by David Field
‘But you do not rush to deny it, even though the truth casts shame on both of you?’
‘Get to the point, Master Cromwell.’
‘My point is that should the King hear that you leave the Queen unguarded in order to pursue your own pleasures, and keep your door shut in order not to see what the Queen does in there, sometimes with her own brother, would he not regard that as bordering upon the treasonous?’
‘You cannot prove any of that.’
‘No, but I can call upon two Palace guards who will testify, if required, that on the night when the Queen was “entertaining”, shall we say, the door between you was closed.’
‘You know why it was closed, and I do not care if you tell my husband.’
‘Do you care if I tell the King? They tell me that women burn for treason.’
‘This becomes tedious. What is it you wish to me say, if questioned?’
‘That on the night that Mark Smeaton entered the Queen’s bedchamber in the erroneous belief that she was in danger, a man slipped quickly from the Queen’s bed, came into your bedchamber, and closed the door before making good his escape behind St Anthony.’
‘And that is all?’
‘Do you not wish to learn who it was?’
‘Richard Ashton? I’m sure that the Queen would have wished it were him. Or did you mean my husband, her brother? If so, then I cannot oblige you.’
‘I speak of Sir Henry Norris.’
‘And if I concur in this lie?’
‘The Queen will go to the Tower, along with her brother, Gentle Norris and several more Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber, Mark Smeaton will survive to service half the Queen’s former Ladies, while you will remain in this world, and will be free to marry again — possibly Richard Ashton, if your father will consent.’
‘You are assured that Anne will die, and her disgusting brother along with her?’
‘As assured as I have ever been of anything.’
‘Then we have an agreement. Tell Richard that we have business to complete whenever he feels so inclined.’
‘I will if you will do one further thing.’
‘And what is that?’
‘You retrieved the locket belonging to Jane Seymour that Anne threw into the corner?’
‘Of course.’
‘You may complete your business with Richard in my private chamber here in the Palace this afternoon, and I will leave word that you are not to be disturbed. Bring the locket with you by way of payment of the hire fee, and leave it with Richard.’
Henry was unsure whether to smile or burst into tears of self-pity. He had ordered the information, but now that he had it he wished that he could travel back to the days of the Cardinal.
‘Her own brother, say you?’ he croaked in shattered disbelief.
‘Regrettably yes, Sire,’ Cromwell confirmed.
‘And you say that this is treason enough to have her dispatched?’
‘So I am informed by Audley, Sire, and he should know best regarding these matters. But should that be too moot a point of law, there is another alleged ground of treason.’
‘Other than the blade that she rams through my heart as truly as if it were an assassin’s dagger?’
‘Truly, Sire. But perhaps another day might be more conducive to further ill tidings. I am myself overcome with sorrow at having to so burden you on this occasion.’
‘No, it were best done all at once. Are they all in the Tower?’
‘All but the Queen, her brother Rochford and Henry Norris. I am advised that Norris intends to enter the lists at the May Day tournament, and it may be that you would wish to challenge him on the matter, although clearly not in a joust. I must, in all deference, ask that you be the one to order that the Queen be conveyed to the Tower, where I have already discreetly arranged for Lady Kingston to receive her in special lodgings. As for her brother Rochford, he may be scooped up whenever Anne is taken in, since he is still residing in the Palace, to which he came in order to comfort Anne following her miscarriage. Or so he claimed.’
‘What is this other treasonous matter of which you spoke?’
‘It seems that one more than one occasion the Queen spoke of who she might take up with were you no longer alive.’
‘Idle fantasy, surely?’
‘It constitutes “imagining the King’s death”, strictly interpreted. That is one of the well-established grounds of treason. And in this instance it is more treasonous than what the Cardinal was accused of, namely wishing to become Pope.’
‘I went deeper than that, as you well know, Thomas. There were papers said to reveal his invitation to the Emperor Charles to invade.’
‘They were forgeries, Sire, as I subsequently proved. Not soon enough to save poor Thomas Wolsey, unfortunately.’
‘And this evidence you have against the Queen? Not more forgeries?’
‘I have the sworn testimonies, Sire.’
‘That may prove to be forgeries, or at least obtained under torture, long after those they condemn have paid the price?’
‘There has been no torture, and those whose testimonies I have are in the main not those accused.’
‘And there can be no doubt?’
‘None, Sire.’
‘Adultery with Norris, Weston and Brereton, and incest with Rochford?’
‘Yes, Sire.’
‘And treason on two separate grounds?
‘Regrettably, that also.’
‘Very well. It shall proceed as you advise. Find Lady Jane Seymour and ask her to attend me, that I may break to her gently the news of her mistress’s downfall.’
‘She is believed to be with her family in Wiltshire, Sire. Do you wish me to travel down there and bring her safely back to Court?’
‘Yes, please do that, Thomas. After you have seen to the arrangements in the Tower.’
XI
‘I still don’t understand why you need me,’ Richard complained as he and Cromwell trotted side by side through Hungerford on the final stage of their journey to Wulfhall. ‘After all, the woman hardly spoke a word to me in all the times that we were in attendance on the Queen.’
‘According to you, she hardly spoke a word to anyone,’ Cromwell reminded him, ‘and your face will be a more familiar one than mine, so as to put her at her ease.’
‘If we wish to put her at her ease,’ Richard countered, ‘why are there four armed Royal Yeomen riding behind us?’
‘Because she may be our next Queen,’ Cromwell replied. ‘And even if she is not, she is important to Henry. But well minded — we shall need to find somewhere to billet them overnight. You can no doubt be found accommodation in the main house, but do not be offended if it turns out to be above the stable. We should in any case only be there for one night.’
They were met at the front door by a beaming Sir John, who shook Cromwell firmly by the hand, and bowed briefly towards Richard when advised that he was Senior Clerk of Chancery, and had ridden with Cromwell in order to assure ‘the Lady Jane’ that she had not incurred the Queen’s displeasure by departing so abruptly from Court without leave.
‘You have heard that Edward has been appointed a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber?’
‘I had not,’ Cromwell replied, ‘although I have been somewhat distracted of late by matters pertaining to the Queen’s honour. She will shortly be committed to the Tower on charges of treason.’
Sir John took the news calmly, but seemed somewhat distracted as he asked, ‘You are here to take Jane back to Court, by my guess. Is she implicated in the Queen’s downfall?’
‘Only in the best of ways,’ Cromwell assured him. ‘I am here mainly to return an item taken from her by the Queen in a moment of anger, but while here I might, with your leave, enquire of her whether or not she might look kindly on King Henry at this time of considerable distress to him.’
‘You will find her in the rear garden,’ Sir John told him, ‘but be sure to approach her kindly, and set her mind at rest regarding the
Queen’s anger.’
Jane looked up from her needlework as they approached where she was seated in the shade of a massive elm tree.
‘You are here to drag me back to face the Queen’s fury? If so, might I first be permitted to complete this altar cloth for the family chapel? It wants but two days’ more work.’
‘You need not fear the Queen’s wrath any longer, gentle Jane,’ Cromwell assured her. ‘She is taken up on charges of treason, and will, by the time of our return to Court, be lodged in the Tower.’
‘Are any of her Ladies implicated?’ Jane asked, ashen-faced. ‘Lady Rochford, for example? Or Lady Worcester?’
‘Should they be?’ Cromwell replied. ‘In truth, it was largely their words that led to the bringing of the charges.’
‘I have nothing of which I could speak,’ Jane replied fearfully. ‘Please give His Majesty my best regards, and say that I expressed my sorrow that things should have come to this sorry pass.’
‘My Senior Clerk, Master Ashton here, put me in possession of information regarding an exchange of words between you and Anne that led to the loss of a locket from around your neck. Would I be correct in surmising that King Henry would be sad to learn of its loss?’
‘Indeed he will,’ Jane replied sadly. ‘Please give him my heartfelt apologies, and ensure that he is well advised that its loss was due in no part to a lack of care on my part.’
‘In truth, it is not lost.’ Cromwell reached inside his tunic and held his hand out towards her. ‘Would I be exceeding my place if I were to enquire if the letters “H” and “J” inscribed inside each half are meant to represent “Henry” and “Jane”?’
‘You were able to retrieve it?’ Jane asked, almost in tears. ‘I thank you for your kindness, Master Secretary. It was within my possession for such a short while, yet it had become very precious to me. How did you obtain it?’
‘That is of no consequence. What is of considerable consequence is what those letters signify. Has Henry given any sign that you might occupy a very important place in his affections?’
‘Indeed he has,’ Jane murmured, ‘but I gave him no cause to believe that such feelings might be matched by mine. After all, the Queen...’
‘There will soon be no Queen, Jane,’ Cromwell told her in his softest voice. ‘Is it your wish to be Henry’s wife? Or do you fear that he will prove brutal and unfaithful? Because if so...’
‘It is not that,’ Jane whispered, her head down over her needlework. ‘Henry has shown me nothing but kindness and affection. I have seen a loving and caring side to his nature that others have probably not had occasion to experience. Were he not King...’
‘Yes?’ Cromwell urged her.
‘Were he simply lord of an estate, such as my father’s, I would gladly become his wife. But he is King, and obliged to show his power and strength to the entire world.’
‘All the more reason why he should have opportunity to be kind and gentle at home, particularly should he have children by his next wife.’
‘Why should he need to marry, in order to have children? And in what ways has he shown his loving nature as a father? He has declared his precious, and most gracious, daughter Mary to be no daughter of his.’
‘He has declared her bastard, certainly,’ Cromwell conceded, ‘but that was only because he was driven to it by the wicked Anne. And Elizabeth remains in favour.’
‘By the same token, because she is Anne’s daughter,’ Jane argued, ‘will he not bastardise her when Anne is gone?’
Cromwell took the seat next to her and took her hand in his. ‘I had two daughters of my own, Jane. Sadly, they passed in the same sweating sickness that took their mother, but were I in your father’s position, and seeking future happiness and prosperity for one of my daughters, I should not stand in the way of a match with Henry. You forget that I see him daily, and I know his true nature. Because of that, I would have had no fear were either of my daughters, Anne or Grace, to have become Henry’s bride.’
‘But if I were to marry Henry, I would have to become Queen, would I not?’
Cromwell could not hold back the laughter. ‘You would regard that as a disadvantage? There would be an endless queue of women for Henry’s hand, were he to send heralds abroad in search of a replacement for Anne. But they would be seeking merely the crown, as was the wicked Anne. Do you not think that Henry deeply craves the companionship of a woman who truly loves him for himself, rather than the title that Fate has burdened him with? Think you that he is not, under all that finery, a normal man with a normal man’s hopes and dreams?’
A tear rolled down Jane’s cheek as she looked hopefully, first at Richard, then at Cromwell. ‘Think you that Henry would have me on those terms?’
‘I know he would, Jane.’
‘Then let us join my brother Edward in London, and see what transpires.’
As they walked back towards the house, Cromwell was chuckling. ‘The most reluctant Queen of England that ever was. And the first woman to marry Henry for love.’
‘I have never heard her speak so much,’ Richard whispered, awe-stricken. ‘It is like she has become a new woman at the mere prospect of marriage to Henry. I hope that some woman shows me that much natural devotion one day.’
‘A new woman indeed,’ Cromwell said. ‘And soon to become yet another woman — Queen of England. When we meet with her tomorrow, remember this time to bow in her presence. We may as well get used to it.’
XII
The following morning Richard walked from the stables in which he had been accommodated overnight and wandered through the back door of the manor house into the kitchen, in search of something to eat. A young woman with long flowing auburn hair was at the table in the centre, on which the cook had placed the first bake of the day, and she was tapping each loaf in turn with her knuckle. She turned as she heard Richard enter the kitchen, and the smile she gave him made his heart lurch.
‘You are in search of breakfast?’ she enquired.
‘Indeed, and it will be none the less appetising to know that it has been touched by such a fair hand. Does the cook instruct you to test each loaf for its freshness?’
‘No, she does not. But these are required for the journey to London by those who have been residing here overnight, in addition to the soldiers who will be accompanying them. They must be fresh, if they are to last beyond Reading.’
‘I am one of those who will be savouring them, so my grateful thanks. My name is Richard, and I serve Master Secretary Cromwell.’
‘Bess,’ the young woman replied with lowered eyes. ‘I do not envy you your return to Court.’
‘You have served there?’ Richard asked.
She nodded. ‘Some years ago, before my marriage, I was in the service of Queen Anne.’
‘As her seamstress, or perhaps in her kitchen?’
‘No, as one of her Ladies, along with my sister Jane. Then I married and went to Jersey with my husband. He was Governor there, until his death last year.’
‘You are Jane Seymour’s sister?’ Richard enquired unnecessarily, as he asked himself how someone so naturally beautiful could come from the same loins as her somewhat plain older sister.
‘Did I not just say so? Or did you perhaps mistake me for a kitchen wench?’
‘At first I did, I must own, mainly because of your fresh country complexion and natural beauty. It is a refreshing contrast to the painted whores at Court.’
‘I was a Queen’s Lady once, remember,’ Bess grinned back at him mischievously. ‘No doubt, had you seen me then, you would have accounted me one such.’
‘No, never!’ Richard blundered in his embarrassment. ‘But how does one so young as you come to be already a widow?’
‘I was but thirteen when I married Sir Anthony Oughtred, and fifteen when I bore him my son Henry, who remains in Jersey. I plan to return to our estate in Yorkshire, to give birth to the child that is currently in my womb.’
‘Where exactly in Yorkshire?
>
‘Kexby, on the outskirts of York. You have heard of it?’
‘York, certainly. They say it is very wild and lawless.’
Bess laughed lightly. ‘They say that also of London, and from what I recall they are correct. Yet you would drag my sister back there?’
‘We accompany her at her request. You surely know that she may become our next Queen?’
Bess’s face fell. ‘It is to be hoped that Henry treats Anne mercifully when she is adjudged guilty. She was very kind to both myself and Jane when we were younger, and it was through her influence that my late husband received his rich office.’
‘You seem certain that the Queen will be found guilty,’ Richard commented.
Bess screwed up her pretty mouth in distaste. ‘Henry wants rid of her, does he not? Why he should want my sister instead remains a mystery within this family.’
‘Perhaps love?’
‘And what would a young gallant such as yourself know about true love? You chase the ladies, and you fill their heads with fancy promises and protestations, thereby overcoming their natural modesty, then you move on to the next conquest.’
‘I pity you, should that have been your experience of affairs of the heart thus far,’ Richard replied.
Bess challenged him with a look as she threw back her head. ‘Admit that when you came across me here in the kitchen you took me for a serving girl, and entertained thoughts of testing my virtue.’
‘I did no such thing!’ Richard protested. ‘I was certainly taken by your natural beauty, and I certainly mistook you for a servant, given that you had not wasted your looks with guile and paste, like the women I encounter daily at the Court. But I had no designs on your virtue, I swear.’
‘Then perhaps you lack imagination — or even manliness,’ Bess replied with a coquettish grin, just as the cook entered the kitchen and demanded that the loaves be removed from the table to make room for the morning milk.
Three hours later the returning party crossed the Thames at Wallingford, and took advantage of the shade afforded by a copse of yew trees to dismount and eat the bread and cheese supplied on their departure from Wulfhall, which they washed down with clear water from the river.
