28th of July 1534 - English Countryside
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the young farmhand paused for a moment trying to catch his breath under the beating sun; it was the hottest day that he had ever seen and he found himself working in the fields with many others.
The hot weather meant that they had much work to do and his father was eager to collect hay for the horses; his brothers working around the cart did not pause in the work wanting to be done as quickly as possible.
Licking at his chapped lips, the boy looked around him for a moment more before he collected the hay that he had gathered and started to make his way back towards the cart where the others were working.
His head was covered by his hood but it did little to protect him from the sun that beat down upon them, it was almost unbearable and he longed for the sun to set so that he could return home and rest after a long day's work.
The sound of drums passing by caught his attention and he turned to see what was happening, his eyes catching on the banners that were held and he throw down his hay before dashing through the grass towards the road.
His father called after him in annoyance but he did not stop to see if they too had seen what had caught his attention; his little legs carrying him as quickly as they could to the road.
Until soon he was close enough to see the Golden Lion on a red field on the banners that were hoisted in the air; his eyes innocently taking in the finery of each man that passed him by, he had never seen anyone in his life so elegantly dressed.
Coming to a stop, the boy could do little more than stare in awe of the sight before him, more people slowly made their way to the road side and the boy smiled taking in the spender of such a sight; the horses walking perfectly in time with the beating of the drums.
His eyes caught on the hunting hounds that were walking among the traveling and he walked alongside them for a moment as he admired such fine creatures.
The men in the procession walked two at a time and the boy could not remember ever seeing such a thing; he stumbled back, his mouth a gap at the sight that presented itself to him.
His eyes never leaving the train of people that marched on by before he stared up at the face of one of the riders, the man seemed to pause for a moment; a smile upon his face at the awe upon the boy's face.
Signalling behind him with his fingers, the man continued to ride on as one of the men behind him clad in armour throw him a gold coin which the boy caught; he turned it over in his arms as a carriage moved on by carrying some ladies inside.
His eyes caught on the woman that had dark hair, a smile upon her face as she waved at him; cheers at the sight of the procession started to reach his ears and he held his coin tightly in his hand.
"God Bless King Henry! God Bless Queen Anne!" the people cried, bowing to their King and Queen as they passed them; such joy was to be had at the sight of the royals.
Anne waved from her position in the carriage, her most loyal ladies at her side and she could not hide her smile at the well wishes of her people; she had feared that she would not be warmly welcomed by the public.
A part of her wished that she could have ridden beside Henry on her own horse but that was not possible since she was expecting; she would not risk her child more than was necessary.
"God Bless You, Your Majesty!" the people cried as she was carried past them, her hand protectively on her stomach and she knew that the small bump was not that noticeable yet.
It would please the people to know that their Queen was with child again, she had no doubt that they had celebrated the birth of her firstborn greatly.
"The people of England, love their Queen," Lady Ughtred whispered in awe of the greeting that they were receiving, she had not expected such a warm welcome for her cousin; the nobles had to show loyalty but the common people had loved Katherine for a long time.
This progress was the first time that they would see Anne as their Queen, she would have all eyes on her and she was lucky that the first stop was at her brother's estates.
***
George stared ahead as the procession slowly came through the gates of his home, his mind racing with the possibilities of what could go wrong during the royal visit to his estates; it was the first time that he and Clarice had welcomed such fine guests to their home.
A part of him had wished for more time, especially with so much happening with the alliance; it had been recently decided that the King's niece, Lady Margaret Douglas, would be married off to secure the alliance between the two countries.
King Francis planned to offer Antoine de Bourbon, future Duke of Vendôme for Margaret's hand; as there were marriage negotiations happening for his daughter and the King of Scotland.
It was the squeezing of his hand by Clarice that snapped George from his thoughts, he offered her a small nod of his head before stepping forward to greet the King and his sister.
Anne slowly climbing from the carriage that she had occupied and she gracefully moved to stand beside her husband, who kissed her hand once she was by his side; she smiled at him before turning to face her brother.
"Welcome to the Palace of Beaulieu, Your Majesties," George greeted, he hoped that the changes that had been made since the Palace had been gifted to him would please the King.
It had once been a minor royal residence and the home to Lady Mary for a time, now it was the Boleyn home and George had done his best to put his own mark on it especially as it was his own main residence.
"It's wonderful to finally see your home brother," Henry replied, eyeing the building already he could not only see the Boleyn crest but the Medici one as well.
It pleased him especially knowing his own connection to the Medici line and that this visit was not just a show of his Queen's family but his own as well; surely no one could boast more that they were so connected to the King and Queen.
"Your Majesties," Clarice greeted stepping forward to curtsy to them, nothing had been left to chance and she had gone out of her way to make sure that everything was perfect.
For the next week, they would be playing host to the royal court and Clarice knew what honour that was; they were on show for the court and as hostess, she would not have them say that her home was lacking.
***
"I trust your chambers are to your liking?" Clarice asked almost relieved to be out of the prying eye of the court, it had been a busy time making sure that everyone was settled in and she was thankful that things had run as smoothly as they had.
Now she was just relieved to be here with Anne, Elizabeth, and the Duchess of Hertford, knowing that their husbands had been quick to make the most of the daylight and had gone hunting.
There was a feast planned for the evening and Clarice was certain that whatever the men caught would be served; her husband had mentioned that he had seen a large stag a few days ago.
"Of course, we could want for nothing in our chamber," Elizabeth reassured Clarice, she had been most pleased with the chance to come and visit; the very idea of spoiling her grandchildren appealing to her.
It was rare that she got to see many of them, she could hardly recall the last time that she had seen Mary and her children; her eldest daughter much preferring the quiet of her country estate than court.
"Is there news on the alliance?" Mary asked, she was most eager to hear news of the plans that would see her leave England; she hoped to be settled in Florence before she had more children, she wanted the people of Florence to accept her children.
Despite no sign of another pregnancy since she had birthed Lucrezia, Mary was eager to ensure that any son that she might have would not be doubted and that people would look to him as her husband's heir.
"His Majesty is considering a marriage alliance with France. King Francis has offered Antoine Bourbon for Lady Margaret Douglas," Anne revealed knowing that while she had been in the meeting, she had kept her opinions to herself lest she find herself removed from such discussion.
Lady Margaret was the daughter of her husband's eldest sister by her second marriage, she had been in England for many years and had at first served in Mary's household but now she was a loyal member of Anne's.
Such a match would be beneficial to her especially given the state in which her father currently found himself.
Despite being the half-sister of the King of Scotland, Margaret had extraordinarily little and the pension that she received from the royal purse was only a gift from Henry as the poor girl had little to support herself now that her father had lost his lands.
"The Scottish King shall be married to one of the French Princesses," Anne continued, she could not recall which had been discussed but she prayed that it was not poor Madeline; she did not think the poor girl would survive the harsh weather of Scotland.
Having spent time at the French court as a lady to Queen Claude, she recalled his frail and sickly the eldest daughter of Francis was; if she was married to the Scottish King then she would not last long.
"Is there no news when King Francis shall remarry?" Elizabeth asked, it was hard to ignore the empty royal nursery in regards to the Duke and Duchess of Orleans.
The letters from Catherine pleaded for help and Clarice had even turned to her for guidance on what her cousin should do; she had no answers that might turn the Duke from his long-time mistress.
"Not that we have heard, he is apparently eager to find a match that might boost France in protection from the Emperor," Anne stated, she wished that England could do more in that way but they had their own boarders to worry about when it came to the Emperor and how he might well react to the news that they had invaded Italy.
Despite the alliance between the three Kings, they were practical enough to realise that their actions would provoke the Emperor and his kin to strike back against them.
"It has been discussed that Lady Douglas shall be gifted the title of Duchess of Calais as part of her dowry, though the stipulation shall be that the heir will marry a woman linked to the royal family of England," Anne revealed pleased, she had worried about what dowry the young woman might command given her pedigree and no father to pay it.
Her husband would be Duke of Calais through marriage, though he might have to give up his family title to a younger brother so that there would be no conflict on such things.
As Duke of Calais, Antoine would not just answer to the King of England but the King of France; this would be the first move towards peace between the two countries after years of war.
It was agreed that she and Henry would no longer style themselves, King and Queen of England and of France; they would relinquish such titles for peace and with the conquering of Italy they would gain more perhaps.
Though the Lords had grumbled greatly at such a thing, Anne knew that for the safety of England and their future that such things would be accepted especially when they had Italy in their grasp.
King Francis had requested that the Kingdom of Naples be returned to French hands, he was eager to see the lands that had been stolen by King Ferdinand II of Aragon which would be agreed upon as long as King Francis recognised the claims that the English wished for.
"To prevent the title from falling entirely into French hands?" Elizabeth noted, while it would sting to lose the last English hold on the continent such a deal would allow them to keep a more legitimate hold on such lands rather than loose them to an invasion.
There was much for England to gain especially once Ippolito was installed in Florence, his wife was an Englishwoman and daughter of the King of England; the title of Duke of Florence was just the start of what Henry hoped for them.
"Yes, I believe my father has already begun drawing up a list of possible brides though the marriage of Lady Douglas has yet to happen," Anne replied though she was uneasy at such things, she did not know what her father had planned but it was bound to upset someone.
Despite having a daughter on the throne, a son that was a Duke in his own right and a grandson that was set to become the next King of England; he was eager to see Boleyn power secure for years to come no matter the cost.
Clarice stared at Anne, dread filling her at the notion that Thomas was plotting; she turned to look at her own girls knowing that one of them might perhaps find themselves a pawn in their grandfather's game.
The last thing that she ever wanted was for either of her girls to end up like Mary Boleyn had, she would not allow them to be used like she had nearly been used to further another's agenda.
"We can only hope that your father knows what he is doing," Elizabeth murmured, her eyes moving to stare at her grandchildren; she would not forgive him if any harm should come to them for his own gain.