Back in London, Eleanor found me with disturbing news: she had lost the child.
‘Don’t you find it a bit suspicious that the king permitted you to stay at court?’
‘What?’ I said in surprise. ‘Is that really your concern right now?’
‘What do you mean?’ she asked offended.
‘You just lost our child, woman!’ I said rather aggressively. Although, in the beginning, I was against fathering this bastard, the thought had grown warm inside me lately.
‘’Twas not my doing, Edward!’ she scorned and tossed me a goblet, narrowly missing my head. We were in my apartments, the following evening of my return to the capital. The room was extremely warm, and I felt suffocating. I went to open the window, but Eleanor grabbed me from behind saying, ‘You know it isn’t always the woman’s fault for whatever happens in this world.’
‘Who said that it is?’ I asked ironically crossing my arms over my chest.
‘You’ve changed, Edward. You’ve become arrogant. The king is poisoning your mind. He and the whores that roam this court.’
I did not say anything, for I could not, my throat was dry and felt dizzy. The room was spinning around me…
‘Do not trust anyone, Edward,’ said my mother’s voice.
‘’Tis God’s responsibility to deliver justice, Edward, and not yours. You should not seek revenge, for it is a great sin,’ said Father Edmund’s voice.
You deserve to die as a traitor. ‘YOU WILL BURN IN HELL!’ screamed a third, terribly familiar voice…
I clasped my head with two hands. It had been some time since I had experienced this. The grief of death for my unborn child had clearly triggered this response in my head, to remind me.
‘’Tis YOUR fault! YOUR FAULT!’ my sister Margot’s voice yelled and then found myself saying the same words to Eleanor.
‘How dare you? Whatever have I done to offend you?’ she said in anger, but I could now recognise the signs of sadness and bitterness in her voice.
‘You’d better leave!’ I said without looking at her and moments later I heard the door opening then shutting. When I turned to look, she was already gone, and I vomited on the floor, my head ready to burst from the pain.
CHAPTER IX
Traitors & Heretics
Lady Anne Boleyn and her family seemed to be the happiest at court that Cardinal Wolsey was at long last out of the way and it appeared they were flourishing more and more by each passing month. However, they were not the only ones. The Dukes of Suffolk and Norfolk were named joined Presidents of the King’s Council. As for me, I was appointed a Gentleman of the King’s Privy Chamber and was now in His Majesty’s presence from dawn to dusk, listening and observing and of course doing his bidding. The grand seat of Lord Chancellor and Privy Seal of England was passed on to Sir Thomas More, a humanist and a pious man, who the queen had claimed was on her side.
Furthermore, another new and somewhat surprising appointment was that of a man called Thomas Cromwell, a lowborn lawyer who used to be Wolsey’s assistant in what had seemed petty matters of state. King Henry had been clearly impressed with Cromwell’s abilities, and eventually, he had appointed him as a member of the Privy Council. Norfolk, who was ever so fearful of Wolsey’s possible retaliation upon us all, saw that as a sign that the king was still fond of the cardinal and it was only a matter of time that he would recall him to court to resume his former state. He was after all, wrong…
Things were changing rapidly at court, and Wolsey’s name was not heard for many a month. However, before the end of 1530, Wolsey made a last stand to regain his position of power, although, it was so reckless that cost him his own life. He had conspired with the pope and some foreign ambassadors, most prominently the one from the Holy Roman Empire, a man called Eustace Chapuys, in an attempt to force the king to reconcile with Queen Catherine. It was a desperate effort that had it succeeded, it would have restored him to full power once more.
His secret dealings were quickly discovered by the king’s spies, and he was charged with treason and ordered to travel to London to await his sentence. He never reached the capital, though. The cardinal was growing frail, and his ageing did not help. Thus Cardinal Thomas Wolsey perished, and there never was a happier day in the Kingdom of England, for he was a great deceiver and ever so hungry for power.
The king did not lose precious time. Following Wolsey’s death, he confiscated all the cardinal’s possessions, including his manors; the most prominent one, Hampton Court, a magnificent palace that would turn out to be one of the king’s favourites.
King Henry’s attention was then turned elsewhere regarding the annulment of his marriage. He was no doubt driven by his mistress who, I had come to realise, was the most cunning woman in court. Apparently, the Lady Anne who was well-known that she and her family favoured a reformation in the English Church, was feeding the king with anticlerical books that some would be deemed heretic, as they had Lutheranism at their core and condemned many practices of the Catholic Church as old-fashion, such as idolatry and superstition. A particularly interesting one for the king, was a book written by some William Tyndale called, The Obedience of a Christian Man, which was highly critical against papal authority and in favour of monarchy.
‘This,’ said the king holding the book high in his hand, ‘is a book for me and for all the kings in the world to read. ’Tis not for commoners.’ He smiled and motioned me to refill his cup with wine.
‘I told you, my love,’ said Lady Anne, ‘a king must be above all others, even the pope. You reserve the right to look upon God only, no one else.’
‘I shall send envoys to various universities in Europe to take second opinions by expert theologists regarding my Great Matter, for as a man recently said to me, this issue might be Theological, after all, and cannot be resolved by any canon law,’ the king stated and then drained his cup of wine.
I personally felt troubled by that thought, for this was called tyranny, if the king would not answer to anybody but God, then God help us all…
Later that night, whilst I was returning to my chamber, the Lady Anne found me in one of the many dim-lit deserted corridors of Hampton Court Palace. She looked as beautiful as ever, and her black eyes were mesmerising.
‘Sir Edward, I only wanted to tell you something!’
‘My lady?’ I said trying to concentrate on what she was saying.
‘I do hope that you know where your loyalties lie. You remained here with us, despite your father’s objections, and thus I believe your allegiance is solely with the king and me, not with the pope,’ she paused waiting for me to speak, but when I did not she carried on. ‘The king might not get his official annulment by the pope, but maybe that was an opportunity for him and his kingdom to step out of the darkness the Catholic Church is spreading and into the light of Luther.’
That was a powerful statement indeed! I thought slightly concerned, then said: ‘My lady, I can assure you, I wish nothing more but to serve you and the King’s Majesty. I never wanted to follow my father’s career, I have my own ambitions,’ I answered enigmatically.
‘I can help you with that if you wish,’ she offered.
‘It would be an honour, my lady,’ I said respectfully and bowed.
*
The following morrow, I visited the city in search of Belfrigh and Aeron. The weather was turning colder and colder as the end of the year was approaching. I clasped my furs tighter upon me as I crossed the Thames with the king’s barge. Hampton Court Palace was far away to the west of the city and thus required transportation if one wished to reach it quickly.
Once in the city centre, and as I was crossing the busy streets looking for my companions, I finally found Aeron in the most unexpected place, in a market next to the river selling fish…
‘Aeron?’ I called reluctantly. ‘Is that you?’ I had not seen him for many months, and his appearance had considerably changed. His hair was longer than I remembered, tied back in a ponytail, whilst
his ginger beard was growing dangerously and would soon reach his chest. I had also changed, for I had now short hair, as depicted by a Gentleman of the privy chamber and kept my beard very short, close to my chin. Despite being around the same age as Aeron, I looked much younger.
‘Ed?’ he said looking at me with delight. He came from behind his bench to embrace me. ‘Whatever happened to you?’
I confess I was relieved to be greeted by my old friend with such affection as I was afraid he would not accept me. My break up with Eleanor had somewhat shaken me, although I was kept busy with other lovely ladies of the court. I thus feared that my companions would feel that I had forsaken them.
‘I’m quite well, thank you!’ I said grinning and returned his hug. He stank of fish. ‘A fishmonger, eh?’
He laughed. ‘Well, I’ve got to make a living somehow! I’m tired of being a stray archer who has to steal to buy a loaf of bread or a pair of boots. But I never minded hard work, and I love the sea. I sail daily at dawn to catch them myself, you know,’ he boasted. ‘But you have grown high, I see!’ he added noticing my expensive clothing. ‘How’s the king these days? Is his Great Matter proceeding well?’
‘If only,’ I answered sarcastically but did not elaborate. ‘Where’s Belfrigh? Don’t tell me he became a fishmonger too?’ I asked changing the subject, for the least I wanted was to be interrogated about the everlasting issue of the king and his mistress.
‘I wouldn’t know, haven’t seen him for six months or so. One day he disappeared without a trace. Wait!’ he said abruptly and turned towards a potential customer. ‘Com’on my good lady, only a groat for the small one and a sixpence for the big one,’ he said pointing from one fish to the other with zeal.
‘A sixpence? Are you out of your mind? I’d get the same for half a groat from Mr Smith’s bench,’ the woman protested.
‘Mr Smith’s fish stink of oldness, they’re never fresh, my lady,’ Aeron claimed. ‘You get what you pay, if you wish quality and freshness, then you’ll find no match for my seafood.’
‘Aye, but me husband would skin me alive if I was to spend so much coin on a single fish,’ she countered and without further ado left.
‘Damn you!’ Aeron mumbled. ‘This bloody Smith is killing me with his ridiculous prices.’
‘Bad luck, my friend!’ I said with a smile.
I was astounded by how natural Aeron seemed to handle his new business. I spend the whole morrow next to him, behind his bench watching him sell his precious fish and at the same time observing the common folk. I had almost forgotten how it was to live a normal life, away from palaces and riches, away from all the conspiracies and the political games of the important men of the court.
‘You seem very knowledgeable, Aeron,’ I said after I had gone to buy us both some ale and a couple of pies. ‘Did you learn all this by yourself in a few months?’
‘Hardly!’ he responded whilst receiving a considerable amount of coins from a wealthy looking man, in exchange for half a dozen fish. ‘My father was a fishmonger you see, back in Swansea. I learned the craft with him.’
‘How did you end up an archer in Rome then?’ I asked puzzled, for he had never confided that to me.
He sat down for a while and snatched his pie. He took and big bite, chewed slowly and then washed it down with plenty of ale.
‘When my father died of the plague,’ he started conversationally, ‘his partner seized his business and would not let me join him. He said I was still very young for this job but promised to help our family. Needless to say, he never did!’ He paused and took another bite of his pie.
‘My family fell into poverty quickly, and I was forced to join the King’s Army as an archer, you see I shot the bow since I was five. I never went to war, though, I was a mere guard. As for my mother, she found a new husband, a man that she thought would take care of us, but he was cruel. He beat us and swore at us constantly,’ he said rubbing his hands together to warm them up. ‘One evening, when I returned home from a long shift, I found him and three of his best pals raping my mother and little sister. I don’t know where I found the strength, for I was only a lad of eighteen whilst they were full-grown men, but I killed them all, Ed,’ he said greeting his teeth. ‘I slaughtered them, one after the other. Such rage I’d never felt in my life. I cut off arms and legs and pricks, and at the end, it was a massacre…’
I was shocked. I had never expected Aeron to have such a miserable and bloody past. Now I finally understood the reason why he had reacted that way when we had found Eleanor and Agnese being raped during the Sack of Rome. ‘Eleanor and Agnese?’ I asked, seeking confirmation.
‘Aye! They immediately triggered unpleasant memories,’ he said sipping his ale. He seemed to have forgotten entirely about his customers, who passed by his bench, browsing but not buying.
‘Eleanor confided in me that they were not being raped that day, but were merely entertaining those soldiers…’ I revealed to him.
‘Ha! Of course, she would say that. She wants to protect her pride!’ Aeron countered, and I frowned, for I had believed Eleanor.
‘So, what happened next?’ I asked eager to discover more.
‘The guards found me there on the morrow. You see, those men did unspeakable things to my mother and sister to submit them… They were both dead by dawn, but I couldn’t leave them. So, I sat there and wept… Wept over their corpses whilst surrounded by the mutilated men I had butchered. They did not have any difficulty understanding the meaning of the scene, and thus I was taken to prison to wait for my sentence which was sure to be execution.’ He paused and took another sip of ale. ‘I had friends in the army, though, and some of them sympathised with me and organised an escape. But in one condition, I had to flee Wales. England would not be safe either as it was the same kingdom. That’s how I ended up exiled in Rome where Belfrigh found me and took me under his protection,’ he concluded with watery eyes.
‘Some story!’ I said miserably and patted him on the shoulder. ‘I thought my past was miserable, but you might have overshadowed my misery.’
‘Does it matter?’ he asked now wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. ‘We’re both orphans; our families were taken from us in the cruellest of ways.’
‘At least you got your revenge at the same night, whereas I-’
‘You need to give up, Ed!’ he said. ‘The men that did this to my mother and sister were common folk, and even so, I was lucky to escape the gallows. You, on the other hand, Ed, are messing with powers much greater.’
‘If the king is responsible for my family’s tragedy, I swear to Christ’s Holy Blood, he will pay!’ I replied passionately. I’m not afraid of the consequences.’
‘Not even for your own life?’
‘No!’
‘What about the lives of the ones you love?’
‘If you’re referring to Eleanor-’
‘Of course, I am! God knows what should happen to Eleanor if you’re charged with treason,’ Aeron claimed, brushing some stray hair away from his eyes.
‘Eleanor and I are no longer together,’ I confessed in a bitter voice.
‘I am aware. She found me shortly after your row,’ he said and paused for a few seconds. Then, as though unable to hold his tongue further, added: ‘The poor woman lost your child, and you sent her away.’
‘She didn’t care about our child, did she? She acted as nothing had happened,’ I defended myself.
‘She was wounded, Ed, and she needed empathy, but you offered her none,’ Aeron persisted making me feel guilty with his every word. ‘Nevertheless, being together or not doesn’t matter, if your enemies should know of your connections with her, she would be in grave danger. I believe you still care for her, regardless of what happened with your relationship.’
‘Certainly, I do! But I doubt anyone has noticed our association,’ I countered.
‘I hope you’re right, for I don’t wish her to join Agnese in the other world,’ he said plainly saddened.
‘You mean Hell?’ I asked cynically.
‘Whatever it is!’
We sat in silence for a few minutes, and after a while, Aeron resumed his work, and I stayed beside him, observing. How could he carry on living a normal life? Then again, he had closure with his past, for he had avenged the ones he loved. Would I ever accomplish that feat?
The closer I was getting to the king and the more involved in his affairs, the more complicated it seemed to become, not to mention perilous. The king was always busy with his issues, either of state or his Great Matter and rarely spoke of his past before he was crowned. Although, he would often mention his father, and how he wanted to preserve his legacy in this kingdom, he did not speak of Henry the Seventh’s life. Was it possible that he did not know of my existence at all? Or was he merely playing mind games with me? On the other hand, if it was not him who had given the order to murder my family and me, then who might have been? Who else would want to eradicate the king’s illegitimate heirs?
Noon arrived, and Aeron had sold most of his fish. However, in the early afternoon, vast clouds covered the sky. They settled so low that created mist and then suddenly, a fierce storm burst, and a freezing rain showered the city. Within a few moments, we were both soaked. Aeron decided to call it a day and gather up his remaining products before they were destroyed and retreat to his house, which he said was just half a mile down the road.
‘Damn! That rain will sink my boat!’ Aeron cursed.
‘Never mind the boat now, we need to get indoors,’ I said wiping my eyes to see him better.
We made our way with difficulty, whilst he was dragging his cart behind him. The rain was getting stronger, and it was so thick that I felt like swimming. Soon the visibility was limited to a few yards ahead, and for a moment I feared that we would be killed by the storm. However, the rain proved to be the least of our concerns that afternoon…
The Illegitimate Tudor Page 20