“Yet this matter falls into the other quarter,” said Sir Richard, firmly.
Some devil seized Thomasin and she found herself speaking before she knew she had opened her mouth. “Mr Cromwell, I do hope we shall see Mr Ralph Sadler dining in the hall, and enjoying some of the king’s events. After all, it is Christmas, which all God’s servants should be allowed to celebrate.”
Cromwell gave her a peculiar look, made a short bow and passed on. They heard him repeating his message to the group ahead.
It was another half hour before the Marwoods were beckoned forward. On Thomasin’s arm, Lady Elizabeth hurried to join Sir Richard and Sir Matthew as they knelt before King Henry.
“Sir Richard, Lady Elizabeth,” said Henry, looking down at them with curiosity, “Sir Matthew, and Mistress Marwood, what has brought you here to see me, today?”
“My lord,” began Sir Richard, “forgive our intrusion; this is a matter I have wrestled with but cannot resolve. We are here by mischance, on account of an unfortunate event that came to pass yesterday, in our chambers.”
Henry sat up. “I am intrigued. What can this possibly be?”
“My lord, firstly a thousand apologies for the trouble caused by the arrival of my eldest daughter, Lady Truegood, upon Christmas Day. Her intention was unknown to us and to Lord Truegood, and we made immediate plans for her departure. However, as the doctor confirms, she has been taken with a fever and remains in bed, in our chamber, unable to travel because of the snow-bound conditions.”
Henry dismissed this with a wave of his hand. “It is of no matter; come to the point.”
Sir Richard shifted uneasily. “It was yesterday, just as the doctor visited us, that another unwanted guest forced their way into our chambers uninvited, demanding admittance to our inner room, before proceeding to the bed where our daughter lay ill. They stripped the bedclothes off her, leaving her exposed. There were then threats made that myself and my family, who are your guests, my lord, would be sent away from court. Aside from the insult of this invasion, the scene caused distress to my family, who fear being thrown out into the cold and the worsening of the condition of Lady Truegood, whose heightened emotions have added to her feverish state. I bring this before you, my lord, as a slight to my family and a danger to my child, and in fear that our position here is unstable.”
There was a long pause. The king appeared deep in thought. “What you have described is indeed a grievous insult,” he said at length, “and as you have taken great pains to omit the name of the intruder, I must conclude that it is someone you do not wish to offend, nor do you wish to offend me by their part in it. However, there can be no remedy to this, unless those involved are named.”
“It was Mistress Anne Boleyn!” blurted out Lady Elizabeth.
Thomasin heard her father’s sharp intake of breath.
“As I had surmised, Lady Marwood,” said Henry, his face clouding over, “as I had surmised. I will consider this matter at length, and the reasons for its occurrence, which are likely not to have been so straightforward.”
“Thank you, my lord,” said Sir Richard.
“As my guests, and old friends of mine, you may rest assured of your continued welcome at court for the duration of the season, and any subsequent time. I do not wish to lose you to the country again.”
“You are most kind, my lord,” added Lady Elizabeth.
The Marwood group moved away, with a sense of relief at the fairness of their hearing, although Thomasin doubted whether the king would really reprimand Anne. They had paused to accept more refreshment when a new figure entered the chamber and strode angrily towards the king. Thomasin recognised Richard Sampson, Dean of the Chapel, whose usually mild face wore an air of exasperation.
“My lord.” He bowed before Henry, moving in front of several foreign diplomats, who had been waiting their turn. “This cannot wait!” He reached inside his doublet and drew out a book, bound in black leather, which he brandished before him. Thomasin guessed at once what it was.
“This,” he said with controlled anger, “is what you think! This abomination, this work of heresy, was left in the chapel, of all places! I believe a young man, new to the court, brought it there to read, and forgot it. Forgot he was toying with heresy! I saw him leave, and shortly after I found this under his pew. In the chapel, I say — the blasphemy of it!”
Henry reached out to take the book. He turned it over, opening the front page to reveal a detailed woodcut. “William Tyndale,” he read. “The Obedience of a Christian Man. It tells of how Christian rulers ought to govern, wherein also, if you mark diligently, you shall find eyes to perceive the most crafty conveyance of all jugglers.” The king looked up. His eyes were thunderous. “This is the very book I have banned. The very book by that heretic Tyndale who fled this country rather than answer my questions — the book that is to be burned wherever it can be seized, to prevent its corrupting influence upon the souls of my poor subjects. Who is responsible for its presence at my court, within my own chapel?”
“My lord, it was a young man by the name of Zouche, but how he came upon it, I do not know.”
A flurry of feet was heard in the doorway. All eyes turned towards the doors, just as Anne Boleyn came flying through them, closely followed by her sister Mary, Nan Gainsford, George Zouche and Rafe Danvers, who all knelt before Henry in a riot of colour.
“My lord.” Anne rose, heading towards the king in his chair.
“Wait!” He raised his hand. “You see what I have here? What has been discovered, in my own chapel, polluting the souls of my subjects? It has been found by my honest dean, who brings it here to me, and I am questioning him to discover to whom this heretic work belongs.”
“It is mine,” said Anne, clear as a bell.
The chamber fell silent. Henry could only stare at her.
Thomasin could not wait to see how she would explain this away. She only wished Ellen was there to see it.
“My lord,” Anne began, taking to her knees again, clasping her hands in supplication, almost at his feet. “This seems a strange and wondrous thing, I know, but there are reasons for it, good reasons, which you will understand at once if I am able to explain. I did it in your interests, my lord, for your salvation.” She rose to her feet, breaking the usual protocol to step right up beside the throne. “Henry, I believe this book offers us the solution we have been seeking. With this book, we might marry, and I can give you the heir you desire!”
It was a dramatic move. Every pair of eyes in the chamber was fixed upon the king.
