Chapter Thirty-Two: Back at Court

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20th of July 1532 - London, England

Staring ahead, Katherine held her head high as she walked through the halls of the palace that had once been a home to her; she had been surprised about how quickly she had been allowed to return to court. 

Her welcome so far had been far from a warm welcome and Katherine was not sure what she had expected when she returned to London after being away for so long; never mind the fact that the new Queen had done what she could not. 

Prince Alexander had already outlived her beloved Little Prince Hal, her son had only lived for fifty-two days before God had called him back to his side. 

If only her beloved son had lived then perhaps things would have worked out differently, she'd have retained her title as Queen and everything would have been perfect and she wouldn't be returning in disgrace like this. 

"Presenting Her Royal Highness, the Dowager Princess of Wales," the herald announced snapping Katherine from her thoughts of what might have been and her part in a dynasty that would erase her. 

Her only hope in setting right the wrongs done against her was for her to ensure that Mary took the throne and history was written by the survivors and she was surely that. 

Stepping into the greeting hall, Katherine stared ahead of her towards the thrones that seated King Henry and his new Queen; she felt her stomach turn at the sight of that woman. 

Once she had thought that her Henry would tire of Anne once he had gotten what he had wanted from her, like he had done with all his mistresses before her; now Katherine wasn't sure how to feel about her rival. 

Walking towards their Majesties, Katherine felt all eyes on her knowing that they all watched her wanting to see any sign of malice towards the King and his Queen. 

Reaching the front of the dais, Katherine swept herself into a curtsy befitting of a Queen of England and an Infanta of Spain; she kept her eyes trained on King Henry as she rose back to her feet. 

"The Queen and I welcome you back to court," King Henry greeted her with a smile, his mood had been high since the birth of his son and he saw no reason to be displeased with Katherine after she had done as he had asked. 

Especially since the birth of his son was proof that it was not his fault what had happened when he had been married to Katherine when they'd lost so many children.

"I am pleased to be welcomed back," Katherine replied stiffly, her eyes moving away from the man that had once been her husband to the woman that now held his heart and the throne of England; both of which had once been hers. 

It stung to see Anne in her position when she had been so sure that King Henry would tire of her, like he had done before and remained loyal to her; she cursed those who had helped bring about her downfall for their own gain. 

Though Katherine was aware that if it hadn't been her then it would have been another woman, it didn't help that it was Anne; a woman that had once served Katherine as a lady-in-waiting and a woman with little background of note. 

Katherine was sure that if it had been another woman that had been of her own standing that perhaps she would have understood the attraction since they would have come from good breeding but Anne was far from that. 

With a wave of his hand, King Henry signalled for the Marquess of Winchester to step forward so that she may greet her mother; he watched the two closely to see how their reunion went. 

It had been a couple of years since mother and daughter had seen one another, he had kept them apart in hopes of stopping Katherine from corrupting their daughter. 

"Your Highness," Lady Mary whispered curtsying to her mother, she lowered her eyes and tried to ignore how nervous that she felt about seeing her mother again. 

Her heart pounded her chest and when she rose back to her feet, she stared at the woman before her unsure how to feel about seeing her again; the anger bubbled inside of her and a sense of loss at everything that she had endured. 

Their lives could have been different if Katherine had just accepted that the King needed to remarry so that he might have a legitimate child to rule after him something that Lady Mary was not.

"Allow me to introduce my intended, the Duke of Hertford," Lady Mary stated quickly turning away from her mother and turning to look at Ippolito most grateful for the distraction; she did not wish to dwell on the mistakes of the past. 

They were coming together for a joyful celebration and it would not do for her wedding day to be marred by her parents history; she was most relieved to find that she would not be an old maid. 

"Your Highness," Ippolito greeted offering a bow to his bride-to-be's mother, he had to admit that he hadn't been sure what to expect of the famed Katherine of Aragon who was now returning in disgrace. 

It seemed that her time away had humbled her and Ippolito had no doubts that the King's kind treatment had been the reason for this; she would be a fool to make an enemy of the King Henry when he had treated her better than she had deserved. 

Pursing her lips slightly as she eyed the bastard that Henry had selected as a suitable husband for their daughter; Katherine wondered just what her former husband had been thinking when the match had been agreed upon. 

Ippolito might have come from a family of great renown but they had little in the way of being a family in which the granddaughter of the great Isabel of Castile should marry. 

"Now that the introductions have been made, I am sure you would like to rest after your journey," King Henry ordered with a clap of his hands and getting to his feet, he offered his hand to Anne to help her as they moved from their thrones. 

There was still much to be done in preparation of the wedding and he wished to indulge his wife with a ride into the countryside before the day was done. 

Katherine stared at Anne, a feeling that she had never experience before clawed at her stomach and she found herself watching the King and Queen leave the greeting hall. 

She recalled when Henry used to look at her that way, when she'd been his Queen and he couldn't take his eyes off her as if she was the most beautiful creature that he had ever encountered. 

Now he barely looked her way and had replaced her with a woman that had given him what he had desired most; not that Katherine intended to allow the young prince to take the throne from her daughter.

It was God's wish to see her Mary on the throne, that Katherine was sure of especially since he'd taken away her brothers and sisters before her; she was destined to be a great Queen with a Spanish Prince that was a suitable match for her instead of an Italian bastard. 

Turning to look at her daughter, Katherine was disappointed to find that Mary had taken the hand of the Duke and was walking away from her with a smile on her face while she conversed with him. 

"Your Highness," the Imperial Ambassador greeted with a bow, he had been most pleased to hear that she would be in attendance of her daughter's wedding. 

It had been most kind of the King to invite her back to court, though her absence had not been missed nor had he dared bring her up in fear of losing what little favour he had at court. 

"How fairs my nephew, the Emperor?" Katherine asked wishing to hear the latest news, it felt like such a long time since she'd heard anything of her nephew and she was hopeful for good news. 

If her plan to place Mary on the throne was to work then her daughter would need to do as her grandfather, King Henry VII had done and to do that she would very well need an army to march at her command. 

"He is most well," the Imperial Ambassador replied nervously when Katherine linked arms with him, he did not wish for anyone to think that he was conspiring against the crown. 

Despite the fact that Katherine had been invited back to court, there was no mistaking the fact that she was still technically imprisoned by the King for her actions against him. 

"And how does my nephew intend to respond to this?" Katherine murmured nodding around, she spoke quietly to not alert those around them to her thoughts knowing to speak in Spanish would only cause further suspicion. 

Surely a man such as the Emperor would be disgusted by the very idea of having one of his kin marry a Medici bastard; one that didn't come from anything especially considering the prize that King Francis had in his son's bride-to-be. 

"The Emperor is most pleased at such a fine match for his cousin, the Lady Mary and is sure that her Medici husband will treat her well," the Imperial Ambassador insisted, not wishing to tell the Dowager Princess of Wales that the Emperor was also seeking a Medici alliance himself at this time.

It seemed to be all the rage right now and if it was good enough for England and France, then it was good enough for the Emperor; he had even picked the Medici that he had in mind for such a match. 

It would be his own bastard daughter that he would offer up as a match but the Emperor was determined not to be left out of the Medici expansion that appeared to be happening around Europe at this time. 

Katherine was silent at his words, she was rather disheartened at his reply but had no doubts that her offer would give him cause to reconsider; she was most certain that he would see her way in things. 

There would be no doubts in her plan and Mary would need help from an army one that would leave England with little concerns about the woman that God himself had sent to rule over them. 

"I wish to send my nephew a letter, privately of course... there is much for us to discuss perhaps even a match between my daughter and his son, should anything befall the bastard afterall men of the Medici family seem rather short lived," Katherine said slipping the letter into his hand before he could protest. 

She did not look at him as she did so and she was certain no one had seen her pass such a letter to him; should her letter be discovered then her plans to set Mary on the throne would be finished. 

The ambassador did not speak nor did he dare tell the fallen Infanta that the Emperor would take no such letter from her no matter what she promised him; not when he sort to appease the King of England for her betrayal. 

The letter would be burned as soon as he reached his apartments and Katherine would be left to her delusions of usurping a throne; the Emperor had enough on his plate with his problems with France and his many other wars. 

"I shall deliver it," the Imperial Ambassador lied, he pulled away from Kathrine and offered her a bow knowing that as far as his master was concerned that she was no longer his problem nor was the Lady Mary.

The Emperor could not risk further alienating the King of England in fear that he might side with France against him; the last thing he needed was to find himself dealing with them on a united front.

***

The celebrations to welcome the Dowager Princess of Wales were in swing and Anne couldn't help but stare at her former rival, unable to shake a feeling that had formed in her stomach when she had set her sights upon her. 

She didn't know what it was but something about the other woman unnerved her, she had never felt like this when they had been waiting for the Vatican to make their decision on Henry's marriage. 

Her eyes swept the celebrations taking in the ladies that had come to court to serve Katherine, she didn't recognise most of them so few remaining with her after she had fallen. 

Turning her attention away from the ladies, Anne allowed her eyes to cast towards her new ally and cousin; she had to admit that Clarice's suggestion had come in handy. 

Clarice's suggestion to seek further support from her own family, not just the Howard side as she had done of late; it had been then that she'd been introduced to Edward Seymour. 

The eldest Seymour sibling had been serving as Esquire of the Body to the King and was Anne's cousin via her great grandmother; she couldn't always rely on the Howard so it only seemed right to secure more alliances now more than ever. 

Seeking to rise just as the Boleyns and Howards had done, Edward had been quick to agree to an alliance with Anne that would benefit them both. 

There would be a title for him down the line as agreed and places in her household had been secured for his sisters, in exchange Edward had ensured that there were eyes and ears in the Dowager Princess of Wales's household. 

Jane was currently serving under Katherine but she was not the only spy that they had placed in the household and in time Dorothy and Elizabeth Seymour would join Anne's household. 

There could be no doubt how well connected the Queen was nor that she had the support that she needed to hold her throne; she knew what happened to Queens that didn't have a good support system. 

If anything happened to Henry, then Anne knew that Alexander would be King and her thoughts often drifted to what happened to the last young boy that had come to the throne. 

She'd do anything to protect her son and his throne, she would ensure that she was strong enough to defend his claim should the time come that Henry was taken from them before his time.

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