1541
The candles were burning low in their gilded holders. Nothing was left of the fire in the hearth but ashes and gently smoking coals. Wisps of smoke circled outwards from the fireplace, lingering by the mantlepiece, caressing the detail carved into the surrounding woodwork. Gentle snores emanated from behind the curtains of the four-poster bed, the vibrations making the folds of fabric quiver ever so gently.
Almost silently, Catherine Howard slipped out of the grand four-poster bed in the king's chambers. She pulled a shawl around her shoulders; It was long enough to cover her sheer nightgown and preserve her modesty.
The king grunted in his sleep. His extraordinarily large frame took up almost the whole of the spacious bed, and Catherine was always confined to a tiny section at the edge of the bed that left her with her legs half hanging off the side of the mattress.
"Good night, my love." He mumbled as his eyelids fluttered. He saw her removing the coverlets that covered her and wrapping herself in the silken shawl he had gifted her.
"Good night, husband." She replied with a smile and a bow of the head. Henry nodded again before turning his head to the other side of his pillow.
Catherine smiled as she left. The night was still relatively young... and she had places to be.
"I was starting to think he would keep you all night."
"He couldn't keep me all night even if he tried." Catherine said with a crooked smile. Her words were treason, and she knew it. The danger thrilled her, her very words could ruin her - and she intended to go much further than just words.
Culpepper sat in a chair in the corner of her waiting rooms. Catherine had left the door unlocked after she had left for the king's chambers, and she had expressly commanded that her ladies retire early instead of waiting for her to come back. They were utterly alone.
"It is the very height of rudeness, not rise when in the presence of your queen." She continued, noting that Culpepper had remained lounging in one of her armchairs, instead of standing out of respect and then falling to his knees in a bow. He raised an eyebrow, and Catherine realised it was this that had drawn her to him. Who else would dare to even think of having a secret liaison with the queen only moments after she had left the king's bed?
Culpepper smirked.
"Pardon me, your highness, but I think you and I are already far past the height of rudeness." He said with a raised eyebrow.
The dim lighting cast strange shadows on his face, and Catherine thought he had the face of quite an Adonis. Smooth cheekbones and dark, round eyes sat at the head of a tall, athletic figure that was presently still clothed in his uniform bearing the coat of arms of the king and a Tudor rose on the left breast.
Slowly, she slipped off the shawl to reveal her bare shoulders. Her nightgown had fallen off her shoulders, and only her hands holding the fabric to her chest kept it up.
Culpepper rose from his seat and took her into his lap.
"Let's not waste time with words," He said, removing his overcoat and casting aside the black jacket with the embroidered rose and emblem of his king.
Catherine nodded eagerly.
"I most definitely agree, master Culpepper." She said, closing the distance between them.
Darkness fell completely as the last candle went out.
The queen was sleeping silently in her own bed, the covers pulled tight around her to keep a night-time chill from setting in.
The king, too, slept easily in his own chambers. His appetite for his wife sated for the night, he found the pain from the ulcer in his leg greatly eased. He breathed deeply and snored peacefully, albeit loudly.
But the king slept alone, an empty space at his back.832Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkP4YzqJ95
The queen was most certainly not alone. There was another in her bed, lying with one arm placed possessively over her waist.
She is mine, Culpepper thought as he lay awake in the darkness. The ring on her finger and the jewels around her neck may have been given to her by the king, and she may be obligated to sleep with the king whenever he wished, and whatever child Catherine bore would have to be recognised as the king's issue... but Catherine Howard was his.832Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYIIFoKXwo
832Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzybGn2vxLB
What did it matter that his children - if there ever would be any - would never, and could never, legally be his?832Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93Z2Fn9QRn
What did it matter that he would be sent to the block without question if this was ever discovered?832Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgBg2BFAmd
What did it matter, in retrospect? What did any of it matter when he had the queen of England lying in his arms, desiring him instead of the king, one of the most powerful men in Europe?
And besides, Culpepper thought as he settled into the pillows beneath his head, we have been nothing but discrete. Not a soul suspects... the coast is clear.
After all, treason is only treason if you get caught.
It was the morning afterwards when Jane Boleyn approached the queen. Catherine was sitting in her favourite chair in her chambers, absently flicking through the pages of a book. Jane had whispered something in her ear, so low that not a soul had been able to hear. Catherine's face had suddenly lost its colour, her lip had begun to tremble.
"I can help you." Jane had muttered then. Catherine's lip had stopped shaking, her eyes had narrowed.
"Help?" She demanded. Jane nodded with a grin.
"It is exciting, is it not? I'll help you, your majesty." She said. Then, even lower, she added, directly into the queen's ear: "I'll bring him to you when you ask. No need for any notes or anything committed to paper. Don't you see, this way nobody will ever have any hard evidence against you." She said.
Catherine considered it, and then broke into one of her famous smiles.
"I think I like you, Lady Rochford." She said slowly. A thought crossed her mind of her Thomas, slinking through corridors at her request, with Jane leading him through the shadows and keeping their secret. Tom was right, Catherine thought, treason really is the most delightfully exciting thing.
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