Above All Others

by G Lawrence

  “I have great plans to expand all my kitchens, my love,” he said, evidently pleased we were no longer talking of Wolsey. “The present ones, in all my palaces, struggle somewhat with the vast number of mouths they feed. I have been down to the kitchens myself, and talked over what is needed with my men there. In Hampton Court, I am going to expand them so vastly that none will be able to say they ate as well in any other court of the world, as when they came to England!”

  “There are many recipes for sauces that I know from my time in France,” I mentioned, taking rich, soft flesh from a dish of smothered rabbit laced with currants and apple vinegar. “I could have them sent on from Hever if you wish, my lord? I instructed our kitchens to make dishes with them when first I arrived home from France.”

  “You loved France a great deal, I think,” he noted. He put his knife to the black pudding made of hog liver, and set a huge portion beside the fat, roasted venison on his pewter platter. Henry ate such quantities! He could eat ten times the portions I would, and yet remain trim. I smiled to see him eat so heartily now he was happy again.

  “I loved France very much, my lord,” I said with a smile, picking up the large goblet we shared and wiping my mouth carefully before sipping from it. “But England is where my heart belongs.” He smiled warmly, well-pleased.

  When Wolsey arrived the next day, I did not attack him, but merely presented my wishes. Before Henry, the Cardinal could hardly be so bold as to refuse entirely. His eyes watched me carefully; I knew that he was sure I had invited him here so that he could capitulate to please me and therefore please Henry.

  “There will have to be a decent space of mourning, of course,” Wolsey said, “before the election is undertaken for a new Abbess, Your Majesty.” The fat bat smiled and tilted his head towards me. “But I would assure you, Mistress Boleyn, should Dame Eleanor Carey not be elected as Abbess, I will push for her election to the position of prioress. It being the next most prestigious title in the nunnery, she would serve under the Abbess, and likely be the next elected after her… Dame Eleanor is very young to take on the post of Abbess at present, but to rise to the post of prioress would show great confidence and belief in her, and allow her to take up the post a little later in life… Would that be acceptable?”

  I inclined my head. It was not the answer I had hoped for but it was beneficial enough. Wolsey was bargaining with me, like a merchant haggling over the price of meat. But since he had offered a compromise, I was willing to be magnanimous. “That sounds like a reasonable arrangement, Your Excellency.”

  I smiled at Henry, who was jubilant to see the Cardinal and me getting along so well. I thought back to the time when my betrothal to Percy had been quashed by the fat bat… Wolsey had not been as polite as he was now! I wondered if he remembered it too; wondered if he was hissing inside, his spine secretly curving like an angry cat’s to have to be so polite and accommodating. It pleased me to think that this was so. Wolsey showed nothing on the outside, of course, but I wondered how dear it cost him to act such a role for the King. I wondered how deep and bitter were Wolsey’s curses against me at night.

  I nodded to the Cardinal. “Then, you will keep me informed about what occurs in this matter, Your Eminence?” Wolsey concurred. “I am most grateful to you,” I purred.

  I hoped Will would be satisfied; if his sister was not elected at this time, she would certainly in the future. Once the period of mourning was over, we should see if the winged rodent kept to his promises… but he had made them before the King, and to go back on them would anger Henry, and possibly make him suspect the Cardinal was not working for my interests… This was a situation worth keeping an eye on, and I was determined to do just that.

  Unfortunately, some time later, it was discovered that Eleanor Carey was a woman of loose morals. Before coming to the nunnery, she had been the mistress of a priest, and bore him children. The Careys had known nothing of this, at least so Will protested to me when I confronted him. But upon hearing of these past sins, especially seeing as Eleanor’s affair had been done with a priest, Henry said he could not support her election as Abbess. Eleanor’s ill-reputation unfairly affected her sister, too, by association. Neither could be given the post. I had failed. I suspected Wolsey was overjoyed by the news.

  “You must see that she is unsuitable, my love,” he protested, glancing at me warily to try and read my temper.

  I sighed. Of course I saw that Eleanor could not take the post! “I am sorry, Henry,” I said, “that ever I spoke for her. I was assured that she was a young lady both of virtue and wisdom, but it seems that she not only deceived me, but her brothers as well. Will and John Carey both say they knew nothing of her past sins.”

  Henry nodded solemnly. “I will not have the affair investigated further, sweetheart,” he promised. “To do so would bring the Carey family into disgrace, and I would not have you or my good companion Will tainted with such a stain… But we cannot support her for the post of Abbess.”

  “No, indeed…” I muttered, feeling defeated.

  “But,” Henry said, “to please you, sweetheart, I will not have Dame Jordan elected to the post either. Some other good and well-disposed woman shall take the post. If your candidate cannot take the position, then Wolsey’s shall not either. Therefore, I am fair, am I not?”

  I giggled at his serious face and kissed him soundly. “Always, my lord,” I crowed. “You are always fair and just.”

  Wolsey, however, apparently did not receive Henry’s order. Word reached us that Isabel Jordan had been granted the prestigious position of Abbess, on the Cardinal’s recommendation. Wolsey protested that the King’s missive must have gone astray, but I did not believe him. I cursed at the cunning weasel. He had tricked us! I was sure he had been planning all along to put his candidate in that position, thereby preventing my family from gaining further power. I was furious, and my anger inspired Henry to take up his quill and write personally to the Cardinal, berating him for going directly against his wishes. Wolsey came grovelling to Henry and to me, submitting his utmost apologies, and offering money and goods as a way of saying sorry.

  Although the matter had not ended as I would have wished, and Wolsey got his way in the end, I was yet elated. Henry had been enraged with Wolsey, and the Cardinal knew now, more than ever, that getting on my bad side was also to fall from the graces of the King. I did not know then this would mark the start of many small, hidden and underhand battles I would fight against the Cardinal.

  When our time at Windsor came to an end, I pleaded with Henry not to part us again. I did not want to spend another season shut away at Hever. I did not want to be without Henry, but my primary concern was the Cardinal. Wolsey was too dangerous, I knew, to leave alone with Henry. I could not say this to Henry, of course, for he would not believe me, but I had to convince him somehow.

  “Have me installed at court where and how you wish, Henry,” I begged. “But please, do not send me back to Hever. I cannot bear to be so far from you, and to hear all on our Matter second-hand. I suffer when I am alone, but when I am with you, I know all will be well.”

  “I know, my love,” he murmured into my neck. “It is anguish for me also when we are not together…” He trailed off uncertainly. “But I cannot restore you to Katherine’s household,” he went on. “She suspects that I intend to marry you, so say Wolsey’s spies. She is looking for every reason now to resist this annulment, and she may try to use you against us.”

  “Put me, then, in separate chambers,” I said, stroking my fingers through his golden red hair. I loved to feel the curls and the thickness of it between my fingers. Henry closed his eyes as he leaned in to the touch of my fingertips. “I will be just another lady at court,” I whispered. “Say that the chambers you give me are in the possession of my father, and then there is no scandal. I am just the daughter of Viscount Rochford, visiting court and staying in his rooms.”

  Henry nodded, pressing his head into my hands. “You have magic in t
hose fingers,” he mumbled. “Whenever I feel a headache coming, you alone have the power to drive it from me.” He opened his blue eyes and stared into my dark ones. “How is it, Anne, that one person alone can so comfort and so excite me?”

  “You have the same effect on me, Henry… unless you had missed the power you have to bring me joy?”

  He laughed. He ran his hand, with his palm open and flat, down my neck, over my chest, with enticing slowness. “I do not miss it,” he said gruffly. “And to see such passion in you only makes me want you more. I burn for you, Anne… I think of you all the time… I cannot rest, I cannot work… I cannot sleep some nights. You steal all other thoughts from me with the power of my love for you.”

  “Soon we will be together, my love, and all will be well,” I said. “But do not send me away … I could not bear it. My heart will break.”

  “I could not rest easy knowing I cause you pain.” He sighed. “I will find some way to resolve this. You are right… We have been apart too long already. When you are not with me, I feel as though I have lost some part of myself. I am only complete when I am with you. I will find a way for us, my love… a way that we can be together.”

  “Besides,” I murmured, running my fingertips over the back of his hand. “It is your present marriage in which the sin lies. We have done no sin together. Perhaps it is time to stop acting as though it were the other way around. If people see we are resolved to be together, and that we believe this is the true and right way, then perhaps we could stop sneaking about as though we were the sinners. It is Katherine and your first marriage which should be condemned, not us.”

  “Perhaps you are right, Anne,” Henry spoke thoughtfully. “Perhaps we should show we have nothing to be ashamed of… that we are the ones in the right, rather than hiding our love…” He kissed the top of my head, making my hood shiver at his touch. “But still, we cannot give arrows to Katherine to use against us… We must be careful, for the sake of propriety and for your honour.”

  Henry agreed to find a place for me at court that was not in Katherine’s household. I knew my presence at court would cause gossip, but I believed it was now more important to remain with Henry and take an active part in the Great Matter. When I was away from court, Wolsey and his men moved at the pace of an ancient dotard. When I was here, more was done. I had remained, obediently, in the shadows until now, but I was starting to realise that if I wanted this done and done fast, then I should be present to urge Henry on, and to nudge the Cardinal along as well.

  Yes, I thought, I am no longer able to stand aside and simply watch as others decide my future. No more would I be a shade waiting on the edge of all that went on. No more meek woman hiding in the shadows. It was time that Anne Boleyn stepped forwards, and took her destiny in her own hands.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Greenwich Palace

  Late Spring 1528

  In May, true to his word to keep us together, I was brought to Greenwich. Henry did not try to place me once more in Katherine’s chambers; such a thing would have been highly uncomfortable and now inappropriate. I entered new apartments in Greenwich, ones which were officially my father’s, but in truth were prepared for me alone. The chambers were located in the tiltyard gallery, surrounded by beautiful gardens, just far enough away from the palace to give us privacy, and just close enough to make visiting easy. Henry provided me with furnishings, tapestry for the walls, carpets for the floor, a magnificent bed and sumptuous covers. I even had my own flock of ladies; servants taken from Katherine and place in my service instead.

  Although I was no queen as yet, I had gathered around me a small army of attendants. The court had begun to snidely call them “the ladies-in-waiting of the queen-in-waiting”. They were all close friends or allies of my house. Amongst them were Nan Gainsford, a beautiful and well-read young woman, and my sister Mary, who, when at court, was now by my side rather than Katherine’s. Jane, my brother’s wife, Margaret Wyatt and Bridget were also in attendance, along with some Howard cousins, sent by my uncle Norfolk to provide support… and, I was sure, to spy on me. My uncle did not trust me.

  Henry sometimes sent his fool, Will Somers, to entertain us, and he would have us crying with laughter as he made silly faces, or passed comment on those at court. He had a small ape, which he liked to bring with him, but I asked that it come not near me, for ever since my days in Katherine’s chambers I had disliked these small beasts. Like Katherine’s, Somers’ beast was pitiful. It wore a jewelled chain about its neck, scratched its own skin and fur off and pissed anywhere it pleased.

  Somers would cackle at my aversion to the ape. “You like it not, for it hath the bearing of your own father, Mistress Boleyn,” he would say, and then go into an imitation of my father that was so canny, I could not help but giggle into my lace sleeve. Somers was a humorous creature, and often a wicked one, but since the King loved him and it was the place of fools to be outrageous, he was never punished as another would be for his brilliant impersonations. He did a marvellous one of my uncle Norfolk, grabbing at his belly to groan in between words, and pulling the same sour expression that usually graced Norfolk’s face.

  Others, too, had started to visit me in my chambers. Courtiers came begging for me to talk to Henry for them and ‘rascal’ boys, lads with no true purpose at court who loitered about the halls hoping to earn a coin for delivering a message, drifted towards my rooms. I had requests for work from ambitious servants of other nobles, and from vagabonds who occasionally found their way into the court’s interior. I was wary of these stragglers, for they were more often set on robbery than on providing service. I also had many noble visitors, coming to offer me their support, either openly or covertly. Many more, of course, went instead to Katherine. It was becoming clear that there were two queens in the palace; everyone was going to have to choose to which they would bow.

  Henry arrived to see me each evening, and since I could not entertain him before the court, I did so in my own chambers. I put on dances and arranged games such as Blind Man’s Bluff, Pillar and Post and card games, where we wagered vast sums for sport. Henry always paid my debts. He gave me spending money of my own, but would only offer a little at a time, shaking his head with a merry smile and saying, “for otherwise, my love, you would wager all the fortunes of my treasury on but one game!”

  I laughed, but it was true that I was a rather reckless gambler at times. Perhaps this was even truer in life, than on the card table…

  We walked through the gardens together and spent time shooting at the archery butts. I was a talented archer. My aim was true and my arm was strong. Henry was prodigiously proud of me, and often dared men to wager that they could beat “his Diana” as he called me, after the pagan goddess of the hunt. Henry Norris, Tom, George and others shot against me, but I was rarely beaten. Henry would bellow with mirth to see their faces as our painted arrows were checked on the butts, and mine were found to be the truest.

  “You see?” he exclaimed merrily. “My Diana…” He would forget the need for secrecy and kiss me well and long on the mouth.

  Henry and I also discovered a mutual passion for architecture. He was a passionate builder and had improved many of his palaces. When he found that I was interested, he brought drawings and plans to me so that we could go over them together. Henry was a demanding king when it came to his buildings. The men who worked for him, adding halls and galleries to his palaces, often worked through the night by candlelight, and he also had canvass tents erected so work could continue even in inclement weather. But even though he was an exacting master, Henry paid generous wages, and often sent treats such as good, hard cheese, fluffy white bread, beer and fine meats to his workmen. Men fought for positions on such projects, for Henry not only rewarded men whilst they built, but was generous after as well.

  Henry was deeply influenced by Burgundian architecture. Since I had spent more than a year at the Court of Burgundy, he respected my opinion, especially on the finer details. I
told him all I could remember, and we spent many hours at night sketching and drawing. Mouldings of plaster, the arrangements of buildings, carvings in wood and marble… nothing was below his interest. Henry wanted perfection and strove hard to attain it. He loved stained glass and decorated window panes. He lingered over designs for tiles, and ornamentation. He was determined that each palace would be decorated with arms, badges, initials and mottos, made in stone, terracotta, glass or wood, and such things were also echoed in the fabrics and furnishings of the interior. He showed me sketches of his initials entwined with mine, which he intended to set everywhere as soon as we were married. I was pleased to hear this, for at the moment it was Katherine’s initials and his which were everywhere. I put my ladies to making many fine cushions and hangings for Henry’s new projects, and he was overjoyed to see our excellent needlework, carefully planning where each piece was to be displayed.

  We kept ourselves busy, and discovered many new, shared passions. But all the time, I was wondering, when will this trial of the King’s marriage begin?

  Chapter Nineteen

  Greenwich Palace

  Late Spring 1528