The Six

The Rose Without Thorns

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June 15, 1540

-KATHRYN DANCED merrily to the tune of the music, swaying and twirling this way and that way; her eyes never left the handsome face of the young man dancing with her, Thomas Culpepper.

Kathryn did a little jump and swirled around, and her dainty little hand clasped Thomas' firm ones. She gave him a little half-smile, and his face lit up with passion and glee.

Almost at once the music ended.

There were claps all around, and Kathryn, along with the other ladies-in-waiting and the other men of the King's Privy Chamber faced King Henry himself and bowed.

Kathryn made sure to curtsey very low, craning forward slightly, allowing the King a little sight of her spotless, porcelain-like skin and her breasts, threatening to burst from her tightly-wound bodice.

She could imagine her old Duchess grandmother, could imagine Queen Anna of Cleves, could imagine all the other stuffy old bores reprimanding her for her scandalous behaviour. "You must be a proper lady," her grandmother had said sternly before Kathryn left for the court, "You must be virtuous and well-mannered, and serve Queen Anna well."

Like a good girl, Kathryn had curtsied and nodded.

But; oh, what a bore it was, to stay well-mannered and virtuous and be a proper lady! To be a lady you had to hold your head high, never move or speak to others in Mass, and never bat your eyes at the handsome young men at court.

Kathryn didn't want to be a proper lady. She laughed and danced and made merry and gave the boys flirtatious glances, making them flush with desire and embarrassment and making the other girls laugh and admire her handiwork.

This new Queen, the Dutch Anna of Cleves, didn't seem to like Kathryn Howard's behaviour much; but what could she do? Kathryn almost laughed upon hearing this new Queen speak. "You know where I eat?" Anna had asked her in broken English. Katherine relayed the event back to her fellow ladies later on, attempting to sound like her, and they had all burst out laughing.

But of course Kathryn didn't really mean any harm. She quite liked this new Queen, dumb and plain as she was. She kept looking around her, and seeming so impressed at everything as if she was some peasant woman who had wandered into the castle.

"And she certainly dresses like a peasant woman," Kathryn had told the others once. Well, it was true. No extravagant dresses and jewels for Anna. She wore ugly, plain gowns that went all up to her neck and a huge hood, so that all Kathryn managed to see was the Queen's pale face and hands. It was so comical.

What was the use of being Queen, when you couldn't wear jewels and diamond necklaces and beautiful gowns? Kathryn didn't know. If she ever was Queen, she liked to think, she would wear jewels and rubies and pearls galore, so that she wouldn't even be able to walk properly.

King Henry was now looking at her, and he beckoned her forward. Kathryn batted her eyelashes and walked forward. "My lady Kathryn," Henry said, smiling.

Kathryn looked at him, smiled and blushed. "My King."

She had to admit he looked very different than she was led to believe. The handsomest prince in the whole Christendom had filled out some; no longer was he lean, muscular and tall, dashingly good-looking with his golden hair and easy grin. Henry was now fat, his belly large and rather monstrous, his leg lame after a jousting accident; his face was rather pudgy now, and his eyes sometimes became flinty and beady in a way that scared Kathryn.

But she had been warned of such. Her uncle the Duke of Norfolk had told her part of the plan.

"You must know of your cousin Anne Boleyn," the man said as he sat by the fire, half his face in shadow. Kathryn didn't like him and his cool voice and dark eyes, yet she didn't show it; she was a fool, but not so much an idiot as to say what was in her head out loud, at least not all the time. Lady Jane Rochford, Anne Boleyn's late brother's wife, was the only other person in the dark room. Kathryn didn't quite know what was going on.