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Chapter Thirty-One: The Announcement.

1st of May 1532 - London, England

"It is with great pride and honour that I announce the engagement of my daughter, the Marquess of Winchester to the Duke of Hertford," King Henry announced raising his goblet of wine in the air and looking around the room. It was all arranged and he was most pleased that the Duke had been able to see what an offer this was being asked to marry a daughter of a King; it had taken sometime to arrange the deal but finally everything was arranged.

Anne raised her own goblet at his words, she had been surprised when Henry had told her just who he had selected as a husband for Katherine's daughter. She had not expected such a match to happen so quickly but his words had quickly reassured her when she had learnt the terms of the deal that would see his daughter married to the Duke of Hertford.

Mary stared at her father, a part of her wondering if this was some sort of sick joke and that she was being punished for something that her mother had done; she had never thought she'd be married off to a bastard. Despite the fact that she was now labelled one herself, she had expected a fine match maybe even a minor prince somewhere on the continent that would not seek a throne for himself.

Taking a moment to squeeze her eyes shut, Mary tried to block out the sound of people celebrating her engagement; her mind unable to comprehend just what her future might be now. Whatever future that she had originally pictured after it was revealed that her mother was a liar and had betrayed her country was gone; she could not allow herself to live on what ifs when it wasn't going to happen.

Letting out a deep breath, Mary opened her eyes and peered over to where the man that her father had decided to marry her off to was. He was rather handsome, she would admit that and she could count herself lucky that the Duke of Hertford wasn't much older than she was; she could have found herself married off to an old man like her aunt had been before she'd married the Duke of Suffolk. It was not the worst match in the world and while it secured her alliance to the throne it would also mean that she was no threat to her brother's rule when that time came.

Making her way across the room, she nodded her head to those that she knew in greeting and she could only imagine how fast such news would spread about her impending marriage; she would be a Duchess through her marriage and a Marquess in her own right. Mary had no doubts that her movements were being watched, the Imperial Ambassadors would write to her cousin the Emperor to inform him of her engagement into the Medici family.

"Your Grace," Mary stated once she was before Ippolito, she wished she knew more about the man that was her intended but she had the chance to learn about him now. Her own knowledge of him and his family was limited but she would change that, she would make this work and make her father see that she was his loyal and obedient daughter.

"My Lady," Ippolito replied bowing his head down to her, he was most surprised that she had come to speak with him especially given how secretive negotiations for her hand in marriage had been. Nothing had been left to chance and Ippolito knew that the news of his engagement to Mary would not be well received by those who would have wished to use her to gain the throne of England.

Even though she had been declared a bastard, Ippolito had no doubts that there would be those in England that would happily seat her on the throne if it meant they gained power from doing so. Plus, it would likely please the Emperor and her Spanish relatives if they thought they would also benefit from her being on the English throne and could turn England into a puppet of Spain. Words failed Mary as she stared at Ippolito unsure what she wished to say to him, she found herself a little speechless and flustered at speaking with such a dashing man.

Taking Mary's hand, he pressed a kiss to it and offered her the kindest smile that Mary thought that she had seen since she was a child and had been doted upon by her mother. It made her feel like he was actually seeing her instead of the bastard daughter of the King of England and the Dowager Princess of Wales.

"I hear that you are from Italy," Mary stated a little surprised when the words left her mouth at all, she had thought that she would be a gaping fish and make a complete fool of herself making a man such as the Duke think she was a simpleton. He was a man that had once served the Pope and had been an envoy, she had never really done much let alone leaving the country that she had been born let alone do what the Duke and his sister had done.

They had left everything behind and turned on His Holiness to aid her father from those who would have sort to trap him in a false marriage to her mother and then she could only imagine where that would have led them. Now her brother, the true Prince of Wales would take the throne when their father passed on and Mary would find herself a Duchess through her marriage to the Duke; she had no doubts that she would have a comfortable life.

"That is correct. I was born in Florence, where my family has resided for many generations," Ippolito confirmed with a smile, he very much missed his home and had not given up his hopes that he would return there to reclaim what had been stolen from him. He would take back the title of Ruler of Florence and he knew that it was only a matter of time before Alessandro messed up and Ippolito would plan his move carefully knowing that he would have to think this through if he didn't want to alert the Pope and the Emperor to his plans.

"I would like to hear more about Florence," Mary told him, if they were to be married then she saw no reason that she should not know more about him and where he came from; it was her father's desire that she would marry this man and she would do just that. If she was to understand what sort of man, her intended husband was then it would do her well to learn about what his life had been like before he had come to England.

"His Majesty writes that your beloved daughter, the Marquess of Winchester is set to marry the Duke of Hertford," Lady Darrell announced reading the letter that had arrived, she kept her eyes down not daring to look at her mistress. The news had been expected especially given the news that the Queen had been delivered of a son that had been denied to Katherine; her mistress had spent the entire day praying when she had heard the news.

Katherine pursed her lips, she knew not of this Duke of Hertford but she was sure that he would be a Boleyn supporter and this complicated things especially her plan to secure Mary's throne. Already she had secreted letters to people in the North that she was sure would support her claims as Queen no matter what Henry stated and that of her daughter even though Henry had a son now.

"His Majesty states that you are to come to court for the occasion," Lady Darrell continued, it would mean that the ladies here would be allowed to travel with her and many of them had never been to court. There were whispers at the news and Lady Darrell peeked up from the letter to chance a look at her mistress's face, she could already see that this news displeased her.

None of the other ladies dared speak but it was clear by the looks that they shared that the very idea of going to court pleased most of them especially if they wanted advantageous marriages. Something that would not happen while they remained here at Kimbolton Castle under the Dowager Princess of Wales household.

"Then we shall go to court to see my beloved Mary married," Katherine conceded, she said little else instead she turned away wondering what to make of this man that she knew nothing of. It was not part of her plan and she very much doubted that if this man was a supporter of the Boleyns then he would not support her Mary's claim for the throne then he would need to be dealt with.

Gritting her teeth, Jane could not believe that the rightful heir to the throne was being married off to someone like the Duke of Hertford; her brother had told her how he was the bastard brother of the Duchess of Bedford. The very fact that the King would allow his beloved daughter to be married off like that made her hate the harlot even more; she had tricked her way onto the throne and stolen Queen Katherine's rightful place.

That was why she was here, she would rather serve the rightful Queen in her exile that seek a position in the harlot's household just because she now had a son. She would find away to help the Queen gain back what had been stolen from her and restore the Princess Mary to her rightful position.

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