The Woman Behind The Crown

Chapter 15: 'My heart had no part in this'

Henry allowed a grand total of just three days for the wedding preparations. I'd say it was a nightmare but I felt so detached from the whole thing, it hardly mattered anymore. My one priority became keeping any involvement I had to partake in away from Catherine - I might have no choice in the matter, but I would not inflict unnecessary pain on her. Particularly as I stood for my dress fittings. I should note that my wedding gown was stunning: mostly white but with a delicate silver trim, which added an element of sparkly starlight to it. It would have been the perfect dress, if only....

It occurred to me there were far too many aspects of the day that I would be dreading, simply because I couldn't control them. I would have to grit my teeth and bare most of them, but there may be something I could do to ease my discomfort. The day before the wedding, I went to see Nostradamus.

'I am only too willing to be of service, but I'm not sure slipping a bride a sedative on her wedding day is the wisest of options.'

'I'm not asking to be knocked unconscious, Nostradamus. I just require a small amount, to take the edge off the nerves.'

'You understand that could be dangerous.' He added. 'Without proper observation on the day-'

'You'll be at the wedding.' I reminded him, dismissively. 'If anything were to go wrong, you'd be right there to help.'

'If anything were to go wrong the King would have my head.'

'Nothing will go wrong!' I insisted. He gave me a look.

'Charity, you are hiding something.' I sighed. He was too used to this practice in dealing with Catherine.

'The sedative is not for the wedding itself. It's for the wedding night.' I admitted. 'I honestly don't know how I'll be able to get myself through it and a sedative would be ideal in helping to calm my nerves. If, by some error, I do take too much and fall asleep thereby postponing the whole thing, even better!'

Nostradamus looked decidedly unimpressed but he was very conflicted by my words.

'Marriage is one thing but it's just the beginning. I'm simply not ready to give myself to him yet. Not again.' I added.

Nostradamus said nothing. Instead he turned and went to his cabinet, extracting a small bottle which he handed me with a warning.

'Just a sip will suffice. It's of vital importance you are very careful with this.'

'I will be, don't worry.' I told him gratefully. 'Your head would not be the only one on the line.'

The morning of the wedding, servants arrived with breakfast. I didn't have much of an appetite, but the spread was too heavenly to resist. I tried to ignore my wedding dress, staring at me with accusing eyes while I ate. The veil was draped over it and was equally beautiful. I was busy admiring it when Catherine arrived, carrying an ornate box with her.

'A gift.' She told me, opening it to display a sapphire necklace.

'Oh, Catherine, it's beautiful!' I reached out, hands fingers lightly skimming the jewels as they sparkled. 'But this is too much.'

'Nonsense, if I want to present my Lady with a gift on her wedding day, I shall do exactly that.'' she insisted, removing it from the box and handing it to me. As I took the necklace in my hands, she cast a quick side-eye glance at the dress. 'And it will match your gown perfectly.'

'A lot better than this plain one, certainly.' I fingered the thin chain around my neck. Holding the gift in my hands, there was something about this one. Looking at it closer, I noticed the links between the sapphires each contained a tiny 'C'. You wouldn't see it, not unless you studied it as closely as I did it.