Chapter 5:

George Boleyn had had many regrets in life, First, he had first regretted not treating his wife the way she should be, loved and cherished but the truth was, no matter what he did, how hard he tried, he just couldn't bring himself to love her, to make it worse, she had a very bad attitude of gossiping and she was also quite graceless, he was thankful she had at least come from a rather wealthy family and so her dowry was quite large. His regret over his failed marriage came when Jane had died from complications due to a miscarriage and so George had felt guilty for her demise and that of their unborn child as he felt like he should have done everything in his power to ensure she had a safe and easy pregnancy but instead, he made it worse by not being around her by sending her away to live in the country, far away from him.

Then he regretted not protecting his sisters from their father and uncle's greed for power and wealth, first his sister Mary, was forced to become the french king's mistress-albeit, that was Mary's doing in the first place as she allowed the King of France to take her maidenhead- then allowing their father into forcing her to seduce the King of England and to become his mistress then he regretted encouraging his father's plan to use Anne to once again rise in the King's good graces by placing her in his sight and instructing Anne to keep the King's interest in her- she had succeeded in that though, but looking back, he realized that out of all of them, it was Anne who had been hurt the most, her reputation, though protected by the King and herself as she had adamantly refused to be his mistress- despite their father forcing her to submit to the King and despite the fact that everyone else thought she had lied about rejecting the king's offer as they had never seen the King act so in love and obsessed with a woman who had never slept with him- was still called a whore and concubine, her child, although legitimate in all sense, was still being considered a bastard and whose legitimacy is always being questioned. It was Anne who had suffered from the pressure of delivering the King a son and when she had failed, she had suffered even more from the pressure not only from the King but even from their father and uncle, and at some point, even from himself.

Now his sisters are estranged from him and from each other; Mary having been disowned by their father for marrying below her station and Anne who is exiled by the King in all but name after their divorce.

George had a lot of reasons for the guilt he has been feeling and his biggest regret is that he had never protected his sisters the way he should have, he was their older brother and it should have been his responsibility to see to their well-being when their father failed to do so and in the end, he too failed them.

This is probably also the reason why, after three months of silence, he had written Anne, asking for forgiveness for his lack of brotherly support and protection over the last months when she had needed her family the most. He had also written his desire to reconnect and his hope that they could once again be as close as they had been once.

For a few weeks, he thought he would never hear from Anne which would have meant that she hadn't forgiven him and had not wanted to reconnect with him and their family - it was not as if Anne was disowned by the family, no, their father was just too prideful to accept that fact that Anne had protected her daughter's birthright by allowing her husband to divorce her, she had done what Katherine failed to do for Mary, she secured her daughter's place in the line of succession- but he had feared that he had truly lost both his sisters and he didn't want that. Yes, George was ambitious but he was not as power hungry as his father and uncle, he had learnt the hard way that too much ambition can drive a wedge between families, he hadn't minded it when it drove a wedge between him and his father as they had never really been that close but when it drove a wedge between him and Mary, it had been painful and now that their desire for power had driven a wedge between him and his closest sibling, it was unbearable.

He and Anne had always been what their mother had called, "One head in two bodies" they had thought alike and were always doing things together, they had understood each other in a level that no one else would ever reach, not even Mary whom he was closer to in age.

When he had first received her letter, he was anxious. He had waited weeks for her letter to arrive and now that it was here, he felt like he didn't want to open as he feared what his sister might have written. He knew Anne had a temper, a temper he would alway aggravate when they were young and most often than not, he was always the one who could calm her down. But now, after everything that had happened, he wasn't so sure Anne would allow him to even get near her.

Gathering his courage, he began to read her letter and he was quite glad to know that Anne had forgiven him and had understood why he did what he did. She also informed him that Elizabeth would be arriving to court for the holidays and that she would appreciate it if he could watch over her, even from a distance. George was so happy that all was not lost with his youngest sister that she had replied as soon as he could stating that he would do everything in his power to ensure Elizabeth was safe and happy.

As months passed since their first letters, George felt that Anne had grown fond of him once more as he noticed that her writings had become less formal and more like the ones they used to send to one another when she and Mary had gone away to the Netherlands and then France: Informal and warm.

He decided that one day, he would surprise his sister by showing up on her doorstep.

When he first decided to visit his sister, he was quie sure he would be welcomed with open arms, after all why should he not be? Through his correspondence with Anne, they had seemed to grow more close as if they had never had a rift between them occur. But now that he was just a few more steps away from Pembroke Castle, he was not so sure. What if Anne had merely been polite to his letters? What if he had read them wrong? What if while Anne was comfortable writing to him, it was entirely different for him to show up on her doorstep.

But as he gathered up his courage, he realized that all his doubts were too late as he had already travelled so many miles to get here. As he knocked on the door of the castle, he was greeted by a man who, after introducing himself as the Duchess' brother, escorted him to a large room- which seemed to be a waiting area- and was informed that he is to wait here while he informs the Duchess of his arrival before bowing and promptly leaving him alone.

As George looked at the surrounding of the room, he had somehow ended up in front of a window with a beautiful view of a garden with a lake that had seemed to have frozen over due to the winter season.

"George?" said a voice, from behind him, he had been staring out into the window that he had not heard someone enter. As he turned around, he was quite shocked to see that it was not Anne who had called him.

"Mary?" George said, surprise evident on his face. Why was Mary here? He wondered.

"George it really is you!" she said as she approached him and hugged him. It had been so long since they had last seen each other and so George too had engulfed her in a hug.

"How have you been? Its been so long." George said as he held Mary at arms length to really look at her. She had become thinner and older, but she looked happy.

"I am fine. I've missed you! I was afraid to write you in case father saw it." Mary said as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"I've missed you too." George said as he felt his throat constrict from the tears that he refused to let fall, "Mary, I am sorry for.. for not standing up for you when you remarried. I should not have let father treat you so harshly and for that I hope you can forgive me."

Mary smiled and said, "I have been happy these past years, and though I have missed you and Anne so much, I have been content with my life. William has provided everything I and our children could ever want or need." she said, it was true, while William was not of high or noble standing, he was not poor and he had been able to provide a comfortable life for Mary and their children.

"That is good to hear. I hope to meet him and your children some day." George said as Mary gladly told him that he could meet them anytime he wanted to.

Soon though, George realized he had been waiting quite a while and Anne had yet to show up, "Mary, where is Anne? I have been waiting for her here." he asked his sister, he watched as Mary's face became guarded.

"Anne is not in a right state to receive visitors right now, do not worry she is fine. She asked if I could meet you and speak to you first before I take you to her." Mary said.

Curious as to what could be going on, he allowed Mary to speak. "When Anne and the King divorced and she was sent to live here, she had immediately wrote to me asking me for my forgiveness for her harsh treatment of me and if I could live with her here. Of course I wrote back and told her that all was forgiven and that my family would gladly live with her." she paused as she sat down on a chaise as George did too, "We lived happily for a while, I helped Anne adjust to a quiet life in the country away from court and soon she had found a distraction in her lands, oh George! You should see what Anne did to her many unused lands! She's turned them into farms and schools for the common people!" Mary said as she gushed about her sister's many projects.

When Anne was Queen, she had wanted to build schools for the people so that they were educated enough to read and write and to build small hospitals as well but Cromwell had other ideas and dissuaded the King from supporting her ideas, now that Anne had her own lands and money, she had begun to put her ideas into a reality, earning the people's love, respect and support as she had given them not only more jobs but also a chance to better their lives.

Mary soon realized that she had drifted from her conversation with George, "Anyway, Anne would love nothing more than to see you, but she is worried."

"Worried? Why would she be worried?" George asked.

"Because you might inform father and uncle of what you have seen and found out here." Mary said, noticing the confused look in George's face, she spoke again, "Anne will see you only and only if you vow never to talk to anyone about what you see here. She wishes to honor her contract with the King and she does not want to jeopardize it if you speak about her to anyone in court." Mary said, the truth is Anne did not want her father and uncle to know of her life here in Pembroke for surely, they would come knocking and burden her with their greed for power once more.

"I promise to never let anyone know that I had come here. On God's name. I swear it." George said. He had no intention of telling their father he had come to visit Anne, all he wanted was to see his baby sister.

Confident that George was speaking the truth, Mary led him to Anne's chamber. As they arrived, he watched as Mary allowed a guard to open the door and allow them entrance to what seemed to be Anne's bed chamber and he watched as Mary walk over to the large bed where she sat on the side and held onto someone's hand, Anne's hand.

"George, how lovely it is to see you." Anne said as she smiled at him. George couldn't reply as he stared at Anne, his little sister in bed, her belly quite swollen due to pregnancy.

"You're with child?" was the first thing that came out of George's mouth, seeing his sister's eyebrow rise, she shook his head and spoke again, "I'm sorry, How are you Anne?" he asked.

Dismissing her brother's first question, Anne replied, "I am well as can be, how about you?"

"Well as can be." George said as he finally got himself together.

"Come here, I want to see you." Anne said as she extended her arm, waiting for George to take her hand. As George took her hand, he let her drag him to the side of her bed where he sat.

Too stunned to speak, he stared at his sister's face instead, he noticed that she had seemed tired, but the sparkle in her eyes told him she was at least happy at the moment.

"Oh George" Anne said, once again breaking George out of his own stupor. He shook his head and smiled. Now was not the time for him to lose himself. He had a sister to reconnect with, after all.

"I missed you so much, Anne." George said as he engulfed Anne in a hug, somehow he nearly forgot her swollen belly and was only reminded when Anne said, "Oh careful George, I am with child after all."

"Indeed you are" he said as he looked at Anne once more and then to her pregnant belly, "I take it that this is the King's child?" he asked, he hadn't even thought that Anne could have had an affair and gotten herself pregnant because he knew that off all the people that he had met, Anne was the most faithul and loyal of all.

"Yes, it is." Anne said as she lovingly looked at her womb as she placed her hands on it.

"And I take it the King has no idea?" he asked.

"That is correct." Anne said.

"Do you plan on telling him?" George asked, he needed to know what was going on in his sister's head. If Anne is indeed carrying the King's child, then the King had a right to know, especially if this child is a son.

"I am in no hurry to inform the King, George, you know our agreement and it is a miracle I was even able to carry my pregnancy to term. I have learned that I now have an appreciation for life in the country and I shall like to keep it that way." Anne said as she continued to caress her womb, lifting her head so that she could look into George's face, she spoke once more, "I love this child and I do love the King and wish for him to have a son, but there is no guarantee that this child is a boy and I know that the King is happy with his marriage to.. her." Anne said, George watched as her face scrunched at the mention of Jane Seymour, "I wish for a quiet and calm pregnancy and soon, as you can probably tell, the birth of my child."

Understanding his sister's meaning, George took one of her hands away from her womb and into his hand, "I promise, I will keep your secret until such time you are ready to tell the world."

Anne smiled, she knew her brother would understand her, "Thank you, George."

As the three siblings continued to reconnect and bond with each other, George was soon forced to return to court before their father realized he was missing and require his spies to find out where he wen. George wasn't there when Anne had given birth and so he did not know that Anne had given birth to not only a son, but also a girl.

Months pass and Anne and George continued to exchange letters. George rarely visited as his father had noticed his sudden disappearances and so he opted to remain at court, George adored his new niece and his nephew and had often felt guilty whenever he sees the King struggle to hide his disappointment that his current Queen was still not with child.

George had once asked Anne if she would still not let him inform the king of his new children and she had adamantly told him that she was not ready to let the king know and that she was not willing to subject her two young infants to being called bastards and for their paternity to be questioned. He had seen her point, Anne had discovered her pregnancy when she was already in Pembroke and, while she had always been faithful to the King, many others would rather choose to believe that she had been unfaithful and had gotten pregnant by her lover which was why she had agreed to the divorce the King had wanted from her.

So George had stopped asking her, he continued to write her letters until one day, he saw saw one Mark Smeaton in his office, reading a letter from his table, Anne's letter.

"What are you doing here?" George said as he quickly snatched the letter away from Mark.

"I was looking for you, haven't you heard the news?" Mark asked, after Jane died, George had felt incredibly guilty that he neglected his wife in favor of spending time with Mark Smeaton at court that he ended their relationship as he could not look at Mark without being reminded of his late wife.

"I had just returned from court. Why? What's happened?" George asked. Despite ending their relationship, George and Mark had learned to move on and become friends, currently, Mark was seeing another man, although who, he would not say but George feels that Mark was seeing someone of higher standing which is why he is being extra careful. George never asked anyway, he wasn't interested.

"The Queen has just been discovered to be barren!" Mark said excitedly as he tried to hush his voice. "I heard the king's servants speak about it, apparently the King was so mad that he had shouted at the Seymour men and told them to get out of his sight, he had also ordered them to fetch Master Cranmer. There is talk that the King had requested Master Cranmer to prepare divorce papers." Mark said.

George's head was spinning, the usurper Queen is barren and now the King is seeking divorce? He needed to find out more. If the King divorces Jane then surely there must be some way for him to bring Anne back to the King's good graces. Even though George never heard Anne speak of it, he knew Anne still loved the king and would have given everything to be back in his arms, she was happy now, the twins were already a year old and they looked so much like the Tudor children that they were.

Little Christian had bright strawberry blonde hair that would one day be as bright red as Elizabeth's, Christian resembled the King so much that it was impossible to say otherwise that he was not the King's son, He had even got the King's eyes and nose, except for the colour of his skin- the only thing he inherited from Anne physically, it seemed- he was the exact miniature of his father, the king. Little Alice however was born with hair almost as dark as her mother's except that it had tinges of red which led Anne and the others to believe that while Elizabeth and Christian's hair were bright red, her's would be more of an auburn shade, a rich color of deep dark red, aside from her hair, Alice was also quite different from her siblings who had inherited much of their physical traits from their father, She had inherited the King's pale skin and the redness of her hair but her features were exactly as Anne's. Like Elizabeth, Alice had inherited her mother' deep blue eyes, but unlike Elizabeth, she had also inherited most of her mother's physical facial features.

George hadn't heard the rest of what Mark was saying and had excused himself, he needed to see Anne and inform her of what was going on at court.

He was going to Pembroke.

But first, he needed to go see the King.

AN: Well, this was a long one isn't it? I never really knew where I was taking this and this chapter has a lot of things going on with George reconciling with his sisters and finding out about Anne's pregnancy.

What do you think is he going to do next? :)