Live Again

Chapter 20

Anne and Mary are lead through the first room into the second where a woman sits, looking at them with wide eyes. A man leans in, next to her and whispers in the persons ear, causing her to stand up with a smile.

"I have heard of you both" She says in a heavily German accented English.

"It is our pleasure to meet you, madam"

"No, it is my pleasure to meet the two of you"

That was the day the two met Anne of Cleves and sent back their thoughts to the King.

Your Majesty

I have seen and met the lady Anne of Cleves and I am glad to report back that she is a lovely woman. Her features are not considered English beauty but her gentleness and humility make up for that. She seems to think highly of you and your Kingdom. Her English is not the most advanced but she hopes to improve her voice which is heavily accented German. 

Lady Anne Grelane

Over the next months, King Henry and Anne of Cleves have been seen together at court and whispering of marriage has been around, they seem to be hesitant about marrying but it eventually happened.

The court celebrated and held feasts as they waited for another heir but behind closed doors, there were troubles. The marriage hadn't been consummated and they seemed distant. Anne  was attending to her as was Mary Boleyn, who once had overheard the Countess of Rutland ask her if she had any plans of making an heir with the King to which she replied with, "When he comes to bed, he kisses me and taketh me by the hand and biddeth me, Goodnight sweetheart, and in the morning kisses me and biddeth me, Farewell, darling. Is that not enough?".

Six months later, they divorced.

Mary went back to her husbands farm for a while Anne stayed at court, traveling to different castles along the seasons. The King was happy, he gave Anne of Cleves, money and castles, including Hever Castle.

Anne of Cleves stopped by Anne Boleyn's room before she left, saying that even if she owns the castle,  the Boleyn woman is free to come by anytime and stay. She found out that it was Anne's childhood home from her other ladies. So she went to stay at her houses, leaving court but still on good terms with the King.

Everyone at court, including Anne noticed and witnessed how the King's attention was drawn to a young woman named Catherine Howard, who was laughing and dancing with the other men.

Apparently Anne's uncle and Charles Brandon put her forward for the King to notice. At a feast while she was dancing, all of the men were staring at her. Anne looked over to eher uncle and stared at him with a cold glare. This was because he had already seen what has happened before when he is involved with someone being shown to the King.

Her eyes went to look at the young girl, twirling around and having fun as the King watches, his eyes following every move.

 "It seems the King is interested in Catherine Howard" Thomas Wyatt says

"It appears so".

Along the next few days, the King and Catherine grow closer and there are plans set for marriage. A few people disapprove of the marriage because of her age and they don't think that she is mature enough to be a queen.

Anne's opinion on this is complicated because she wants the King to be happy, despite the pain he caused her, and have heirs for the Tudor line but also feels that this is too much for the young girl. All the jewels, clothing and royalty could overwhelm her and she will only see the material things and will forget to protect herself against others who have opinions.