Katharine of Aragon

by Jean Plaidy

  The King had changed too. He would never be so easily duped by his political enemies in future. He was still the golden, handsome King, but he was no longer a boy; he was a young man in the very prime of life. A certain bloom of innocence had been rubbed off. Now he led Bessie Blount in the dance and caressed her openly before his courtiers, no longer attempting to conceal the fact that he spent his nights with her. Often they would ride together to Jericho with a little company of friends and stay there, while Katharine remained behind at Richmond, Westminster or Greenwich.

  Bessie was accepted as the chief mistress, and although there were others— little lights-o'-love who amused him for a while—none took Bessie's place.

  The courtiers smiled. “It is natural,” they said. “And since the Queen is so dull and has lost what beauty she had, and as she is fast becoming an old woman, who can blame young Henry?”

  It was hurtful to Katharine, but she hid her feelings; yet she wondered whether she would be able to get a child now.

  So much had happened in a year.

  Now she spent most of her time sewing with her women, hearing Mass, praying in her own apartments, making pilgrimages to such places as the shrine at Walsingham.

  Often she thought of those days when Henry had seemed contented with his wife. But it was not only the husband whom she had lost. She often remembered how, at one time when he had received foreign dispatches, he brought them to her and they read them together. He never did this now.

  There were two others who had supplanted her.

  There was Cardinal Wolsey in state affairs, and in his bed there was Bessie Blount.

  A Venetian Embassy and a Cardinal's Hat

  IT WAS NEW YEAR'S NIGHT AND THERE MUST BE ENTERTAINment at the Court to celebrate such an occasion; so the great hall of Westminster had been decorated with cloth of gold, and at night, by torchlight, it was a beautiful sight indeed.

  The people had crowded in to watch the royal sport; and on such an occasion Henry liked to show his people that he lived in the splendor expected of a King.

  Katharine was seated on a dais at one end of the great hall as she had sat so often before. About her were her ladies, and she was glad to have with her her dear Maria de Salinas who, with her husband, was paying a visit to the Court. Maria had heard of the King's open liaison with Elizabeth Blount and had condoled with Katharine about this. It was the way of Kings, she said, and not to be taken seriously. Why, even the people accepted the fact that the King must have his mistress.

  Katharine was considerably comforted by Maria and, perhaps because of that, looked more like her old self on that night. She was magnificently dressed in rich blue velvet, and diamonds, sapphires and rubies glittered about her person.

  While she sat there a messenger came to her in the costume of Savoy and begged to be allowed to speak to her. Katharine recognized one of the gentlemen of the Court and knew at once that this was part of the entertainment.

  “Pray speak on,” she said.

  There was silence in the hall, and the Savoyard said in loud ringing tones but using a foreign accent: “Your Grace of England, there are without a band of dancers from Savoy. They have travelled far that they may enchant you with their dancing on this first night of the New Year. Have they your permission to enter and dance for the pleasure of the Court?”

  “I beg you bring them in at once. They must perform for us.”

  Katharine sat back on her throne while the party were brought in. There at the head of them were two tall figures—whom she knew well. One was Henry, the other Brandon. They were masked, but beneath the mask it was possible to see the King's golden hair.

  “Welcome, Gentlemen,” said Katharine.

  They bowed low; and as they did so Katharine's eyes began to sparkle, for this was as it had been in the old days, and it might mean that Henry was going to forget their differences and treat her once more as his wife.

  When Henry spoke—and who could not recognize his voice—he said: “Most beautiful Queen of this fair land, we are strolling dancers from the land of Savoy. We would fain dance before you so that Your Grace may judge whether there are not as good dancers from Savoy as live in this fair land.”

  Katharine threw herself into the game. “You may try,” she said, “but I must warn you, we have most excellent dancers in this land, and they are led by the King himself whom all agree none has ever equalled. If you would care to try your skill against us, do so. But I dare swear you will be dismayed when you see the King dance.”

  “We are happy, Your Grace, to put our skill to the test, and you shall be our judge.”

  Katharine signed to the musicians then and by the light of the torches the little party took its place before her. There were four men and four women, all in blue velvet and cloth of silver and their costumes were fashioned after the manner of Savoy.

  The dancing began. It was a beautiful ballet outstanding on account of the high leaping of the leader.

  There were murmurs in the crowd. “Can it be? Does he in truth outjump the King? Where is his Grace? He should see the unusual skill of these men and in particular the leader.”

  Sitting back Katharine marvelled at the ability of all to enter so wholeheartedly into the game and to show such seeming innocence of the masquerade which all must have seen so many times before.

  At length the dancing ceased and the dancers were all on their knees before the Queen's throne.

  “I pray you,” said Katharine, “unmask, that we may see your faces.”

  The dancers rose to their feet and Katharine kept her eyes on the leader while he, with a dramatic gesture, drew off his mask.

  There was a gasp throughout the Court and then loud bursts of applause. Henry bowed to the Queen and turned about so that none should be in doubt as to his identity.

  He has not grown up at all, thought Katharine; and she felt a little happier, for it was more pleasant to see the naïve boy taking the place of the brutal man.

  He then stepped to the Queen's side and taking her hand kissed it, which drew more lusty cheers from the people.

  Holy Mother of God, murmured Katharine to herself, can we really go back to the beginning? Can it really be as though our troubles never happened?

  She was more than ready to meet him halfway.

  She said so clearly that all might hear: “So it was Your Grace. I could not believe there was one to rival you, and yet it seemed that Savoyard could do so. I thank Your Grace for my good pastance.”

  Then boldly she rose and putting her hands to his face drew him down to her and kissed him.

  For a few seconds she held her breath with apprehension, but he had returned her kiss, and the people cheered.

  “Good Kate,” he whispered, “‘tis all done in thy honor.”

  It seemed to the watchers then that something of the Queen's youth returned, as Henry sat beside her and they talked amicably.

  That night they slept together. The need to get a child was as urgent as ever. It was a return to the old pattern; and there was, after all, to be another chance.

  IT WAS SHORTLY AFTER the New Year revels when a messenger from France came to Westminster with an urgent dispatch for the King.

  Henry read the news and let out an exclamation of dismay. He had the messenger taken to the kitchens to be refreshed and sent at once for Wolsey.

  “News!” he cried. “News from France. Louis is dead. He died on New Year's day.”

  Wolsey took the news calmly; he had not expected Louis to live long; a new bride, such as Mary, would not act as an elixir to such as he was, for Louis was Gallic and as such would ape the gallant no matter at what cost.

  Wolsey smiled secretly thinking of the old man trying to play lover to that young and passionate girl.

  “This means, Your Grace, that Francis of Angoulême will now be King of France unless…”

  “Exactly,” said the King, “unless my sister is with child by the King; then Francis' long nose will be a little out of joint
. I'll warrant the sly fellow is beside himself with anxiety. Imagine! For years he and his mother and doting sister have watched old Louis… waiting for him to die. Then the old man marries my sister. ‘Is she with child?' ‘Is she not with child?' This is a fine joke.”

  “Let us hope, Your Grace, that the Queen of France has conceived. With one sister Queen of France and another Queen of Scotland, Your Grace would be most fortunately placed.”

  “‘Tis so. 'Tis so.”

  Henry smiled at Wolsey. He appreciated this servant, being fully aware that Wolsey possessed something which he himself lacked. He called it seriousness. He would come to it in time; but at this stage he did not want to devote all his energies to state affairs. He had discovered that he was not as completely devoted to war as he had imagined he would be. When he entered into a game he liked to know what the outcome would be. He wanted the shouts of wonder at his prowess. These did not always come in war. Even Ferdinand and Maximilian—those great warriors, who, all would admit, had had their share of victories—frequently suffered defeat and humiliation. Henry had not been prepared to go to war alone with France, and the reason was that he feared defeat.

  He was indeed growing up and it was unfortunate for his peace of mind that, in spite of his vanity and frequent displays of naïveté, he was also intelligent. And this intelligence kept asserting itself—even as his conscience did— to disturb his peace.

  Therefore he was grateful to Wolsey. That man had genius, and while he could place state affairs in those capable hands he could be at peace. He was ready to show his appreciation to Wolsey who must be well on the way to becoming one of the richest men in England—next to himself. Henry rejoiced in Wolsey's advancement; he was ready to abet it. His face softened at the sight of the man; he would put his arm about his shoulders as they walked in the gardens, so that all might realize the esteem in which he held his new Cardinal.

  So now he said: “Well, Thomas, what's to be done?”

  “There is nothing we can do but wait, Sire. All depends on whether the Queen of France carries the heir.”

  Henry nodded. “My poor sister! There she is, all alone in that country. And she will have to endure the period of mourning as a widow, shut into her darkened apartments where she will be most unhappy. I must send my envoy at once to France to convey my condolences…to my sister, to Francis…”

  “And we will not add, Sire,” said Wolsey with a smile, “that here we are praying that the Queen is with child.”

  The King laughed aloud and slapped Wolsey's shoulder.

  “Nay, Thomas, we'll not mention the matter. I had thought that Suffolk might be the envoy on this occasion.”

  Wolsey was silent for a moment, and Henry's expressive mouth tightened. Wolsey was grateful for that mobile countenance which so often gave a hint of the King's desires before Henry uttered them.

  Suffolk! pondered Wolsey. The Queen of France would be an excellent pawn in skilful hands. Were they going to throw her to Suffolk merely because her wanton body lusted after that man?

  He followed Henry's thoughts. This was his sister Mary, his favorite sister who was gay and pretty; knowing how to flatter her brother she fostered his sentimentality towards her, and had lured him into a promise. “If I marry the King of France, when he is dead I shall marry whom I please.” And Henry knew who pleased her.

  He wanted to comfort her now, to say: Look, little sister, you are a widow in a foreign land; so I am sending you a gift to cheer you. And the gift was Suffolk.

  Henry was telling himself that Brandon was a worthy envoy; and as he was ardently courting the Duchess of Savoy, in these circumstances sending him would merely be a gesture; no harm could come of it. Mary would have enough sense to know that there must be no dalliance with Suffolk while she might be carrying the heir of France within her.

  In any case Henry had made up his mind.

  So must it be, thought Wolsey, who was not going to commit the folly of going against the King in this matter and mayhap through it lose control of other and more important affairs.

  “If Your Grace is satisfied with Suffolk as your envoy to the Court of France, then so I am,” he said.

  THE CARDINAL READ the letter from Suffolk. He was gratified because the Duke had written to him. It indicated that this man understood that the one most likely to influence the King was Thomas Wolsey.

  His Cardinal's hat had not yet arrived, but that was coming. He was growing more and more certain that one day he would gain the Papal crown; in the meantime he was content to govern England.

  Suffolk had written that he and Mary had married.

  Wolsey laughed aloud at the folly of the man. Then he thought of his own folly with Mistress Wynter, and his laughter faded a little.

  But to marry with the Princess so soon after the death of her husband! Moreover, was Brandon in a position to marry? There were some who maintained that he was already married; and he had certainly been involved in matrimonial tangles with three other women. The first was Elizabeth Grey, daughter of the Viscount of Lisle, who had been made his ward and whom he had contracted to marry. This lady had refused to marry him and the patent was cancelled. Later he had contracted to marry a certain Ann Brown, but before the marriage was celebrated he obtained a dispensation and married a widow named Margaret Mortymer, who was a relative of his. When he was weary of this woman he acquired a declaration of invalidity from the Church on the grounds of consanguinity, and it was said that later he went through a form of marriage with Ann Brown by whom he had had a daughter. Certainly his past did not bear too close a scrutiny and it was questionable whether he was in a position to marry again. Yet such was his fascination that not only had he charmed Mary but to some extent Henry as well.

  Wolsey read the letter:

  “The Queen would never let me be in rest until I had granted her to be married; and so now, to be plain with you, I have married her heartily, and have lain with her in so much I fear me lest she be with child. I am like to be undone if the matter should come to the knowledge of the King, my master.”

  He was asking Wolsey to break the news gently and to convey loving messages from Mary to Henry in the hope that he might be softened towards them and allow them to return home, which they longed to do.

  Wolsey considered the matter. The King had provoked this situation. He had known how headstrong his sister was, and he had promised her that if she married Louis she should choose her next husband. Henry, Wolsey was sure, would feign anger at the news, but he would not be greatly disturbed. He loved his sister dearly and missed her, so would be glad to have her home. He missed Suffolk too, for that gay adventurer was one of the most amusing of his friends.

  Therefore it was without much trepidation that Wolsey sought an audience and showed Henry the letter which he had received from Suffolk.

  “By God's Holy mother!” ejaculated Henry. “So they are married—and she, like as not, with child. What if…”

  “We should know, Your Grace, if the King of France was its father. I fear that is not so. Poor Louis, he could not get his wife with child.”

  For a moment there was a deep silence, and to Wolsey's consternation he saw the healthy flush in the King's cheeks darken.

  So, thought Wolsey, he is already beginning to wonder whether he is capable of begetting children. Is it so? One would have thought Elizabeth Blount might have shown some signs by now; and the Court was becoming so accustomed to Katharine's failures that they expected her miscarriages before they occurred.

  Wolsey said quickly: “The King of France was too old to beget children.”

  The King breathed more easily. The danger was past, and Wolsey went on: “What are Your Grace's wishes in this matter?”

  “I am deeply shocked,” said Henry. “Punishment there must be. I am displeased with them … both.”

  But indeed he was not. He was already wishing they were at the Court. He indulged his pleasures so much that he put their gratification before matters of state.
While Wolsey thought of the grand marriages which might have been arranged for Mary, Henry was thinking: Mary will be happy; and I shall be happy to have my sister with me again.

  But as ever he was ready to listen to Wolsey's advice; and, when later Suffolk wrote to Henry begging to be allowed to come home and offering his body, knowing that he might be “put to death, imprisoned, or destroyed” for this great sin he had committed, Henry left it to Wolsey to suggest on what terms the erring couple might be allowed to return.

  “Let them return to Your Grace the gift you made the Princess Mary of plate and jewels,” suggested Wolsey; “let Suffolk undertake to pay by yearly installments the expenses you incurred by the French marriage. Then it would seem that they had been adequately punished. All would know that none dares flout your Grace's wishes with impunity, and at the same time these two, for whom we all have great affection, could—after a short period—return to Court.”

  Henry was delighted with the solution.

  Once again he was realizing how much he could rely upon his dear friend Wolsey.

  THAT YOUNG GAY AMORIST, Francis of Angoulême, had leaped happily into the position which he and his family had coveted for himself for so long.

  With what great joy he discovered that Mary Tudor was not with child; and, although he himself had cast lascivious eyes on this attractive English girl, the Suffolk marriage seemed a happy enough conclusion to that affair.

  He was ambitious and energetic, and in the first weeks of his accession he was turning his eyes towards Italy.

  It was during March of that year that a Venetian embassy arrived in England with the blessing of Francis.

  The position of the Venetians in Europe was dictated by their trade. They were first and foremost traders and asked only to be allowed to continue to sell those goods for which they were famous. Since Maximilian had captured Verona, he had proved a serious handicap to Venetian trade, and the people of Venice believed that an alliance with France would enable them to regain Verona; and as France was aware that her power in Lombardy depended on Venetian friendship there was a rapprochement between the two.