Evermore

Chapter IX

DRAWN AND QUARTERED

Anne paced back and forth in the opulent bedchamber, her skirts sweeping against the polished wooden floor with each turn. Her fingers nervously toyed with the pearls adorning her neck, a habitual gesture that had intensified in the days since the scandal had erupted. She was a picture of regal agitation, her brow furrowed and lips pressed into a thin line.

"Sit down before you give yourself another bout of hysteria," Henry commanded, his voice tinged with a mix of concern and irritation. Anne's relentless pacing was unsettling him more than Jane's shocking confession of incestuous acts earlier that day. "You will be escorted to your chambers once this matter is resolved. You should not have been churched so soon."

Anne paused her restless steps, fixing her piercing gaze on Henry. "Resolved? Does that mean the Seymours are to be banished from court?" Her eyebrow arched in expectation, challenging Henry to meet her unyielding gaze.

"Would you please stay still?!" Henry erupted, his patience wearing thin. He struggled to maintain composure, torn between his duty as king and his complicated feelings towards Anne.

"Your Majesty, you summoned us?" Sir John Seymour entered cautiously, his son Edward by his side, both wearing expressions of unease under Henry's scrutinizing stare.

Anne's glare pierced through them both, her suspicion palpable.

"Yes, I have summoned you," Henry affirmed, his attention fully on the Seymours. "It has come to my attention that your son and daughter were caught in a compromising situation in the gardens this morning. As the head of the Church of England, I cannot in good conscience let such immoral actions go unpunished—"

Anne's incredulous expression hardened as she locked eyes with the elder Seymour.

"Your Majesty," Sir John Seymour interjected nervously, attempting to steer the conversation. "Surely there is a misunderstanding. My daughter—"

"The Queen and Lady Mary," Henry interjected firmly, directing Sir John's attention to Anne. "They were witnesses to these acts."

"Pardon me, Your Majesty," Sir John began, shifting his approach as he glanced warily at Anne. "Surely your eyes have deceived you. It has not been long since the birth of the Prince, and perhaps Her Majesty—"

"Perhaps nothing," Anne retorted sharply, rising from her chair. "As I have told your daughter, my stepdaughter is neither blind nor a liar. And neither am I."

Sir John's attempt to deflect the accusations faltered under Anne's unwavering stare.

"But Your Majesty," Edward Seymour interjected with sudden vehemence, his eyes narrowing at his father. "It was you who encouraged me to do it. You insisted we take drastic measures to secure our position in the king's favor. You even suggested that Jane poison the Queen and her children."

Anne's hand flew to her mouth in shock, a gasp escaping her lips as she stumbled backward into Henry's waiting arms.

"And you," Edward continued, his voice rising accusatorily at his father, "you offered to force yourself upon her and make it appear she had willingly bedded you, just to rid ourselves of her!"

The room fell silent under the weight of Edward's damning accusation, Henry's face contorted in a mix of fury and disbelief.

"I have heard enough!" Henry thundered, his voice echoing off the chamber walls. "Arrest them! Arrest them all! I want them drawn and quartered before sunset! They have conspired against the Queen and the heirs to the throne—they shall not live to see another day."

Guards swiftly moved in, seizing Sir John and Edward Seymour, dragging them out of the room like condemned men.

"No!" Jane Seymour burst into the room, her voice trembling with desperation. "Henry, please! I have done no harm willingly! I do not deserve to die!"

A guard stationed by the door intercepted Jane as she attempted to rush towards Henry, restraining her firmly.

"Release her," Henry ordered with a sharp edge to his voice.

"Your Majesty, please..." Jane pleaded, falling to her knees. "Let me live."

"Silence!" Henry's tone brooked no argument as he moved Anne aside, striding purposefully toward Jane. "Out of the affection I once held for you, I will allow you to keep your life. However, you will be exiled and sent to a nunnery. As for the rest of your family—your mother, your sisters, and brothers—they will be stripped of their titles and cast out."

Jane's expression wavered between relief and fear, tears streaming down her cheeks as she sank lower, kissing Henry's feet in gratitude.

"Take her away," Henry ordered tersely, his repulsion palpable.

"Unbelievable," Anne muttered under her breath as Jane was escorted out. "You were quick to condemn me on fabricated charges, yet you hesitate to punish your conniving lover for plotting against our children. Our son, your only legitimate male heir. The heir you have desired for years, which I have given you! And you should be protecting at all costs!"

"I have exiled her. What more do you want?" Henry shot back, his voice rising with frustration.

"I want you to punish her as any other king would for threatening his wife and heir!" Anne's voice rang out, tears of anger brimming in her eyes. "So that everyone knows the consequences if they dare to threaten our children—our son, and me! Your wife and queen, Henry! And so that she may feel even a fraction of what I felt watching my brother die."

"Very well," Henry conceded, his voice softening slightly as he met Anne's gaze. "I will order Thomas and Edward to be publicly executed by burning in the streets of London, but Jane will not be forced to witness it. She is innocent in all of this."

Anne's tears spilled over, cascading down her cheeks as she turned away from Henry, a mixture of anguish and resentment etched across her features.

"You have not been dismissed," Henry said quietly, his hand reaching out to grasp Anne's arm as she moved to leave.

"I should have married Henry Percy," Anne whispered, her voice thick with regret and defiance. "He remains the man I first loved."

"But you did not," Henry retorted sharply. "You married me. And like everyone else in this kingdom, you belong to me. I have tolerated your reluctance to see me as your king, not just your husband."

"I watched my brother beheaded for crimes he did not commit," Anne continued, her voice quivering with suppressed emotion. "And yet, Jane is spared because of your affection for her—"

"I do not love her!" Henry interrupted vehemently, his tone softening as he released his grip on Anne's arm.

Anne scoffed bitterly, meeting Henry's gaze with a mix of sorrow and resentment. "The only person you love is yourself," she declared through clenched teeth, wrenching her arm free and striding out of the chamber.

Henry stood alone in the room, his hand curling into a fist at his side. He considered going after Anne, his emotions in turmoil, but in the end, he slammed the door shut with a resounding echo, the sound reverberating down the empty corridor. If anyone could provoke the petulant child within him, it was Anne. Only Anne.