He pours the wine onto the floor as his empty eyes burn into mine.
“Get. Out.”
Static buzzes in my ears as the world stands still. I turn and leave before I can think of anything else. The door closes behind me, but I don’t hear it. I’m moving through the corridor at light speed until I’m back in the alleged safety of my apartments. When I arrive, none of my usual ladies-in-waiting are there, except for Lady Rochford. And standing beside her is the Duke of Norfolk.
“Are you satisfied?” he asks, his voice filled with a quiet thunder.
I feel safer with Lady Rochford nearby, but panic continues to rise inside me. “Satisfied?” I ask him.
My uncle moves toward me. “The king received word that the palace has been a den of sin since the moment he left. You have been reveling, encouraging promiscuity among your women, and poisoning them to turn them barren.”
I take in the claims, wondering if this is all of them, or if there’s more. The duke is glowering down at me, but his petulance gives me an odd kind of steeliness. When I look up at him, I make sure my eyes are shocked.
“That is... absolutely not true. I can’t believe that someone would make up such horrendous lies.”
The duke leans back, his gaze faltering as he looks at me. “You deny it, then?”
“I vigorously deny it.”
He steps away from me, clearly surprised by my response. “So, you never attained and distributed herbs to your ladies? Herbs that would render them and their wombs useless? And you never consumed them yourself?”
I take my anger and channel it into righteous shock. “That is a horrifying accusation.” I throw in a rushed sign of the cross for some extra spice.
“And what of their lewd behavior? As queen, you are meant to exemplify piety and dignity, and instead you made a mockery of this court in front of the Italian ambassador. This very evening, you allowed men into your rooms.”
“There were dozens of people in my rooms tonight,” I clarify. “We were playing a game.”
“Noneof this is a game!” he shouts. He crosses the length of the room to confront me but does so in a deadly calm. “It is also rumored that you show particular favor to Simon Gainsford. Did you allow the Gainsford boy to take liberties with you?”
I’m more grateful than ever that Simon is gone, hopefully safe in London, where the dangers here haven’t touched him yet. They’re officially starting—the rumors that lead to Catherine’s downfall. Tomypotential downfall. Still, I look at my uncle with unflinching certainty. “I would never betray the king.”
His eyes flash with indecision before he turns his hardened gaze to Lady Rochford. “You,” he hisses. “You were meant to watch her. How far must our family fall until you have had your fill?”
She steps forward, moving directly beside me. “My loyalty is to the queen.”
“Your loyalty is to me!” the duke bellows.
Lady Rochford doesn’t answer. She doesn’t cower. She stares him dead in the face and my uncle turns first, dragging a hand through his hair and beginning to pace.
“Should I go speak to Henry again?” I ask.
He doesn’t stop walking the room. I can tell he’s trying to formulate a plan, but he doesn’t know which route to take. “The king has no desire to see or speak with you. A violent temper has consumed him, and you’re better off out of his sight until these rumors pass—ifthey pass.” His countenance brightens then as he suddenly turns to face me.
“Are you with child?” he asks, sounding hopeful. “If you are, it would change everything.”
I subconsciously put a hand to my stomach. I think about telling him I just felt a kick to fuck with him but then decide against it. “No,” I tell him. “I am not with child.”
He looks at me with all the nothingness that I’m sure consumes his very being. “Then what good are you to anyone?” He walks off without another word, only stopping just before he reaches the door as he turns to look at me. “Ask nothing of me on your account. If the king is done with you, so am I.”
I take a slow step toward him, my hands falling to my sides. “Oh, you think so?” He continues to watch me as I go on. “You see, as it happens, you aren’t done with me. Becauseyouare the one who put me in this position.Youbrought me to court.Youencouraged the marriage to the king. And I’m sureyouassured the Henry of what a wonderful, fruitful wife I’d be.”
I’m close to him now, so close that I can feel the rage vibrating off him, as well as the realization that I’m right. “You better get your shit together,” I tell him, “because if I go down, I’m going to make damn sure that you go down with me. Howards stick together.”
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him so angry, and the sight fills me up joy.
He swings the door open and walks out, slamming it shut behind him. Lady Rochford and I stay where we are, and the lingering silence feels like a third person in the room, breathing and living beside us. I’m the first to speak a few seconds later.
“What a charming family we have.”
