The Lady Rochford Saga Part 1: Into the Ranks of the Deceived

by Danielle Marchant

  Our concern began to grow for Anne, but Thomas was doing all he could to get her back here. In the meantime, it was business as usual. Both Mary and I continued to serve the Queen. I often wondered on Catherine’s feelings in all of this. Charles was her nephew after all. Catherine had this remarkable ability to dissimulate. I longed to be more like her and have this much-needed skill in the English court. Wolsey also still pressed the issue with me to get more information out of Catherine, any secret correspondence she was making with her nephew, but there was nothing to tell. Wolsey would not believe me, but that was the truth. Catherine was so good at playing her part. Maybe she was hiding something, but Mary and I would never know it because she did it well. To be honest, I really did not want to get involved. I did not want to betray the Queen for whom my loyalty grew for everyday that passed.

  Then, later in the evening, there was commotion as Thomas, William and my father had finally arrived. They were also followed by Thomas’ brother-in-law, Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey. They both sat down by the fire as Elizabeth ordered for wine to be fetched. “Thank you Elizabeth, these are testing times” Thomas said. Elizabeth sat beside him and asked “Is Anne coming back home?”

  “Oh, it’s fine. Anne will be coming back soon. I have made sure of this. It’s someone else that needs rescuing right now and to be honest there is nothing we can do about this.” Thomas replied. Everyone looked back at him with a quizzical look.

  “It’s the Duke of Buckingham” my father then, said. “He is to be executed for treason. We have just come back from his trial.” My mother, shocked, dropped down in a seat beside my father who gripped her hand in support to calm her.

  “This is the Cardinal’s doing!” Alice then said.

  “Nonsense woman!” My father replied. “Old Edward did this all himself! His pride, his arrogance! Being a descendant of Edward III does not protect you if you threaten to kill the King. Just talking about the King’s death is treason and he should have known better. Let this be a lesson to us all.” He then turned to me and said almost jokingly “Jane, how would you like to see your first execution?” I could then feel the blood draining from my face.

  George instinctively put a protective arm around me. “Henry, I really like and respect you, but that is not funny” George said.

  “It doesn’t help that the King still does not have a son. The Queen has still failed to produce a male heir. A son would save this country from possible civil war and give the King peace of mind. Who can forget the sufferings of our generation from years of bloodshed?” Thomas then said. He then stopped silent as a thought crossed his mind. He dropped his gaze into the fire. “Mary, do you still see the King?” Mary looked up smiling. Elizabeth and Alice exchanged shocked glances.

  “Don’t even think about it Thomas” Elizabeth then said emphatically. “Isn’t it bad enough that she visits the King’s bed and not her own husband’s?”

  “It is for the good of all of us” William said, almost with resignation.

  “That’s right” Thomas said agreeing. “And if the affair itself was to produce male issue, the King would be possibly be even more generous to us.” William forced a smile, but then got up and left the room.

  Surrey paced around the room, relishing the last drop of wine in his cup before turning to Elizabeth. “Sister, I think we can get Anne back in the country much sooner that you think”. Thomas and Elizabeth stared at him confused. “Don’t look at me like that, Thomas, two words – James Butler? You know, Piers Butler’s son?” A look of recognition spread over Thomas’ face – the on-going Butler affair. In 1515, his grandfather, Thomas Butler, Earl of Ormonde, had died, leaving no legitimate offspring, except for Thomas’ mother Margaret and the St. Legers family. Thomas was granted his mother’s new estates. However, there was one obstacle - in the form of the late Earl’s cousin, Piers Butler, who had for some time acted as the Earl’s representative. Despite the Boleyns and St. Legers proving their case in 1516, according to Wolsey, the Archbishop of Dublin declared that legal right was not enough. The opposition of Piers Butler, who was already by now calling himself the Earl of Ormonde, was too strong for Thomas who was up against Piers backed by the powerful Irish lords, including Kildare and were calling for a trial before a common-law jury which Thomas would not have won. No agreement had been reached, however.

  “Maybe it is time to bring Anne back and marry her to James Butler? That would certainly help mediate the situation of the Butler affair. She is old enough after all.”

  “You’ve never liked Ireland much have you?” replied Thomas.

  “Nonsense!” Replied Surrey. “I only have His Majesty’s great interests at heart! After being sent there as lord lieutenant, I just felt that marrying Anne to James will relieve the King of such a headache, which I’m sure you would agree he does not have the time for!”

  “It doesn’t seem like a bad idea,” replied Thomas thoughtfully, staring into the flames. “After all, we do want our Anne back from France too. Where is James Butler now by the way?”

  “Being held hostage in the Cardinal’s household” Surrey replied.

  “Of course he is!” Said George.

  Shrove Tuesday, March 1522, York Place.

  After nine years abroad, Anne was back and what those nine years have done to her. She had served Margaret of Austria for two years at the Hapsburg Court in Mechelen and then, served Queen Claude in France. All the things she had seen and learnt! It was so fascinating to listen to her stories. She’s only come back, but she is already by far the most interesting and mysterious woman of the court. “Margaret appeared as Queen of the Amazons!” Anne described to me outside the Hall. Anne, Mary and I were about to take part in a masque. To calm our nerves, we chatted nervously until it was time. Anne reminisced on her time abroad. “She had a sword in her hand, a silver cuirass covered in jewels and a great head-dress which had a big plume at the top!” I imagine this and could not fail to be amazed at this spectacle.

  “I wonder when this all starts?” Asked Mary nervously. The masque was titled “Chateau Vert” and there were eight of us cast as each of a woman’s perfect quality.

  “Stop moaning Mrs Kindness!” Replied Anne irritated. “Hmm, so appropriate for you to be cast as Kindness, Mary, isn’t it? After all, you are always kind to the King!” She laughed at her mischievously, then, sighed. “Not sure why I have been branded as ‘Perseverance’? I would have chosen ‘Beauty’ for myself!” Anne joked.

  “Mistress Boleyn, am I not beautiful?!” It was the Princess Mary, the King’s sister, who was to take this role in today’s masque.

  “Oh of course you are, Your Grace!” Anne responded quickly. Then, turning her head towards me and muttered quietly under her breath “Yes, of course, she was beautiful enough for Charles Brandon!” Back in France in 1515, after only having been married to the Louis XII for eighty-two days and then widowed, Mary was found in bed with Brandon after their secret marriage. At the time, this angered the King. I also have had the inkling that this has angered Anne, as she has never particularly thought highly of Brandon and Mary. “Anyway, why are you ‘Constancy’?” Anne then said to me. “I personally would give you ‘Honour’ as you are very loyal to our Queen Catherine!”

  “And so we all should be” said the Countess of Devonshire, who was “Honour”.

  “Of course, I could not agree more with you, Madame!” Anne replied. Anne’s boldness never failed to amaze me. Often, I always felt like shrinking in a corner, but Anne would talk to anyone of any rank and risk saying things, where most people would guard their tongue a bit more. I tried to imagine how Wolsey would cope with confronting Anne in the way that he had done with me. Would he have succeeded in intimidation, or would Anne turn the tables. To be honest, I was starting to believe that Anne was capable of anything and could probably, easily humble someone - even as great as the Cardinal. The Countess rolled her eyes and then, smiled at Princess Mary. Anne, not noticing this, replied “Well, Jane, I wou
ld say one thing that you have been constant in your attentions towards my brother.”

  Three other ladies of the court took the roles of “Bounty”, “Mercy” and “Pity”. I looked down at my outfit. The words “Constancy” emblazoned the white satin of my gown in yellow satin twenty-times. My head-dress was a Milan bonnet decorated with the fabric of Venetian Gold. We were then given the order to go into the Hall and to mount the top of the Chateau Vert, a great wooden structure with three towers. We were to stand at the top of these three towers, which were green. The battlements were covered in tinfoil. It was to be about the cruelty of unrequited love. Quite fitting in Mary’s case – as the days go by, her affection for the King grows. Anne and George warn her not to be silly, that this is a game. I do think that she genuinely loves him, but I don’t think it is returned.

  Anne, Mary and I stand at the top of the main tower which illuminates the other two towers with a cresset burning at the top. A banner hanged from all three towers. It showed three hearts torn to pieces, a woman’s hand gripping a man’s heart and a woman’s hand turning a man’s heart upside-down. We all looked down and giggled as we could see at the bottom of the castle the best eight male qualities – “Amoressness”, “Nobleness”, “Youth”, “Attendance”, “Loyalty”, “Pleasure”, “Gentleness” and “Liberty”. “I wonder which one is the King?” Asked Mary in excitement.

  “Here he is” replied Anne. We looked down and there was the King as the lead character “Ardent Desire”, adorned in crimson satin and embroidered flames of gold. His men had caps and coats made of cloth of gold and tinsel, blue velvet boots and blue satin cloaks.

  Ardent Desire looked up, fixing his gaze on Mary before looking at the rest of us. Mary started to blush. “I order you ladies to come down!” He then said. We couldn’t go anywhere, however, because down below, the castle was being guarded by the opposite to our characters – the contrary feminine vices of “Danger”, “Disdain”, “Jealousy”, “Unkindness”, “Scorn”, “Malebouche” and “Strangeness”. These were eight members of the royal chapel choir dressed as Indian women. Scorn and Disdain declared that they would resist.

  “Right! You give me no choice!” Ardent Desire cried out, fixing his gaze once more on Mary. There was then a loud boom of cannon fire. Both Anne and I jumped and then, began to giggle after realizing the noise was coming from the cannons outside the palace. “Ready! Fire!!” Cried Ardent Desire. Then, suddenly the air was filled with airborn fruit – Dates, Oranges and other fruits associated with pleasure. Mary, Anne and I ran towards the back of the tower, half-screaming and laughing and then, got hold of buckets of rosewater and sweetmeats. In response to the onslaught, we threw these at them from the top of the Tower, along with the other ladies. Princess Mary and the Countess of Devonshire were almost in competition with Anne’s onslaught, checking who was throwing the most sweetmeat at the enemy. Ardent Desire was almost unstoppable, climbing quite high up the Tower, just below where Mary stood. Mary looked down smiling and held out her hand for him. He took off his hat in response and leant forward to kiss her hand. Suddenly, there was a shower of rosewater as Anne threw a bucket over his head. Mary stood there in horror. I tried to suppress a laugh. Ardent Desire was silent, but then began to smile and laugh.

  “I apologise, Your Majesty!” Anne said. “The cold shower was meant for my sister.” She smiled at him, looking at him directly with her dark eyes, then, looked quickly down coquettishly. Ardent Desire, finding her amusing, observed her silently for a moment, then, laughed and put on his hat back on. He followed his army back as they retreated, although they still put up a fight, bombarding the castle with bows and balls. Mary looked at Anne sulkily. “Oh don’t look at me like that!” Anne said. “Don’t worry, he’s all yours’!”

  “Hush!” I said to them both. “It’s now our next move!” The next scene was to demonstrate that masculine ardour had triumphed over feminine coldness. We ladies, being the warm and soft qualities, were now being led out of the castle. We had been captured and now we were being brought out to dance. Mary, Anne and I quickly had to put on our face masks. We each were then led into a dance with the eight male qualities. I was with Loyalty, Anne was with Nobleness and Mary was with Gentleness.

  They were all well-disguised and we had no idea who was who. However, there was something familiar about Loyalty. The touch of his hand as he led me into a twirl, his fingers lingering on my waist longer than usual. He brought me nearer to him and then, whispered in my ear “Beautiful lady, you are constantly on my mind”. I recognized that voice and in excitement realized it was him. We locked eyes and continued to dance, as if we were on our own in that great hall. Then, when it finished, all of the men removed their masks. It was George, my George, smiling back at me. I then quickly looked to my side and saw that Anne’s mysterious partner was Henry Percy, the Duke of Northumberland’s son. Mary’s mysterious partner didn’t get a chance to reveal himself because as soon as he was about to remove his mask, Ardent Desire had grabbed Mary by the hand and then led her, with the rest of us following them, towards the banquet. George and I holding hands followed the procession which was then joined by a crowd of spectators. As we passed a row of curtains, I felt George quickly pull me behind one of them into an alcove. It felt mischievous and no one had noticed as there were so many people making their way to the banquet. He pushed me into the wall and began to kiss me passionately, his hands everywhere tugging at my costume as if he wanted me naked there and then. “I don’t think I can wait until we are married” he said, his voice full of longing. I yielded to his embrace, happily wanting and yearning for him to do what he wanted with me. He then suddenly stopped and broke away. “No, we can’t. Not now, we must wait” he said, shaking his head.

  I lied against the wall, breathless and frustrated, but reluctantly agreed with him. “Yes, we should wait till we are married.” I straightened my clothes and then we both followed the crowd of people that led to the banquet.

  There was a grand feast of many different meats and wine. The King and Queen sat at the head table and sent dishes to the different tables around the hall. The King was very merry, ordering the musicians to continue playing. The Queen was quiet, but smiled and looked relaxed. The Cardinal sat right next to the King and although smiled at the King, when the King wasn’t looking, he looked disappointed. Anne was sat next to me on one side and George was on the other. “The Cardinal doesn’t look too happy” I remarked to Anne.

  “I think Charles V’s secretary looked a bit underwhelmed by tonight’s display” Anne replied. “He was more concerned about the little Princess Mary”. Mary, now only six years old, was betrothed to the emperor.

  “I don’t think the Cardinal and the Queen get on” I said quietly.

  “Of course not, she is dabbling in the male remit, that is politics, concerning her nephew the emperor, when both he and the King would rather she dabbled in trying to give the King a healthy son” Anne replied.

  We both observed in silence the King, Queen and the Cardinal and the front, while all around us, everyone was merry on wine and dancing. Anne then said “You know, you when I served Margaret of Austria, do you know what she said to me? She said ‘trust in those who offer you service, and in the end, my maidens, you will find yourself in the ranks of those who have been deceived’.” It dawned on me in that moment that Margaret was right. As I looked around me, the ladies flirted and danced with the men, the Queen maintained her fixed and relaxed smile, even when she caught the King looking our way towards Mary. It was one big charade, a stage where everyone danced to the tune of courtly love.

  This was the real masque.

  After we were set free from Chateau Vert, we gave ourselves willing to our male partners and in courtly love, the lover that offered service could also possess us, in the way that the King has taken possession of Mary. This put Mary in a difficult position; he could easily discard her for another mistress. I saw the way he looked at Anne tonight. Could Mary be s
upplanted by her own sister? He had already supplanted Bessie Blount with my own mother and then, Mary.

  Then, there was the other side to deception in this court. The Queen had people spying on her; maybe there were those that spied on me, Anne or George too. The court, still shocked by the Duke of Buckingham’s execution, are now wary of what they say or do, continuing to curry favour with the King, jostling with each other for favour and acting their parts.

  I need to act my part too, if I am to survive this court. If there are winds of change, I must pick up my skirts and move swiftly on with the changes. I can trust no one because, after all on reflection, maybe I am already in the ranks of those who have been deceived.

  END OF PART I

  Author’s note

  This is the first book of “The Lady Rochford Saga”, telling the life story of Jane Boleyn (née Parker), Lady Rochford. Jane is one of history’s most notorious women. Her posthumous reputation was cemented by two chapters in her life.

  The first was the role she played in Anne and George Boleyn’s downfalls in May 1536. When Anne and George were accused of incest, Jane is often referred to as the woman that had made the accusation. This accusation, together with others made against Anne such as adultery with four other men and plotting the King’s death, resulting in the execution of Anne, George and the other four men.

  The second was the role she played in the downfall of Henry VIII’s fifth wife, Katherine Howard. Jane had helped Katherine to meet in secret her lover Thomas Culpepper, a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber. Her involvement resulted in Jane herself following her Queen to the scaffold on the 13th February 1542.