Festina Lente

Chapter Twelve: The Agreement

"What of Mary?" Katherine questioned thinking of her beloved daughter, she was sure that Mary would be devastated at the news of what had happened today; she was still in Ludlow where she was expected to remain for Christmas. 

Mary would have heard of her father's increasing desire to rid himself of her mother, she had written often of her want to come to court to see Katherine. 

"She will be known as the Lady Mary, should she prove herself to be a good and loyal daughter then she will be rewarded," Henry told her, he had no doubts that Mary would be stubborn on this matter.

Mary was her mother's daughter after all and would seek to try to sway Henry from his course in marrying Anne; she would be stubborn and wouldn't accept her sudden loss in status just like her mother couldn't accept the fact that she wouldn't become Queen. 

"She would have made a great Queen," Katherine noted sadly, there was no hope of that now unless the whore proved incapable of giving Henry sons. 

Instead her daughter would be married off to someone completely unworthy of her, a match made to ensure that she could never threaten the throne for the whore's children. 

"This is not Spain. The people would not have accepted her. You would have made England a puppet to Spain. Do you forget that even your own sister could not hold the throne that your mother left her? Didn't your dear nephew and father have her declared mad?" Henry explained knowing that he was making the right decision. 

There was no escaping the fact that once Isabel had died then her own daughter had struggled to hold the throne of Castile; she had been deposed and locked away in a nunnery ever since. 

Katherine was silent at that, it had been many years since she had last seen her sisters; she didn't know what had happened to Joanna but her father must have had good reason to do what he had. 

Everything that she had dreamed of was falling apart, she feared for Mary knowing how stubborn her daughter could be and she wouldn't accept these changes. 

The fourteen-year-old would certainly have issues with her current change in status, she had been a Princess all her life and Katherine had groomed her for the chance that she would take the throne as her mother before her had done. 

"You shall be permitted to write to Mary and in time she shall be allowed to visit you," Henry stated feeling no need to mention that any letter that was sent to Mary would be read before it was delivered. 

He did not need Katherine filling Mary's head with lies and promises that could not be kept; he could only imagine what Katherine would say to her. 

Katherine stared at Henry unsure what to say to him, he was being most generous and this was not what she had expected upon being called to meet with him. 

Getting to his feet, Henry moved away from his throne and over to the parchment that had been drawn up by his lawyers announcing that Katherine accepted the end of her marriage to him and her retirement from court.

"This document states that you accept that we were never married and are willing retiring from court. In exchange you shall be free of chargers of treason unless you act against me and attempt to put another on my throne," Henry stated showing her the parchment. 

While the country would know of what she had done, Henry wasn't going to allow Katherine to use any of this against him; he was ensuring that she knew how lucky she was that he was a merciful and loving King to his subjects. 

No one put he would govern over England and when the time came then the throne would pass to his son by Anne; he was certain that they would build a Golden future together and they would have many health children. 

Reading over the parchment that Henry had drawn up, Katherine was silent taking it all in and nodded her head; he was most generous but even she could see that she was nothing more than a comfortable prisoner. 

In name she might have been a free woman, running her own household and being kept comfortable but she could see what this truly was. 

There would be no way that anyone could come to her rescue nor would they rise up in her name, she would fade away and be forgotten while Henry continued on with his life; he would marry Anne and it would be theirs that ruled on. 

In time she would find herself comfortable as a Countess which Henry promised her in the document, a title that she would be allowed to pass to Mary when she passed. 

Once the document was signed, Katherine turned back to look at Henry unsure what to say to him; they'd been married twenty-one years and now it was done, she was no longer the Queen of England. 

Instead she would now be known as the Dowager Princess of Wales, treated only slightly better than she had been when Arthur died and Henry VII had no idea what to do with her. 

"Your carriage awaits, Your Highness," Henry informed her knowing that the sooner Katherine was gone the better, word was already spreading through London and his thoughts turned to his impending marriage. 

A summer wedding was planned, an event fitting of his love for Anne and he would make her a Duchess before they walked down the aisle.