Chapter #52: Lessons In Politics

"I will hurt you for this, the day will come when your joy turns to ashes and you will know the debt is paid"

~Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones S.2 promo.

1574, April 2nd

(England, London)

Hampton Court

"Finally!" Eustace Chapuys expressed after he received the letter confirming the King of France's death. He hands it over to his wife who nods approvingly."You know what this means"

"I do but correct me if I am wrong the King left a daughter and a brother, weak as they maybe they are still the natural heirs to the throne"

"Natural but not the strongest" Eustace corrected "Henry of Orleans or Henry III has a weaker constitution than his brothers and too close to his mother will make him appear a weakling to the people of France. You know what they say about the Queen Dowager."

Elizabeth shook her head "Poor woman" she said rising from her chair. She stopped giving her husband trouble after the little fiasco with Cecil but she and Cecil remained the true power behind the throne behind Eustace ... They learned to hide it better after that. "She has been bullied all her life by the French people, the rumors are not true you know. They said the same thing about my mother when Mary's mother died"

Eustace sighed. The subject of her mother remained delicate so he was surprised she decided to touch on it. Nevertheless he responded in a practical tone "Nothing matters but how it ends. Henry III will not last long in the throne of France and Philip bids for Henry of Navarre."

"And Diana is drawn into the middle." Eustace said nothing. "Eustace you dream too big for your grandchildren and that all is fine except when you add Diana into the equation."

"What makes Diana so special to you?"

"Well ... I ... she is my niece as her mother, and I loved her father very much. It is natural I care for her. Henry of Navarre is a good man but good men rarely last in power. Philip supports him that he's converted but what will happen when he returns to Protestantism? Will Philip be so happy to embrace him as his son in law?"

"Diana will be Queen of France."

"Philip cannot stand a world where his will is not recognize and France is his natural enemy first and foremost since the time of his ancestors you must remember that Eustace. Now, if Diana were to marry someone else, maybe a German Prince..."

"No"

"No?" Elizabeth asked outraged. "But it is the Wittelsbach House. What better way than to put out these rumors that Annie is not Philip of Bavaria's daughter!" She said raising her voice a little higher than intended, the servants scattered their rooms.

"She is not Philip of Bavaria's daughter she is my daughter and everyone knows that"

"Everyone but no one admits to it unless pain of certain death. If one of Annie's children is betrothed to one of their cousins-"

"They are not their cousins"

But Bess continued -"If they are betrothed to one of their cousins it will put an end to the whispers and she would officially be recognized as claimant to his legacy."

"Mary is still alive and she has a daughter in law and that daughter in law has a son, her grandson. Albert is the Duke of Bavaria and the of the Palatinate Neuburg." Eustace said surprising Bess. For all his ambitions, he did not want his daughter to seem as an usurper to her legitimate nephew's lands.

Bess however had a different approach. "Your son in law has Hapsburg claims on the Netherlands and the Low Countries. The death of William of Orange and the capture of his son have not made his wars with these lands easier nor the revolts in the last six years. He will want a new source of money, for a man who has half the world, it is never enough. He has to have the whole world and why not give it to him?"

"You are asking me to plan the seeds of discord in his mind?"

"No, no ..." Bess waved her hand "On the contrary I am saying do what you do best, negotiate. Broker a deal with Philip over the claim Annie has as Philip of Bavaria's heir. Since he is a Hapsburg and their thirst for the world is known, he will form an alliance with his wayward brother in law, Maximilian and take the lands if the boy-Duke's mother refuses to give up his claim."

"She is a she-devil and with all the right in the world to defend what is rightfully Mary's grandson" Eustace said turning around. He opened the drapes to marvel at the sunset and its glorious display of colors, red, yellow, and orange.

"Do you still have feelings for her?" Eustace turned to his wife. "Ah, I knew it. You were never good at hiding your feelings from me Eustace."

After all these years, in a moment of stress his movements, the way he avoided her gaze, betrayed him. And the mention of her, coming from a woman he once used to hate for her maternal relations but now loved, inflamed him. She was not a subject he was all too willing to touch. Bess should know that by now.

"Come Eustace admit to it" Her voice turned soft then "You will not hurt me if you do. I knew what I was getting into when I married you and I am not ashamed for that because I loved you but I need to know if you still have feelings for my sister."

You can't have three people in a marriage -Her mother said when she realized her father was not ready to give his Spanish Princess. She realized now that Eustace was not yet ready to give his.

"Eustace I need to know" She was not much for begging but desperation brought her to add "Please"

Eustace let his canes fall on the floor and sat next to her. "Yes it is true" Bess' face fell "But not in the way you think" Bess rose an eyebrow "I have feelings for her the way a man has feelings for a dish that was so good and will later cause him an indigestion."

"You hate her" Bess finished for him.

"I do not hate her, but I do not love her either. I dread her ... I truly do for I knew her mother and with the same strength she possessed she passed it over to her daughter. I was there on Katherine of Aragon's deathbed when she whispered to me -take care of my daughter -keep her from evil." Eustace sighed and leaned his head on Bess' shoulder. He was impressed by her puffed hair made her impressive "She referred to keep her from the devil's taint. That night ... I ... we ... I took advantage. It was not real. She was in need and I always felt admiration for her mother and we acted on our basic instincts born out of need, nothing more."

"I did not know. You never talked of that night."

"I was so ashamed afterward, not because of what she did but what I did. I always felt responsible for her the way a father should but I could not deny my instinct to posses her, and I took advantage of her emotional need, after we kissed ... we could not stop."

"You did nothing wrong Eustace. Mary was no pure dove, she knew what she was doing the minute she laid with you."

"Did she? I always wondered if she did. She was very fragmented after her mother's death."

"We have only ourselves to blame for our actions. God helps those who help themselves, and if Mary wants to lay the blame on your doorstep she is welcome to do so, but she has only herself to blame. You can't carry this weight forever Eustace, you have to let her go once and for all."

Eustace smiled and nodded "You are right, it has been going on long enough" He said.

"Of course I'm right, I always am" She said with playful smile placing her hand on his knee.

"We should visit George one day. He has matured a lot since Robbie's death"

"Aye" Bess said with a sad expression but she composed herself. "I like that idea very much and it will do us good to get away from all this madness even for a short while"

Eustace agreed and lifted his head to kiss her lips. He had been impressed with the level of maturity his son displayed since then but he was sad it had to be due to that tragedy.

"We will have full day of madness with our granddaughters running around wild. Petra I hear is just like you."

She laughed, "So I hear is little Bess. I will gladly trade the madness of this court over our grandchildren." They locked their lips in a passionate kiss.

Mary scanned the contents of the letter. She heard a knock at the door and turned to Susan "Answer the door Susan" Susan did as Mary told her.

It revealed their secret messenger. "Come, sit here and talk quickly or they will note your absence."

She sat at the end of the table facing the dark mistress. She got straight to it, "What did my sister say?"

"They said nothing Your Grace."

"Nothing? You were gone for more than forty minutes and all you have to say of their conversation is nothing?"

"Nothing relevant I... I mean Your Grace"

"I still want to hear"

She gulped twirling one loose blond curl around her plump fingers. The Lady Governor was a good mistress but her family was in desperate need of money and Margery Greenwood cared very little for the boy-King and the new religion. She remained to this day a devout Catholic and she believed she was serving the true faith spying for the Dowager Duchess.

She told everything she heard.

Mary turned to Susan "Giver her the Sovereign Susan"

Susan took a golden coin from Mary's velvet pouch and handed it over to the woman.

"Serve us well and your family shall be rewarded when the True King comes." Mary said.

Margery greedily took the Golden Sovereign, thanked her Mistress and departed.

Mary turned to Susan once she left. "Well? Should we trust her information?"

"It could all be a ruse. Bess is too smart to speak such things in public."

"Supposing it is though," Mary insisted "My daughter would be handing Bavaria and the titles to Philip of Spain."

Susan gave a nervous laugh. "Annie would never allow it" She spread her hands, more obvious sign of her nervousness. "She has no reason to usurp Albert's inheritance."

"Albert's no but Henry's she does. She never liked my boy" Mary said crisply.

She remembered Henry how he clung to life in his last moments. They told her her son was dead the minute he hit his head on the hard ground but she could hear him breathing when they brought his corpse. The stag had been for her brother. God keep his soul, she thought then, he failed his promise to the True Church his mother served and he failed me, his true heir!
They would pay. It taken her time, but her plan was coming into fruition, it was too late to turn back now.
She had played the perfect courtier for her grandson's sake; the time to take her mask off was now. She would show the world … she would show Eustace …

Susan shook her head. Mary had to let go of this hatred. It was destroying her. "She is blameless for his death."

Mary glared at her "What do you know of loss? You never experienced the death of child, comforted him when he journeyed to the underworld, kissed him while they dressed him ... I still dress him in my dreams." Mary's voice broke. Her hand went to her mouth.

Susan knelt to her mistress and clutched her other hand. "I do know Mary. I had one miscarriage before I had Anthony though I never knew suffering as you did. Your son will be King if God wills it."

She shook her head. "No" She said regaining her toughness "He WILL be King. I will make him King" And Margaret will be my puppet. I will undermine all of her dreams. She will know suffering and when her joy turns to ashes and her glorious Empire is destroyed I will let her die. She vowed.

Susan could do nothing but keep her hands wrapped around Mary's bony hand. It was all she could do, offer comfort. She was still their Mary. She was still Katherine's Mary. There was good in her deep down; she was still that little girl that run wild around Ludlow Castle seeking for warmth.