Festina Lente

Chapter Sixty-Two: Leaving for War

"I shall bring honour to my family name and put your family back on the throne in Florence, my wife shall be the sister to the Duke of Florence," George continued, he had high hopes and he would make sure that no one would think he had married down. 

Both the Medici and the Boleyns had been considered upstarts who had come from little and now held such power; they would prove to the world that they were just as good as they had become now. 

Climbing from their bed, Clarice tried to steady herself knowing that crying would only make this worse; there was nothing that she could say or do that would change this and Clarice did not want their last moments together to be fighting. 

Moving towards George, Clarice cupped his face with her hands allowing her thumbs to brush against his cheeks; her eyes searching his face wanting to take in every detail while she had the chance. 

"What should I name our child if you do not return in time?" Clarice questioned, they had not discussed names for their baby yet; she had thought that they would have plenty of time for that and now he was leaving for who knows how long. 

A lump formed in her throat and Clarice blinked away the tears that threatened to fall, she would not spend their last moments together weeping; she would not have him leave with that memory of her. 

"She shall be Clarice for her mother," George stated, he could think of no better name for a third daughter than to name the child for his wife; another daughter would be just as welcome as the first two. 

Contessina and Filiberta were wonderful, he would do anything for them and he had always dreamed of a large family; he and his sisters had always been so close and he recalled playing in the gardens of Hever Castle for hours when they were children. 

"And if it is a son?" Clarice dared to ask, she had come to accept that he did not care but she did not wish to be caught in a situation where they had a son and his father would expect it to be named for himself. 

It would be a cold day in hell before she would ever name a son of hers after Thomas Boleyn, she would much sooner name their son after her father if possible or someone else from George's side of the family. 

"William for my grandfather," George stated, his hands moving to rest on her bump that had slowly made itself known; he was in awe of her like this and the idea that it was his baby in there. 

The miracle of life was an amazing thing and he loved watching her belly swell with his children, each one of them seemed different in their own way; he stared down at the bump wishing that he would be back in time. 

Whether it be a Clarice or a William in there, George could not help but pray that everything went as easily as it had when she had delivered their daughters.

"You shall remain at court with my sister. Anne shall need all the help that she can get especially as Regent while the King is away," George told her knowing that it would be safer here for her, he had no ideas what England would be like while he was away. 

It would be his sister that ran England in the King's absence and George knew that this would be Anne's first chance to show England what type of Queen that she would be. 

His sister could very well need someone to support her through this, especially when she was expected to deliver in the coming months and they did not know if the King would be back by then. 

"Though it is expected that my father and the Duke of Norfolk shall govern should she enter her confinement and until she has been churched," George stated with a shake of his head, if his father and uncle were going to run the country then he feared what sort of trouble they would cause. 

They would like expect Anne to defer to them and allow them to rule through her while the King was away, it would not go down well with everyone else if control of the country was rested upon the two of them. 

Moving towards his bags, George could not imagine just when he would be back here; he had never been on a campaign like this before. 

The last had been in 1513 with the battles of Flodden and Spurs, he had been a child and unable to fight; this would be his chance to make a name for himself as more than a gentleman of the court. 

"You have to promise me that you shall be careful," Clarice insisted, she moved to take his hands and smiled at him; war was not something to be trifled with and George was a fine swordsman. 

Though Clarice could not imagine that he would have ever had the need to take someone's life, a war was different and those fighting on the other side would have no reason to halt in their attack or stop from killing him. 

"Have no fear, my love. I shall return to you and our girls," George reassured her, he ducked down to kiss Clarice and held her for a moment. 

Every second that they had together was everything and he would cherish such memories in the days to come, he had a feeling that he would need them especially when the fighting started.