Four days after the Royal doctor deemed Charles healthy enough to return to activity, the Prince and Princess of Wales and Suffolk set sail for Spain. The King saw them off at the port. His wife stood by his side, looking tired and bored. But no one paid her any mind anyway.
The farewell had been odd because anyone with half a brain could see Henry wanted to be traveling with them. However, he and Charles had spoken before leaving the palace. While the family is gone, His Majesty is ramping up the poison investigation. It's as Henry said, "I'm needed more here than in Spain. That's what I have you for, Charles. You're a Prince of England. You will act in my place and my authority."
In the time since Charles was titled Prince, the King has given him more and more unofficial tasks to do. Many of these tasks are usually reserved for the King alone, but His Highness does not complain. Except to Mary, he complains a lot to his wife, and she listens with grace when he says things like, "Why do I have to be the one to take up the law bearing it illegal to wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church? The Privy Council will laugh me out of the room." There have been many similar things he has had to do and many more ridiculous laws he's had to present to the Council. And each time, he did it to the best of his ability, despite snickering behind his back.
But today, His Majesty is not here as the King of England. He's here to see them off as a father, grandfather, father-in-law, and friend. The hardest farewell had been with the grandchildren. Holding his grandfather's hand, walking along the dock, William had asked a simple question. "Papa, why you not go?"
Then Owen, walking with Charles, let go of his hand and rushed to his grandfather's side with his twin. "Yes, Papa. Why not?"
Henry got choked with emotion. In all of his days, no one had ever wanted him to go anywhere with them just for the sake of going. That was until now with his twin grandsons. He thought about how to answer this. "Well, Papa is needed to run the country. So Papa is sending your father and mother in my place to Spain."
The boys stared at him with their blue eyes. Then he thought of something perfect for them. "But I am sending you both as well. I am sending you with an important job. I need you to have fun for me since I cannot be there to do so. I need you to remember all your enjoyment and be ready to tell me about it when you return. Which you will return home for your birthday." He has made that clear. They must be home for the twin's birthday celebration.
Once they were all gathered around the gangplank of the King's ship Tudor Rose, the goodbyes began. First, His Majesty embraced his youngest daughter and planted a kiss on her head. "Behave, Elizabeth," was all he said.
She kissed his cheek and told him, "I will, Father." Then she happily skipped over to Lady Agnes and held her hand like the good girl she is.
Next, the King embraced the twins and likewise kissed their heads. "Remember what Papa said. You are to tell me all about the fun you have." The boy's chins trembled. They had watery eyes as they placed a kiss on their grandfather's cheek.
Henry sniffed and walked to his oldest daughter. She had his granddaughter in her arms. He held his arms out to Gillian, who immediately pulled away from her mother into the embrace of her "Papa!" Just like the twins, she loves her Papa too. And he has grown fond of her as well, once he got past the resemblance of his sweet deceased child. Gillian threw her little arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. It wasn't until she said "Love coo" that tears formed in his eyes. He sniffed again and handed the child to her father.
Then it was his turn to say bye to Mary. He stood in front of his oldest child and felt humbled. All these children are his family, and he has them in his life because of her. She's his heir, but she's his daughter. He's proud of how she turned out, and that's no thanks to him.
Putting his hands on her shoulders, he stated, "Do I need to tell you to behave too? I am your father." Humor came over him at the thought of telling her to behave, along with a smile just for her.
She chuckled at his words. "Well, I don't know, Father. I mean, Charles and I have been snippy. Perhaps you must put us in the get-along shirt like I have to do the boys sometimes." Charles smirked at his wife's silliness.
Henry raised a regal eyebrow. "The get-along shirt? Do I even want to know what that is? It sounds torturous."
His daughter laughed. "Oh, it is. That's half the fun of it. If they are ugly to each other, they get to spend time together in the same shirt- the get-along shirt." She turned to the twins and asked, "Right, boys?"
The twins did not look happy. Their lips poked out. "Yes, Mama." Both Charles and Henry had to hold in their laughs.
The King returned his attention to Mary. "Well, at any rate, you are a wonderful mother, a good daughter, an even better wife, and a great Princess. Instead of behaving, try to enjoy yourself. Live a little. Your mother would want that, especially in her home country. She would be proud of you and the woman you've become. I will miss you. You will write to me and be home for the twin's birthday celebration."
Mary wiped stray tears from her eyes and hugged her father. He kissed her head as he did with all the children. She's not too old for that.
Finally, he came to his best friend. He placed a hand on his shoulder and declared, "I fear it's a waste of time telling you to behave."
Charles responded, "Damn straight."
The children all shouted but Gillian, "Daddy said a bad word! Daddy said a bad word!" This made both the King and the Prince laugh.
Staring hard at her husband, Mary told him, "You owe money to the swear jar." He gave her a mischievous look in reply. She realizes she will probably never see the money for that word today.
Henry could only laugh harder at all of this. Looking back at his friend, he said, "Now I'm telling you, behave. Try not to worry about anything we've discussed. You will be fine meeting with The Holy Roman Emperor. You have my signed statements for him and all the power going as the Prince, my emissary. Do what you must. Write as needed. Enjoy yourself and be-"
"Back for the twin's birthday. Yes, I know. We plan to be back before then. You likewise don't worry," Charles reminded him.
Shaking his head, Henry gave his son-in-law's shoulder a squeeze of affection. He turned, and his ridiculous friend asked, "What? No kiss to my head?" This made Henry roll his regal eyes.
Once the King left the gangplank, the Brandons boarded the boat. As the crew readied for departure, they stood along the railing and waved. The Captain set sail and pulled away from the dock. The children wanted to wave until they could no longer see their Papa. All the other vessels in the party set sail too. Now off at sea, it will take two days to get to Spain.
Their ship, the Tudor Rose, is a galleon-style ship. These ships are built primarily for war, with two tiers of cannons on either side. It has a beaked prow and a high square forecastle with four prominent sail masts. The Tudor Rose rivals its companion ship, The Grand Mistress. But the pride of the King's naval fleet is the Mary Rose (supposedly named after his favorite sister Mary). That ship is a carrack type of ship, which is really no different from a galleon except for the galleon's multi-purpose design.
The Tudor Rose, however, is more travel friendly and is the one His Majesty takes whenever he travels by sea. It is equipped to carry numerous passengers with ease and style. It boasts luxurious accommodations with stately suites and decadent furnishings. There are curtains of silk, bed covers of brocade and velvet, sheets of Egyptian cotton, down pillows and mattresses, and embellishments of gold. Plus, there are even "Stupid tassels. There are tassels everywhere. I hate them." Mary declared that they serve no purpose but to get in the way.
She brooded over the ridiculousness of the luxury of a ship her father hardly uses. He prefers to travel by carriage on land. And she supposes she must get that predilection from him because it's all she can do not to worry herself into a fit. For a girl who loves to travel, she loathes traveling by sea. There's just something about a ship on water that makes her heart pound and her head hurt.
For one thing, she hates war; primarily any war fought on water. There are sharks, and sharks love blood. So naturally, if ships sink and whatnot, the people are bait for those sea creatures. They are always on the hunt for food. That gives her the chills.
Then there are pirates at sea. You never know when you may come across them. Now admittedly, she loves reading about highwaymen. But that's different. They're in books. To come across a highwayman or pirate in real life would be frightful. She would surely faint and pray the renegade dared not to do something despicable and dastardly. Although from all the books she's read, she knows they would. Pirates frighten her.
Another thing she hates about traveling by sea is the storms. You never know when you might get caught up in a squall. They come at unexpected times. Even the best lookout with a powerful telescope cannot always be accurate. And with these storms comes the possibility of the ship capsizing and breaking. Then everyone who did not drown would be stranded at sea, left to survive somehow. The best one could hope for is to be washed up on some island- dear merciful God. The thought of being stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere gives her heart palpitations.
Finally, the last thing Mary hates about sea travel is the horrible sickness she always feels. The vessel's moving in the water reaks havoc on her stomach and pounding head. In fact, no sooner had she touched the tacky tassel than the sick feeling hit her. With a hand to her head, she moved to lie on the bed.
Charles, who had been watching her, noticed the paleness of her face before she lay down. He went to sit beside her and checked her over. Knowing she was about to be genuinely sick, His Highness got up and grabbed the vomit pail. True enough, once he sat it by the bedside, his wife made use of it.
Holding her hair up, he rubbed his wife's back with his free hand. When she had finished with the bucket, Charles helped her get into a comfortable position. Then, just as she had done for him, he went to the table, dipped a cloth in water, rung it out, and placed it on her forehead.
While she laid with the cloth on her forehead, His Highness went to fetch Lady Agnes. The woman was tending to Elizabeth and Gillian, who both felt the same as Mary. However, she told him, "Take this clove oil and put a couple of drops in a glass of water. Sweeten it with honey and have her drink it. It should eventually work and allow Her Highness to feel better. Take some of the ginger candy to her as well. It's on the table over there."
He picked up a few pieces of candy and carried the clove oil to his suite. Charles did as instructed with oil, water, and honey. Then he had his wife sit up and sip the concoction. She did so and laid back down, then drifted off to sleep. That's probably the best thing for her considering her state.
While Mary slept, Charles removed his overcoat and doublet. After which, he went to check on the boys. They were fully awake and fully energetic peppering Lady Paisley with tons of questions. He smiled, listening to them talk. "Lady Paisley, I will take these two boisterous boys off your capable hands."
At the sound of his voice, the twins shouted, "Father!" They rushed to him, and he picked them both up. Soon they'll be too tall and heavy for him to do so simultaneously. That makes him a little sad. Taking their sunhats, the father and son trio went on deck and stood with Captain John Carew at the helm. His brother George served as Captain of the Mary Rose.
Captain John enthralled the twins in his naval uniform and Captain's hat. They were also fascinated by the large steering wheel and everything on the ship's deck. But more than that, the boys have a secret hope that William spoke out loud. "Daddy, see fin again?"
Their father looked at them with a twinkle in his eye. The Captain, who did not know what they were talking about, said, "We do see many sharks and whales in these waters. So you'll see plenty of fins."
Charles smiled and let the man know what his children meant. "John, while I have no doubt my boys will be more than entertained by seeing those sea animals, that's not what fin means. They have a hard time pronouncing tricky letter combinations. So for them, the word fin means dolphin."
The Captain understood perfectly. Since the ship could practically sail itself, he stooped down to the twin's level. "These are some of the finest waters for spotting dolphins. Mr. Barrow, up there in the crow's nest, sees them all the time with his telescope. If your father has no objection, Mr. Barrow would love to have some assistance in looking for them."
Owen became super excited about this, for he LOVES to climb. He bounced on his feet at the prospect. William, who is not as avid a climber as his brother, does enjoy it from time to time. He was also thrilled at the possibility.
Without thinking it entirely through, Charles gave his consent. Captain John called for Mr. Barrow, who climbed down from the nest. The spindly, agile man walked over to them and listened to his Captain explain about the twins. A huge smile broke out on the man's scraggly bearded face. He has sons who enjoy climbing in the nest when they come to "work" with him.
Mr. Barrow turned to the Prince and told him, "Your Highness have no fear; I will take good care of your boys. All they have to do is be able to climb." Then he got down on their level and asked, "Young lads, can you climb?"
Owen practically jumped for joy. "I love to climb!" he yelled out.
The bearded officer wore a huge grin. "I thought you might. You both strike me as climbers. Why don't we have a nice climb and see what we can see in the crow's nest? Don't be afraid. Mr. Barrow will take care of you." He took both boys by the hand and began leading them to the mast for the nest.
As Charles watched his two boys begin to climb, following Mr. Barrow's path and instructions, a knot grew in his stomach. Thoughts began taking over— thoughts like what if they miss a step and fall. Then a harrowing moment came when William looked down. He clutched the foot rail in his hand. Charles thought he would have to climb up and get him, as the boy seemed frozen. However, the whiskered sailor encouraged William, and the child climbed on up to be his brother.
The Prince let out the breath he had been holding. Relief came over him as the Captain laid a hand on his shoulder. The two men laughed. As they did, Charles thought about his wife. The knot in his stomach returned. She'll have a fit when she finds out their boys climbed up into the crow's nest- on their own. If anything happened to them up there, she'd strike him dead. Then a worse thought came. Oh Lord, Henry would do worse.
As he reclined on the helms railing, the Prince asked, "It is safe up there, right? I don't need to know what my father-in-law might do if it isn't."
Captain John chuckled. "Charles, it's perfectly safe. Every sailor on the ship has had our children in the crow's nest at one point. Mr. Barrow is good with children."
Nodding his head, the Prince kept his eyes trained on the nest and the sea. Unbeknownst to him, the crew had placed the safety net under the crow's nest. His Highness relaxed even further now. He listened to the Captain talk about the voyage and how the winds are perfect for the sea today.
The Captain's words made him think deep thoughts- thoughts about the sea, the wind, sailing, and life. For one, you must adjust and carry on when the wind does not blow your way. That is like life. One is constantly adapting and carrying on. If not, then one's life stagnates.
Another thing is that a smooth sea never made a genuinely skilled sailor. Anyone can steer when the sea is calm, but the rough waters test a man. It shows you what you're made of and capable of doing. This goes along with knowing where you're going. To reach the port, you have to have the destination in mind. You have to sail. Not tie or anchor or drift the boat, but sail it.
As he stared at the water, Charles wished his wife were out here enjoying the day with him. Hopefully, she'll feel better, and she can do that. In the meantime, peering up at the crow's nest, he has two little boys who are happy to be a little rough and free, just like the sea.