An Endless Supply Of Rubies

Lady of Waiting I

"How ill is Mary?" George asked.

"Very, so I'm told, with a fever and constant vomiting," Anne replied with annoyance, as if she had told this story a thousand times before.

"Then, with God's good grace, we may not have to meddle with them after all," George said with a smile.

Anne smiled as well. George placed his first bet, and the game began.

24 January 1536

Amelia laughed with glee as her husband bowed at her when he passed on his horse. She had never been to a tournament before, and she was excited to see her husband joust. Unlike Anne, she believed that her excitement and happiness would be good for the baby, and so she was sitting in the tiltyard next to Lady Rochford, watching the joust happen.

"He's a fine husband," Jane commented while they clapped.

Her face went sour thinking of her own husband. Amelia did not know what had transpired between them a few nights ago, and could only rub Jane's shoulder reassuringly as they watched.

"Point to the Duke of Suffolk!" the herald announced as Charles's lance shattered against his opponent's shield. Amelia cheered.

"Is Her Majesty not attending the tournament today?" Amelia asked Jane. She was curious as to why the Queen would not attend if her own husband was planning on participating.

"No," Jane replied. "Apparently she's worried the excitements of the tournament might harm her unborn son, or so she supposes it to be. Personally, I hope she did not visit the same astrologer as before."

Amelia laughed quietly. She did wish Anne all the best with the child, as she would any woman who was pregnant. She knew that Jane was not a fan of the family that she had married into, but always seemed to have the best gossip about them.

Charles won another point, and the crowd cheered as he was declared the winner of the match. Amelia couldn't help but think of how strong her husband had looked when he got off his horse and walked into the stands.

"Well done, love," she had whispered in his ear before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

He smiled broadly at her. "Thank you," he replied.

The two watched as the King got ready to break lances with Sir Henry Norris, then stood in horror as Henry's horse fell over and on top of him. She could hear her father's cry of pain through the gasps and shouts of the crowd.

She remembered Charles shouting as he pushed his way to the tiltyard as she covered her mouth with her hand in horror. Amelia turned to Jane, who had a similar horrified look on her face. When Jane saw Amelia on the verge of tears, she wrapped her arms around the younger girl and turned her away from the scene.

"They are moving him away, Amelia," she whispered. "Would you like to follow?"

"If they are moving him, they are afraid," she replied. "I must go to the chapel and pray. There's nothing that I can do here, but I can pray. Please let Charles know where I have gone, and send a messenger if there is any news."

Jane nodded, and Amelia hurried off to the chapel as Jane followed the procession of people.

Amelia was already in the chapel when Anne arrived. Amelia turned her head for a moment to see who had entered. When she saw it was the Queen, she bowed her head, muttered a quick greeting, and moved over to give Anne room to pray as well.

Anne could see the trails of tears that had fallen down Amelia's face. She knew that Amelia loved her father, and she knew that she herself loved her husband. Neither wanted Henry to die. So instead of saying anything, Anne simply knelt down, her cheeks stained with her own tears, and prayed alongside Amelia, hoping that God would hear the two of them together. It was the only thing that they could do now.

Cromwell entered not long after to see the two women kneeling side-by-side. They both wordlessly turned their heads to see him, and then turned back to pray. He knelt down behind them in his own prayers, astonished that the Queen would be seen kneeling beside one of her husband's illegitimate daughters.

When the messenger came to announce that the King was alive, Amelia could not have been more excited. She thanked God one last time before curtsying deeply to Anne to show her thanks. It was not a long walk back to the tiltyard, but it seemed like forever to her now. She could hear Charles calling her name as she got closer, and walked more quickly to see him.

His arms wrapped around her the moment he saw her, and he planted a kiss on her forehead. "Thanks be to God," was all he said to her before bringing her inside the tent.

Henry sat on the wooden table, his head pounding from the accident. He smiled when he saw Charles usher Amelia inside, and quickly dismissed the lord he was talking to and opened his arms to her. She hugged him tightly.

"Please don't frighten me again like that, father," she told him.

"I won't any longer, I promise," he replied as she stepped back. He took her hands in his. "I wouldn't want to miss the birth of my second grandchild," he chuckled.

Amelia laughed as well. She had been thinking the whole time that she wanted her father to live so that he could meet his next grandchild, and so that Elizabeth would be old enough and mature enough to take the throne without Thomas Boleyn acting as Lord Protector. The though hadn't even crossed her mind that people were beginning to rally that she or Mary should take the throne, since they were legitimate in the minds of many, and Amelia already had a male heir.

For now, she was just happy that her father was still alive.