monarch

The king had not spent the night in the queen's room for five days, and there were rumors in the court. Some people said that the queen was rejected by the king, and there were even more outrageous rumors that the queen was a German spy. The king caught it straight.Almost everyone is guessing, it seems that only the queen herself is an exception. When she walks through the corridor, she seems to be completely oblivious to the eyes of others looking at her. On the contrary, she has slept for a few nights because the king has not come these days. Good sleep, which made her look a little more radiant, and seemed a little prettier than when she first came.All this led to a wave of gossip in the court.

That night, the queen and her maids gathered in the room to play cards.The queen's card skills are very good, which she learned specially when she heard that the king liked cards when she was not married.Lady Rocheford, the queen's chief of staff, was also a good hand.As for the third person on the card table, Miss Catherine Howard is not so good. Although cards are also a popular game among the girls in Lambeth Palace, her card skills cannot be compared with the other two at all. .

The queen happily threw the cards in her hand on the table. "Congratulations, Your Majesty." Miss Catherine said with a smile. There was a hint of melancholy in her voice. This was already the fifth game she lost today.

The queen laughed, "Oh, my poor girl! It seems that the goddess of fortune has not favored you today. Don't be sad, I won enough today, and you can take back your share." Push the gold coin in front of Catherine.

Catherine Howard glanced greedily at the gold coins on the table, but her rationality resisted the urge to reach out her hand, "Your Majesty must be joking," she showed a sweet smile, in the Queen's eyes it was like He is a child who doesn't know much about the world, "Of course you win, it's yours, I'm willing to bet and admit defeat."

The queen did not continue to insist, she seemed very happy: "Then I will not be polite." She waved her hand and signaled the maid next to her to put away the gold coins.However, when she turned her head, she noticed that one of her attendants, Countess Rutland, was looking at her hesitantly.Annie felt a little strange, did something happen?Why is she showing that look? "Mrs. Rutland, do you have anything to say?" the queen asked.

"Ah, yes, Your Majesty." Mrs. Rutland breathed a sigh of relief, the queen finally noticed her. "I don't know if His Majesty the King will come tonight? If His Majesty is coming, I will order the servants to start preparing."

Anne's face became a little stiff, and the Countess of Rutland secretly thought something was wrong, but she didn't turn back when she opened the bow, so she still mustered up her courage and continued to look at Queen Anne with questioning eyes.

The queen pondered for a while, and finally made up her mind. She turned her head and said to Mrs. Rocheford: "My dear lady, can you go to the king, convey my greetings to him, and ask me tonight Are you lucky to be able to look forward to his arrival." Mrs. Rocheford curtseyed to the queen and walked out of the room.A quarter of an hour later, Mrs. Rocheford came back, "Your Majesty asked me to convey his greetings to you. Your Majesty said that tonight is very unfortunate. He has urgent business needs to deal with in the Privy Council and cannot come. He wishes you good night. "

Queen Anne looked relieved.Mrs. Rutland was a little surprised. It seemed that she really didn't want the king to come. That would not work. Mr. Cromwell would not be happy. She had to do something before it was too late.

……

In the Queen's bedroom, Mrs. Rutland helped the Queen change into her pajamas.She looked around. Mrs. Rocheford was gone, and she and Catherine Howard were alone in the house. There could never be a better chance, she thought. "My dear Miss Catherine, you may go to bed, and I will be glad here."

Catherine Howard didn't seem to want to leave. "Oh, ma'am, no. I'd love to be here to help you."

"I don't need your help, you can go to sleep, thank you." Mrs. Rutland's tone was a little cold, this little spy of the Duke of Norfolk was really clueless.

Queen Anne noticed the awkward atmosphere in the room, she smiled and said to Catherine: "Honey, go to bed, as long as Mrs. Rutland can serve me, see you tomorrow."

Catherine had no choice but to salute the queen, "Then I wish you good night, Your Majesty." She walked slowly towards the door, and when she was about to go out, she turned her head and glanced at the queen, as if hoping that the queen would change her mind and let her stay. Down.

But the queen said nothing.

So Miss Catherine could only turn her head and leave the room a little disappointed.

Mrs. Rutland waited in the room for a minute, then suddenly she stood up, walked quietly to the door, and then opened it abruptly.

There was no one outside the door.

Mrs. Rutland seemed finally relieved.

The queen watched her series of actions quietly, and saw that she finally closed the door and walked to sit down in front of her.Anne's voice carried a hint of sarcasm: "Okay, dear madam, as you can see, there are only two of us left here. You can start talking to me now. Or, let's be honest, what does Mr Cromwell want to say to me? Or what does he want to know from me?"

The Countess showed a look of astonishment: "Your Majesty, you may have misunderstood, I..."

"Oh, my dear lady, I may not be a wise man, but I am not an idiot either. I can see such plain things as who my ladies-in-waiting are. You and yours Cromwell's husband is an ally of Mr Cromwell, Lady Rocheford and Miss Catherine belong to the Duke of Norfolk, the pious Lady Gray serves the Duke of Suffolk, and Lady Seymour is naturally loyal to her The Earl of Hertford, my cousin. You see, I am not as stupid as everyone imagines, am I not?" Anne still kept a smile on her face, but her tone was a little cold.

Mrs. Lutland was dumbfounded, it seemed that everyone underestimated her: "Your Majesty is very smart." There is no need to continue to hide it.

"Then let's get started." Anne waved to Mrs. Rutland, letting her sit on the armchair opposite her.

Mrs. Rutland obeyed the order, and she didn't intend to go around in circles at all: "Have you and the king... consummated your marriage?"

Annie's eyes widened, as if she couldn't believe that the other party would be so stupid: "I have been sharing the bed with His Majesty for so many days, how could it be possible that I haven't? I even hope that I am pregnant with His Majesty's child by now."

Mrs. Lutland let out a long breath, that's all right, but she still has some doubts, the queen's words sounded a little strange, she planned to make a final confirmation: "Then what will His Majesty do with you every night... Woolen cloth?"

The queen's face was a little red: "Oh, your majesty treats me very well. When we go to bed together, he will kiss me, hold my hand, and say 'good night, dear' to me; he will still kiss me in the morning Me, say 'goodbye, my darling' to me. Isn't that enough?"

Mrs. Rutland was dumbfounded. Is she a smart person or an idiot?She wanted to say something, but she couldn't say it at all, as if someone was strangling her neck, her face flushed red.Anne stared at her with questioning eyes, and after a long time, she finally calmed down her emotions: "Madam, if you want to bring us a Duke of York as this country expects, then I must say that all of this is still worthwhile." It's not enough." Annie still looked at her blankly, and Mrs. Rutland felt that she was pretending for a moment, but her blank eyes showed that she really didn't know anything.Mrs. Rutland panicked, the situation was obviously worse than Mr. Cromwell expected...

……

"That's the way it is." Mrs. Rutland finished her report, noticing that both her husband and Mr. Cromwell were turning blue.

"Thank you, Mrs. Rutland." Mr. Cromwell said coldly, "I think it is necessary for me to have a meeting with the queen."

"That's what I want to say, Your Excellency. After yesterday's conversation, the Queen seems to have finally realized the seriousness of the matter." The countess said, "She is also eager to get advice from you."

"I hope so, ma'am, I hope so," said Mr. Cromwell. "The fate of all of us is now in her hands." He stood up and looked out of the window at the garden, where many young Men and women are playing in the sunshine of early spring.

……

Mr. Cromwell's request for an audience was granted almost instantly by the queen.He entered the room and found the queen standing in the middle of the room, looking very embarrassed.

"Your Majesty." Cromwell walked up to the queen and bowed.

"Mr. Cromwell." There was a hint of eagerness in the Queen's voice, "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"I hope you are well?"

The queen smiled self-deprecatingly: "I thought so before last night, but Mrs. Rutland ruthlessly broke my fantasy."

"I just hope it's not too late, and there's still room for redemption." Mr. Cromwell's voice sounded a bit stiff.

The queen looked a little embarrassed, she held out her hand, and motioned for Mr Cromwell to sit down: "I look forward to hearing any advice from you."

Mr. Cromwell sat down in the armchair: "The only way for you to strengthen your position now is to conceive a king's child as soon as possible."

Anne was a little annoyed, everyone said this. "But what am I going to do? If the king doesn't touch me at all? Everything Mrs. Rutland told me last night, meingotte (my God), the king has never done and will not do! Then I will never be able to conceive a child " There was a hint of crying in her voice, "Your Majesty doesn't like me, does he? You must have known it a long time ago."

Mr. Cromwell was a little embarrassed: "I think His Majesty may have some temporary misunderstandings about you. In the long run, I think the situation will be completely different..."

"Really?" the queen shed a tear.

"Your Majesty, have you ever considered..." It was really hard to say, but now he had to say, "Using some kind of method...something unique to women...to...motivate the king?"

Annie was a little confused for a moment, but after a while, she seemed to understand, and her eyes widened involuntarily: "You...you...mean..." Her face was flushed red.

"Yes, that's true." Mr. Cromwell couldn't hold back his old face, and he avoided the Queen's sight in embarrassment.

"I...I don't know..." Anne lowered her head in embarrassment, "I...I never..." She had never seen this in Cliffs, and she never imagined that one day she would The need for such skills is simply... sensational.

"Maybe one of your maids is willing to give you some advice? For example, Mrs. Rutland, I can ask her..." Cromwell asked tentatively.

"If the Countess is willing." Anne's voice was as thin as a gossamer.

"Then it's settled," said Mr. Cromwell. "There is one more thing, perhaps I shouldn't comment on it, but now that the situation is urgent, I must ask. You don't like Your Majesty, do you?"

"Oh, no, sir!" Anne was taken aback, "I...I like Your Majesty, it's just..."

"He's really old, and the smell of rotting wounds on his body, I...I really..." She began to cry again, "I tried my best, really..."

Mr. Cromwell looked at the queen and sighed: "Madam, I believe so, but you need to work harder, not only for me, but also for yourself and your country." A little tired, "You are very aware of the fate of the previous queens, and you should also understand that as the queen of England, you must either gain the king's favor or give birth to him a child, otherwise, you will only die." There was dead silence save for the crackling of coals burning in the fireplace.