Disclaimer: I do not own the Tudors.
Chapter Sixty-Five: Pressure.
19th of December 1534 - Hampton Court Palace
"There should be grand celebrations for the birth of the Duke of York," Thomas Boleyn insisted convinced that this time Anne would get it right and give the King a second son; the line of succession was in desperate need of more heirs. Alexander and Elizabeth had proved healthy children but Thomas was convinced that his daughter could do it again especially after her failure earlier in the year.
The King had already ordered that the boy would be called Edward after his great grandfather, Edward IV; he would be certainly pleased when he was informed that Anne had done her duty while he was away on campaign. Though they had heard little about anything that was happening with the march, the army was traveling through France as best they could considering the appalling weather that they were dealing with.
"That we agree on, Your Grace. But do not forget we have already raised taxes for the war, the common folk will not accept further rises to pay for such celebrations," Cromwell replied shifting through the paperwork that lay in front of them. Money was needed to keep the army going and there was no end in sight right now, they could not even be sure that fighting had begun instead they would be expected to wait until news reached them.
From what Cromwell recalled of the plans, they would head for Milan first then onto Florence before attempting to take the Kingdom of Naples; they had to move carefully lest the Emperor be informed of their plans. They could hold off the ambassadors for now, especially with the Queen now entering her confinement; many had already expected a subdued celebration this year without her or her ladies.
"The people shall be joyous at the news of the birth of a Prince, a son that will secure the Tudor line even more than it was before," Thomas argued not caring, the celebrations would have to be grand just as they had been when Alexander had been born. The celebrations had been muted for the birth of Elizabeth but she had been no less welcomed when the King had accepted that he had a healthy daughter with his true Queen.
Anne had done well especially considering she had nearly given her husband a child for each year that they had been married, each of her children had been healthy and their Governess assured them that they were well behaved. It was everything that had been promised by Anne and more, she had sworn to Henry that she would give him a son and she had done that; she had ensured that the Tudor line would not end with her husband.
"Perhaps we could provide celebrations that won't hurt our already stretched finances," Norfolk mused sitting back in his chair, trying to find the middle ground when things were likely going to get worse. This could drag on for months and they could not spend the entire time arguing between themselves, the King would surely reward those of them that provided such good services to his country while he was away.
"We could light bonfires, order the churches to say mass for the boy," Norfolk continued, they would not be forgiven if they broke the bank when it came to celebrations; the King had left no instructions on what they should do for when his son was born. Other than the name that had been decided, nothing else was prepared for the birth of the child; Anne was in-charge of her chambers that had been set up just as they had been when Alexander and Elizabeth were born.
"Perhaps even fire the cannons at the Tower," the Earl of Sussex agreed, while it would be a good thing to be wary of their spends it could not be said that they were not welcoming to the child. None of them could forget that the boy would one day hold the same position that his father had once done, no one had expected the young Prince Henry to ever take the throne.
Arthur's death was still fresh in all of their minds, one could only imagine what sort of King he might have been and how he might have handled the position and his marriage to the Infanta of Aragon. None of them could guess what the future held for them, they could only hope that history would not repeat itself.
Humming a merry tune to herself, Anne focused on the blanket that she was working on for the babe that she carried; it pleased her that the child, like their siblings before them, would have something that she had worked upon for themselves. Her thoughts drifted back to when she had been a young woman, freshly returned from her time in France expecting to be married to a cousin of hers to settle a land dispute.
Her highest hope then had been the title of Countess of Ormond, instead she found herself as Queen of England; she had never dared hope that this was how Henry's advances would end. Even when she had refused him, fled back to her home of Hever Castle, and returned his gifts knowing that she could be no man's mistress not after seeing Mary suffer could she have ever believed that she would be here.
Not only had she found herself, Queen of England but she was the mother of the future King; she had done what Catherine had not and given Henry a son. Her feelings for the King were ever changing, she would always honour and respect him as her King but she understood now that the only love in her life that she would have was that of her children.
Pausing in her work, Anne rested a hand upon her swollen belly feeling her baby move within reassuring her all was well; it was quite different from the pregnancy that she had lost. This child was as active as her other children, she had no doubts in her mind that she would carry this one to term and no matter what she would love them no matter their gender. Her father had spoken readily of the son that she carried, a little Duke of York, and that she must further secure her position but Anne did not believe him; as long as she continued to birth healthy living children then she did not care.
"Madam," one of her ladies stated interrupting her thoughts, she nodded her head allowing the woman to approach before the lady whispered in her ear. A frown forming on Anne's face at the news that she was given, did her father and uncle honestly believe that she did not have people reporting to her on their actions. Her father's demands for grander celebrations for her child's birth were just the start of the issues that he seemed to be creating while she was in confinement; he honestly thought that he could rule in her name and through her.
With a wave of her hand, Anne dismissed the lady knowing that she would deal with her father when the time was right; she could not have people think that she approved of his plans nor that she was behind the actions of Cromwell. He was investigating the monasteries on the orders of the King but Anne could not help but notice that many were failing in the reports that she had seen; those that failed where set to be closed down and their wealth stripped from them.
Perhaps she could do something with them, the lands would be sold off and the money would be used to line the pockets of those in the King's favour. But Anne was sure that the common folk would not accept the closing of the monasteries, they relied on them more so than the nobles did and Anne could not imagine what it would be like to lose something so important to her.
Perhaps while Henry was away, Anne could use her power to ensure that the closed down monasteries could be turned into something that the common folk could use. Her work with the common folk had not stopped even though she was now their Queen, she gave out money and she sewed clothes for the poor with her ladies.
Anne was grateful for the chance to win over the common people, many would have only seen her as the woman that had replaced Good Queen Catherine; she would have been despised if Catherine had not been proven a traitor to England. Her thoughts wandered to the woman currently housed in a nunnery, there were spies there that reported on all of her actions least they find themselves dealing with a threat.
Anne considered herself lucky that she would not have to deal with the Scots invading, they were allies in this matter; though she did not forget that they could have the Emperor to deal with. Closing her eyes, Anne prayed that they would not have to deal with him especially with the army on the way to Italy; she was not sure they would be able to defend against an attack if the Emperor decided to invade England while the King was away.
Highly recommend Athenais Penelope Clemence's story, Chained by Love and War as well as the short prequel An Enchanting Dance in Calais by Countess of Sherwood. I also recommend For Even as Love Crowns You by wizardfantasy and Sanctuary by Cattyfan.
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