At the end of the summer Sir Thomas returned with a litter to to bring his daughters back to court. Anne could have ridden but Mary was going on four months pregnant, and he did not wish to endanger her pregnancy—it might still purchase favor from Henry.
Mary was just beginning to show, and she loosened her lacing for comfort. Katherine had been an easy pregnancy, but already her hands and feet were swelling, and she was having bouts of nausea that she did not have before. She wished the pregnancy and delivery were over and she was back at Hever to recover, but she had no choice, she was a courtier and had a job to do.
Anne looked at Mary as she leaned her head against the window. To Anne, her sister looked drawn and pale, her face had a pinched look as if she were in pain. She still had her good looks, but she did not seem as blissfully happy as she had with her first pregnancy.
"You look terrible, Mary," Anne told her, "You will have to do something about your looks when you return to court or Henry will surely ignore you."
"It's the journey that takes a toll on me. I hope we get to Windsor in time for me to rest and refresh myself before supper-eating will help. I'll serve the queen for as long as I can, then go into my confinement and I'll be able to rest. Once I have this baby I will be back to my old self. And does it really matter now since I am no longer Henry's mistress? He'll find someone else to take my place if he hasn't already. I don't like it but I'm finding I don't mind being replaced as much as I thought I would. William will take me back and there'll be no more secrecy, I can just be his wife."
"Won't you miss it though, being the king's mistress, I mean. Will you be happy just being William's wife again?"
"Being William's wife was what I intended to be until Father put me into the king's bed. Yes, I will miss Henry, but, Anne, I derived little benefit from it. Father and William were the beneficiaries, not me. On the contrary, I risked my reputation to be with him but I fell in love, so I didn't mind. I didn't mind the secrecy at first, but sometimes I grew weary of it. I wished I could have loved him openly, but it was not possible. Henry did not wish to flaunt me in front of Katherine, that would have been bad for both of us."
"I'm glad that people think that Katherine is William's child, and will think the same of this one. I can reclaim my life now. Do I wish I could still be with Henry, yes I do but it's over. I am sure he will or maybe even has someone new, and if that is the case I wish her luck." Mary hoped that the conversation was finished, but Anne was not yet done.
"But he's the king, he's not like a common man. You were too easy, Mary, you should have played the longer game."
"I did not want to break his marriage with the queen. I never thought that I would marry him because he was already married, and furthermore, he and the queen were married in the Church. Katherine is the daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, Spain would not take it kindly if he set her aside."
"It makes no difference, Mary, not at the moment. Mother has arranged for me to enter the Queen's service and I hope the gossip regarding my affair with Henry Percy has died down. I want my life back, I want it to be the way it was before. You have no idea how dull Hever was for me, I'm not like you, I can't be content being a landlord. I miss the entertainments, the music, the dancing, I miss my little court. I'm having new gowns made once I see what's in fashion. You won't need any until after you have your baby, but I want to make an impression, I want to be noticed."
Though Anne did not specifically say it, Mary wondered if she had the king in her sights. Sir Thomas was determined to advance the family further and since the king was no longer interested in Mary she was sure that her father would put Anne forward when the time was right.
How could the king not notice Anne, Mary reflected, she was considered the beauty, but Anne was attractive, alluring, and flirtatious. Anne was an unabashed coquette who would soon gather her court of young men around her. The French hoods she wore revealed her dark brown hair, the gable hoods worn by some women in the court, including the queen, make them look dowdy in comparison.
Mary was eager to reach their quarters and rest before dressing for supper. Once she had this baby she would rejoin William in their married quarters, there was no use remaining in the maids' dormitory with Anne.
Mary would be forever grateful that William's anger had softened towards her, and if they were not quite man and wife, they at least had learned to be friends. William had been angry at his wife being taken from him and at her for agreeing but he had profited from her association with the king. He had no complaints now about the land, the manors, and the offices. He had a comfortable income that enabled him to support both him and Mary. He was young, he was on the rise, what he lacked now would come his way someday and Mary was proud to be at his side.
The long and tiring journey had at last come to an end. Mary was surprised that William was waiting for her, had he been there long? And he was smiling, holding out his hand as he helped her from the carriage.
"Hello Mary, I have missed you," he kissed both her cheeks then touched his lips gently to her, "How do you feel?"
"Tired, and relieved that I am here. I had forgotten how hard it is to be pregnant, or perhaps it is just this one. I will be so relieved when this is at an end. It must be a boy, it seems to take so much out of me."
"Let me take you to your rooms, I will be glad when we can share our married quarters again." He took her hand and she leaned on him for support. What would their life be like if Henry hadn't taken a fancy to her and their marriage had progressed as it should have?
Being apart from William had taken some of the awkwardness away. Rose was there to perform the little needed tasks, like rubbing her back when it hurt, bringing her pillows to support her, helping her when standing, or even sitting down, became awkward. Once she delivered and was out of her confinement she and William would have to learn how to live with each other again. The four years she had spent with Henry had been financially lucrative for William, but now they needed to learn how to be man and wife again, and it would not be easy.
After dinner Mary did not join in the dancing due to her pregnancy. She was hoping to deliver a healthy child, a son if possible. She was glad the child would be considered William's and not Henry's. There would be no possibility for him to be in line for succession like Bessie Blount's boy. This way she could keep him safe from the scheming and politics that went with being an heir, albeit an illegitimate one. Richmond had been spoiled and given everything that a king's heir would expect to have and it had earned him the resentment of Queen Katherine.
Someone knocked on the door, William opened it and peeked around the corner. "May I come in, Mary? I thought I would escort you to dinner."
"You cannot, I am one of the Queen's ladies and must go with her. After dinner we can excuse ourselves and talk freely, no one will mind."
"Mary, I must ask you, is your affair with Henry over? I cannot bear the thought of things going back to the way they have been. The king has been good to me but I want my wife back."
She laid a slender hand on is cheek. "William," she said, "I am so sorry for the way things turned out, I never meant to hurt you. My father is a force that cannot be resisted. The Boleyn ambition and the advancement of the family is all with him, and sometimes I hate it. I did not want to become Henry's mistress, but it happened, and yes, I fell in love with him. But now, that is over, my time is up. I expect that you and father will receive some rewards from this pregnancy, I would be surprised if you did not. Maybe if I have a boy that will please him because he will have fathered two healthy sons. My time is over with him, though, all I can hope is that you will take me back and we can start over."
But start over to what? She had started her marriage determined to be a good wife, then Henry had set his eyes on her and determined that he would have her. He preferred married women because any offspring of the union would be legally the father's. Katherine bore a strong resemblance to him, but he had not acknowledged her. She did not know about this one, but it would be the same, William Carey would be the acknowledged father, the king would not recognize this child no matter what.
All Mary hoped now was that she could give William a child, she owed him for all those years. It would be a delicate process, beginning their intimacy anew, almost as if they had never been married. William, though, had not hesitated to take the gifts of lands, manors, and offices the king had bestowed upon him. As a second son he would not inherit his father's lands or wealth, and now he had wealth he had not expected to receive. He was a man on the rise, he did not have his knighthood yet, but surely that was coming. He was the king's cousin, man, and friend, and surely Henry would reward him.
After dinner, Anne's court gathered around her as they had in the days before she disgraced herself and was forced to leave. Mary saw the king watching her, not so boldly as he did in the days when he was courting Bessie Blount, but when the queen looked away, he would stare at her openly.
And Anne would look at him and give him her brilliant smile before turning attention back to her little group. It made Mary sick to see it.
No, she thought, not Anne, please not Anne. She knew how it would go at first with her sister. Anne possessed a brilliant mind, something she herself never possessed. She was considered a quiet beauty, sweet natured, and kind. Anne, on the other hand, was a firebrand and Henry was attracted to her flame.
It would work at first, Mary reflected, but Anne's true temperament would eventually reveal itself. Henry liked quiet, obedient women, and Anne's tantrums and sharp temper would eventually drive a wedge between them. Could her father not see this if Anne could not? If Anne could bear Henry sons she might be tolerated and forgiven, but what if she could not?
Anne would not be content with being just a mistress, she would settle for no less than a queen's crown, but Henry was already married. He had received a dispensation from the pope to marry his brother's widow, and Katherine had sworn that she was a virgin. Henry valued his allegiance with Rome and had been named "Defender of the Faith" by the Pope. Would he risk it all to marry a girl who did not possess royal blood?
Anne had said that Bessie Blount and Mary had been too easy to catch, and she would not settle for being the king's mistress. Katherine, though not young, was unlikely to die in the near future. How could Anne hope to unseat a crowned and anointed queen?
No, Anne, Mary thought, you do not want to do this. He may fall in love with you, but will he tire of you once he gets to know your ways? How will you separate him from the Church, it is more than how we worship, it is part of our lives. What will Father do, will he go along with it, seeing possibility for more power and prestige, not to mention wealth, for our family? Why am I the only one who can see that this is not good?