed. "I will no longer waste my knowledge and wander aimlessly in the gardens. The late Queen of Navarre was a keen writer and I will translate her short stories from French to English and dedicate it to you before Christmas."
"Oh, Your Highness! You do not need to-!"
Her protests fell on deaf ears.
"I will!" insisted Isabella, scribbling on a second piece of parchment. "This translated poem will be for the Lady Protector, and the translated short stories will be for you! Do you think the Court bookmakers will bind these parchments into a book?"
"Of course!" exclaimed Lady Sudeley. "They are always interested to make new materials! If it becomes popular, it will be copied and distributed all over England! Oh, and another thing, Your Highness. It is my greatest desire for you to call me 'Catherine'."
"Pardon me?"
Anne stared at Dr Fryer with disbelief. Arthur's mind distorted?! "This is no time for jesting!" she said angrily. "The King had been hit on the head!"
"Physically the skin will heal," Dr Fryer assured her. "All that will be left will be a small mark – what we doctors call a 'scar' – and it will hardly be noticed over the years. Perhaps you should come and see His Majesty for yourselves. Yes, it will probably be best..."
Mary and Anne hurried in, both as bewildered and confused as the other.
With his head against two plump pillows, Arthur looked at them, his eyes darting around nervously like a frightened rabbit.
"Who are you?!" he demanded, shirking away from his mother and regent as they approached his bed cautiously. "What are you doing here?!"
"I am your older half-sister and aunt," said Mary gently. "I'm Mary. Don't you remember me? This is your lady mother, Queen Anne." She nodded at the speechless Anne beside her. "You were injured during a tennis match," she added. "Do you remember anything?"
Arthur stared at them as his memory slowly cleared.
"Someone shot an arrow at me," he said, with a frown. "Suffolk told me to watch out, but I thought it was a ploy for him to win the game...by God! He was trying to save my life and injured me in the process of it! I must thank him for saving me from an assassination attempt."
"Indeed..." said Anne cautiously. Lately, Arthur had refused to thank or acknowledge anyone – especially members of their family – and had a nasty and rather irritating habit of declaring everyone his subject and servant.
"He is in his chambers," said Mary helpfully. "The Duke of Suffolk is flustered and extremely concerned of your safety that his servants escorted him to his chambers for a rest. He will feel much relieved if you send for him when you are feeling better."
"Yes, Mary. I think I will," said Arthur in a more pleasant tone than he ever used to her in the last few months. He suddenly looked around again, frightened. "Will he be coming?" he asked worriedly. "Will our lord father visit us again? I promise I have studied hard and try my best in sports, but I cannot bear to watch those poor creatures die. What fun is there with opponents unfairly disadvantaged and surrounded by keen and bloodthirsty hunters?"
Mary raised an eyebrow, slightly confused. "What do you mean, Your Majesty? You went hunting only a few days ago!"
Arthur shook his head violently. "No! You are mistaken! I hate hunting! Father always says a strong king is one who can hunt. A weak king is prey."
"He is suffering from psychological mood swings, I believe," Dr Fryer whispered into Mary's ear. "If I take a guess, I will say he still thinks he is a child and the late king still alive."
Anne's eyes gleamed at the news.
"Where is she?" said Arthur, glancing around again.
"Who?" inquired Mary.
"Where is my sister?" said Arthur worriedly. "Where is Elizabeth? She is always with me when lord father comes and visits us."
Anne quickly dragged Mary to the corner of the room as the physicians gathered once more around the erratic, young king.
"It seems God has blessed us in a rather unusual way," Anne hissed. "If Arthur has lost his memories, he can be trained into the perfect knight. He is in no state to rule England in two years. He will be prey to all those nobles! Now that he is as angelic as he was as a child, we can mould him into the key we need to open the doors of a continuously prosperous England."
I'm thinking of writing another Tudor fanfiction, so any ideas? :) The 'Dragon' is supposed to be Arthur as Henry VII of England believed there were strong ties between the Tudors and the legendary King Arthur and dragons. It may be a little confusing in Arthur's condition, but I hope it will clear up in the next chapter :)