Chapter Two: Spa Day
"Sometimes I wish I could have told my mother how much I loved her. I mean, while she was still alive." Mary Tudor sighed deeply as she slid into the steaming warmth of the heated underground pool. Outside it was a chilly wet September day, which was why Mary's new stepmother had insisted on day of shopping in town, followed by a visit to a secluded and very luxurious day spa.
"Love like that is like a precious treasure," Jane Seymour told her, putting on what Mary thought of as her wise stepmother voice. "Someday you'll love again, and your feelings will be deeper and richer because you've known such sadness at a very tender age."
"Tender age my foot," Mary snorted, giving her slim blonde stepmother a look while the two of them soaked side by side. "You're only seven years older than I am!"
"Yes, sometimes I worry that I'm not really worthy to be the Queen of England." Jane didn't sound worried. She was relaxing, her eyes closed. "That's why I feel so grateful that your father has entrusted me with his most precious treasure."
"Those jewels were really my mother's," Mary muttered, feeling sulky and resentful. Queen Jane always looked so sensational when she wore sparkling gems, even if it was mostly her kind blue eyes and her warm smile. "But I'm glad you're wearing them now instead of . . . instead of someone else." Even now that she was dead, Mary couldn't bring herself to say the name of Ann Boleyn.
"I didn't mean the jewels, darling." Jane's eyes were still closed, but she was smiling in a serene and rather mysterious way.
"Huh?" Mary didn't get that last bit. But it had been a long day, with a lot of bustle and excitement. Mary fell asleep with a frown on her face, still puzzling over her stepmother's mysterious smile.