Read Online Cor Rotto: A novel of Catherine Carey by Adrienne Dillard - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Adrienne Dillard
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kiss on my forehead.
Then I turned serious. “Maybe I am blessed after all to be unrecognised as a royal child.”
Francis nodded. “The queen has become very haughty and your aunt, Lady Rochford, is the first lady of her bedchamber. They are inseparable and sometimes insufferable. At New Year, Anne of Cleves came to celebrate at Hampton Court and paid much reverence to both the king and queen as if she had not been displaced by the silly woman mere months ago. The king took ill and is just now recovering from a serious fever. We all were petrified of his death with Prince Edward being barely out of the cradle, but he rallied and we were all relieved.”
I sighed. “And soon I shall be back among the madness.”
Francis leaned over and squeezed my thigh, “No, my lady. Soon you shall be back in my bed while I am among the madness.”
I shook my head and kissed his cheek, my lips chafed at the stubble, “You are a shameful man.”
“Ah, but I am your shameful man. Is it time for your churching yet?” He teased.
“In good time, husband, in good time.”
Leaving my son was as difficult as I had imagined. After three glorious months of morning cuddles and afternoon lullabies, I had been lulled into a sense of deep contentment. Harry, as we had begun to call him, would be in good hands with his uncle and the two nurses we had hired to watch over him, but I was not ready to part with him. Overcome with sadness, I waved goodbye from the carriage and headed back to the glittering Court that awaited me. My only consolation was that Francis would be waiting there for me as well.
The Royal Progress to the North:
June - October 1541
I arrived at Court as preparations were being made for the annual summer progress. The plan had been to leave at the end of May after the king executed yet another threat to his throne.
I was utterly disgusted at the execution of Lady Salisbury. I realised that, as the niece of Edward IV and distant cousin to the king, her sons would always have a possible claim to the throne, and that one of them, Cardinal Pole, was working with the pope against the changes the king was making to the church. But how much of a threat could their elderly mother be? And to be hacked to pieces by an inexperienced executioner was reprehensible. Margaret Pole had loyally served the throne since the reign of the king’s father and she deserved a dignified death.
In the previous few months, my father had been at turns kind and jovial one moment, and angry and suspicious the other. We were all treading delicately but hoped that a few months on progress with his new queen would calm his temper. Around the same time as the execution, Katherine came down with illness and the roads were flooded from the recent storms. So much to the king’s disdain we left two weeks late. Every day of her illness one of the king’s advisers would visit the queen’s rooms to ask if we could expect a Duke of York. They were very disappointed when on the fourth day we informed them that her courses had arrived at their expected time.
Francis had been accurate in his description of Katherine. She had become haughty and vain, but I could see sadness too. The king had provided her with every comfort she could want - vast wealth, lands and ladies to serve her in any way she commanded. Even in her sickness she had insisted upon wearing all of her newly granted jewels. But we could offer her no amount of comfort. The one person she wanted, Thomas Culpeper, was denied her.
Lady Rochford was insufferable. As first lady of the bedchamber she had become the most important of the queen’s ladies, and as someone who had spent much time in disgrace, she savoured her new position.
Once the queen had recovered from her illness, the court set out to the North so the king could inspect his lands. At Lincoln, our first stop, I learned what had truly been going on at Court during my absence.
After we were settled in, Lady Rochford cornered me. In
Then I turned serious. “Maybe I am blessed after all to be unrecognised as a royal child.”
Francis nodded. “The queen has become very haughty and your aunt, Lady Rochford, is the first lady of her bedchamber. They are inseparable and sometimes insufferable. At New Year, Anne of Cleves came to celebrate at Hampton Court and paid much reverence to both the king and queen as if she had not been displaced by the silly woman mere months ago. The king took ill and is just now recovering from a serious fever. We all were petrified of his death with Prince Edward being barely out of the cradle, but he rallied and we were all relieved.”
I sighed. “And soon I shall be back among the madness.”
Francis leaned over and squeezed my thigh, “No, my lady. Soon you shall be back in my bed while I am among the madness.”
I shook my head and kissed his cheek, my lips chafed at the stubble, “You are a shameful man.”
“Ah, but I am your shameful man. Is it time for your churching yet?” He teased.
“In good time, husband, in good time.”
Leaving my son was as difficult as I had imagined. After three glorious months of morning cuddles and afternoon lullabies, I had been lulled into a sense of deep contentment. Harry, as we had begun to call him, would be in good hands with his uncle and the two nurses we had hired to watch over him, but I was not ready to part with him. Overcome with sadness, I waved goodbye from the carriage and headed back to the glittering Court that awaited me. My only consolation was that Francis would be waiting there for me as well.
The Royal Progress to the North:
June - October 1541
I arrived at Court as preparations were being made for the annual summer progress. The plan had been to leave at the end of May after the king executed yet another threat to his throne.
I was utterly disgusted at the execution of Lady Salisbury. I realised that, as the niece of Edward IV and distant cousin to the king, her sons would always have a possible claim to the throne, and that one of them, Cardinal Pole, was working with the pope against the changes the king was making to the church. But how much of a threat could their elderly mother be? And to be hacked to pieces by an inexperienced executioner was reprehensible. Margaret Pole had loyally served the throne since the reign of the king’s father and she deserved a dignified death.
In the previous few months, my father had been at turns kind and jovial one moment, and angry and suspicious the other. We were all treading delicately but hoped that a few months on progress with his new queen would calm his temper. Around the same time as the execution, Katherine came down with illness and the roads were flooded from the recent storms. So much to the king’s disdain we left two weeks late. Every day of her illness one of the king’s advisers would visit the queen’s rooms to ask if we could expect a Duke of York. They were very disappointed when on the fourth day we informed them that her courses had arrived at their expected time.
Francis had been accurate in his description of Katherine. She had become haughty and vain, but I could see sadness too. The king had provided her with every comfort she could want - vast wealth, lands and ladies to serve her in any way she commanded. Even in her sickness she had insisted upon wearing all of her newly granted jewels. But we could offer her no amount of comfort. The one person she wanted, Thomas Culpeper, was denied her.
Lady Rochford was insufferable. As first lady of the bedchamber she had become the most important of the queen’s ladies, and as someone who had spent much time in disgrace, she savoured her new position.
Once the queen had recovered from her illness, the court set out to the North so the king could inspect his lands. At Lincoln, our first stop, I learned what had truly been going on at Court during my absence.
After we were settled in, Lady Rochford cornered me. In
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