The Italian Rose || The Tudors

•Chapter 40

August 8th, 1540, Greenwich Palace

"Children! Take it easy." I shouted to the children as they ran ahead of me through the halls of the palace.

The people passing by bowed to them as they.

"Children!" I yelled again but to no avail. They were already way ahead and could no longer hear me. "Please, Lady Carey, will you grab them." I said to Catherine who was walking behind me.

She nodded and ran after the children who had already run to the corner.

It was two years later. I had given birth to a healthy baby boy whom we named Arthur on behalf of Henry's older brother.

Margaret had already returned, with her daughter, to the north but came back every few months. The same was true of the Lady Mary, who was not yet married, also she had returned to her own castle.

I turned the corner and saw the children standing with Charles Brandon. Charles had lifted Arthur and he was celebrating with laughter.

"Elizabeth, Edward, James and Arthur. What did I tell you about running around? It's dangerous." I said sternly to them.

"Sorry Mama." They said in unison, I could see in their eyes that she didn't mean their apologies but couldn't be stern any longer. They were too sweet for words.

Lady Elizabeth was now 6 years old and would already be 7 years old the following month, James was 3 years old, as was Edward, and Arthur was 2.

"It's not easy to run after these thunderstones with your pregnancy." Charles noted.

I was already 6 months pregnant and was due to give birth in January.

I smiled. "It is indeed difficult, they are very excited to see the Lady Mary again. I am sorry I told them."

Charles laughed and we walked on together. Lady Carey and Lady Howard both took two children by the hand and walked well ahead of us.

"How's the council going?" I asked Charles in a whisper. An annoyed look appeared on his face. "It's unbearable. Cromwell is acting as if he were the second king, just as Wolsey once behaved. It is becoming more and more unbearable to assist the council and the councilors are becoming more and more disgruntled."

"I wish there was some way we could remove him from Henry's side." I answered. "There's a way, that's you. Henry has come to trust you more in the past two years, he sometimes even asks for your advice on some things. He values ​​your intelligence but also the fact that you know when not to interfere with his business." He said

"Even if he trusts me, the question is do you trust me. If we can support each other in bringing Cromwell to his demise, it would be much better than acting individually."

We walked to the corner of Henry's study and Elizabeth pulled free from Lady Carey's hands. "Lady mother, may we visit our father briefly before we go to the gardens?" she asked.

I nodded with a smile. "Of course Elizabeth, I'm sure your father would like that. Let's go."

We walked to his office and we were announced by the footman who then let us through.

Henry looked behind his desk with a tense expression on his face. He yelled several things at Cromwell, who himself looked panicked.

"Henry what's going on?" I asked tensely as I walked into the room. Henry looked up briefly and looked from me to the children. "War."

"Take the kids outside, ladies." I immediately said to the Lady Carey and Howard. I walked to the work table and sat down on a chair.

Charles also stood in front of Henry's desk, waiting to hear what Henry would tell us.

Henry sighed in exasperation. "Francis has made an alliance with Sultan Suleyman and threatens to invade England."

"My God." I said startled. It was no secret that sultan Suleyman loved war. He had already won several parts of Europe during his reign over the Ottoman Empire, but I did not understand that Frank formed an alliance with him.

It had to be out of fear. Fear that Suleyman was planning to invade France.

"What are you planning now, Your Majesty." Charles asked.

"I have to form alliances with countries that could support us. But I don't know who."

I thought. "Francis and Suleyman cannot possibly go after England alone, we are separated by a sea. They want more. A great empire, for example. Before they have to get to England they must first hit the coast and to get to the coast they have to pass by Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. They are going to declare war on Emperor Charles." I said

They looked at me incomprehensibly.

"We have to form an alliance with him. Through marriage, for example. We have enough children to play as suitors." I continued. "Joanna, his youngest daughter is only three years older than James. And if we were blessed with a daughter, she would be his son Philip's suitor."

"Spain is a country that is still in the hands of the Pope. I wouldn't be surprised if that's why you want us to ally with them." Cromwell said. I looked at him withering.

"This is not about our beliefs, Master Cromwell, this is about protecting the country we are so proud of, this is about protecting the millions of people who live in this country. We don't have time to be petty, this is serious business." I said

"The Queen is right." said Charles. "If His Majesty accepts it, we could make an alliance with Emperor Charles, he himself would probably have enough alliances through the marriages of his siblings, and in that way we shall defeat Francis and Suleyman and perhaps also regain lost lands from France."

We were all now looking at Henry who was thinking.

"I'll discuss it further in the council. You can all go."

When the three of us were in the hallway, Cromwell wanted to walk away.

"Wait." I said. He stopped and turned questioningly.

"Don't you dare contradict me like that one more time, Cromwell, or you'll be sorry." I said in a threatening tone.

"Or what, Your Majesty." He looked at me coldly."You have no power."

"My influence on the king is much greater than you think Cromwell. I could take everything from you in the shortest time just by speaking to the king."

I turned and went to my own rooms where I immediately started writing a letter to Caterina.