The Lady in the Tower

by Виктория Холт

  “Ten minutes.”

  “It will seem an eternity, but I can deny you nothing.”

  He took my hand and kissed it lingeringly. “Know this,” he said seriously, “I love you well. No one else shall be your rival. Think of that, and it will incline your thoughts toward me.” He smiled and raised a finger. “No. Do not say it again. I know it well. My mistress you will not be. That will be the purpose of our discourse. Ten minutes then. No more, sweet Anne.”

  “I will be there, Your Grace.”

  He left me. I took a comb and combed my hair back from my hot face.

  My stepmother came into the room.

  “Anne,” she said in dismay. “I know not what to do. We have no special fare in the kitchens.”

  “It is of no importance.”

  “The King… visiting us like this…No warning.”

  “He has come to talk to me. He is not interested in food.”

  “What does it mean?”

  “I do not know. Later perhaps I shall.”

  I was feeling calmer every second. He wanted to talk. What could he possibly talk about? He was going to try to persuade me by telling me all he could do for me and mine. Some of my fear had left me. Seeing him face to face had given me courage.

  The thought came to me: This is no light matter with him. He really does care for me.

  And so I went down to the garden.

  He was waiting for me and came swiftly toward me, his arms out-stretched. I evaded them by bowing.

  “Anne,” he said, “my sweetheart, all will be well ere long and you and I will be together. Come, sit beside me. Sit close to me. Ah, this is what I long for…to be close to you…to hold you against me… like this. Anne, you are a witch.”

  “Your Grace, I am just a simple girl.”

  “You were never simple. You were born with that witchery. You have put a spell on me.”

  I was momentarily alarmed by this talk of witchcraft. I wondered if I were to be accused of that and burned at the stake. But, of course, he meant witchery of another sort.

  “You hold yourself aloof,” he said. “Oh, do not think I do not respect your virtue.” His little mouth was prudish suddenly. “It is a virtue I most respect in ladies. But I see a way for us, and that is what I will speak of and you will then see how deep is my love for you and that I will have none other. I will sweep away your scruples. You and I shall love as, from the moment we met, we were meant to.”

  “My lord, there is no way in which I will become your mistress.”

  “Nor shall you be. But…you could be my Queen.”

  “That is not possible.”

  “That word does not exist for kings, Anne. There is a way and I believe I have found it. Listen to me. When I first saw you in the garden, I knew that this was no light emotion which you had aroused in me. When I returned to Westminster, I said to Wolsey…yes, these were my very words, I remember them well…I said: ‘Thomas, I have been discoursing with a young lady who has the wit of an angel and is worthy of a crown.’ Now I look back, I see that my words were prophetic. Wolsey said, ‘It is sufficient if Your Grace finds her worthy of your love,’ and I answered that I feared she would never condescend in that way. Wolsey replied that great princes, if they choose to play the lover, had in their power that which would mollify a heart of steel. You will say that your virtue is unassailable, so you must remain virtuous. But I cannot give you up. Now listen. For some time past, my conscience has been troubling me. You know that I married my brother's widow. I was young. I was chivalrous. Katharine was alone in this country. Her father and mine were haggling over her dowry. She was sad and lonely and I have a tender heart … as you will discover. I married her, letting pity get the better of wisdom, and in doing so I have offended against the laws of God.”

  I listened in amazement.

  “For some time,” he went on, “I have been a most unhappy man. My conscience has never let me rest. Now I feel it cannot be silenced, for when my daughter Mary's union with the son of the King of France was in progress, one of the ambassadors raised the point of Mary's legitimacy.”

  “That is… impossible!” I cried.

  “Nay, my love, and I fear it may well be true. There is a verse in Leviticus which clearly says that a man may not marry his brother's wife and such a union would be without the blessing of God and fruitless.”

  “Does the Queen know of your fears?”

  “Not as yet. But she will. She must. I cannot go on living a life of sin in the eyes of God.”

  “But what would be the outcome?”

  “The marriage will be declared no marriage.”

  “And the Emperor Charles?”

  “He will have to look the truth in the face.”

  “But the Queen's relationship with him …”

  “My dearest Anne, you do not understand these matters.”

  “But surely he would not care to see his aunt accused of living in a sinful union?”

  “If it be proved…as it must be…he will have to accept it.”

  “After all these years…”

  “That matters not.” He was a little impatient. He had clearly thought I should greet this news with joy. I could not really believe the dazzling proposition he was putting before me. I could not accept for one moment that he would be allowed to discard his wife in spite of the verses in Leviticus. Whatever they were, I did not believe that the great Emperor would allow his aunt to be shipped back to Spain or perhaps put into retirement in England just like a mistress who has ceased to be desirable and is now to be pensioned off. That was not the way of great monarchs. I felt that Henry was being carried away by this idea which had occurred to him, and I suspected that he was using it as a means of dazzling me with the prospect of a crown—a notion which I felt too wild to bear any semblance to reality—so that I should receive him without delay into my bed. And afterward? Well, it would be seen to be just a wild dream, and the ministers of Spain and England would explain to him how impossible it was.

  I was skeptical. The conscience, I knew, existed. But it had taken seventeen years to arouse itself, and I felt it could easily be subdued in a few weeks once his goal had been reached.

  He went on: “I understand so much now. She could not get a son. Again and again there were disappointments. A king must have sons. It is part of his duty to his people. He has to think not only of his own reign but of the one to come. The dynasty must go on. And what have I? One daughter.”

  “The Princess Mary is healthy and very clever.”

  “A girl, Anne. I want a son.”

  “There is no Salic Law in England.”

  He hit his knee with his fist. “This country wants a king. I have to give England a male heir. And how can I do that while God frowns on my union with the one who, in His eyes, is not my wife? Anne, once I am free… and by God and all His saints, I soon shall be…you and I will come together. Now this revelation has come to me. The French ambassador has shown me the way. I have marveled that I… full of health and vigor as I am…can get no sons…from her. With others…You know that at one time I thought myself in love with Elizabeth Blount. She was a handsome girl… she danced and sang well…I thought excellently, but remember I had not seen you… nor heard you then. From now on there could be no other. I was young… and affectionate, as is my nature. I had begun to feel a reluctance to share Katharine's bed. You must understand these matters, Anne. And I had a son by Elizabeth Blount. It is only from Katharine that I cannot get boys, because God has turned His face away from our union. For a long time He has been telling me that it must end… and only now have I seen it.”

  I thought how naïve he was, but perhaps that was why he could deceive himself.

  “What does Your Grace propose to do?”

  “I have spoken to Wolsey.”

  I caught my breath.

  “He will help in this?” I asked.

  “Sweetheart, he is my servant. He will do as I wish. He sees the need for heirs. He
is a clever fellow and will devise a plan. We shall be together ere long, Anne. You will be my Queen. I'll swear there will never have been a more beautiful one… and one more worthy to wear a crown. You do not speak.”

  “I am overwhelmed.”

  He laughed, well pleased. “As well you might be. But it shall come to pass. I am determined on that. Ere long you and I shall be together, and we'll have boys, Anne…you and I. And what boys they will be! We'll have a brood of princes. What say you?”

  “I think there would be difficulties.”

  “This is my will.”

  “But the Queen is the Emperor's aunt.”

  “The Emperor is too busy governing his vast empire to think much of that. Moreover, Wolsey is getting to work on it.”

  “Does he know your plans for me?”

  There was a brief hesitation. “I have not told him yet. He knows, of course, of my feelings for you.”

  “But he thinks I should be your mistress while some foreign princess shall be your Queen. What was it…? ‘Princes have the power to mollify steel…’”

  “Wolsey has his devious ideas. He is…at the moment… all for stronger ties with France. When I talked of remarriage, he did mention the Princess Renée of France. I did not think it necessary to be more explicit as yet.”

  “It would not occur to him that one as unworthy as I could aspire so high. Yet he himself has climbed far. Was he not a butcher's son?”

  “I care not for these matters, sweetheart … whether a man be a cook's son or a duke's son…it matters not to me. I am a king and a king's son, and it is only those of lesser ranks who concern themselves with such things. If I love a person… that is enough for me. Thomas Wolsey is my good friend and has been for years. I love the man. He is the best of servants to me…as he was to my father before me.”

  “Yet I believe he sought election for the Papacy. That would have taken him from Your Grace's service… and set him on equal terms with you.”

  “He would have worked for me in Rome. Although I should be sad to lose him, it would have pleased me to have someone there working for England. But enough of this. Here I tell you of our great matter and you prate of Wolsey.”

  “I think he may well play a big part in it.”

  He slapped his thigh. “This he will, but Anne, what of your part and mine? I would it were done with. I would we were now joined together in holy union, as one day we shall surely be. What do you say?”

  I did not know what to say. My first thought was that it would never happen. There would be too many to work against it. Henry was all-powerful in England, and if the Queen had been anyone but the aunt of the Emperor Charles, it could have been a possibility. The Emperor might be busy with his Empire but he would never allow a member of his house to be degraded. And that was what the King proposed for Katharine.

  I thought of her, with her Spanish pride and her piety, her great dignity, her upbringing. What would her reaction be if she were told: You have been living in sin all these years. This is now revealed. So you are no longer Queen of England.

  I could not believe what the King was suggesting would ever take place. But the fact that the King could suggest it showed the intensity of his passion for me—for I knew that his conscience had conveniently reared its head at this time, not because of his desire to live in accordance with the rules of the Bible but because he wished to live in passion with me.

  He was beaming at the pond in the middle of the garden; he was so pleased with himself because he had thought up this scheme, and I believed, at that moment, he thought I should be so dazzled at the thought of sharing his throne that I would immediately throw aside the principles I had so forcefully expressed, fall into his arms and become his mistress on the spot.

  I was wary. Of course, there was a possibility that it could come to pass.

  His hand was on my knee. I could feel its heat through the stuff of my gown.

  “It will soon be,” he said. “We can trust Wolsey. He will get this in motion. I am sending him to the Pope. Then, my sweetheart, we shall be together.”

  He put his arm around me and crushed me against him. His lips were on my ear. “What say you, Anne? What say you?”

  “What can I say?” I replied. “You are not yet free.”

  “But soon will be.”

  “I am unsure.”

  “Do you love me?”

  “I am unsure,” I repeated.

  “Unsure! I ride out here to see you. I offer you a crown… and you are unsure!”

  “I do not look for a crown from my husband… only fidelity and love.”

  “But you shall have all three. I swear I'll not look at another. You shall have no rival. Say that you love me.”

  “I must think on this.”

  “You do not love some other?”

  “No longer. I loved Henry Percy, but he was taken from me. When one has suffered in that way once, one is chary of doing so again.”

  “You loved that spindle-legged, spineless creature?”

  “Yes. I loved him and I lost him; and now he is most unhappy.”

  “He would never be anything else. Shrewsbury's girl despises him as any woman of spirit would.”

  “But I loved him.”

  “Oh come… come…It would not have done.” He was suspicious suddenly. “Was he your lover?”

  “My principles have always been the same. I never was and never will be any man's mistress.”

  “Soon you will be Queen.”

  “I do not know.”

  He was bewildered. He was offering me himself, the greatest catch in the kingdom and a crown to go with it… and I was hesitating.

  He took my hand. “We will plight our troth. Give me that ring.” It was one which I wore on my middle finger. It had been in the family for a number of years. “And I shall give you a ring. It will be a sign. Come, Anne, give me the ring.”

  I shook my head. “Your Grace must understand that all this has happened so suddenly. I am bewildered. Please understand.”

  He was all softness. His moods changed quickly. “I know. This has dazzled you. You were not expecting such a prospect. Let me be with you tonight and I will show you how it is between us two.”

  “No,” I said firmly. “I could not be happy.”

  He turned to me almost angrily. I was certain then that he had thought the project he was opening before me would overwhelm and delight me to such an extent that I would fall into his arms. Now he was the small boy again about to be deprived of a coveted toy. His hot hands burned through my dress. He said roughly: “You forget to whom you speak. I could command you. I could take you here and now if I wished and snap my fingers at this virgin's talk.”

  I stood up and holding my head high, I said: “That is true. You could do that. But you will not because if you did I should never love you. And being a king you are also a knight and I should be much mistaken if you, powerful as you are, ever forgot the laws of chivalry, which you would most certainly do if you behaved in the way you suggest toward an unprotected woman.”

  It was the right note. The lust left his eyes and there was the shining knight, courteous and chivalrous. The thought occurred to me then: It would not be difficult to handle him.

  “And now, my lord,” I went on, “if you will give me leave to retire, I shall do so; and my stepmother and I will endeavor to find hospitality which, though it will not be worthy of you, will be the best we can offer as your arrival was unexpected.”

  He stood close to me and taking my hand, he kissed my finger with the ring for which he had asked.

  “Anne… Anne, I am beside myself with longing for you.”

  “If that be so, my lord, you will give me time to ponder on what you have told me.”

  “And then I shall have my answer?”

  “Yes, then you shall have it.”

  “I cannot leave here until I know you will be mine.”

  “I will tell you before you leave tomorrow morning.”

&nb
sp; “Then I must possess myself in patience.”

  He was complacent. He could not believe that even I, who had been so difficult to woo, could refuse a crown.

  When I was alone, I felt exhausted.

  I found it hard to believe that I had heard correctly. He would rid himself of Katharine and marry me! How could that possibly be? Whatever he said, he was married to Katharine. No one could discard the daughter of kings just because she was no longer desirable.

  That was the crux of the matter. I dismissed the conscience as I felt it deserved to be. The fact was he was tired of Katharine and he had been for a long time, and he was obsessed by his desire for me. How I wished I could have consulted Marguerite about the matter. I wondered what she, who was essentially worldly, would say.

  What if I refused? How long would he pursue me? I had had little warning signs even now. That expression of impatience in his eyes…He was not accustomed to being denied. To give way to him would mean to become his mistress. But was there the faintest possibility that I could become his Queen?

  I looked at myself in the mirror and saw the crown on my head. I could not deny that the thought dazzled me. To be the Queen presiding over the Court. All would be my slaves, bowing to my will—including the King Master Wolsey, who had called me a foolish girl and had destroyed my marriage to the man I had loved disinterestedly, would have to pay homage to me. That would give me great pleasure.

  I should have to marry sometime… someone my father would choose for me. It would not be a love affair—just a suitable match which my father would want. But what of the most brilliant match of all: Queen of England? Could it be possible? It might just be. He was powerful, so was Wolsey…if they worked for it…if they could placate the Emperor Charles…Excitement possessed me. It was a bewildering but exhilarating prospect.

  I dressed myself with care—scarlet velvet, hanging sleeves and a red band about my throat with its one solitary diamond. Excitement had added something to my eyes; they looked enormous and very bright, and the faintest color showed in my cheeks.

  I went down to the great hall. My stepmother had performed a miracle. She had set them to work in the kitchens and they had provided an excellent meal. The King sat at the head of the table, my stepmother