9 August 1535
Lady Mary Tudor held her breath, glancing around the dark and damp castle she knew her mother was living in, and suppressed a shiver.
"Mary," said a voice, and the former princess turned to see Lady Willoughby, the former Maria de Salinas, her mother's most loyal companion. Maria had accompanied the Infanta Catalina to England from Spain all those years ago.
"Lady Willoughby," said Mary. "How is my mother?"
"Not well, poor woman," said the baroness, "but is she ever?"
"Has she heard about my betrothal?"
"Yes," said Lady Willoughby. "She had hoped for a better match for you, a royal match. But she can do nothing to stop it, and she knows that."
"I am sorry she is disappointed," said Mary. At that moment, the door creaked open, and standing before them was Katherine of Aragon herself, in all her glory.
"Mary!" she cried, holding out her arms for her daughter.
"Mother!"
The two women embraced, and tears of joy at their reunion were abundant. "Mary," said the Spanish princess, "Oh, my dearest daughter, I heard you are to be married."
"Yes, Mother," said Mary. "I know you are disappointed that it is not a royal match, but Charles Howard is a good man," she assured her mother desperately. "He will treat me kindly, and give me children; and he has promised that we can name our first daughter 'Katherine', after you. And Father has promised to make Charles the Duke of Hereford and Earl of Wessex, so that I can be a Duchess."
"I would have preferred to see you married to a prince," said Katherine. "And if I had the strength of my mother, Isabella, I would insist upon it. But it is all I can do to insist on our titles as it stands."
Mary thought guiltily of her own signature on the Oath of Succession, but did not voice her thought. Instead, she said, "I think you are the strongest woman in the world, Mother. And your mother would be proud of you."
"Ah, my dear," said Katherine. "We always look at our mothers through rose-colored glasses; I know I did. And on her orders I made some of my greatest mistakes."
"Mistakes?" asked Mary. "What mistakes?"
The former Queen gazed out the window as she spoke.
"Many years ago," she said, "My mother told me that I was meant to be Queen of England. She said I must be Queen of England, at all costs; no matter who had to die for it – she had requested the death of Edward, Earl of Warwick, our Lady Salisbury's brother – or what lies must be told to ensure it. I took her wishes to heart and paid the price."
"What are you saying?" asked Mary.
After a moment, Katherine turned from the window.
"Nothing," she said. "I am saying nothing; only the ramblings of an old lady. You must forget it Mary, and we can use your visit to talk of something more pleasant. Tell me about your wedding."
Lady Mary hesitated. Had her mother just confessed to… lying? Surely not… surely Katherine of Aragon never told a lie in her life! But perhaps, on the orders from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella…. Mary could not think straight. What lie had her mother told? What lie had been her greatest mistake, and what had been its consequences?
10 August 1535
"It was very kind of Your Majesty to allow your daughter Mary to see her mother," said Queen Jane as she sat across from her husband, eating their dinner. "I'm sure they are both very grateful for the visit."
"Mary may be," said the King sharply. "But I have no doubt that Katherine will see it as little more than her due. My generosity was never well-received by her."
Jane ducked her head, unsure of how to proceed. Usually the King was so pleasant with her; why was he suddenly so short?
"How are the preparations for Lady Mary's wedding coming along?" Jane asked. "Has Master Howard been elevated to a position befitting the King's daughter?"
Again, the King's answer was short and sharp. "He will be elevated on his wedding day," he said. "And Mary will be honored as is befitting a King's natural daughter."
Jane felt frustration building up inside of her.
"I understand Lady Mary has been spending a significant amount of her time at Beaulieu Palace," she commented, "I had hoped there was something we could do to make court more pleasant for her."
"Mary will spend her time where she pleases," snapped the King again, truly angry now. "Why are you so insistent we speak of Lady Mary?"
"I had only thought that Your Majesty would like to speak of your daughter," said Jane, bowing her head in respect.
"I have two other daughters," yelled King Henry, rising from the table. "Two other daughters who are princesses! Perhaps I would like to speak of them! I am disappointed," he said, "that you have shown no interest in the two motherless girls in the royal nursery; you have made no effort to see them included at court, and all you wish to speak of is Lady Mary!" The King's voice was harsh. He stormed toward the door. "And furthermore, I am disappointed that you are not yet with child!"
With that, the King left the Queen's rooms in a huff, followed by his attendants and guards.
Queen Jane looked stricken as the King's words played out in her mind.
"Oh, Jane," her sister Elizabeth, Lady Oughstred, said, hovering over her. "Don't be upset, Jane, he's only angry, he'll calm down…."
13 August 1535
"Am I your favorite, Uncle George?" demanded little Princess Elizabeth.
"Of course you are," said George, Lord Rochford. "You're my absolute favorite; and so is your sister Cecily; and your cousin Catherine; and your cousin Henry; and your cousin Edward; and your cousin Anne."
"Uncle George!" cried eleven-year-old Catherine Carey in delighted protest. "We can't all be your favorite!"
"You can't?" Lord Rochford said, looking shocked. "Well, then, whatever shall I do? It seems now I must pick from amongst you."
"Pick me! Pick me!" the children all cried in delight.
Lord Rochford looked at each child, assessing them. Finally, he threw his hands up in defeat.
"I'm sorry, Bessie," he said to the Princess. "I can't pick."
"Aw, Uncle George!" they all protested.
"George Rochford!" said a voice, and everyone turned to see Mary Stafford, his sister. "Are you picking favorites again? You know perfectly well that you aren't supposed to do that."
"I'm sorry, Mary," George said, putting on an overly dramatic apologetic face.
She sighed. "Oh, let's go home," she scoffed. "We've kept the children from their lessons more than enough for one day. And we're needed back at court."
"Of course we are," said Lord Rochford, puffing out his chest. "For I am a very important man."
The children giggled as their uncle offered his arm to their aunt and she took it gratefully.
"Come on, now, all of you, back to your lessons," scolded the voice of Lady Bryan, the head governess. Because of the number of children in the household, King Henry had engaged a whole staff of nurses and governesses. Lady Bryan was especially in charge of the younger children.
"Part of me hates it when Lord Rochford comes," Lady Bryan whispered to Kat Champernowne, one of the younger governesses. "He throws the children's schedules all off. But the rest of me can't help but be amused by him."
18 August 1535
"Why aren't you with child yet, Jane?" Edward Seymour asked his sister. She had just finished recounting her dinner fiasco with her husband a few nights ago, and this was what he had hooked onto.
"What?"
"Well, if you were with child or had a son, none of the other things would matter," said Edward. "He'd talk to you about Lady Mary all you wanted if you were with child. He'd let you leave Anne Boleyn's brats at Hatfield to rot if you were with child."
Jane thought about that for a moment.
"Do you think I could convince him to restore Lady Mary as a princess if I was with child?"
Edward highly doubted it; the King was stubborn. Nonetheless, the most important thing right now was that Jane conceived and bore the King a healthy son.
"I would not be surprised if he did," Edward told her, smiling through his lie. "If you carried his son, he would do anything for you."
Jane looked thoughtful. "I am trying, Edward," she said.
"I know," Edward said, patting his sister's head condescendingly. "Just keep trying to conceive, and in the meantime be as kind and sweet as you can, and don't interfere with the King's matters. And especially don't bring up the Lady Mary."
Jane nodded uncertainly. "Must I pay attention to Anne Boleyn's brats?" she asked.
"Leave them for now," Edward said. "But if in a few months you still aren't with child, being a good mother to them might be a way that you can please the King and buy yourself some more time."
Jane nodded reluctantly. Another reason to fall with child immediately – to avoid seeing the Princesses who should not hold that title.
"But Jane," Edward added as he was leaving, "you'll still have to meet them. In fact, the King has already issued an order for the princesses to be brought to court for the celebrations in honor of Princess Elizabeth's birthday."
"When's that?" Jane asked.
Edward rolled his eyes. "September."