Chapter 34 #2
The crowd swirled around them and Anne whispered, ‘Have you heard the rumours?’
‘No,’ Elizabeth replied, continuing to try to make sense of Henry’s words.
‘Bessie Blount, who has delivered him both a son and a daughter, has been replaced. The whispers suggest the king’s moved on to Jane Pollard, the daughter of Sir Lewis Pollard, a member of Parliament from Devon.’
‘I thought Bessie was married to Sir Gilbert Tailboys,’ replied Elizabeth.
‘She is now, but according to the gossip, her daughter might bear the name Tailboys yet she is actually the king’s child.’
‘He claimed Henry Fitzroy though, Bessie’s son, as his own,’ said Elizabeth. ‘Why not acknowledge his daughter, too?’
‘He has a legitimate daughter,’ replied Anne, ‘he has no interest in illegitimate female children.’ There was a coldness to Anne’s voice as she continued, ‘Men rarely do.’
‘Which one is Jane Pollard?’ asked Elizabeth.
‘The pretty girl in the blue dress,’ whispered Elizabeth. ‘She’s betrothed to Sir Hugh Stukeley, but the king is, apparently, fascinated with her.’
‘Poor child,’ said Elizabeth as Jane Pollard walked past with her sister, their eyes lowered, as though they were afraid the murmurs of the surrounding courtiers would harm them physically.
‘We shall see you at the banquet later?’ said Anne as her husband, Baron Fiennes, approached them.
‘Of course,’ said Elizabeth. ‘I’m the mother-of-the-bride.’
Elizabeth smiled as Anne and her husband disappeared into the crowd, hands entwined as though they were young lovers and not a married couple of long-standing with three children.
‘Lizzie,’ an imperious voice called and she sighed inwardly. Her brother, Younger, the Earl of Surrey, was heading in her direction.
‘Hello, Younger,’ she said as she bobbed a curtsy, enjoying the disgruntled expression on his face at the family nickname.
‘Mary looks well today,’ he said. ‘She reminds me of you at that age.’
‘Thank you,’ said Elizabeth, taking the arm he proffered as they headed along the corridor to the wedding celebrations in the great hall.
‘Is there any news on the Ormond earldom?’ he asked.
‘Thomas wrote to Cardinal Wolsey requesting a decision, but his rival, Piers Butler in Ireland, is being difficult.’
‘Would a marriage between Piers Butler’s son and Anne be a suitable compromise?’ he suggested.
‘We’ve discussed a similar path, but Thomas doesn’t wish to recall Anne until after the Field of the Cloth of Gold.
She’s doing well in France, and he feels these last few months would be advantageous to her.
He is also unsure whether this would be a workable solution.
The title might pass to Piers Butler, then Anne’s son by any marriage, bypassing Thomas. ’
‘True,’ agreed Younger. ‘However, your husband is an excellent strategist and we must be aware there are other families who might step in to try to secure the Ormond earldom with the Butler marriage. I might suggest to Thomas we open negotiations and judge the response. It would be extremely useful to have another noble title in the family. Have you considered whether George could marry an heiress and adopt her title?’
‘The negotiations for his nuptials with Jane Parker, the daughter of Baron Morley, have begun,’ she said. ‘He has blood connections to the king, so it would be an insult to break them off.’
‘True,’ said her brother, but he sounded distracted.
In the great hall, the chatter of courtiers greeted them and, in the distance, Elizabeth saw Mary and William on the dais, laughing with her father. The king joined them, beaming and punching William jovially on the arm as he raised his goblet to the newlyweds.
‘Did you know, the queen has told the king there will be no more children?’ said Younger.
‘No, of course not,’ she said, surprised at the abrupt change of subject.
‘Princess Mary is the king’s only heir.’
‘The queen may still—’
‘Word is,’ said Younger, interrupting her, ‘the king may promote Bessie Blount’s son, Henry Fitzroy, as his heir.’
‘An illegitimate son?’
‘His grandmother’s line, the Beauforts, were considered illegitimate for many generations, yet times and their status changed.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘If you are no longer able to bear children, Lizzie, it is time for you to use your influence with the king to consider one of your daughters. Mary is married, but Anne is not entangled. We could use the negotiations for the Butler marriage as a feint to return her to court and dangle her in front of the king.’
‘The king is married to the queen,’ she snapped, disgusted at the calculating way Younger discussed her daughter.
‘The queen is older, no one lives forever,’ said Younger. ‘You never know, Lizzie, there might yet be a chance for a Howard king.’
He gave her a sly smile, then disappeared into the crowd. Elizabeth stared after his retreating back, unsure whether to be amused at his arrogance or appalled at his cruelty.
He doesn’t see women as people with feelings, she thought, we are pawns in his game. Has he set his heart on a Howard heir?
She shivered, involuntarily, and wished she were far away from the scheming and harshness of court, far away even from the travails at Hever Castle, safe in the scriptorium at Cerensthorpe Abbey where she could admire the books and write her thoughts, detailing her loathing of her powerlessness and plotting how to spare her remaining unmarried daughter from the machinations of her brother, her father and the king.