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With Edward off on progress with basically the entirety of the court, Anne had a lot of time to herself. She returned home for two months, spending some time with her little Henry, and some time with her other children, but mostly she confined herself to her rooms to think. When she returned to court, the summer progress was on its way back home and Anne had a plan at the ready to fix her and Edward's relationship.

Many rumors had flown about the palace, much before the court had left for progress, about the little queen's loyalty to her most royal of husbands. Anne had listened carefully to all the ones she had heard (which was probably all of them) and stored them in her head for safekeeping. She had never thought that one day these rumors would be put to such good use; she was going to use the information to win back Edward's attention and to distract him from work. It was the best plan she could come up with for the moment, and her quick thinking had always impressed Edward, so she thought it was a good place to start. He still loved her; she knew that, it was just prying his attention away from work that would be difficult.

When the court made it back to the palace at last, Edward's interest in Anne stood above all others, but only for a night and to Anne's dismay that night had to go to waste since she was still pregnant. A night where they could not lay together however, was easily used in Anne's favour to speak to Edward of what she had heard while he was away.

"How was the progress?" Anne asked, as she sat down across from her husband, a goblet in her hand.

"Busy." Edward replied. He had one night to escape from his work and he wished that Anne did not have to bring it up. "I missed you."

Anne's heart warmed with his remark, but she knew that she had far from won the battle. They had not seen each other for several months; of course he had missed her. He should have thought about that before he didn't invite me along! "I missed you too darling, but please, tell me of your time away."

"I wish not to speak much of it, Anne. It was not very exciting; all work and no play." Edward replied, shrugging.

I would certainly hope there was no play. Anne nodded her head, hearing a warning in Edward's tone. "That's a drag." She said, somewhat sarcastically. She wanted to remind him of the mistake he had made, the way he had treated her.

He watched her carefully, taking in her expression and the tone of her voice. He decided to ignore her reminder temporarily and he leaned forward in his seat, putting his hand on her knee. He rubbed it and smiled up at her, bringing memories back. "I am glad to be back in London, where my heart is." He assured her, squeezing her leg. He then released her and inched his chair closer so he could reach her stomach. He put a hand on her belly. "How is our child?"

For a moment, Anne froze. When Edward had put his hand on her knee she had been reminded of their first meeting and it made her heart ache in longing for an Edward who had eyes for nothing but her. She took a breath in and moved her hand to place it on top of his. She couldn't bear to look into his eyes for that moment. "Well, of course. I am a seasoned child carrier." She joked, though judging by her tone, one wouldn't have known. She sounded hollow and distant.

Edward looked her in the eyes, and felt his stomach turn slightly as he realized she was not looking back into his. One thing they had always been good at was eye contact, but now Anne would not look at him and he knew why. "What else did you get up to while I was away?" He asked, swallowing his worry. "No trouble, I hope."

"Husband, you should know I always get up to trouble." Anne replied, taking a sip from her goblet, still refusing to turn her eyes to Edward. There was the trace of a smirk on her face, but she was holding back. "I've been around… kept my ears and eyes peeled for anything important." Out of the corner of her eye, Anne could see Edward raise his eyebrows.

"Well, did you hear or see anything of interest?" he asked.

"Perhaps." Anne replied slyly. She finally turned her gaze to him as she swirled the liquid in her goblet around. "I am not sure if you'd be interested."

Edward knew well that his wife was teasing him, and since he had no idea what she may have heard while he was away, curiosity filled him and he looked into her eyes with yearning. "You know well that I am always interested in these things, wife. Do tell."

Anne smirked at him and stood up slowly from her seat, walking towards the window. Edward was quick to stand and follow behind her. "I may have worded that wrong. I should have said I am not sure if you deserve to know what I know."

Edward furrowed his brow slightly as Anne looked at him with that content smirk on her face that she bore when she knew something he didn't. "Anne, I am sorry about before, I have told you that already. What else must I do?"

She shrugged seemingly carelessly. "You will have to work harder than that to regain my trust. Surely you must know that, husband?"

"I do not think I have treated you as badly as you are thinking. You're blowing this entire situation out of proportion for your own amusement!" He argued.

Anne turned to him completely, one hand on her belly, her mouth open slightly. "Do you really think that?" She asked, appalled. "Then I should think you truly don't want to know what I know. I should think to keep it to myself, or perhaps, I'll tell Thomas instead."

Edward's eyes widened in anger. "You will tell Thomas nothing." He said, getting in Anne's face. Anne looked him in the eyes fearlessly.

"I will do as I wish." She replied and began to turn from him but he grabbed her arm before she could get away. He turned her back to him and looked at her with fierce eyes.

"I am very lenient with you, Anne. I allow you to do almost everything you please, but I am your husband and when I asked for something you will listen and obey." Edward snarled. She had clearly pushed him too far with the Thomas remark.

Anne attempted to pull her arm away but Edward's grasp was much to firm. "Let go of me." She ordered. "I will tell you nothing if you continue to death grip me in such a violent manner!"

For the few moments that Edward had been holding on to Anne's arm, he hadn't really been thinking. His anger had overcome him and he had acted and spoken without consideration. His eyes were still wide, but a lot less angry. He released Anne's arm quickly, putting his hand to his side. "You best not speak to Thomas of anything, especially alone."

Anne rubbed her arm; a red mark had formed from the tightness of Edward's grip. She looked up at him with disgust. "I was only teasing you. You know better than anyone, better than even Thomas himself, what I think of him!" She looked back down at her arm, stroking it lightly and then back at him. "How dare you grab me like that? What has happened to you?"

Edward looked down at her arm with confusion and then attempted to reach out to touch her, but she shifted back as if she was afraid. He sighed but didn't give up. He looked into her eyes and then reached gently out for her elbow, too quickly for her to notice. He placed his other hand on her arm, stroking her where his fingerprints had left a mark. He looked at her sadly, but he couldn't bring himself to apologize since it had been the green monster inside of him that had acted that way and not him. He hated the way Thomas's name came off Anne's lips and it had brought him to his breaking point. He leaned over and kissed Anne's arm lightly. "We used to keep no secrets from each other." He said quietly. "Can we not return to the way things used to be, instead of what they have become?"

Anne had watched Edward with careful eyes as he kissed her arm, stroking it with his gentle fingers. "I don't know if we can, Edward…" She said, honestly, revealing her distress to him. "I want to, but when you act in such a manner, how can we?"

"It is not only me that is acting foolishly." He reminded her sternly. "You are provoking me on purpose with matters you know trouble my mind on a day to day basis. You have no idea how glad I was to have Thomas come on progress with us, and have him far away from you, or how glad I was to at last, return home to my wife. I am not good at speaking of my feelings and emotions, like you, but I will admit that I felt terribly for lying to you. There was not a day, not even an hour that went by while on progress, where I did not think of it. You were constantly on my mind, Anne, I swear to you."

"You do not need to swear." Anne said, looking away for a moment. She believed in his guilt, she just wasn't sure how she was supposed to react to it. "I should have reacted more maturely to the situation to begin with, or perhaps not attached myself to your hip at all times. I hope you realize now, after leaving me alone for several months, that I am perfectly capable of separating myself from you when you need it." She decided not to tell him that she had spent most of his time away locked in her room. It was a weak part of her he did not need to see.

"I see that very clearly now." Edward replied, nodding. "I wish I had of realized before, but I know now that I will never make that same mistake again. Will you forgive me for keeping something from you?"

Anne looked back to him and sighed. "Yes, I will, as long as you promise never to lie to me or withhold information from me again, and as long as you promise never to touch me like you just did, never to let your anger take hold of you like that."

"I promise." He said, hoping he could stick to his word. If he didn't, he feared what Anne's reaction would be a second time around. It's not as if she could divorce me, what do I fear? Losing her love. Edward looked his wife up and down with concern. "You should sit down."

Anne did not argue with him, and allowed him to lead her back over to their seats. He sat down beside her and took her hand in his, stroking it, like he used to. He looked at her with loving eyes, like he used to. Without even disclosing the information she knew to him, she had already got them this far. Her only question was, would it stick? "Do you still wish to know what I heard?" she asked.

"Only if you wish to disclose it to me." He replied calmly. He didn't want to be even slightly forceful with her. He knew how much she loved to make her own decisions, so he would allow her this one.

"I do." Anne said, after a few moments of looking him over.

He smiled slightly and brought her hand to his lips. "Tell me then."

"While you were all away, I had little company but the maids, and they spoke of our little queen often. They spoke of several appointments she has made over the year to some of her old friends, from the house of the dowager Duchess of Norfolk. I am sure you are aware, husband, of the fact that she appointed a personal secretary and a musician?"

Edward nodded. "Francis Dereham and Henry Manox. She informed the council and the King of these appointments."

"Yes, well, the maids seem to believe, or rather, one of them claims to know for a fact that these men had a history with the little Catherine Howard before she became queen. I, of course, took into consideration upon hearing such rumors, that it was maid's talk and could easily be all lies. I wouldn't ignore the fact that I had heard such gossip of course. A few weeks ago, the Archbishop of Canterbury himself came to the palace, and found that, as I had just returned from home, I was virtually the only one he could speak to. Mister Cranmer is aware of the fact that I am your wife, and he decided to trust me with some very important information which I believe he will present to the King himself, as soon as he has compiled all the information he needs."

"What is it?" Edward asked curiously.

Anne smiled at his reaction, and his eagerness. "The Archbishop has been in contact with a man named John Lascelles. He's a Protestant man, and his sister, Mary Hall, was one of the chambermaids in the dowager Duchess's household." Anne's smile quickly turned to a grin. "Mary admitted to having witnessed Catherine Howard with the two men that she has recently appointed to her household, Francis and Henry, having sex."

Edward could not believe her words. He shook his head. "You're saying that the Queen has previously had carnal knowledge of other men, two men which she has only just recently appointed to her household with ease?"

"Yes." Anne said, nodding her head, a smirk on her face. "The Queen of England shall once more be charged with treason, I think. Do you realize what that means?"

"We'll be getting the Howard girl and the Howard family, away from the crown." Edward stated.

"Yes!" Anne exclaimed happily.

"And Cranmer is sure of all this?" Edward asked.

"More than sure." Anne assured him. "He has told me he will write to the King with all the information as soon as he has compiled all the information and proof that he can."

Edward grinned. "I do hope that he does a good job with this letter, of course, the King cannot ignore the truth. It may take time, but he will be inclined to accept the fact that his young wife is a naïve whore and then he will have to get rid of her, and when he does, she will shame the Howard name once more, just like her cousin." Edward placed his hands on either of his wife's cheeks and kissed her on the lips. "Forgive me for ever treating you the way I have, you are the most spectacular woman a man could ever ask for, and you deserve to be treated like a queen."

Anne laughed happily and kissed her husband back. At last, she felt like she had secured their relationship. They were once again working as a team, and she would make sure that it stayed that way, for if she had to go through the pain of being ignored and regarded secondarily to anything or anyone else again, she would not stand for it.