In Nora of Lancaster is dead, but her legacy lives on through Marie of Burgundy, the Tudor's ward, and Princess Katherine Tudor, the eldest daughter of Lizbeth of York and Henry Tudor.
THE SPANISH PRINCESS
BOOK THREE IN THE COUSIN'S WAR SERIES
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Months had passed since Kathy had been married off to King Louis and the absence of England's most beloved princess left a vacant place in the heart of every person in England. English court didn't even feel the same anymore. Everyone could agree on that. They didn't even realize until that moment how much Kathy's presence greatly affected everyone at court. Now, with her gone, Wolsey had latched his claws into Henry, Marie was forced to always attend on Catherine as her lady instead of always being whisked away by Kathy, and the King's council no longer had Kathy to side with them. Instead, Wolsey's voice overrode that of everyone else there. He became the only one Henry listened to.
In Catherine's chambers, Marie was assisting Bessie Blount and Anne Hastings with placing new sheets on the Queen's bed. She stopped briefly and let out a deep breath, running her hand over her growing belly. She was pregnant, after all.
She had been revealed to be pregnant soon after France. She knew what it meant but she didn't dare admit it out loud. And she never would.
"The young men of the court are impudent," Anne Hastings, her husband's sister, spoke up in a calm tone, "Their eyes are ever on my bosom. Even during chapel."
"It's starting to sound like you enjoy it, Anne," Marie spoke up, an amused look appearing on her face.
"Of course, I do not blame them," Anne continued and Marie playfully rolled her eyes, "But my husband is aggrieved."
"Anne," Catherine suddenly spoke up as she turned to face Anne while she stood near the window, "The child makes me nauseous. Please fetch some lavender from the garden."
"Oh, uh...yes, of course, Your Grace," Anne replied enthusiastically. She smiled, bowing to Catherine before she left the room.
"Let us pray she catches the eyes of one of her so-called admirers and they waylay her," Catherine commented and Marie smiled in response.
"I think that they are only in her mind," Bessie spoke up and Marie sighed at the thought.
"To slave her pain that her husband will not attend her bed," Lina added in a calm tone.
"Any other woman but not hers," Marie pointed out, a sympathetic look on her face, "It is a sad sight, really."
"She is not blessed with happiness in marriage as we and Marie are, Highness," Lina reminded Catherine as she turned to glance at her queen.
"We must be patient with her, then," Catherine suggested and Marie smiled, nodding her head in agreement, "I will take some air."
With that, Catherine headed for the door, and Marie, Bessie, and Lina wasted no time trailing behind her. She made her way through the halls and every person there was quick to bow to her.
