The King, The Duke, and the Lady

A Story of Friendship, Love, and Lust

Chapter 4

The Duke of Suffolk reluctantly took his leave from Brianna's home at Cheverly with the promise of writing as often as he could from court. And true to his word, he wrote letters to Brianna almost every day telling her of events at court.

My dearest Brianna-

Oh how I miss you! Your touch, your kiss, the silkiness of your hair, watching you ride in your scandalous riding attire. All are in my thoughts daily, and the nights are torturous without you. I cannot wait to be reunited with you soon and hope that you will consider returning to court. I am unable to leave to join you at Cheverly as the Queen is to be put on trial for treason. Her enemies here at court are great and the king is distraught over the allegations. We could both use your gentle and compassionate hand and mind at this time. Please return to court as soon as you feel you can.

I have enclosed a minor token of my affection for you. I hope you will wear it and think of me. My affection for you remains unchanging and constant.

Yours completely,

Brandon

Many such letters came and went between them. Only two weeks from his departure from Cheverly, the feared letter arrived from the King, summoning her back to court. His letter, like Brandon's, arrived by messenger. When the messenger announced the letter from the King, she requested that he wait for her answer. While she read the letter and wrote her response, she encouraged the messenger to have food and drink and to rest until she was done.

My dearest friend and companion,

I know I gave you leave to go to your home in Cheverly, but I fear I must ask you to return. I hope you are rested and feeling better. The Duke of Suffolk has led me to believe you are much better now that you have rested and took some healthy country air. The Queen has been accused of some treacherous and evil things, some that I cannot believe, even of her, once my truest love. I beseech you to return to be by my side as the trial and the agony of the situation consumes me daily. Please make haste as soon as you can. Your apartments await you, as do I and the Duke.

Your humble servant,

Henry

Brianna could hardly refuse a request from the King to return to court. As far as her health was concerned, she knew she could once again face court. And from his letters and the background she had received from Brandon, she knew the King really did need her attentions. She sat to write her response.

My dearest King and Master,

I hate to hear you are in such pain as the Queen goes on trial. I know you once loved her with a singular passion. I will leave Cheverly on the morrow at first light and should arrive at my apartments at court in the afternoon. I will look forward to serving Your Majesty in whatever capacity is needed to ease your mind.

Your Humble Servant and Dearest Friend,

B---

She sealed the letter with the seal of the Countess of Huntingdon, and returned it to the King's messenger. Brianna also wrote a letter to Brandon and her father and sent it with the messenger. Once he left, she began reluctant preparations to return to London.

The Countess of Huntingdon and her small group of servants returned almost unnoticed as she desired. While one of her ladies prepared her bath, her manservant was sent with a message to the King and to the Duke letting them know of her arrival and that she would see them soon. After the letters were dispatched and while her ladies unpacked her belongings, she sank into the hot bath scented with lavender. Brianna simply could not tolerate the smell of sweat, horses, and dust on her person and wished everyone at court was as diligent as she. As she soaked quietly in her tub, she heard one of her ladies gasp in surprise, "Your Majesty!"

Henry's voice boomed out into the rooms, "Where is your lady? I wish to speak with her."

The maid answered quietly, "She is in her bath, Your Majesty."

Henry laughed and Brianna soon saw his face peek around the curtain separating her bath from the rest of the room. He laughingly took in the sight while she quickly threw a sponge at him, hitting close to his face as he laughed delightedly and pulled back.

He now spoke directly to her from the other side of the curtain, "You must be the cleanest woman in England, Bri."

She noticed how he used her childhood name in addressing her and knew from his teasing laughter he was in good humor. "I would hate to offend Your Majesty with the smells of my journey back to court."

"It is positively scandalous how often you bathe. You use more water than the rest of London combined!" He teased.

"And it is absolutely scandalous that you know of my bathing habits Your Highness! And what of peeking into my bathing chamber? We are no longer the children we used to be where such actions had no meaning other than to tease and no consequences other than perhaps being hit with a sponge on the nose."

"Yes, I noticed your aim was off slightly milady."

"Are you so sure, Your Majesty? Perhaps hitting the King on the nose with a soapy sponge would be some sort of crime and I chose to miss, just barely." Both of them laughed at their good humored and teasing exchange. "You seem to be in high spirits Your Majesty. Your summons, as well as letters from the Duke led me to believe that was not the case. Now that you have ruined my reputation with your high spirited intrusion, I wonder that you were ever as troubled as you seemed."

The King got quiet and serious, "Ah, but I am troubled and at a loss, and my sudden return to high spirits is because you have come home. I came myself to invite you to dine with me tonight, along with your father who is anxious to see you and Brandon who is even more anxious. I am surprised I beat him here to welcome you back."

"Hmm…sounds like I will be in excellent company for dinner tonight. And will enjoy the attentions of all these men who seem so desperate for my return to court."

"Excellent then! We shall see you tonight in my dining room. And Bri—bring your purse, I wish to win back some of the money I have lost to you."

Brianna laughed, "As you wish Your Majesty, but you should bring yours as well. You know I will not just let you win, and I think I might just be better at cards than any of the rest of the company tonight."

The King laughed again as he stood to leave, "Perhaps we should find a different game that we can actually win at. I will take my leave of you now. I would not want to damage your pristine reputation any further."

"Thank you for that consideration Your Majesty," she said sarcastically, knowing that this visit would indeed harm her reputation. "I shall see you this evening."

Hours later, Brianna joined the King, the Duke, and her father in the King's dining room. She wore her hair down and it cascaded in waves to almost her waist. She wore a red dress with black outlined flowers in the same shade of red as her dress. Around her neck, she wore the stunning double strand of pearls the Duke had given her earlier as well as the large pearl drop earrings. She looked amazing, and yet casual for a casual meal with the King. She was announced and curtsied gracefully to the King as he came and took her hand. She then went to her father and he kissed her cheek welcoming her back and commenting on how well she looked, and then she walked to the Duke. Their eyes were full of passion for each other as if they had not been apart for two weeks. Brianna curtsied in front of the Duke and as she raised herself up he leaned over and kissed the side of her mouth, touching just the edge of her lips, welcoming her back. She parted from him and smiled, then turned to take in the whole room.

"I thank you all for this distinctive honor. I shall have to leave more often to receive such a wonderful welcome on my return."

The King laughed, "Perhaps I will simply not allow you to leave again."

"And deprive me of such pleasure, Your Majesty?"

"But it pleases me, and I believe it pleases us all immensely, to have you in our presence every day." The King then sat and motioned for them all to join him at the table. Dinner conversation centered on the French and the Spanish speaking of which were allies and which were not and religion and the minor uprisings across the country. There was no mention of the upcoming trial or the alleged crimes of the Queen. As dinner came to an end, her father asked to be excused, begging off from cards with the best card players at court, saying "I wish to retain my fortune to pass on to my child, although given how quickly she seems to be taking yours, she is unlikely to need whatever I may leave her." The men laughed and her father left.

The conversation at the card table quickly turned to the trial and the charges against Anne. The King had a hard time believing them all, but at the same time was eager to be rid of his current wife. From his conversation, he had developed a strong dislike for her, which after seven years of enchantment it was surprising the depth of his loathing. As she laid a bet on the gaming table, Brianna carefully asked, prepared for a strong response from the King, "Your Majesty, even if she is guilty of all the charges against her, she is still your Queen and you once loved her deeply. With respect to that love, will you allow me to take her a few things that may ease her comfort in the Tower? I inquired today after your visit as to how she was faring, and my ladies reported that she has only the clothes she arrived there in and other than a Bible, nothing else of any comfort."

When she first mentioned taking something to the Queen, the King had looked up from his cards sharply, prepared for a sharp rebuke, but after listening to her request, the rebuke died on his lips. "Your compassion for others is one of the things I love about you Bri. It is the reason I need you here by my side during these dark days," she was pleased to hear him drop into the casual name he used when he was most comfortable. "What sort of things would you take to her? What would ease her comfort?"

"Your Majesty---" she began but was interrupted by the King.

"When it is just the three of us and we are sitting as long-time friends, would the two of you please address me as you once did before I was your King. I would like for you to call me Henry, as I call you Bri and you," motioning to Brandon, "Charles or Brandon.

Both Brandon and Brianna looked at each other and then back at the King, nodding their heads in agreement, surprised at his request. Brianna continued, "Henry, as a lady and Queen, she would need a comb and a brush, a mirror, perhaps some of her skin cream and comforting oils for her skin and teeth. I would like to take her several changes of clothing as well. And I was hoping you would allow her to bathe. She must be filthy after so many days in the Tower." Brianna took a deep breath and watched the King for his reaction.

Brandon looked at her in awe at her bravery and the way she was unwilling to back down even under the King's thoughtful, but not necessarily friendly gaze. "You hardly know Lady Anne, Brianna. Why would you take such a risk to ask for such things for a woman accused of the worst sort of treason?"

"The little I know of her, but being a lady myself, she must be terribly uncomfortable. While we do not know for certain what the outcome of her trial will be, I feel she should be accorded at least a small standard that respects her position and your past love for her. I will not beg for her, Henry, but I do appeal to your kindness and compassion to allow me to give her these small gifts to ease her comfort."

The King remained thoughtful and silent and then spoke, "Very well. I know you to be my firm ally and friend. I also know you to be compassionate and you set an example for us all. I will allow you to provide her, or make available to her, these things you think will ease her comfort while she is imprisoned. But I do not want you to visit her in the Tower. It is no place for you and," he smirked, "knowing you, Bri, you would return wanting me to entirely renovate that awful place to make everyone there more comfortable."

Brianna smiled and Brandon snorted at Henry's slight joke, knowing that what he said did have some truth to it. "Thank you Henry. I will see to everything tomorrow. Should I let her know that this generosity comes from you?"

"No, not specifically. She will know I approved of it knowing that it comes from you. No one would dare sneak anything to her. You may write her a letter to go with the items and the permission for the baths, but in your letter request that she not write back to you. I do not wish to see you in anyway linked to the Queen. Her enemies, along with mine and yours, might take any correspondence you share between the two of you as an alliance and drag you into this disaster."

Both she and Brandon nodded, agreeing with his assessment. This time Brandon spoke up. "Thank you for being so cautious with Bri's reputation and guarding her from any harm. I appreciate your wisdom and concern in this matter."

The King and Brianna laughed at their little joke, and at Brandon's confused look the King explained the earlier meeting in her bath. Brandon's eyebrows shot up at the explanation, in surprise and jealousy.

Brianna smiled at him and took his hand. "Brandon my love, it was as if we were children again, nothing more. Anyone who had been present, even if my father was there, might have been scandalized in a remote way, but the whole event was completely innocent and unplanned." She looked at her cards again, and smiled. "And gentleman, I believe I own the pot." They both groaned at their loss and filled their cups once again.

Brianna declined anything further and went to excuse herself for the evening, claiming she was tired from her trip. The King reluctantly let her return to her quarters with the promise she would attend shooting the next day. She nodded her head and kissed the King on his cheek near his mouth, and turned to Brandon and kissed him on the lips, lingering there for a moment. The intensity of the kiss was not lost on the King and he watched Brianna as she left.

"The two of you seem to have grown quite close of late. Is there something you want to tell me Brandon?" The King asked, curiosity and a hint of danger in his voice.

Brandon sighed quietly, composing his words. He had practiced this in his head any number of times, but now that the moment was at hand, his careful words seemed to leave him. He chose to use their Christian names as the King had insisted before, trying to keep things casual and much less formal than they might be. "Brianna and I have become quite attached. I am in love with her and she with me." He paused to assess the King's reaction.

"Go on…" the King encouraged, neither his voice nor his position changing.

"We wish to be married, Henry. I have secured her father's permission and was waiting to ask you at a good time."

"I see. I had hoped that she would become my Queen, or at least my mistress. You knew that."

"We both knew that. And yet, we fell in love despite your desires. She has told you before she will not be your Queen and she will not be your mistress, and yet you continue to hope that she will change her mind. Perhaps the three of us should discuss this. I have no wish to anger or offend Your Majesty, and neither does Brianna. We value your friendship too much, not just as King but also as friends from decades ago. Neither of us wish for that to change."

The King was silent for some time, staring off into an empty space, oblivious to his friend sitting across from him uncomfortably. He turned back to Brandon, "I wish to speak to the both of you about this matter before I give my permission. And if I do give it Brandon," he said very seriously, "I will absolutely not tolerate any abuse on your part. If you hurt her in any way, if you have enough contempt for her to take other women to your bed, I will never forgive you. Because you are my friend, I have forgiven you many things. But because you are both my friends, I will not forgive your philandering." The King then gave a short laugh, struck by the irony of his request, "You would be wise to do as I say Brandon, not as I do."

"Your Majesty." Brandon nodded his head in silent agreement. There was nothing ever simple about this King of England. Perhaps together he and Brianna would be able to persuade the King for his blessing. The proposal she made to him at Cheverly may help their situation or it may condemn them. It was difficult to tell with the whims of Henry the VIII.

TBC

A/N: Don't forget to review! I hope reading the rather florid letters above was not too painful. Trust me, it was painful to write that much truly purple prose. But, watching the shows and having read some actual letters between lovers and the like during this time, my versions were tame. And as an aside, if you are enjoying my story and want to read more of what I have written, I learned today that one of my NCIS fanfics has been nominated for Best Rare Pairs…The Red-Haired Woman. I didn't even know there was a competition! :-)