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Chapter Six: Queen Katherine's Ire.

19th of May 1530 - London, England

"Make way for Her Majesty, the Queen," the herald announced causing people to quickly move out of the way and bow down to their Queen as she and her ladies passed; she was dressed all in black and barely glanced at the courtiers around her. Her ladies trailed behind her as she walked through the halls of the palace as she held her head high; she cared not what anyone thought of her nor the fact that her marriage was hanging by a thread.

That morning she had received another letter from her nephew, the Emperor, his promise of support during this trying time was the only good news that she seemed to receive. The Pope had said no more on the matter and her husband still continued to flaunt his relationship with his whore; nothing seemed to sway his attention from her or his desire to leave his marriage.

Katherine was his true wife and nothing that Henry could say would change that, she still held hope that he would tire of his whore and return to her when the time was right. Walking down the halls towards the chapel, Katherine couldn't help but allow her mind to think back to how things had been for her since Henry had announced his desire to end their marriage.

He barely saw her anymore and she had not seen her beloved daughter in so long, she missed Mary and she wanted nothing more than for her to be allowed to visit the court. Henry had sent Mary off to Ludlow after he had ennobled his bastard son, a direct threat to her own daughter's succession to the throne and Katherine knew that even as the Princess of Wales that Mary was not safe.

For all her talk of Mary being the next Queen of England, Katherine knew that her daughter was going to have a lot of struggles taking the throne; she would face them with the grace granted to her as the granddaughter of the great Isabella of Castile. Reaching the chapel, Katherine came to a halt as her eyes caught on the gathering of ladies that were in attendance; a frown forming on her face as she swept over the ladies that offered her a curtsy. They were in the attendance of their lady and Katherine couldn't stop from wondering just what the Duchess of Nemours hoped to gain from being here; it disgusted her that the woman had befriend the whore.

"Your Majesty," Clarice greeted with a curtsy, she had not expected her prayers to be interrupted and she was most surprised to have such a run in with the Queen; she had not expected to see her especially since she had befriended Anne. There was no denying that Katherine was an imposing force, she was the daughter of a Great Queen and she had served England well during her time as Queen.

However, Clarice did wonder just how far the woman was willing to go to keep her throne despite the fact that it was clear that the King was determined to be rid of her at whatever the cost. The divorce had dragged on for years, neither closer to getting what they desired and Clarice knew that sooner or later things would come to a head; she could not imagine that Katherine would go quietly.

"Your Grace." Katherine replied with a stiff nod, she eyed the woman that had come to her court with no doubts that the Pope would have sent her; what better way to see what was truly going on in the English Court. So far things had been decided in her favour, there would be no way for Henry to be rid of her while the Pope sided with her; the dispensation that she had been granted to marry Henry was still in effect. Moving to her feet, Clarice made her way out of the chapel seeing that Katherine had not moved to say her own prayers; she glanced away from the Queen who seemed to stare right through her.

"I should wonder what His Holiness would think of your actions here at court," Katherine mused before Clarice could exit with her own ladies, she didn't turn to look at the other woman. Instead she stared towards the front of the church, her eyes locked on the figure of Christ on the cross as she thought about all that had happened to her.

Clarice paused and looked back at the Queen, she knew what she spoke of and felt a dull fear start to build inside of her at her words. Her friendship with Anne was not planned nor did Clarice think that Clement would be welcoming to the idea considering what she had been sent here to do; she was here because he had sent her to distract the King away from Anne.

However, Clarice had also vowed to herself that she would not act in anyway against her conscious; she knew that should anything happen here then her reputation would be damaged. Any grand plans for her own marriage to a good match would disappear and Clarice wasn't sure just who would be considered a good match for her right now. Her younger cousin had been in marriage talks for as long as Clarice could remember and the younger Medici would be a Queen if Clement got his way; there had been no such discussions for Clarice in the years that she had spent in Rome.

"I am sure His Holiness would be pleased to see me most welcomed at court by those who hold his interest at this time," Clarice replied simply, she sounded more confident than she felt and she dared stare back at the Queen who had not welcomed her to the court. If it weren't for Anne then Clarice was sure that no one would be interested in her companionship; she was a foreign noble from a family of bankers that were making their way up in the world.

It did not matter to those of the court who she was related to, the fact that she was the cousin to the King of France and His Holiness did not earn her anything but suspicion here in England. Katherine pursed her lips, her eyes sweeping across the room to meet with Clarice's who didn't look away; the two women staring at one another for a long moment.

The battle lines had been drawn and it was clear whose side Clarice had taken, much to the Queen's ire and the fact that Clarice had sided with the harlot would soon reach the ears of those on the continent. If not by the whispers of their ladies then by Katherine to her nephew, she was sure he would be most interested in the news that the Pope's cousin was siding against her in this time of need.

Turning away from Katherine, Clarice did not look back as she exited the chapel knowing that it was only a matter of time before she would hear from her cousin about all of this. Clement was not an understanding man, he held the power for the Medici's in Italy and Clarice wasn't stupid enough to think that her actions would not reach him; her friendship with Anne might well come with a cost. However, the fact that she remained in England until she was dismissed from court or summoned back to Rome only eased her mind slightly; there was nothing that the Pope could do to her while she was here.

"Clarice," Anne called walking down the corridor with her father and brother, ignoring the look that appeared on Thomas Boleyn's face at the sight of the Italian. He was far from pleased with Anne's newest choice in companion, he would happy have the woman sent back to Rome where she could rot with the Pope for all he cared.

"Allow me to introduce my father, The Earl of Wiltshire and of Ormond and my brother, Viscount Rochford," Anne said introducing the two men to Clarice, she was sure that they'd not have truly crossed paths yet. Her father's dislike for Clarice had been a source of conversation for days, he wished to find a way to have Clarice removed from court, she was a threat to everything that Anne had achieved.

"It is an honour to meet you, Lord Wiltshire… Lord Rochford," Clarice greeted with a nod of her head, the look on Thomas' face was hard to miss and she had a feeling that Anne's suspicions on why she was here weren't solely hers. Lord Rochford offered her a bow, he glanced at his father who didn't move instead only glared at Clarice; he found it rather amusing that his father was acting like this.

He agreed with his sister that it would be better to befriend Clarice than have her as an enemy, if the woman was close with the Pope then it could not hurt to have her on their side. There was a chance that she might be able to persuade the Pope into granting the King his divorce so that he could marry Anne; it had been a drawn-out process and Anne wasn't getting any younger. So many years wasted trying to get the result that the King wanted so that he could marry Anne, however with the Emperor putting pressure on the Pope then they weren't likely to get what they wanted.

"The honour is mine Your Grace," Lord Rochford replied with a smile, he straightened up and looked to Clarice; the Italian beauty looked a little out of place in a court filled with English roses. Clarice found herself smiling in return, she felt rather at ease at the sight of Anne's brother and she could see why Anne was closest to him; Lord Wiltshire made her feel almost small and after her meeting with Katherine, she wasn't in the mood to deal with him.

"Ahh. There you are Anne and this must be the Duchess of Nemours," said a voice approaching from behind Lord Wiltshire and Lord Rochford, he had his arms folded behind his back as he came to stop next to them. Anne stepped forward and dutifully kissed the man's cheek with a slight curtsy as she did so; her greeting of uncle confirming to Clarice just who the man might be.

The Duke of Norfolk eyed Clarice with a slight interest, her arrival had been a surprise at court and he had been keeping a close eye on her since she had arrived. Her letters had been intercepted and so far, Clarice seemed like a great ally for Anne, she spoke little of what was happening at English court in her letters to the Pope and the King of France.

"There is much for us to discuss… there has been a new development," Norfolk mused turning to face his niece, he could hardly believe his luck that the King wanted to marry one of his kin. His plan to place Anne in the King's way had worked better than he had ever hoped, especially after how quickly the King had tired of Anne's sister and set her aside.

Anne nodded her head, she glanced to Clarice knowing that whatever it was would not be discussed in the open like this; she very much doubted that it was the news that she desired. Surely Henry would have come to her first with the news of his divorce from Katherine, it had been a long time coming and the seemed no closer to any solutions; Katherine wasn't going to just let him go.

"I trust we have your support in all of this, Your Grace." Norfolk stated watching Clarice closely, his eyes searching her face for any sign of emotion that would tell him what he needed to know from her. Should she prove to be nothing more than a problem then he would happily get rid of her; she was a woman alone in a foreign country that she held no connections to, it would be easy to deal with her.

"I am a Medici… we do not forget those who have helped us or our friends," Clarice told him, she didn't know where she would be without Anne's support right now and she was slowly grown to like the woman. Clarice knew that her position wasn't secure here, at any point something could change and she could find herself in serious trouble; she was related to powerful men that had the power to ruin things for her with the wrong move.

The last thing that Clarice wished for was to find herself cast out and in serious trouble because one of her cousins declared war on the English; she would become a hostage of great value if that happened. Clarice very much doubted that either would care about what happened to her truly only that they'd have the excuse that they needed to make war with England for their own agenda.

"I am most pleased to hear that," Norfolk stated looking to his brother-in-law, they needed all the allies that they could get and having the Duchess on their side was a good start. Katherine had a lot of high-powered supporters and was well loved, she had the Emperor and the Pope on her side while Anne was building her way up; she would need all the support that she could get.

Despite also being the cousin to the Pope, Clarice was also related to the French King who would be a perfect ally should he be convinced to back Anne in her position as Queen of England. It would work out better for the French should that happen, Anne was more a supporter of a French alliance than any other; something that would benefit King Francis in the long run.

Once Anne had given the King a son then everything would be perfect, a Howard descendant would sit on the throne and Norfolk would be completely unchallenged; his family forever favoured for such a fete. Thomas didn't understand just how this would work to their advantage, he only saw Clarice as the cousin of the Pope; not someone that could back Anne when she became Queen.

There was much Clarice could offer them when the time came and they would be able to offer her something in return; her loyalty would be reward in the long run. Clarice would certainly be more use to them than the wife that Thomas had selected for his only son; in five years of marriage there had been no sign of the heir that she was expected to produce.

Only time would tell if the Viscountess would be useful in the coming days, especially when it came to Anne's accession to Queen of England.

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