Will only stayed an hour as the Doctor returned to retrieve him and asked what he was doing. Thank goodness he didn't reveal anything, or we would be on the other side of a scolding Doctor. There is no way any of us want to go through that. After Will leaves, we begin preparing for 1536. "We still have a few years, but I want to ensure we are ahead of schedule," Anne says. "Emma, is there anywhere we can go?"
"No, neither my parents nor I have any property here, and it's not like we can just ask the King for a castle."
Anne starts smiling. "I have an idea!"
"What idea?"
"It will work, trust me!" Anne hurries out of her rooms before we can stop her.
"I will never understand how Tudor Anne is the same as twenty-first-century Anne," Mummy says as we walk through the gardens one day. The biting wind blows straight in our faces, and we constantly blink to stop ourselves from crying. It is coming to the end of 1532, and we still don't know what Anne is asking the King for. If she has a plan, we should only interfere if it disrupts history. As the Doctor hasn't visited us yet, I assume we are progressing well.
"Neither will I. Do you know what she is planning?"
"No, not yet. She won't tell Ruby either."
"She must be planning something massive."
Anne and Mum hurry up the path towards us. "Emma, Sarah Jane!"
"Lady Anne, you might want to slow down," Mummy says. Since Anne became Marquess of Pembroke in September last year, we call her Lady Anne whenever we are in public.
"Nonsense. I sorted out the surprise for you three; come on!" Anne leads us inside, and we follow her to the King's chambers. "I found them, Your Majesty."
"Thank you," King Henry says. "Anne told me you have nowhere to stay and asked me to sort something out for you three."
"And you have?" I ask.
"Of course I did. You three are doing so well with conforming to history that I must reward you." He has plans on the table before him. "Take a look at these." The three of us gather around the table and look at the pictures.
"What are they?" Mummy asks.
"They're plans of different buildings. Pick your favourite two." In the candlelight, I can see many of the plans and the words on them, but not the names.
"Are they named?" I ask.
"Yes, but I deliberately did not include the names. I want you three to pick your favourites based on the layouts of the different places."
Mum, Mummy and I look at the different drawings. "These are incredible; who did them?" Mummy asks.
"A painter I know, Hans Holbein."
I would recognise that name anywhere! "Hans Holbein did these?" We'll keep hold of these if we can!
"I would have never realised," I say. "He's mostly known for portraits of people at Court." We continue going through the plans and set aside the ones we like. While there are currently three of us, we know the size of the group will grow, and we want to have the space to show that, so we have selected many of the bigger castles. We then get down to three and begin bickering over them. We agree on one of them but then argue over the remaining two.
"Do you three need some time?" King Henry asks. He sounds like he's trying to stop himself from laughing.
"This one?" Mum asks, holding up the one she and Mummy like.
"Okay, let's go with it," I say.
"Or maybe not." King Henry takes the two plans. "It seems like you have selected Labyrinth Castle and Hybrid Palace."
"We own a palace?" I ask.
"You do now."
"But we do not have the money to maintain both," Mummy says. "We will need to pick up other jobs and—"
"Do not worry; I will cover it until you three can maintain both. Besides, you have tenants and have money coming in to help."
Anne leads us back to her rooms soon after we made our decisions. "King Henry will be taking me back to France soon."
"That's great," Mummy says. "I am sure you will enjoy yourself there."
"I am sad you three missed out last time, and I want you to come."
"I don't know how I feel about travelling abroad yet," I say. "I don't feel that confident yet."
"That's all right; you do not have to come."
"Thank you. I will feel much better at Court."
Mum and Mummy also decide to stay behind, but we will help Anne and her ladies pack before they leave. While they are gone, we will visit Hybrid Palace and Labyrinth Castle and see what they are like.
After packing our belongings, we head on our horses and ride towards Hybrid Palace. As it is the closest to our current residence, that is where we will start. I will write in my diary again when Anne and Henry return to England. Despite knowing what the French king will say, I still worry.