In The Shadow
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The vindictive Miss Boleyn only had to sadly drop a few words to the king that Richard Guise laughed at her, and he sent the loyal servant from the court without explanation and deprived him of all ranks and the title of baronet. And for two years now the Guise family had been in disgrace, without a name, without much means of livelihood, and with great resentment towards Anne Boleyn. However, Brigid did not consider Anne guilty of their family's downfall: her father should have been modest and kept his tongue behind his teeth… It was because of his inappropriate witticisms that the way to the royal palace was closed to her, which, surprisingly, the girl was glad, because she was so fond of her sweet, strange wilderness, her father's castle and the smell of flower fields surrounding it.
No, Brigid had never wanted to be a lady-in-waiting to Her Majesty Queen Catherine, had never sought the king's attention, and hoped that she would soon become the wife of the young, dark-haired, handsome William, whom she had been in love with ever since she had seen him at one of the festivities organised by Alienor's father, Lord Norton. Fortunately, even though the Guise name had been trampled into the mud, Lord Norton had not turned his back on his old friend Richard, so Brigid spent weeks and even months with her friend Alienor at the Nortons' grand old castle, known for its luxury.
While Lady Guise was reprimanding her daughter, Richard Guise entered the chambers unheard. When he saw Brigid looking like a pig herder, he said nothing, but gave her a cold, contemptuous look and turned to his wife:
– Who has ever seen her so ugly?
– I do not know, my dear husband… I have not yet had time to ask her about it," she answered him in an apologetic tone, and, glancing again at her guilty daughter, asked in a stern voice: – Who saw you? Confess! Servants?
– Yes, mother. The servants are in the kitchen," Brigid answered faintly. Her father's arrival startled her: he was never as verbose as her mother, but it was he who terrified her with his icy stare and his rare but hurtful barbs. Sir Richard had a knack of keeping his household in awe, and even his wife, a woman who knew her own worth, was afraid of his wrath.
– Who else? – the mother inquired. Her voice never lost its sternness.
– Alienor… She was with me in the field when the rain started. – The girl swallowed and, not daring to look at her father and mother, asked timidly: – May I ask you, mother, to order you to bring warm water?
– Warm water? You can bathe in cold water too! – Sir Richard grinned mockingly. – Where did you get so dirty, you little muddy thing?
– I fell in the mud, Father… It was very slippery," Brigid began.
– You fell. Next time you fall, don't forget to smash your stupid, empty head," Sir Richard interrupted her in a calm tone. – This dress cost me a fortune, and you've ruined it. Don't dream of getting a new one! There are such guests at the castle, and she's wandering the fields like some peasant girl!
– I had Alienor with me, sir… And we had not heard that guests were coming. – She bit her lip: she always did that when she was struggling to hold back tears. Crying in front of her parents was forbidden to her: she had heard from them more than once that her tears were of no use to anyone, and that they only made their hearts disgusted with her.
Brigid was a dutiful and diligent daughter, but Sir Richard and his wife Jane always found something unkind in her, always found faults in her. Thank God she was beautiful, so beautiful that in this region she was called "The Flaming Rose", she seemed to have inherited the legendary beauty of Elizabeth Woodville, but even this did not save her from the ridicule and rude remarks of her parents: why do they need such a beautiful daughter, if they can not put her in the bed of the king and through her to achieve the former wealth and return what he took from them?
– Make her clean, and let her put on her best dress," said Sir Richard to his wife, without even dignifying his daughter with a glance. – And hurry up: the King must see her in all her glory! For who knows if he may suddenly decide to travel onwards? That Henry is so unpredictable! – He hurried out of his daughter's chamber, remembering to slam the door loudly.
– The King? – Brigid asked incomprehensibly, looking up at her mother.
– Did the rain pour in your ears? – Lady Jane wrinkled her face. – Yes, the king is here! With his whole household! He is here, and you dare to turn up covered in mud! Or is it cow dung?
– It's only mud, Mother…
– Mary! – Lady Jane shouted loudly before her daughter had finished speaking. – Mary! Where does that lazy girl go?!
– I am here, my lady! – An old maid, with strong, rough, man-like hands and a face covered with deep wrinkles, slipped quietly into the chamber like a mouse.
– Fetch some water and wash that pig. Hurry up! – Lady Jane ordered, with her eyebrows pushed up to the bridge of her nose, and was out the door in a moment.
Chapter 2
– You must greet them in such a manner that they will then recognise your face in the thousands of others. It is said that since the King's infatuation with Anne Boleyn, he, and his wife… How shall I say it softer… He has not been to her bedchamber for two years and spends all his time with his favourite…" Lady Gilda Norton said in a loud whisper as she helped her daughter change her wet dress into a magnificent, newly made, blue silk gown adorned with white pearls.
– Tighten the kirtle, mother… Yes, that's it, my waist should be as thin as a butterfly's waist and my breasts high and full of nectar," Alienor interrupted her mother: while Lady Gilda was dressing her to attract the attention of royalty, the girl was carefully combing her wet hair with a wide wooden comb. Fortunately, the hot fire of the fireplace by which the ladies were standing was able to dry Alienor's white curls almost completely. – But you are right, mother: all England knows about His Majesty's infatuation with Lady Anne Boleyn… What is there to know! All of Europe! The Queen's nephew must be furious, knowing the disdain in which her husband and half the royal court treat her!