Summer Rain

Chapter 3: Mean

3/25/1208

I write to you in fear my friend, the King's right-hand man, Mark, who is also a spy for me, has told me that the King suspects me of being unfaithful to him, and has started to question some of my maids and other attendants. This is a very delicate accusation because whatever the King says is law, if he says I am guilty then I will be beheaded, just as Anne Boleyn was. You my friend, who are reading this, may or may not know the story of Anne Boleyn so I will give you the short version of her story. Anne Boleyn was the second wife of King Henry VIII. Historians believe that she was born in 1501 and died in 1536. Historically, she was considered an important figure because she influenced the separation of the Church of England and Rome. This event brought the Church of England under the King's rule. To summarize: the Roman Catholic Church would not grant King Henry a divorce from his Queen Consort Catherine. Henry's decision to marry Anne Boleyn led to his excommunication. Historians believe that the accusations were false, and lacked evidence.

So, my friend, this is why I am frightened, for as you well know the King's word is law, I have no rights as a woman if I was a man it might be slightly different. If I do not tread carefully my life will be no more, and I will never see Robin again, my one true love. The King has also been paranoid recently and is letting his temper get the better of him; I pity the soul who gets caught in his wrath. I believe he is paranoid because his mother, Queen Elanor of Aquitaine, has been rumored to escape her castle where she was under house arrest. She has been against John's reign from the start, and she publicly denied and refused to call her son a King. John could not outright kill his own mother during such a crucial time, and therefore put her under house arrest with a salary that one person could barely live on. John's temper might also be due to the fact that during a public outing he fell off his horse, and now his pride is hurt, and instead of admitting that he fell off he blamed it on his groom and had the poor man beheaded.

I tried asking, how the King came upon this idea, but Mark could not tell me. I am to be seen and not heard where ever I go, especially in the presence of the King. I am nothing but arm candy, and I know that if I were with Robin, he would treat me as his equal and never abuse me. But until I get to the bottom of this I must be very careful in how I behave and appear.