The Other Henry VIII

The Undoing of the Starlings

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"cried a page, running breathlessly into the King's study where he sat at his desk reading some papers.
"Hm?"Henry replied, not really paying attention. What worse could happen than some Papists rising up in the north?
"Your Majesty, please,"begged the page, stopping before the King's desk and kneeling down. "It is urgent, Your Majesty."
"It will have to wait,"snapped the King in reply. He had not yet even raised his eyes from the papers. The poor page bit his lip in muted frustration. "It is about Her Majesty the Queen."
Henry finally glanced up, still not wholly convinced. His eyes studied the page in front of him carefully, judging the situation.
"Alright. What is it?"he said, putting his papers aside and leaning forwards. The page rose and with shaking hands placed a pile of letters on the desk.
"These were found in the Queen's privy chamber."

Henry raised one eyebrow. He reached for one of the letters and began to read it while the page and surrounding servants waited nervously for his reply. There was no telling what the King of England might do.

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Henry's POV
I can't believe it. I won't believe it.
In my hand is a letter, clearly indicating my wife as the addressee but unsigned. And it is a love letter. The writer has a good, even hand, using moderately complex language to convey a significant amount of passion that I myself am deeply surprised at. Who could this mystery man be? And more importantly....
"No..."I find myself muttering, leafing through each letter. "What is this? WHAT IS THIS?" The servants around me look uneasy as I stand up swiftly, my chair sliding across the floor.
"IT CANNOT BE!"I shout, banging my fists on the table as I lean down towards the cowering page who delivered this sorry news. "WHERE IS SHE?"
"H-h-her Majesty has fainted, Your Majesty. S-s-she has not awoken for many hours..."
Hours? HOURS?
"WHY DO YOU TELL ME THIS NOW? I AM THE KING OF ENGLAND AND IT SEEMS I AM THE LAST ONE TO KNOW OF THIS SCANDAL!"I roar at him. The rage is bubbling inside me, I cannot control the anger that is consuming me.
"Y-y-you see, Your M-m-majesty, they were found by—"
"WHO?"I interrupt rudely.
"T-t-the Westover ladies, Y-y-your Majesty,"says the page. He is all but in tears by now but I cannot stop. I hear myself roar with fury and I march swiftly out of the room as the servants bow in my wake.

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Diana lay still on her bed, eyes loosely shut as if sleeping, her black curls spread across the pillow which was as white as her face. Catherine stood anxiously to the side. She didn't know whether to rush forwards or to stay back, not now Diana would be disgraced along with anyone who supported her. This would be the undoing of the Starlings, for sure.
The Westovers had won after all.

Marianne stood right in the corner, chin up and face glowing with smugness. Verity watched her sister carefully. She was worried about what was going on in Marianne's dark mind, what plots were unfolding and being considered, what scandals she could come up with next. Marianne was a witch for plotting, she always had been, as ambitious and cunning as the noblemen of the court and always thinking what she could do next. Verity couldn't help but wonder if Marianne had gone too far this time, whether she should have privately shown the letters to their uncle before dishing out their one and only trump card.

Suddenly, everyone in the chamber jolted as there came loud echoing footsteps approaching. The doors burst open and in came an irate King Henry, face livid. Verity curtsied, along with the rest of the ladies, not wanting to step in or say anything that might be used against her. Marianne, on the other hand, was smirking when she dropped to the floor and still smirking as she rose from it. 

"What does the physician say?"the King demanded. 

"He does not know, Your Majesty. Indeed, My Lady could be doing it on purpose for all we know,"replied Marianne without skipping a beat. Henry turned towards the sisters with a stony expression on his face. His eyes were dark with contempt. Verity nudged Marianne with her shoulder, noticing that the King did not find this a joking matter. Catherine Starling raised her eyebrows at the comment,  but said nothing.

"And since when did you become an expert?"said the King resoundingly. When he turned back to Diana on the bed without awaiting an answer, Verity was rather relieved that he had not seen the seductive glance on Marianne's face that followed. 

"What did you do that for?"she hissed, not moving her eyes from Diana. 

"His Majesty should know the possibilities,"replied Marianne darkly without a hint of shame. She slowly turned her head towards her sister and their eyes met. "This will be the end of the Starlings, our greatest rivals, and someone has to step up to the empty throne. It won't be you now, will it?"

This silenced Verity. Now that Diana and her family were on the brink of their downfall, Marianne could charm and bewitch her way to the throne of England and there was next to nothing Verity could do about it.

As the King strode towards the door, the younger Westover sister couldn't help feeling pity. She recognised the emotions on the King's face, they had become familiar since she had lived at court. From the pure distress Henry wore, he had truly cared for Diana Westerly.  But Verity couldn't solve two problems at once and indeed, preventing Marianne from replacing Diana as Queen of England would be within her power. 

Just call it a little sibling rivalry.