Page 26 of Love, Remember Me

"For just a few months before he became enamored of the first Queen Anne. Mama was a widow, and my aunt, the Countess of Marwood, dragged her to court to help her overcome her grief. The king was instantly taken by her, but Mama hid behind her mourning. She was very frightened by the king, and had never known any man but my father. The king, however, told Mama that on May Day she would become his. She wanted to run away, but she could not, for the king threatened to take me away from her."

The queen's blue eyes widened with surprise. "So," she said slowly, "Hendrick can be ruthless vhen he vants to be."

"Aye, madame, he can," Nyssa said softly.

"So your mama became Hendrick's lover on May Day, ya?"

"Yes, and for several months after, she was his. She grew to love him, and she understood him quite well. Then came Mistress Anne Boleyn to court, and everything changed. My stepfather came to court too, and the king arranged that he should marry Mama. He was my father's heir, and had loved Mama from afar, though he never dared to give voice to his passion while my father lived. So they were married in the king's own chapel, and then returned toRiversEdge, our home. Mama, however, has always remained the king's most loyal servant. She returned briefly to court twice at his request; once to intercede with the Princess of Aragon, and a second time when Mistress Anne was executed. She has never been back since."

"Vhat is it Hendrick calls her?" the queen asked.

"His little country girl," Nyssa replied with a smile.

"And are you a country girl, Nyssa Vyndham, or do you like this court? I think it is very exciting. My brother's court vas so dull, and serious. No cards or dancing, or pretty gowns."

"The court can be exciting, Your Grace, but I think, like my mother, I prefer the country life," Nyssa answered. "Still, I am honored to serve you, and my aunt hopes I will find a husband here."

"You haf no one at your home?"

"Nay, madame. I am quite the despair of my family. I have attained my seventeenth year, and there is no gentleman, suitable or unsuitable, who catches my fancy or appeals to my heart," Nyssa told the queen. "If you are not to be queen long, I wonder what will happen to me. Do you know when the king will seek this annulment, madame?"

"I tink it vill probably be in the spring sometime. Hendrick is not a man to go long vithout a voman. Already his eye begins to roam. Haf you not noticed it? He smiles upon Mistress Anne Bassett, upon Mistress Howard, and upon you. You do not see it?"

"Upon me?" Nyssa was horrified. "Oh, madame, surely not upon me? The king was my mother's lover! He is old enough to be my father!"

She grew pale and near to fainting. The queen put a comforting arm about the girl. "Nyssa Vyndham," she said, her voice filled with laughter, "Hendrick is old enough to be my papa too. Perhaps I haf listened to too much gossip. Perhaps the king's kindness to you is because of the affection he bears your mama."

"Aye!" Nyssa said, able to draw a breath again. "I am certain that his grace looks upon me as he would the lady Mary or the lady Elizabeth."

Still, the queen's words disturbed her, but she could not speak even to her aunt about it. To do so would violate the trust that the queen had put in her. What would happen when the marriage of Anne of Cleves and Henry Tudor was dissolved? The king's ministers would insist he take another wife, a wife who could give him more sons. The king had, of late, begun to speak on the virtues of Englishwomen as wives as opposed to foreigners. Nyssa was suddenly very aware that she was being studied by certain important members of the Privy Council. Her virtuous behavior and her loyalty to the queen became even more pronounced. It was the only shield behind which she might hide.

In March, Henry Tudor informed his council that consummation of his marriage to Anne of Cleves would be absolutely impossible. The Privy Council realized that they were being commanded, as subtly as Henry Tudor was capable of being subtle, to find a way out of his marriage for him. The king insisted to his ministers that he wascertainthat there was a precontract between Anne and the son of the Duke of Lorraine.

"We will certainly reinvestigate the matter, Your Grace," Thomas Cromwell assured his master, and the Duke of Norfolk almost laughed.

The king thanked his council and left them to their debate.

The members of the Privy Council looked to Cromwell.

"There was no precontract," Cromwell said bleakly. "Before the king's marriage contract was even signed last autumn, we sent to the current Duke of Lorraine. He was the bridegroom proposed for Anne of Cleves when they were children. He has since inherited his father's dukedom, and he swears that there was no precontract. He sought among his father's papers. He even spoke with his father's confessor. There was no evidence of a precontract. The late duke's priest says a betrothal was but casually discussed once, and then never pursued. The king cannot dissolve this marriage by means of that excuse."

"He will be rid of her, Crum," the Duke of Norfolk said. "His juices are already flowing, and he is eager for a woman in his bed. I am told his eye is happily wandering among the prettier women of the court. He will not bed this Flanders mare, but I believe him still capable of siring a child. One prince is not enough, gentlemen! We must have a nursery full of little princes for England."

"I agree," Bishop Gardiner said silkily.

"Yet the queen is a good woman," the Archbishop of Canterbury interjected in kindly tones. "We should not be responsible for harming this faultless creature. It is unworthy of us as Englishmen. If this marriage is to be dissolved, it must be done through annulment. The queen must be gently treated, and given a generous portion in return for her cooperation. I think you would all agree to that, gentlemen."

"What if she is like the Spanish bitch, and will not cooperate?" the Duke of Norfolk demanded. "After all, the fault is his grace's. Has he not told everyone who would listen that he cannot consummate the marriage? What if she will not give way? We'll have to find another way, and what way is there other than . . . " He made a slicing motion across his own long throat. His face was grim.

"Thomas, Thomas," the archbishop chided the duke softly. "This lady is nothing like the Princess of Aragon. She can be reasoned with, and I will reason with her myself. What think you, Crum? An annulment?"

Thomas Cromwell nodded. "It is the only way, my lords."

"Then you must propose it to the king, and see what he says," Archbishop Cranmer told him. "With his grace's permission, I will deal with the queen. She cannot be mistreated. She is of a royal house."

"So was the Spaniard," muttered the Duke of Norfolk.

"This is a different matter altogether, Thomas," was the archbishop's patient reply.

---