The White Lion of Norfolk

by The White Lion of Norfolk (retail) (epub)

  The moon was full that night and even though the candles had not been lit the room was quite bright and this time the Duke studied his niece more closely.

  She was obviously pining for she was even thinner than the last time he had seen her. Her black hair, freed from its hood, fell about her shoulders almost down to her waist and her large dark eyes with their thick, inky lashes surveyed him stonily. Even though she bore the signs of grief upon her there was something about her, something that could not be put into words, that appealed to a man and for the first time Norfolk began to see why Henry had become attracted to her.

  “Your father informs me that you declined the honour of entertaining the King to-night.”

  “To-night and every other night, Uncle,” she replied defiantly.

  “You see how she defies her own father!”

  Norfolk silenced him with a quick gesture.

  “Why, niece?”

  She was taken back for an instant. “Why, Uncle? Because I cannot, will not, be coy and sweet and flattering to the man who has ruined my life!”

  “Come, come niece! Surely you realise that a girl in your position has little choice in the matter of marriage? You are no common serving wench!”

  She turned on her father. “He would have me follow my sister and play the whore! Do you also come here to advocate me to follow Mary’s example?”

  “Watch your language, Madam! Mistress to the King is a respected position – your sojourns in France should have taught you that!” her father warned her.

  “To the King of France perhaps but what great advantages did poor Mary obtain? Cast aside like an old, worn glove. I will never be cast aside for he shall never have me!”

  “Your sister is a fool! You have more sense. Anne, I beg of you do not throw away the chance to advance your family. Think of your brother, George!”

  “George would not have me play the whore to advance his position – he is no pimp!” she cried.

  “This is achieving nothing,” Norfolk broke in. “You realise that your father is right. Great advantages can be obtained by a clever woman who holds the King’s heart. Why not stop this foolish grieving and help your family?”

  “Never!”

  “Then you will marry Piers Butler and go to live in Ireland and good riddance, Madam!” her father cried in exasperation.

  “No! I will not be dictated to by you, acting upon the wishes of that… butcher’s cur’.” As she thought of Wolsey a flame of hatred consumed her. “I hate him! He is evil! He should be cast down!”

  Norfolk looked at her closely. So she shared his hatred of the Cardinal. He saw a ray of hope.

  “Then niece, why not work for his downfall? If you hate him so much you have the weapon in your hands that could destroy him. If you held the King’s heart there is nothing he could deny you. With my help and guidance you could achieve the destruction of my Lord Cardinal!”

  She stared at him for a long time and then sat down upon her bed.

  The Duke smiled to himself. Perhaps this was going to prove to be a memorable night after all.

  “Sir Thomas, leave her now. Give her time to think upon the matter. I am certain she will come to the right decision.” He addressed himself once more to his niece. “Remember who it was who parted you from Henry Percy. Remember who it was who humiliated him in front of the court and who summoned his father from the north to take him from you and when you have thought carefully upon these matters, then consider the power you hold in your hands, Anne. When you have made up your mind send me word for I shall do everything in my power to aid you.”

  She remained silent, staring at a ring she held in her hand.

  “Good Night, Anne.”

  She raised her small, dark head and her eyes were bright with tears. “Good Night, Uncle Norfolk.”

  Three

  “Defiled is my name full sore,

  Through cruel spite and false report,

  That I may say for evermore,

  Farewell to joy, adieu comfort!”

  Anne Boleyn

  It was the news of the marriage of Henry Percy to Lady Mary Talbot, daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury, that brought Anne to a decision. She had given a great deal of thought to her uncle Norfolk’s advice but now that Harry was lost to her forever the love she had borne him turned to consuming vengeance, which was directed against the King and the Cardinal.

  She would take her uncle’s advice. She had the power to bring down the Cardinal and she would so enslave the King that she would make his life as miserable as they between them had made hers.

  Her decision was made known to Norfolk who tactfully indicated to his master that should a further visit to Hever be undertaken, a certain young lady would be delighted to entertain him.

  For the rest of that year Norfolk and his master made the journey to Kent at discreet intervals and with that strange power she exerted over men and her beautiful, black eyes which encouraged seduction, Anne Boleyn had soon captivated the heart of the King. But Anne was clever, she allowed her royal lover to take small liberties but denied him his ultimate goal, which only increased Henry's ardour. Driven by her hatred of the Cardinal and feeling that her heart had been turned to stone, she decided that she would aim higher than the doubtful position of Royal Mistress – she would become Queen! How she could achieve this she did not know but she was certain that Norfolk would help her.

  Upon one of Henry’s visits she managed to obtain a short time alone with her uncle and although the Duke was anxious to join the King and his brother-in-law he listened patiently to his niece.

  “You once promised me that you would do everything in your power to help me,” she reminded him.

  “A promise I shall endeavour to keep.”

  “I have made up my mind, Uncle. I have told the King that I will never submit to becoming his mistress!”

  Norfolk put down the book he had been toying with. “I thought that you had laid aside your passion for young Percy?”

  “I have. You did not allow me to finish. I have decided that I will be his wife – or nothing!”

  He stared at her in disbelief! Had she taken leave of her senses? Was she quite mad? “Have you told him of this decision?”

  “No. I have no need to put the matter into words. If I continue to refuse his advances he will see, in time, that marriage is the only way that he will possess me.”

  “Or he will grow tired of waiting and turn instead to a lady more generous with her favours.”

  “I have thought of that, that is the reason why I now ask your advice.”

  He studied her quietly. Was she so insane? With her upon the throne he would be the most powerful man in England, next to the King.

  “Leave the court. Leave the country. Put his affections to the test of time and absence. There is an old saying ‘Absence maketh the heart grow fonder’.”

  “There is also another saying, ‘Out of sight, out of mind’.”

  “It is a gamble but it will prove once and for all whether the power you exercise over him is strong enough to bring you a crown.”

  She studied him uncertainly. Could she trust him? He may have another reason for getting her out of the way. However at present she had no alternative for there was no one else to help her.

  ‘‘I will return to France, to the court of Marguerite of Alençon.”

  “May good fortune go with you and may you return to a royal welcome.”

  In a desperate effort to keep her from going to France, Henry created her father Viscount Rochford and she arrived in France no longer plain Mistress Boleyn but Lady Anne Rochford.

  After a few months’ absence Norfolk was disturbed to notice that Henry seemed to have forgotten his passion for her and no further mention was made of his troubled conscience either. As the months passed Norfolk became more and more certain that the gamble had not succeeded.

  Christmas of 1526, he spent at Kenninghall in Norfolk but upon his return to court he noticed that Henry seemed t
o be greatly preoccupied with the matter of his conscience and his lack of a son.

  In the Spring of 1527, Henry broached the subject of divorce to the Cardinal, although no mention of a successor to Katherine was made. The Cardinal, ever dutiful concerning his master’s wishes, agreed that there was a case and promised to see to it that the wheels be set in motion, seizing upon the opportunity of ousting the influence of the Holy Roman Emperor who was Katherine's nephew.

  Relations between France and England deteriorated and the threat of war loomed upon the horizon and the Lady Anne Rochford returned home with her father.

  Norfolk breathed a sigh of relief when he realised that the gamble had indeed paid off – tenfold! The King was even more bewitched than he had been in 1524 and the Lady Anne returned to court as Maid of Honour to the Queen she hoped to surplant. She saw the Cardinal frequently and comforted herself with the thought that soon she would see his pompous pride brought low.

  Henry finally plucked up courage to mention his ‘Great Matter’ to Katherine and if he had expected her to quietly agree with him, to continue to put his peace of mind before all else, his hopes were shattered. Katherine was horrified, hurt and angry.

  “How could you say such a thing!” she cried. “How could you declare before the whole world that we have lived in sin for twenty years and that Mary is a bastard!”

  She wept, she pleaded with him on her knees and finally, upset and annoyed that she had placed him in this awkward and painful predicament (in his opinion) he lost his temper and shouted at her. Finally he left her sobbing bitterly, slamming the door behind him.

  It did not help Henry’s cause that the Emperor’s troops were sacking the Holy City and that the Pope was a prisoner in the Castle of San Angelo. Pope Clement dared not grant a divorce while Katherine's nephew held the Vatican.

  That September the Cardinal was sent to France – ostensibly to negotiate for the hand of the Princess Renee as a bride for Henry – while Norfolk and Anne laughed up their sleeves. Anne’s position and influence grew daily and finally Wolsey was recalled and informed by the King that he intended to marry the Lady Anne Rochford.

  Thomas Wolsey was appalled! He spent two hours upon his knees pleading with his master to abandon his intentions. Henry obstinately refused to be swayed. At length Wolsey left, realising that he had made the worst mistake of his life when he had dismissed Anne Boleyn as a ‘foolish girl’ for with her natural vindictiveness, backed by the implacable hatred of her Uncle Norfolk, she would not rest until she had hounded him to destruction.

  The divorce was not to be easily obtained and Henry, Anne and Norfolk fretted and fumed at the Pope’s delaying tactics. Clement promised to send a Legate to England to enquire into the validity of the case but the Legate he had chosen was Cardinal Campeggio – an old man, a martyr to gout – it took Campeggio eight months to reach England. His instructions had been to try to dissuade Henry and if this failed to delay matters for as long as possible.

  Henry vehemently refused to change his mind and Katherine – equally as vehement – refused to agree or to quietly enter a convent. By the June of the following year Campeggio found that he could no longer delay the opening of the Legatine Court.

  The court convened in June, 1529, at Blackfriars and both Henry and Katherine were requested to appear.

  Norfolk was present on the 21st, when Katherine was called into court. The two cardinals in their official robes sat upon a raised dais, beneath them sat the bench of Bishops and to one side, beneath the canopy of state, sat the King.

  Katherine entered dressed completely in black which enhanced her sallow complexion and made her appear thickset and old. Without a glance at the two Cardinals she went straight to her husband and knelt before him. With touching sincerity she begged him to take pity upon her for the sake of the love they had shared and implored him to afford her justice. With tears in her eyes she declared, “And when ye had me at the first, I take God to my judge that I was a very maid without touch of man; and whether it be true or no, I put it to your conscience.”

  Henry stared blankly ahead of him and refused to meet her eyes.

  She rose stiffly and turning curtsied low to the court. She walked steadily on completely ignoring the cries of “Katerina, Queen of England, come into court!” feverishly called by the usher. Many people within the court were touched by her plight but Norfolk was not amongst them.

  Bishop Fisher conducted her defence in her absence and the hearing dragged on.

  At the end of July, Campeggio calmly announced that all Papal Courts were adjourned for the summer and that the case would be reopened in October.

  Henry was furious! In desperation he summoned Norfolk.

  “God's Death! Was ever a man so beset! Take Suffolk and go to the old fool and tell him that the court is to be re-opened now!” he bellowed.

  “Consider it done, Your Grace,” Norfolk replied for he was as anxious as Henry to get the matter over and done with.

  They met with no success for Campeggio was adamant.

  “The King insists!” Norfolk demanded.

  “The Holy Father will not allow it!”

  Suffolk lost his temper and banged his fist down upon the table so hard that quills, ink horns and papers flew. “By the Mass! Now I see that the old saying be true. That there was never legate or cardinal that did good in England!”

  They left to impart the news of their failure to the King.

  * * *

  While these proceedings had continued, Anne had remained at Hever, a pale, thin shadow of her former self but that December she finally agreed to return to court. Henry had obtained for her Suffolk House which was next door to York House which he had borrowed from Cardinal Wolsey and here she was installed with her ladies, her train bearer and chaplains and at Christmas it was she and not Katherine who accompanied Henry to Greenwich. Although she held the estate of a Queen the strain was telling upon her. She was cordially loathed by the common people who called her ‘Nan Bullen’ and worse! And she was still no nearer her goal.

  Meanwhile the Pope had come to terms with Katherine’s nephew and announced that the case would now be tried in Rome. Henry, goaded by Anne, placed all the blame upon Wolsey. Anne had managed to obtain from Sir Francis Bryan certain letters written by Wolsey to the Pope and these she now gave to Henry as proof of the Cardinal’s duplicity.

  Henry had taken Anne to Grafton and there Wolsey arrived to attend his master. He now realised for the first time the full measure of Anne’s hatred for him for no arrangements had-been made to accommodate him – there was not even a bed prepared for him! He did manage to see the King who treated him with kindness and had a long, private discussion with his minister – which infuriated Anne who gave vent to her feelings in an interview with her uncle.

  “Henry is a fool! After the evidence of that man’s treachery that I placed in his hands, what does he do? He treats him like the prodigal returned to the fold!” she raged.

  “You should have prevented him from seeing the King,” Norfolk said.

  “God help me, Uncle. I tried! But it seems that there are some things that are not within my power. Do you know what that cur calls me? ‘The night crow!’ Well, Uncle, crows have sharp beaks and claws that tear out a man’s eyes and if I achieve naught else, I swear I will pluck out his eyes and evil tongue!”

  “Calm yourself, ’twill do no good to fume and fret. You must prevent the King from falling once more into the Cardinal’s clutches.”

  “How? Tell me, Uncle, how do I do that?” she cried sarcastically.

  “Could you not think of some measure to lure him away?”

  She laughed and the Duke grimaced, thinking that she was hysterical.

  “Look at me! Look at the circles beneath my eyes, my skin is sallow and the flesh falls from my bones with waiting. Soon I shall be able to ‘lure’ him no longer!”

  She paced the room then suddenly stopped.

  “I have it. Yes, it will serve. At f
irst light to-morrow I will take the King upon a hunting trip. We shall take provisions for a meal, we shall stay away for the whole day while my Lord Cardinal cools his heels!” She laughed again, a wild, hysterical sound. “When he rises from his bed – the birds will have flown! The crow will have flown, Uncle, carrying with it the eagle!”

  She threw back her head and laughed until the tears ran down her thin cheeks.

  Norfolk grasped her wrists and shook her. “Stop it! Stop it! The whole household will hear you!”

  Her laughter abated and Norfolk dropped her hands and looked at her coldly. The strain was proving too much, she was brittle and if something was not done soon, he was certain that she would break.

  * * *

  Finally Anne prevailed and upon the 9th October, two Bills were filed against the Cardinal. On St Luke’s Day 1530, the Cardinal surrendered his seals of office to a triumphant Norfolk. He sent his master a list of all his possessions, begging the King to accept them in a last desperate attempt to save himself and although Henry gratefully accepted the gifts it was too late, Anne had done her work well.

  Christmas that year found the Cardinal ill, deserted by his household of sycophants, save for George Cavendish and Thomas Cromwell.

  Experiencing a pang of guilt Henry sent his own physician, Dr Butts, to report upon Wolsey’s health and when Butts returned with ominous tidings, stating that ‘if you will have him dead I will warrant that he will be dead within four days if he receive not comfort shortly from you!’

  Suddenly smitten with remorse, Henry cried “God forbid! I would not lose him for twenty thousand pounds. I pray you go to him and do what you can.”

  “Then must Your Grace send him some comfortable message.”

  Henry hastily drew from his finger the ring that Wolsey had once given him and gave it to Dr Butts with a message. He turned to Anne, “Sweetheart, will you not also send him a token. He has rendered us good service.”

  “Not me,” she thought but detached a small tablet of gold from her girdle and gave it to the Doctor bidding him wish the Cardinal well. Her smile was brittle as fear again nagged at her heart. She sent for her uncle and when he finally appeared he noticed that she was even more distraught than usual.