The King's Secret Matter (23 page)

There were times when Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, wished that she were not a Plantagenet and so near to the throne. She had lived through troublous times. Her maternal grandfather had been that Earl of Warwick who had been known as the Kingmaker; her father had been the Duke of Clarence, brother of Richard III, who had been imprisoned in the Tower and there, it was believed, had been drowned in
a butt of malmsey. She had been a young child when that had happened and it had made a deep and terrible impression on her; ever after she had been aware of the insecurity of life and the favour of Kings; and it seemed to her that those who lived nearest the throne had the most to fear. That was why she often thought with deep compassion of the Queen, and now as she sat with her royal charge she could grow quite melancholy wondering what the future held for her. Only recently tragedy had struck at her family through her youngest child, Ursula, wife of Henry Stafford, son of the Duke of Buckingham whose life had recently come to an end on the block.

Henry VIII had occasionally been kind to her family; she had fancied that he wanted to make amends to them for his father's murder of her brother Edward who, as the Earl of Warwick, had been a menace to the throne. But how long would that favour last? She believed now that she was regarded with suspicion by Wolsey because of her close friendship with the Queen.

If Katharine could have been with her in Ludlow she would have been almost happy. It was peaceful here and seemed so far from the world of ambition. And how happy little Mary would have been if the Queen were here! But as the weeks stretched into months the love between the governess and her charge grew deeper and did – so the Countess fervently hoped – compensate in some measure for the child's loss of her mother.

Margaret tried to replace that mother, and it was a great joy to her to know that the times of the day to which Mary looked forward more than any other were those when she and the Countess were alone together; and the little girl, released from her lessons which Margaret often felt were too much for her,
would sit at the Countess's feet and demand to hear stories of her life.

And when Mary said: ‘My mother used to tell me stories of the days when she was a girl in Spain . . .' Margaret knew that the substitution had taken place in the child's mind; and she wrote to the Queen telling her of these pleasant hours which seemed to give consolation to Mary for her exile.

Through Margaret's description of her family Mary began to know the Pole children so well that they seemed to be her intimate friends. There was Henry, Lord Montague, who had followed the King to France to the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Margaret did not tell the child of the anxiety she had suffered when Henry had been arrested at the time of the trial of the Duke of Buckingham because his father-in-law was a connection of the Duke's; in any case he had been speedily released, and very soon afterwards had been restored to favour, being among those noblemen who had greeted the Emperor Charles on his arrival in England. The Countess would talk of her sons, Arthur, Reginald, Geoffrey and her daughter Ursula, with such loving detail that the Princess knew that these quiet hours were as enjoyable to the Countess as they were to her.

But it was of Reginald that Mary liked best to hear; Reginald was learned and deeply religious, and Mary had always felt that to give lifelong devotion to religion was the best way of living. Therefore Reginald became her hero.

The Countess told how she had always meant him to go into the Church and how eager he had been to follow that calling, although he had not yet taken holy orders.

‘There is no better man in the world than my Reginald,' said Margaret proudly, and Mary began to believe her.

‘When he was a boy at Oxford he astonished his tutors,' the fond mother declared. ‘In truth I think they began to realise that he was more clever than they. He became a Dean at Wimborne though still a layman. He held many posts, and then he decided to go to Padua, and that is where he is now. The King, your father, is pleased with him and there is great hospitality in his house there. Scholars flock to see him. He thinks it is because he is a kinsman of the King.'

‘But it is really because of his noble character,' Mary asserted.

‘I believe that to be so. Mary, I think he will soon be coming to England.'

Mary clasped her hands in ecstasy. ‘And will he come to Ludlow?'

‘Come to see his mother! Of a certainty he will. You do not know my Reginald.'

‘I do,' declared the Princess.

And after that they often spoke of his coming and when Mary awoke in the mornings she would say to herself: ‘Will there be news from my mother today?' And then: ‘Is Reginald now on his way to the Castle?'

It was only these hopes which made the separation tolerable. But the months passed and there was no news of Mary's joining her mother; and Reginald continued to stay in Italy.

Henry cut himself off from communication with his Queen, and she rarely saw him. She lived quietly, working on her garments for the poor, reading religious books, going to Mass, praying privately. Her great joy was writing letters to her daughter, but what a difficult task this was when she must
suppress her fierce longing, and not convey her fears that the long absence was stifling that deep affection they had for each other!

Henry was growing impatient. He had begun to wonder whether Wolsey was working as wholeheartedly for him as he had once believed. Wolsey was a man who had seen that his own pockets were well lined; and should a king feel such gratitude towards a man who in his service had grown as rich as surely only a king should be?

Wolsey was constantly whispering caution, and Henry was becoming a little uncertain of the game the Chancellor was playing. There was a new faction springing up at Court, and at the centre of this was George Boleyn whom the King found a fascinating young man, largely because he was the brother of Anne.

Anne remained at Hever, but she should not do so for long. Henry had already shown his favour to the family by raising Sir Thomas to the peerage, so that he now bore the title of Viscount Rochford. He had even given poor Will Carey, Mary's husband, a post at Court as gentleman of the Privy Chamber. He was certain that soon the haughty girl would give in to his pleading, and stop talking about her virtue.

But at the same time it was this Boleyn faction which was making him doubt Wolsey. He sent for his Chancellor in order to discuss a matter which was of great concern to them both at this time: the marriage of the Princess Mary.

When Wolsey entered, the King did not greet him with the affectionate look which the Chancellor usually received from him. Wolsey was acutely aware of the King's changing attitude towards him and it was doubly alarming because he was not sure of its origin.

‘I have news from France,' said Henry. ‘It seems that François is rejecting our offer of my daughter.'

Wolsey nodded gravely. Here was one matter on which they were in agreement; they shared the desire for a marriage between Mary and a member of the royal French family. Nothing would disturb the Emperor more; at the same time if Mary were to marry into France she would very soon be sent to that country; and if the King were about to rid himself of the Queen, Mary's presence in England could prove an embarrassment. There was no need to speak of this matter. Each knew that it was well to the fore in the mind of the other.

The King took a document from his table which had been sent to him from Louise of Savoy who was her son's Regent while he, François, remained the Emperor's prisoner in Madrid.

‘Read it,' commanded the King; and Wolsey read that the Duchesse of Savoy could not express sufficient regret that the marriage between her son and the Princess Mary was not possible. She knew that the Princess of England excelled all other Princesses; she had heard nothing but good of her character, her attainments and her beauty. Alas, a tragic fate had befallen her son; he was in the hands of the Emperor and harsh terms were being imposed on him. Not the least harsh of these – in view of the offer of the Princess's hand from England – was that he should marry the Emperor's sister Eleanora whom Emanuel of Portugal had recently left a widow. It seemed likely that the King of France would have to comply with this unless Eleanora refused to marry him.

The Duchesse however hoped that this might not make an end of their desire for a French-English alliance. She had grandsons. She was certain that François would welcome the Princess Mary as the wife of his son Henri, Duc d'Orléans.

‘Well,' the King demanded, ‘what do you think of this proposition?'

‘A fair one. Marriage to young Henri would, in truth, be more suitable than marriage with François.'

‘A second son,' murmured the King.

‘Eldest sons sometimes die,' Wolsey reminded him.

‘That's so,' replied the King, himself a second son. He was thoughtful for a while. ‘The child is young . . . not yet ten years of age. There is time. But it shall be a French match for her.'

‘I am in full agreement with Your Grace.'

‘I rejoice to hear it.' Was it his imagination, wondered Wolsey, or was there a trace of sarcasm in the King's voice. The little blue eyes swept over the rich satin robes. ‘We shall be having French ambassadors here soon, I doubt not. When they come it would be well for them to be entertained at Hampton Court.'

‘Hampton Court is, as always, at Your Grace's command.'

‘These foreigners . . .' mused Henry. ‘They do not think they are at Court until they are received at Hampton. Is it meet a subject should possess such a palace?'

Wolsey quickly saw the meaning behind the words. He had always gambled. He gambled now.

‘There is only one reason why a subject could possess such a palace,' he answered quickly, ‘and that is that he can put it into the hands of his King.'

Suddenly the peevish animosity died in the King's face and the old affection was back there. The blue eyes were so bright that Wolsey was not sure whether it was tears of friendship or covetousness which he saw there.

The Chancellor felt a catch of fear at his heart; it was as though he were running towards danger; and that only by
throwing his most valued possessions to his pursuers could he stave off the evil moment of disaster. He was playing for time. He believed that he could regain his power over the King . . . given time. If he could arrange a divorce for Henry, get him married to a French Princess, put an end to unprofitable wars – then he would be able to rout all his enemies. But he needed time.

The King put his own construction on those words.

‘A goodly gift,' he said, ‘from a loyal subject to his affectionate master. I would not offend you, Thomas, by refusing your handsome gift. But you shall live on there . . . you shall entertain these foreigners there . . . in my name, eh? Then they will no longer sing in the streets: “The King's Court or Hampton Court . . .” for from now on Hampton Court
is
the King's Court.'

Wolsey bowed his head and taking the King's hand kissed it. He was glad to hide his face for a few seconds; the loss of his most cherished possession was a blow, and he found it difficult to hide the sorrow he was feeling.

The days were dreary to Katharine, one so much like another. She had no friend in whom she could confide. Maria de Salinas was no longer at Court; Margaret Pole was in Ludlow with Mary; and, saddest of all, there was no mention of Mary's returning.

The women who surrounded her, she knew, were not her true friends, but had been put there by her enemy, Wolsey, to spy on her. She saw the King frequently but never in private; he was courteous to her but she fancied that he was afraid to meet her eye and always seemed relieved when he parted from her.

On one or two occasions she had mentioned their daughter, to which he invariably replied with prompt finality: ‘It pleases me that she now has her own Court in her own Principality. She will learn something of government there in Ludlow.'