Although she missed Katherine and longed to be at Hever by her side, Henry's welcome helped Mary ease way back into the routine at court. Henry had taken her back, seemingly a good sign but she noticed her his attention would wander and where she might have felt secure once, she no longer did.
She tried not to think about it, but then she heard a rumor that the wife of a royal jeweler had born Henry a son. She wondered if their affair had been carried on as surreptitiously as hers with the king.
The old secrecy and rules were still in place and if she thought she would mind she realized that she didn't. Henry was still courteous to the queen even if he rarely graced her bed. Henry would call for her at night, or notify her in the afternoon that she should come to him after the queen and her ladies retired. And when the call came from him, she answered.
If she thought all was well, she was mistaken. Katherine was now a year-old toddler, looking more like Henry every day. Mary found herself pregnant once more and when she told Henry he flat out asked, "Is it mine?"
"Yes, your majesty,," she replied, somewhat taken aback, "Since we began our affair I have not slept with William. Even though he is the legal father of the child, I have made certain that there will be no mistake as to who the true father is. Perhaps this time it will be a boy, and with your permission I would like to name him "Henry". He will be known as Henry Carey and will be officially William's child. Is that all right with you?"
Henry took her hand and kissed it. "I am sorry, Mary, I know how loyal you have been to me. I do not envy you your greedy family, but seeking advancement is a normal thing. I have people begging me for advancement and only a small number of them deserve it. If I could promote you I would, but there are no such positions for women in my court."
As if to make his point, he promoted Sir Thomas to the peerage on June 25,1525. He became Viscount Rochford, a title that devolved on him through his mother. And he was not the only one that benefited.
His six year old son, Henry Fitzroy, duke of Somerset and Richmond, was elevated and make Knight of the Garter, the highest honor in the kingdom. Though only six years old he was appointed Lord High Admiral of England, Wales, Ireland, Normandy, Gascony, and Aquitaine. He was also given Durham House with 245 liveried attendants as his household, and great feasts marked the elevation of Viscount Boleyn as well as Henry's young bastard.
Since the queen would not have another child, rumors flew about that Henry would make young Fitzroy his legal heir through an act of Parliament. The queen would not be able to provide him with any more children and he was eager to secure a male heir for the throne.
Katherine of Aragon was furious. It had been bad enough that she had been forced to drink a toast to the birth of Bessie Blount's bastard, now he was threatening to remove her daughter from her rightful place in the succession.
"How dare you? How dare you insult our daughter like this" The daughter of Queen Isabella raised her voice to her husband for perhaps the first time in her life. "You gave him these honors, now I demand you take them back. My Mary is the rightful heir to the English throne, how could you do this to her?"
"You provided me with no sons, Madam," Henry told her in a cold voice, "You became pregnant six times and all you gave me was a daughter, a daughter! What use is a daughter to me? I need a son to sit on the throne of England and I have one. He will be legitimized if I have to use an act of Parliament to do it. Since you have seen fit to oppose me, as you should not have done, I think you must make a small sacrifice. I know of three of your ladies who have encouraged you in this—I am going to remove them from your service. You will not miss three, keep in mind that I could easily deprive you of more. Good day, madame." He swept her a bow and left.
Katherine let loose a torrent of Spanish mixed with tears. It was not her fault that god had taken their children. Why would her husband not submit to his will as she had? Did he not know that the greatest sorrow of her life was that she did not give him the son he longed for? And now she must watch as her husband tried to deprive their daughter of her rightful patrimony."
Exhausted, she retired to her pre dieu and began to pray harder than she ever had in her life.
"So you are pregnant again and yet we advance no further." Sir Thomas had summoned Mary to his chambers, but not for the congratulations that she had expected. "What are you doing to make him lose interest in you? You do this family no good if we cannot hope to advance."
Mary clenched her fists, her hands safely hidden by her long French sleeves. "What more could you want Father? You are now Viscount Rochford. You have received lands, manors, titles, offices, what more could you want? You and George have received far more from the king than I, Yes, I have hoped that I might remain in Henry's good graces for longer than I have, I have hoped that our affair would last as long as his with Bessie Blount, but he is losing interest and I cannot do anything about it. I had hoped another child might help, but evidently not. He is being gracious to me, that is all."
"Then I am going to bring Anne back to court. Hopefully enough time has passed that her reputation has recovered after that disastrous affair with Percy. It's time she returns anyway, she is sitting in idleness at Hever and we need her here."
"You would throw Anne at the king? Substitute one sister for another? Isn't it enough that you have one daughter betray the queen, the anointed queen, and now you will put another forward? I cannot believe I am hearing this."
"Had you done your duty properly, perhaps there would be no need for Fitzroy if this next child you have is a son."
"Is it not enough that I have committed adultery, that I have sinned against god and betrayed both the queen and my husband? I am lucky that William is willing enough to take me back after what I have done to him. I never, ever, thought I would betray my marriage vows but you threatened to take me away from him if I did not agree to be Henry's mistress. Very well, Father, put your ambition ahead of your soul."
"You do not seem to mind being replaced, daughter, maybe it would be fitting if you were possessed of more ambition yourself." Sir Thomas did not care to mince his words.
Mary knew the look on her father's face from old, but this time she would not let it intimidate her. "Yes, I do mind being replaced, but if Henry no longer wants me I would rather give up my place than fight a losing battle to keep it. Henry is fond of me, even if he no longer wants me. I'll trade ambition for keeping that affection, after all, it more than I ever received from you." She turned and left the room, not waiting for his permission to leave.
It was early in her pregnancy, but she decided that she would go to Hever and spend the summer with Katherine and Anne instead of going on progress with the court. Life as a courtier provided her with few chances to see her daughter and she decided to take them wherever she found them. Katherine had still been an infant the last time she saw her and now the baby she had left had become a toddler and she regretted missing her grow up.
Sir Thomas would come to escort both her and Anne when they returned in the fall. Anne would need a new wardrobe for court but Mary decided not to have any new dresses made until after she delivered. The loose gowns she still had would see her through the last months of her pregnancy.
Hever was a welcome haven from court. Anne was on her at once, demanding to hear the latest gossip and feeling secretly smug that her sister was losing the king's favor.
"Don't you mind," needled Anne, "That he is setting you aside? Won't you miss being his mistress and having someone else take your place? After all, he is the king."
"Anne, you're talking like this is a position of honor—it's not. We've had to be secretive so that the queen won't find out. He hasn't flaunted me before the court. Do you think I could face the queen if I even thought she suspected? Yes, I mind being set aside, but things could be worse. I'm expecting a child, and Henry won't touch a woman while she's pregnant. He'll be seeking other company anyway. I'm glad to be here, it's more relaxing than court. And this is a hard pregnancy, even though it's early I've been dreadfully ill. It will go away, I hope, but it's relief to not have to follow the court every day and just relax."
"Do you think little Miss Ninny will be following the king around now that you're gone?" Both girls knew who Anne meant.
"Well, the Boleyns still seem to be in favor. Sir John Seymour follows the king around, albeit discretely, but I expect it will be another Boleyn summer. Henry will find anther mistress, at least one to keep him company this summer. I can't see him taking up with Jane Seymour, though. She's a pale, insipid thing with a pale, insipid personality." She paused for a moment, wondering if she should say what was on her mind, then threw caution to the wind.
"Tell me Anne," she said slyly, "Do you see yourself taking my place?"
"Well, he is the king after all," she said, "But I wouldn't make the same mistakes that you and Bessie Blount made."
"What do you mean?" Mary asked, curious as to what her sister meant.
"Both of you were easy to catch, then later, just as easy to discard. That's not the fate I want for me, if I am to have him, I mean to have him for keeps."
Mary was shocked at Anne's implication, "You mean you would aim to be queen? To replace Katherine? She's the anointed queen, we aren't royalty, Anne. If Henry were to marry again don't you think he'd choose a princess from one of the courts of Europe?"
"She may be the anointed queen, but she's the queen who hasn't given him a son and now cannot have children. I'm young, we come from a fertile family. Look at you, you're expecting a second child in as many years. If you can, why can't I? And I'd make sure to elevate our family, which you haven't done much to further."
"Our family has been elevated, and we've been honored while I've been in Henry's bed. Look at the money we have now, so much more than we did before. I don't understand greed, we have so much, what more could we want?"
"A queen, a queen who could give Henry sons. Katherine is old, she's of no more use. It's time she step aside and let Henry marry someone who will give him the heir he craves."
"He has Fitzroy, Anne, and he may make him heir if Parliament allows. If Henry were a widower that would be one thing, but he's not. You're talking about breaking up a marriage sanctified by the church. Marrying you could bring him trouble, cost him allies. You would be taking a great risk, Anne, would it be worth it?"
"You're too squeamish, Mary, and that's why you've only been a mistress and now a discarded one. That's the difference between us." She left the room with a swish of her silk petticoats.
