Ok obviously I didn't get this out quicker than the last chapter. I'm so sorry. University's intense but it's been way to long. This was not easy to write so I decided to make it several chapters instead of one big as I just can't get it right. It almost seemed like it wasn't to be since I've tried to upload it for the past four hours but now i hope it'll work...
I hope you like it! Please review they make me happy and more likely to tackle this.
I ask you to remember that this is way before the show and the clever and cunning Edward Seymour we saw. Now he's trying to plot while he's too inexperienced.
November 19 1523
Master Kingston, the guardian of the tower of London, looked at the man in disgust. His position in life meant that they could not torture him and while master Kingston normally was not a man fond of the imprecise measure of obtaining information, this man had crossed so many borders that if he had been tortured master Kingston perhaps might not feel as troubled as he usually did. The man had attacked an innocent woman. To make matters worse the woman was pregnant and she was the King's mistress. The King was furious and so was most of court. Most acknowledged that the Lady Rochford was as good as royal mistresses come. She did not rub it into the Queen's face but instead always made sure to honour the Queen and the Princess and always refer of the Princess as his Majesty's heir. She did not meddle in politics and therefore she had few enemies. Most families rather had a woman who stayed out of politics in Lady Rochford's position than a woman of a rivalling family.
The Lady was waking up he had been informed and it seemed like her child had made it out of the ordeal, thank heavens. However that did not mean that the King was less furious. The Seymour man had been thrown into a cell without his furs and finery and had not been given food yet. The man would be interrogated later and no one felt like giving him the luxury of food. The man was still looking defiant and slightly desperate when he was brought out of cell into a barely lit chamber for interrogation. There was no fire burning only the light form the torches made it possible to see in the room. Seymour was roughly pushed down on a stool. The Duke of Suffolk who had arrested him and the cardinal would be the main interrogators and looked at the man sitting on the stool in the damp room in the cellar in disgust. The man started to protest as soon as no one was any longer dragging him.
"My father is a knight and no matter what that woman has said I have done nothing. You can never trust women! Always lying and laying blame on others." The men surveyed Seymour as something disgusting underneath their shoes.
"The Lady Rochford is a peer of the realm, an honour that as far as I know neither you nor your father can claim. The only person above the law is the King as the King is the law. You have willingly and eagerly poisoned a peer of the realm and her unborn child. Can you tell me anything that would refute these charges?" the dance was on and Edward Seymour felt the need to reassure himself that all of this would soon be over. In his standing he would not be tortured and nothing else would make him spill his secrets.
"I have done nothing wrong." The men smiled at him the Duke laid down a document on the table between Edward and the Duke. He pushed it towards Edward.
"This document is the witness by the servants in the royal kitchens including the cook. All of them mention seeing you slip into the kitchen and some even mentions that you were asked why you were in the kitchen and if they could help you. Do you know what you asked for Mister Seymour?" the man was starting to sweat a bit, but Edward reminded himself that the word of servants would never be more reliable than his.
"Probably some late nights snack I presume. Besides what standing and credibility do servants have?" the cardinal walked slowly towards him. He was smiling a sinister smile.
"You should be surprised how much courts rely on servants, Mister Seymour. Perhaps to be tried in front of your peers if you were a peer the word of a servant would not mean as much, but normal courts are not consisted of peers. Many of those men rely more on person's individual credibility rather than your pedigree. Now Mister Seymour if I said that you had ordered apples, would that be what your memory tells you?" sweating even more the man tried to avoid the eyes of the cardinal who seemed to try to look through him.
"Perhaps I ordered apples. I do not know how that is relevant?" the Duke smiled thinly at him.
"Because you than proceeded to tell a pageboy to bring the apples to Lady Rochford's room after you had prepared them a bit more did you not?" Edward fidgeted on the stool feeling the ache in his shoulders as the iron on his forearms weighed them down uncomfortably.
"I did not…" suddenly the Duke was in front of him and hauled him to his feet and slammed him into the wall behind Edward. He could feel his head smash against the wall and saw stars dancing in front of his eyes.
"You ordered the apples and asked a page to deliver them to the lad, we know this and you cannot worm your way out. You have been most careless mister Seymour; we used to think you shoed such promise. We remember well the anger you showed when you were banished from court for bothering the Lady. Now you will suffer the death of a poisoneer, being slowly boiled alive." The man threw him no too gently to the floor and smiled at him and turned to walk away the cardinal leading the way. He stopped in the hallway as if remembering something.
"I almost forgot. His Majesty might consider leniency if you name your fellow conspires." The man looked at the man in fear and started shaking.
Mistress Jane Seymour was at the time her brother was being interrogated shrieking harshly in the spacious and richly but not ostentatiously decorated rooms of the Lady Rochford. No one knew why the woman had been allowed in but her diatribe was interesting for the guards. The Lady Rochford or simply Mary was sitting in her bed, propped up by pillows and with a robe loosely around her. She was assisted in sitting up by her cousin and Lady in Waiting Margaret Howard. Lady Rochford looked very pale and tired, but fire was in her eyes as Jane screeched.
"Harlot, you should have been gone to pay for your sins. How dare you poison his Majesty's mind towards me? Were you so jealous that I would take your place or could you not bear to see me be a better Lady for the King? I would treat the King and his family much better than you! You're nothing but a whore and you should have died. What magic did you use to keep alive that poison should kill anyone my brother promised me? Witch get away from the King and Queen your mere presence are an insult to them. They need a virtuous woman. You and your spawn deserve to be drowned." She shrieked as the guard took a hold of her after she advanced on the Lady Rochford. The Queen standing by her door looked furious and the young Princess was holding her half-brother close to her hoping that he did not understand the woman's insane words. As her brother was not yet two he should hopefully not understand her insanity even if she scared him. The Princess meanwhile decided that should this woman ever take the place of her beloved aunt Mary who always had kind words, hugs and presents for her after her curtsying for her and always wrote her letters and praised the Princess, Mary would do her best to make her father banish this insane woman. If anyone was a witch it was this mistress Seymour.
Jane shrieked and thrashed as the other guards took her arms and started to drag her away. She tried to slap them and when she could not reach them with her trapped arms she tried to kick them. With her kicking she managed to upend a table causing the vase and needlework on it to crash to the ground. The vase shattered and the water leaked out on the carpet making it necessary to sidestep it while on of the maids came out of their stupor and hurried to dry it up. Mary meanwhile put her brother on a large chair and hoped he would stay there as she turned around to glare at the offending woman.
"Get you filthy hands of me! I am Jane Seymour, the King will here of this!" Jane froze however as she heard a voice from the door.
"Mistress Seymour. The guards are here at the King's command to protect the Lady Rochford and her son, the Duke. You threatened two peers of England with one of them the King's acknowledged son, you confessed an attempted murder of the same peer and all of this in the presence of said peers, a Princess of England and the Queen of England. You are not welcome here and unless his Majesty disagrees with me you are going to a new address in the tower of London. That you presume to believe that I would prefer you to have Lady Rochford's position is laughable. She is gracious and kind and does not plot the demise of others. Quite frankly Mistress Seymour in no scenario would I prefer you to have the Lady Rochford's role in his Majesty's life." The Queen looked at Jane in cool disdain, while furious on the inside. Jane looked quite affronted and turned towards Mary.
"Do not even think to further abuse the Lady Rochford mistress Seymour! I am Queen of England and I know my own mind. I order you to be quiet woman. Have you no control of yourself." The Queen stressed all titles in hope that the woman would take the hint and remain quiet before the Queen lost control and slapped her. They all, except Jane who could not move, turned slightly as they heard the voice of the Duke of Suffolk.
"If I were you madam I would follow the advice of the Queen, for you are to be escorted to the tower with charges of high treason and poisoning a peer of the realm." The Duke motioned to the guards who dragged the kicking and screaming woman away as she managed to upturn a chair before she was dragged out of the rooms.
As Jane Seymour was dragged out through court very publicly and her charges were repeated by the guards and the Duke of Suffolk courtiers started gathering around to hear what the unpopular Lady had done. As most ladies felt insulted by Jane Seymour in some way, be it that their families supported the Lady or that she was too familiar to the Queen, or the hypocritical and moralising behaviour and comments of her own goodness in comparison to the other court ladies. Some were openly laughing at the Lady since they held her in no little contempt, but most were simply amazed that anyone thought that one could get away with poisoning the King's recognised mistress.
Jane continued to struggle as she was brought out of the court and into the boat and nearly fell of the boat in her struggles. Her struggles and cries of protest and damnation of the guards increased as she was brought into the tower through traitor's gate.
"I am a Lady and the King loves me. He will have your heads for this trust me. You will not get away with this and I would not be surprised if God himself struck you down. I am a virtuous Lady of the court and I demand that you realise me you dogs…"Jane did not stoop until the Duke stood before her looking dawn at her like she was nothing but vermin.
"You are despicable and hardly as virtuous as you think. You are a murderess and you will die as one. Your own brother has testified against you Mistress Seymour and I hope you are on good terms with God for your sake. The case is clear and you will be convicted for treason and poisoning. The only thing left for the King to decide is if he is to be merciful and have you beheaded, if you will burn or if you will slowly boil to death like the poisoner you are. As his best friend and confidante I can assure you that he feels no love for you either before or after he knew what you have done. He ordered your arrest and before that he did not even remember the name Jane Seymour nor did he recognises you when pointed out as anything less than a new and plain Lady in Waiting of her Majesty." Jane stared at him with her mouth open in dismay and fear as the door was shut behind him and with a load and final bang it was bolted to keep her looked up inside.