“Continue on, my lord husband,” she told the king. “I know how you love your exercise. But allow me a companion to keep me company.”
“Who would you choose?” the king asked.
“Why, Elizabeth Hay, of course,” Anne said. “Come, Elizabeth, and sit by me here in the sweet grass,” the young queen invited.
Elizabeth obeyed as the king and his party moved off. “It is good to see your highness again,” Elizabeth said.
“Anne, now that we are alone, Anne, for mercy’s sake,” the queen told her companion. “Thank God you came!”
“You gave me no choice,” Elizabeth said with a small smile. “‘You are commanded to court,’” she repeated Anne’s message. “And in the spring, when there is so much to do at Friarsgate,” she scolded her friend.
“I feared if I just asked you would not come,” Anne admitted.
“I know,” Elizabeth said. “What is the matter, Anne? You are married to the king. You carry his child. You are to be crowned queen in June. Is this not all you desired? What more is there for any woman?”
Anne Boleyn’s fine eyes filled with tears that she quickly blinked back. She bit her lip nervously. “Aye, it is everything I wanted, and more. But they all hate me for it. They thought I would become the king’s mistress, and that they would reap the rewards of my sacrifice; and when the king tired of me they would wed me to some wealthy old man who would pay them handsomely for the privilege of having King Henry’s former mistress for his wife. But that was not good enough for me! And I did not give in until last September. I held him at bay for ten years, Elizabeth. You know I was not wanton, though everyone believes it of me. My father will not speak to me any longer. By replacing old Queen Katherine he says I have disgraced the family. In his eyes a mistress was a more honorable position. My mother will treat with me only in secret, for my father has forbidden her to speak with me. My uncle of Norfolk has shared his displeasure with me as well, although he will use my newly exalted state to whatever advantage is best for him. My sister is jealous of me, for I have done what she could not. As for my brother, George, he cares for nothing but himself, not even his wife, though I do not blame him there. Jane is a silly, pretentious creature lacking in both charm and wit. And she is ambitious, but for what I cannot fathom. I am alone, Elizabeth. I have no one.”
“You have your husband who loves you,” Elizabeth began.
“Loves me? Nay. No longer. Perhaps in the beginning. Perhaps even during the chase I led him. But now? No. He wants nothing of me but a son. If I give him a son I am safe, Elizabeth. If I do not I do not know what will happen to me,” Anne said desperately. “What was my dream is becoming a nightmare.”
“Moods such as yours are common when carrying a child,” Elizabeth soothed the queen quietly. “I am here now, and I will do whatever you need me to do so that you will not be afraid, Anne.” She took the older girl’s icy hand in hers, and rubbed it to try to bring warmth back into it.
“Did you have moods of despair?” Anne wanted to know.
Elizabeth chuckled. “I was enceinte without the blessing of the church. You see, I seduced my husband that summer I returned home,” she explained. “We handfasted ourselves to each other. Then the autumn came, and he returned to Scotland. I was furious, for I foolishly believed he would remain with me. I loved him, and he loved me, but he was gone. I threw myself into my work. And after Twelfth Night I realized that I was with child. Our committal would make the child legitimate, I told myself. I did not send to Baen, but I sent for my mother and told her proudly that I was with child. There would be a new heir or heiress for Friarsgate.”
“You seduced a man?” Anne’s dark eyes were suddenly sparkling. “Oh, Elizabeth, how daring of you! As always, you do not disappoint me. Tell me more!”
“My stepfather and my uncle, Lord Cambridge, went up into Scotland in the midst of the winter snows. They spoke with Baen’s father and arranged the marriage properly. Baen is his father’s eldest son, but his bastard, you see, so the master of Grayhaven was content to have him leave his house to come to me. They brought him back to Friarsgate, and we were wed in the church. But I was angry at Baen for having left me in the first place.”
“I would have been too,” Anne agreed.
“Nay, I see now that I was wrong,” Elizabeth told her friend. “Without realizing it, or perhaps I did, I tried to force my husband’s loyalties. They could not be forced. No one’s can. But I let my anger continue to control me. Then in the midst of my labor Baen apologized for leaving me. How could I not forgive him? But the anger I felt could not have been good for my child. Fortunately by the time he was born we were reconciled,” Elizabeth explained. “You can no longer think of anything else but this child, Anne.”
“I know,” came the reply. “England needs a prince. How many times have I heard that said, Elizabeth? They do not care if I live or die. England will have its prince. That is all that matters to my husband, to the court, to the country. They will revile me, but England must have its prince.” Her tone was becoming agitated.
“Anne, Anne,” Elizabeth cautioned her. “That was not what I meant. The child within you is fragile and helpless. You are the only one who can protect it. It is Anne’s child. Not England’s. Put your hands on either side of your belly and cradle it. The bairn will be comforted by your touch.”
The queen did as Elizabeth had bidden her. Suddenly a smile lit her face. “I feel it!” she said excitedly, her voice filled with wonder. “I can feel my child!” She looked down at Elizabeth, seated in the grass next to her chair. “You see! I need you, Elizabeth! You are the only person who cares for me. I am not so afraid when you are with me.”
“I should not remain away long,” Elizabeth began, but the queen waved an impatient hand.
“You cannot leave me!” she cried low.
“Anne, I have a husband, a child, lands. My responsibility is at Friarsgate. I came not just because you commanded it, but because of my friendship for you, but I cannot remain with you forever.”
“Until my child is born,” the queen said. “You must stay by my side until I have given England its prince. Promise me, Elizabeth! Swear it!”
Elizabeth sighed. This was not what she had anticipated or wished, but this girl who had been so kind to her once needed her. “I will stay until your bairn is born,” she promised the young queen. And then she patted the hand in hers.
Anne smiled her little cat’s smile. “I knew you would not desert me,” she said. “The others all have, but I knew you would not.” She laughed softly. “We shall share all sorts of secrets, you and I. And all the fine ladies who serve me will be jealous.”
“And so will my sister.” Elizabeth chuckled. “She prides herself on being in the midst of things important here at court.”
“Your sister does not like me,” Anne said, her look dark.
“Nay, do not be angry at Philippa. She met the princess of Aragon when she was but ten years of age, just about the same age you were when you went to France,” Elizabeth explained. “She was invited as a maid of honor when she was twelve. Our mother was raised with the three princesses, which is why as unimportant a family as ours was given such an honor. And after our mother left court she remained friends with both the princess of Aragon and Queen Margaret. Philippa emulates our mother’s loyalty. She is not a woman for whom change comes easy, I fear, but she respects the king, and will never show you any disrespect, like so many others.”
