Katherine Howard, Queen of England.

Henry Mannox

I get it. You all know me as the seductress, the witch, the shrew, Katherine Howard. That girl that was Queen of England for less than a year before being beheaded for supposed adultery. But is it fair to judge a woman before you even know her? I'm not saying that you must think of me differently than you do now, but to at least consider what I'm about to tell you. What your final opinion will be.... I guess I must leave that up to you. Let's get into it, shall we?

I was the daughter of the poor-struck younger son of the second Duke of Norfolk. My mother and father were always quite distant; there, but not present. When I was nine years old, my mother hired my first music teacher, Henry Mannox... who grew to be my first love.

Our first music lesson was in his private office in the Duchess's household in Horsham. 

"Lady Joyce!" Henry had exclaimed when he saw my mother standing quietly in his doorway. "Come in, come in!" He shoved papers to the side of the desk, and gestured to the two chairs sitting opposite him. My mother, Joyce, sat quietly in one, gently shoving me into the other. Henry peered at me, a kind smile on his face. "And who would this be?" 

My mother cleared her throat. "Henry, this is my daughter, Katherine Howard. I have decided... well, I was wondering if it would be possible to sign her up for music lessons?" Henry beamed at her question.

"Why, of course!" he stated. Then, he turned his gaze back to me. "How old are you, Katherine?"

"Nine," I mumbled.

"Speak up," my mother commanded sharply. I took a deep breath. 

"Nine," I said clearly. Henry appeared thoughtful for a moment, then settled deeper into his chair. 

"Well, Katherine, what musical instruments would you be open to learning?" asked Henry. 

"The lute," I stuttered, suddenly feeling confident. "And the piano, and the violin, and the virginal, and-"

"That's quite enough, Katherine," my mother interrupted. I blushed, feeling embarrassed. Henry glanced from me, to my mother, and back to me. 

"Alright, Joyce. You may go, if you please. Katherine and I will have an hour trial session, to see if she likes it," announced Henry. My mother nodded, and briskly flounced out of the room, closing the door behind her. Henry's full attention was on me. 

"Katherine- er, can I call you Kitty?" Henry asked. "It's a fitting name for a cute child such as you." I nodded and smiled. 

Kitty Howard,  I thought. I like it.  

"Alright, then, Kitty. Come, sit on my lap, and we can discuss what we wish to accomplish," Henry said. For some reason, I agreed, and moved to sit on his lap. I was too young to understand the glint in his eye, too naive to realise that this suggestion was inappropriate. Little did I know, this was the start of a five year long seductive relationship between teacher and student. 

*****Hi everyone! Message from the author here. Yes, this is historical fiction, and I took liberties on dialogue, but the base facts ARE TRUE. I rated this book mature due to Katherine Howard's sexual relationships, even as a child, that I have to write about to make the book historically accurate. Enjoy! I'll be publishing new chapters each week.*****