The Italian Rose || The Tudors

•Chapter 45

August 28th, 1540, Greenwich Palace

"Lucrezia." I heard a voice say hoarsely.

It was now a few hours later and I had fallen asleep on the chair.

"Majesty!" I heard Charles yell. I immediately opened my eyes and looked startled at Henry who stared at me with open eyes.

Charles was already standing next to the bed, with sleepy eyes himself.

"My God, you're awake Henry." I placed my hand on his forehead and felt that he had a normal temperature. "God bless you Henry, you're awake again. Get the doctors Charles, quickly." I cried.

Charles immediately left the room and I got up and lit a few candles before sitting on the bed next to Henry.

I grabbed his hand and kissed it. "You don't know how scared I was Henry. Don't ever scare me like that again. How do you feel?"

"My leg hurts a lot, but I feel very rested." He said, his voice had cleared up and I could hardly notice that he hadn't been awake for more than three days.

Charles came back into the room with a doctor. The doctor immediately began looking at the wound that was still open. When he was done he put on a new bandage and said everything would be fine.

"How is the situation with France, Charles?" Henry asked when the doctor had left and he was sitting up.

"Still the same, Your Majesty, but there are things more important than that right now." Charles said, he looked at me briefly and I nodded to indicate that he had to tell.

"What is going on?" Henry asked as he looked questioningly at me and Charles.

"There is an uprising in the north. It is mainly people who are against your rule and the fact that you are broken from the Catholic Church and Rome. So far they have protested peacefully but Cromwell has nevertheless had several people executed and this has infuriated the northerners, they are now much more aggressive than before and I fear the outcome of this uprising." Charles explained to him.

Henry had an angry expression on his face. "Aren't you the council leader? Why didn't you stop him?" Henry asked Charles angrily.

"Lord Brandon was by your side all the time Your Majesty, day and night he was here as Cromwell sent the country to chaos. You ought to be thankful to him, for who knows, Cromwell would have let you die in this bed to get the country for himself." I came between the two.

"What are you talking about? Cromwell would never let me die." Henry said incomprehensibly.

I looked straight at him. "truly? Cromwell does everything he can to get you under his power but it is that you have a mind of your own, something James does not have. If you had died, he would most likely have taken the place as regent for himself and would have been regent until James' eighteenth birthday. That's fifteen years of power."

Henry shook his head. "He could never do something like that, he's loyal to me."

I sighed. "He really isn't Henry, Lord Brandon, please tell the king what you found out."

Charles nodded and told of the fraud Cromwell had committed under Henry's name and the money he made from the Nobels by selling to them tracts of land belonging to the crown.

"Francis Bryant has all the evidence of this and can show it to you at any time, Your Majesty." Charles finished his story.

Henry had such a bewildered expression on his face. "Incredible. I trusted him so much."

I placed my hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "I understand it hurts you, he is a good friend of yours and it hurts when a friend betrays you like this. How do you want to handle it now."

"Tomorrow morning have Sir Francis brought to me, I want to see all his evidence." he said to Charles. He looked at me. "You are exhausted Lucrezia, now that everything seems to be going well with me, it is time for you to rest. Don't tire your body for nothing, it's not good for you and the baby." he said as he placed his hand on my stomach. The baby immediately kicked his hand in response, and Henry smiled.

"My son is strong, that makes me happy."

I smiled. "Or your daughter. Nothing is sure." I got up and bowed before leaving the room.

Arriving in the corridor I saw Cromwell walking towards the room and I could hardly hide my smile knowing that the king was now furious.

It wouldn't be long before I got rid of him.

It was only a matter of time and patience.