Chapter XIV

May, 1552

Lord Warwick stalked in his study silently as he pondered the latest court news. His offspring's marriages had not benefited him as he had hoped.

What disappointed him the most was his son Robert's marriage to Elizabeth Tudor.

He should've promoted our family interests like a good son, thought Warwick angrily. I should've been given a marquessate or even a dukedom! No! Instead, Robert is made an Earl. If only one of my other sons married Elizabeth Tudor instead, I would've been the most powerful nobleman in England! All my children would've married members of the ancient blooded nobility! Even now, I am viewed with disdain by the Nevilles and the Percys! Not only that, but the Lady Protector openly loathes me. The Queen Mother tolerates me only a little, but under their influence, the King will never trust me or any of the other nobles the late King Henry VIII elevated to earldoms.

He wondered if it would've been wiser for him to befriend other such nobles like the Earls of Southampton and Sussex rather than the ancient-blooded nobles.

"Lord father, you called for me?"

Warwick smiled as Robert appeared in his study.

"Indeed," he answered, gesturing for Robert to sit. "You did not bring your wife I hope. If I had my way, she would've been residing in my countryside residences like my other daughters-in-law."

"No," said Robert stiffly. "Elizabeth is with her family preparing for another wedding – the Duke of York's I think. Why did you summon me?"

"The Lady Protector is still in power and the King remains under her sway. The only thing they disagree on is the influence of Guillame de Luil."

"Do you mean Viscount Hereford?"

"Yes. Him. Even when the King rules in his own right, the Lady Protector will remain a powerful force behind the throne. For us to rise further, we must appease her. To do so, we must eliminate a man she deems as a threat-"

"No. You have decided to copy the actions of old Norfolk. He is now languishing alone in Kenninghall, his power and authority greatly diminished. Do you wish that to happen to you? Furthermore, he is the Queen Mother's own uncle. What if you were sent away in disgrace? You are only Princess Elizabeth's father-in-law and already disliked by the Queen Mother and Lady Protector!"

"Unlike old Norfolk, I plan to win the Lady Protector as my ally."

"Through what? Murdering Viscount Hereford?"

"It wouldn't be murder! It will seen as a favour by the other nobles and the Lady Protector. Perhaps with a good word and a decent bribe, I will not be suspected as responsible for Hereford's possible death." He smiled. "I may even be rewarded."

"Will that be the last of your schemes?"

"No. It is just the beginning."

Robert sighed. "I suppose you wish for Elizabeth to be kept in the dark?"

"Of course! Her uses will come later."

"I hope you do not want to replace the King with Elizabeth, do you? It will be impossible! Between the King and Elizabeth are the Duke of York, the Lady Protector, her sons and daughters and even grandchildren. You will not risk poisoning all of them. Besides, if you happen to befriend the King, you will not be able to convince him to declare Elizabeth his heiress. Especially if he has a son. You may be forgiven for planning to kill Hereford, but you will be executed for treason if you even think about replacing the King with my wife."

"It is you who suggested it, my dear boy, not me!" He chuckled. "Anyway, your elder brothers are already aware of my plans to remove Hereford from power. I suggest you retain the information from your wife and younger half-siblings."

"You do not trust them? They are of your blood too!"

Warwick darkened. "I do not trust my wife. She deserves to be locked up in Bedlam rather than to reside as a countess in my home. I will not be surprised if she will plot for my fortune for her own sons after my death. At least I have the stipulation of our marriage to prove that her sons will only receive earldoms upon marriage and not the bulk of your inheritance. I married your mother because I loved her and we were friends. I still love her now."

"Why do you not annul your marriage to Lady Lovell?"

"You still are not able to call her 'my lady stepmother'?" Warwick's lips formed a twisted smile. "I do not blame you. I do not love her and I never will. I was happy to remain a widower until some time I find a bride politically worthy to marry, but Lady Lovell and her bastard son were forced upon me. It is most unfortunate she had given me two more sons and two daughters. Between us, I was not quite keen on consummating our marriage."

"Well! I will take that secret to my grave. How are you planning to dispose of Hereford in a manner you will not be caught?"

"There will be a banquet tomorrow night. The Lady Protector is quite generous of late and has held feasts and celebrations at least once a week! Remind me of them, would you?"

"In January, there was a week of New Year celebrations – the common folk were given a few days off – and in February there were a few days of festivities regarding the Marquess of Ormond's wedding to the Lady Jane Grey. In April, there was a week of merriments for the Polish King and his marriage to Princess Cecily Tudor and now there will be further celebrations for the Duke of York's wedding. Elizabeth thinks the Queen Mother and the Lady Protector are keen to celebrate all the royal marriages quickly so they could resume their usual gold-saving policy."

"The Lady Protector's tight hold on gold reminds me of the miser King."

"Hmm. It is quite effective though. According to Elizabeth, the royal coffers are flowing with gold more smoothly than they did in Henry VIII's reign."

"You have not been made a Privy Councillor yet? It is quite shameful for you to report information to me from conversations you have with your wife."

"The Lady Protector-"

"I know. The Councillors are of her own choosing. She would never resort to bribery and they are all loyal to the bone. If our King is the good, obedient boy, he will retain them. However, if he detests the regency, he will remove all of them and replace them with his own men. I can guarantee that one of the new Privy Councillors will be Hereford, unless we remove him before the regency ends. It will be a disaster if Hereford is part of the Privy Council."

"What must I do?"

"Appease your mother-in-law and the Lady Protector. Promise them loyalty. The Queen Mother approves of you and had constantly wanted you to be elevated to the position of a duke, probably for Elizabeth to be a duchess."

"The King is against it – even when he calls me his 'brother'."

"He is wise. If he showers favours on you, every other courtier will hate our family. He does not want to make the same mistakes as former kings."

Robert nodded in agreement. "I also heard from the King that Lady Dorset intends to marry her youngest daughter to young Westmorland."

"Oh?" Warwick leant forward with interest. "Her eldest daughter is now a princess of Lancaster and marchioness of Ormond through marriage, and Lady Dorset is already planning her youngest daughter's betrothal to my grandson? How old is she? Ten?"

"Seven, lord father."

"Hmm. A year older than young Westmorland. Lady Dorset jilted my son for a prince and now wishes for her daughter to marry my grandson! Well! I will gleefully refuse-"

"That is not possible, lord father," interrupted Robert. "You are indeed Lord Westmorland's grandfather, but you are not his guardian. Lord Westmorland remains in his lady grandmother's custody, and I heard the Dowager Countess of Westmorland had agreed to the match. She is delighted at the prospect of having a Grey as a granddaughter-in-law."

"I knew I should've paid for Westmorland to be my ward!"

"The Nevilles already despise us. They will never agree in relinquishing their dear little Lord Westmorland into your hands, no matter the price you are willing to pay. Besides, his grandmother is a Stafford and her word has strong sway in family decisions, even after her father was executed and his possessions forfeit. Besides, the Nevilles are Catholic. Forgive me for being blunt, father, but they will rather give the wardship of their lordling to...a Percy rather than you. The old nobility will always despise us and I plan to ignore them."

"Why would you do that? You will never rise in court!"

"I will never be accepted as a noble by the Nevilles, Percys, Cliffords, Stanleys, Howards and Greys – only a few families of the nobility – and they will be expecting me to squeeze in their ranks. They accept me grudgingly as Princess Elizabeth's husband, but nothing more. I will accept my place graciously as a noble by the good graces of the late King Henry VIII and surprise those nobles with my diplomacy and staunch loyalty to the crown."

"Wise decision, my son. You will be a fine politician one day! Will you be a guest in the Duke of York's wedding tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, as the Princess Elizabeth's husband." Robert scowled a little. "I presume you were not invited to the wedding? I heard it would be as splendid as Princess Cecily's wedding."

"Hmmph. You will have to inform me about it afterwards, good son. I will be interested to hear about the wedding." His tone dripped with sarcasm. "I understand why the Duke of York will be given such lavish wedding celebrations as the brother of the King, but what I want to know is why the sudden nature of his marriage to Maria Anna of Bavaria. She is only a girl of eleven! You better go to your wife. She may be wondering where you are..."

Depressed and broken-hearted, Eleanor stayed in her chambers, away from the revelries and chatter of Edmund's wedding to Maria Anna.

She was happy that her brother will marry someone he knew for the majority of his life, but could not be joyful enough to attend his wedding.

Earlier that day, Arthur had visited her in her chambers.

"You are well, I hope?" he had asked.

"As well as I could be," she had answered bitterly. "Lord Ormond promised to love me, but he decided to marry Lady Jane Grey instead. She betrayed me! I thought she was my friend, but she married the man I loved and then left for Poland with Cecily instead of staying in my service! I would've forgiven her if she did not flee to Poland like a coward."

Arthur nodded uncomfortably, wondering if it was a mistake to send the Marchioness of Ormond to Poland after all. "Will you still forgive her if she returns to your service?" he inquired. He was genuinely fond of his youngest sister and did not want her to suffer.

"Of course. I will always forgive her."

"What if she chooses to remain in Cecily's household?"

"She will be a fool." Her cold tone surprised Arthur. "Why would she wish to stay in Poland when her family is here in England?" Eleanor continued. "I do not understand why she went to Poland either. She has two unmarried sisters. Why couldn't they go and serve Cecily in Poland?"

I wanted to punish Hal, thought Arthur, but he said, "I will write to Lady Ormond and request her to return for you."

"She is a princess, is she not?"

"By marriage, yes. Why?"

"I always hear courtiers call her 'Lady Ormond' and they call Hal 'Lord Ormond'. Hal is a prince of Lancaster and by marriage, Jane is a princess. Shouldn't they be addressed in a manner more fit for those of royal blood?"

Arthur looked at her, astonished. "You are a clever one, are you not?! I will tell the court to address them as 'Their Highnesses, Prince Henry and Princess Jan of Lancaster'. Will that not please you, my dear sister?! Now, I have news-"

"I am to be betrothed to the Crown Prince of Sweden."

Arthur gave her another amazed look. "You are indeed full of surprises today, my Eleanor! How can you possible know I plan to find you a Swedish prince to marry?! Either way, now that you are aware of it, I might as well inform you the details. Uncle George has managed to convince King Gustav I of Sweden to sign a peace treaty with England. Fortunately, his heir – Crown Prince Eric of Sweden, Duke of Kalmar – pursues a pro-English friendship policy rather than a more traditional pro-Polish or pro-Danish alliance that was done in the past. I believe the Crown Prince is a handsome fellow and well-educated and quite well-liked by the Swedish people."

"I see."

A little uneasy about Eleanor's calmness and impassive facial expression, he continued, "It is an extremely beneficial treaty for England. There will be peace between England and Sweden, if France happens to declare war on England, Sweden will send military aid, and we will send them military assistance if Denmark happens to invade. Furthermore, Sweden is interested in purchasing our wool, as it is often seen as the best in Christendom. All we must do is acknowledge the Swedish King's betrothal to Lady Katarina Stenbock. Apparently he is infatuated with the woman."

"That is indeed a treaty advantageous for England!" Eleanor frowned a little like a woman of eighteen rather than a girl of thirteen. "I am astonished King Gustav is willing to marry me to his heir for Sweden to gain so little!"

Arthur snorted, "He is a doddering old man who is clearly in love with a commoner! Uncle George saw it as a chance to benefit England and he took it! I wish to reward him for successfully arranging a treaty between England and Sweden."

"When will I marry the Crown Prince of Sweden?"

"When you are sixteen, I suppose. You are still quite young to marry and leave England." He patted her hand affectionately. "I cannot have you running to Sweden now, eh?!"

Eleanor was silent for a moment before she said bluntly, "I wish to go to Sweden."

"What?!" said Arthur, taken back. "You are only a girl!"

"I do not want to stay in England. It reminds me of Hal, Lady Jane – I mean, Princess Jane – and a mountain of lies. If you must arrange a political marriage for me, please be merciful and allow me to leave for Sweden immediately."

"I..."

"I am unhappy here." Eleanor wiped away a small tear. "I thought I would be the Marchioness of Ormond and future Duchess of Richmond and Lancaster, but Jane Grey took it away from me. I can forgive her, but I will never be happy as long as I live in England."

"Eleanor...I will miss you."

"You will have the Queen of Scots here in a few years."

"It will not be the same! Cecily has left us, Edmund is getting married to Maria Anna and will be leaving for his York estates and all that I have left is Elizabeth! He took a deep breath and pleaded, "Eleanor, you are my favourite sister. Why torment me through departing to Sweden? Stay here! If you cannot bear England, go to Ireland or Wales and rule in my stead! I will make you the Duchess of Ireland and you can rule Ireland in your own right! Don't leave!"

"I cannot leave without your permission," said Eleanor softly. "If you command me to stay, I will, but with a heavy heart."

Arthur stared at her, bewildered.

He thought for a moment. "Why not go to Poland?" he suggested. "It is close to Sweden, yet far from England. It wouldn't be a foreign land as Cecily will be there, and I'm certain she will take good care of you if Sigismund is willing for you to stay in Poland for a year or two and finish your education there! You will also be able to see your betrothed from time to time as I am certain Sigismund will seek a peace alliance with Sweden at some point."

Eleanor nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds like exactly what I need!" She darkened as she remembered Jane was in Poland. "What about Jane?"

"If you prefer, I will order her back to England."

"Where is Hal?"

Arthur chuckled a little. "Dear sister...you have been nursing a broken heart for far too long! You must rejoin us at court! Hal will not bother you, I can promise you that."

"I thought you planned to send him to Scotland."

"Oh, I did, but I postponed his trip by a year. He is more use here as Uncle George is in Sweden and will

be there for another month or so. I thought being friends with him is better than being his enemy."

Eleanor nodded. "He is a good man," she admitted.

"A hardworking one too," agreed Arthur. "He also seems to have excellent advice on maintaining a fair tax throughout England from what I've heard."

"You know...I think I am ready to join in the celebrations." She smiled. "I will try and look forward to my brilliant future and forget my childish infatuation for Prince Hal of Lancaster. He is now a married man and I am a royal princess of England and soon to be married to the Crown Prince of Sweden. Will you truly allow me to stay in Poland for a year or two?"

"Yes," Arthur affirmed. "Whatever you wish for, I will grant it." He kissed her forehead and held out his hand after flourishing a bow. "My dear sister, will you do me the honour by dancing with me in the wedding celebrations today?"

Great excitement spread through court like wildfire as on the third and final night of the Duke of York's wedding celebrations, there would be a re-enactment of the well-remembered masquerade performance of 'The Assault on the Chateau Vert'.

It was thirty years since 'The Assault on the Chateau Vert' was performed in York Place – now called 'Whitehall Palace' – and now it would be performed again in the very same palace.

Arthur asked Anne to play the part of Perseverance again, but she declined and suggested Elizabeth play Perseverance in her stead.

It took only a matter of hours for the ladies to be assigned roles – Beauty, Honour, Perseverance, Kindness, Constancy, Bounty, Mercy and Pity – and taught the dance steps. The idea of re-enacting the performance only came to Arthur during the feast at night during the first day of Edmund's wedding celebrations, but it did not take long for the chosen performers to learn their steps dedicatedly or the seamstresses to create their gowns speedily.

Like his father before him, Arthur decided to take part in the performance with seven of his closest and most fondest relatives (or friends). The majority of courtiers assumed he would play the part of Nobleness as he had a more noble nature than his predecessor's amorous behaviour.

Even Arthur's sisters were confident he played Nobleness.

Despite being reminded of her first encounter with Henry VIII, Anne was extremely excited to watch the re-enactment of 'The Assault on the Chateau Vert' and was more than happy to explain the story to the Swedish ambassador, Dionysius Beaurraeus.

Opposite the awaiting audience in the large chamber, was a well-constructed and elaborate castle freshly painted green with battlements in hundreds of pieces of green tinfoil. The musicians – hidden in the constructed castle – played softly as eight ladies in white satin gowns, golden masks (intricately decorated) and headdresses of Venetian gold stood on the three towers quietly.

Standing across from them were the eight lords – Amorousness, Nobleness, Youth, Attendance, Loyalty, Pleasure, Gentleness and Liberty – dressed handsomely in caps and coats of gold and tinsel with blue velvet buskins and great mantle cloaks of matching blue satin.

Three women stood in each tower with the exception of two who stood in the main tower which had a burning cresset and – like the other towers – a banner painted with three hearts torn to pieces, a woman's hand gripping a man's heart and a woman's hand turning a man's heart upside down. Guarding the virtuous ladies were the Eight Vices in black gowns, masks decorated with gold and headdresses similar to those playing the Eight Virtues, with the exception that it was coloured in black (though outlined in gold) to match their gowns.

"Who are they, Your Majesty?" murmured Dionysius Beaurraeus.

"The captors," whispered Anne. "They keep the Virtues prisoner."

The Master of the Revels and son of the original writer and designer – William Cornish the Younger – was clad in crimson satin that had been embroidered with burning flames in gold as Ardent Desire, led the lords' dance towards the castle.

Waving his wooden sword vigorously with a hearty roar at the audience, Ardent Desire leapt back in place in front of the 'Chateau Vert'. "As Ardent Desire, I demand you release your prisoners!" he shouted to the ladies in black.

"As Lady Scorn, I laugh at your desires," a Vice called back, a smirk lingering on her face.

"These men are noble lords!"

"No! They're just men dressed up," countered another Vice.

With a bright, entertained smile, Ardent Desire replied, "I say it again, release these fair damsels that you keep so cruelly!"

"Never!"

"You give us no choice, but to attack and breach your defences!"

"No knight shall ever breach mine!" said another Vice cheekily. The audience and lords laughed for a good minute before Ardent Desire said, "Let desire overcome all!" and after a suspenseful drum roll, he flourished his sword and yelled, "Attack!"

At the sound of the cannon, the lords raced towards the castle and threw rose petals at the Vices while they counteracted through showering the lords with rosewater. Soon, the lords 'rescued' the virtuous ladies and led them into a dance, the majority of the audience – including Anne – assuming the first lord (Amorousness) was Hal with his dance partner (Beauty) being none other than his sister Katherine, who had paid another visit to England, this time without her husband or sisters-in-law.

When the signal of the unmasking came, the audience gasped as Amorousness – now paired with Constancy – was revealed to be Arthur! No one thought twice of their King playing the same role as his father did before him.

Arthur smiled at the tall, beautiful, brunette woman in front of him. "My Lady Constancy," he said, with a bow. "I believe I am at a disadvantage: you know my name, while I do not know yours."

"That can be easily remedied, Your Majesty," replied Lady Constancy with a deep curtsey. "I am Lady Jane Dudley, daughter of Lord Warwick and Lady Lovell."

The identities of the other chosen performers in the re-enactment will be revealed in the next chapter, but you are more than welcome to guess (please do!) ;) I will definitely write about Cecily's married life in Poland in later chapters and will hopefully move to late 1552 or early 1553 in the chapter after the next. No promises though :)