In The Shadow

– Come, my dear… Our daughter has made the wrong decision, but we cannot force her to accept ours," Sir Norton sighed and gave his hand to his wife.

– Of course you can't, Father. I am not your servant to make my decisions for me," Alienor said coolly. – Good night, father, good night, mother.

That night Brigid stayed the night in her friend's chambers, and hugging each other tightly, the girls talked quietly by the light of a lonely candle.

– Do you really want to be Her Majesty's lady in waiting? – Brigid asked.

– Why not? – Alienor smiled. – To shine in the royal palace! Every girl's dream! And then my father will find me a husband with a title and a rich estate. But he must be as handsome as Miss Boleyn's brother, or I'll never share his bed!

– Yes, he is handsome… But his wife seems terribly jealous of him," said Brigid, remembering how Jane Parker had watched her husband all evening with a jealous gaze as if he were her property.

Alienor smiled dreamily.

– Someday I will be the wife of a great man… Not only rich and noble, but famous throughout Europe! So that even those wretched Frenchmen and Spaniards would say, "Oh, what a lucky woman this Miss Norton is! She's managed to win the heart of such a man!"

– I think your father will find one for you, and he'll see you and he won't be able to resist. He'll take you to the wedding! – giggled Brigid. – Will you… Will you speak to William? Will you tell him that I will be the most faithful, most obedient wife in the world? That I will bear him many children and make him happy? – she added quietly.

– I will do it tomorrow, before he goes to seek solace among the Queen's ladies in waiting," Alienor promised. – But let's go to bed. We have to get up very early in the morning: what if the king comes down for breakfast? We must shine like the brightest stars in the night sky.

The girl blew out the candle, and the friends quickly muttered prayers and fell asleep almost immediately.

Even before dawn, when the masters of the castle and their guests were peacefully asleep, the servants were up and about, dusting the floors, scrubbing the stairs, preparing all sorts of dishes for the breakfast of the noble lords, and doing it as quietly as mice.

Sir Norton was one of the first to wake up, and, like a host, quickly washed his face, combed his hair, ordered himself dressed in a blue velvet suit, and went downstairs to see to the preparations for the arrival of his guests. Sir Norton was a demanding host, but this time he was simply unbearable, and a few dropped grains he discovered on the thick carpet of the dining hall made him so angry that Sir Norton promised that as soon as the king and his retinue left the castle, he would give "careless and lazy" servants two strokes of the rod each. The frightened servants, cooks and cooks redoubled their efforts, and by the time His Majesties the King and Queen of England, dressed in their marvellous attire, entered the hall, the castle glistened with cleanliness, and all the great rooms and halls were filled with the sweet fragrance of wild flowers freshly picked in the meadows.

Henry the Eighth, accompanied by Anne Boleyn, entered the hall first. Queen Catherine walked behind them on the arm of George Boleyn. Anne smiled charmingly and winningly, while Catherine smiled a calm forced smile. This contrast was so marked that the Queen's ardent supporters frowned and shook their heads. The Boleyn family, treading just behind the king and Queen, walked with such proud faces as if Anne had already taken the rival throne, which angered their enemies and detractors. But etiquette is etiquette, especially in the presence of the wayward king, no one dared to open their mouths or mockingly smile. Everyone remembered the fate of the Guises, who had fallen out of favour because of the bluntness of the father of the family.

As Their Majesties passed by, Brigid and Alienor slowly rose from their floor-deep curtsies and fixed curious glances on the rulers of England. But while Alienor glided an appraising glance at Henry, her friend looked sympathetically at Catherine's tired, pale face, under whose beautiful eyes black circles were clearly visible, a sure sign that she had not slept a wink during the night. But the woman was smiling and friendly, and it made Brigid love her even more than she already did. As did many in this castle, including the servants. Everyone could see the disdain with which the king treated his lawful consort, the Queen, and the trepidation with which he held the palm of his favourite's hand in his palm. Anne was younger than Catherine, younger than Henry, and her youth, radiance, and talent for winning hearts made the king fulfil her every wish. Thanks to the Boleyn maidens, first Mary and then her younger sister Anne, their family rose to incredible heights and acquired so many new positions, estates and titles that they were the envy of all the other noble families, especially the Seymours, who were also trying to get one of their lovely daughters, Queen Catherine's ladies-in-waiting, under the lustful Henry.

Their Majesties approached the high table above the others, and the King had to reluctantly let go of Anne's palm to take a seat at the table, next to his wife, and Anne to sit at the table for the courtiers, although, God knows, in her mind she and all the Boleyns had already seen her banish Catherine to the convent, and the golden, ornate crown of the Queen of England descend on her, Anne's, dark-haired head. After all, when this happens, the Boleyns will not only gain even more power and influence, but will also become relatives of the future king, when Anne will give Henry the long-awaited desired heir, fulfilling the duty of a Queen that the Spanish princess Catherine was unable or unwilling to fulfil.

Alienor could feel the tension in the dining hall and the falseness of the entourage's smiles with all her being. She knew that, by fate, she was in the centre of royal court intrigues and the struggle for the right to possess a tall, broad-shouldered, red-haired man, to whom England belonged, to share power with him. Brigid knew one thing: Catherine of Aragon's calm smile hid her pain and disappointment, and she watched in silence as her own beloved husband preferred the pretty face of the young favourite to hers. Unwillingly meeting her gaze with the Queen, Brigid flashed and smiled, and when Catherine smiled back at her, the girl thought with delight: "You and only you are our true Queen! May God bless you! I will pray to Him to return to you happiness and peace!".

Alienor smiled, thinking of how naive and innocent Brigid was, when she noticed how enthusiastically her friend was admiring the Queen. Miss Norton herself was betting on Anne Boleyn and looked with interest at her thin face: olive-coloured skin, dark, almost black eyes that could drown in them, dark hair barely visible from under a richly embroidered gold threaded French burgundy hood. Nothing special, the most ordinary appearance, she is not even in a match for Brigid … But there was something attractive in Miss Boleyn, something magical and inexplicable that fascinated the perceptive Alienor. After comparing the old Queen and the young favourite, the girl decided without much thought which of them should be supported, and which of them would stay with Henry in the end. No, not the daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand! Not that proud, stately Spanish princess!

"As soon as he is rid of his old wife, I will ask my father to send me to court, and let him make every effort to make me Anne's lady in waiting. There's no doubt about it: she'll sit on the throne. Sooner or later, Catherine will have to step aside. It's a pleasure to serve a Queen like the lovely Anne. It is a pity that Brigid's heart will be broken, but life is cruel, and he who is not afraid of high stakes wins," thought Alienor, and, deciding to play a little joke on her friend, whispered to her:

– Miss Boleyn will be a beautiful Queen. All of Europe will envy our king!

– That's not going to happen! Catherine, that's who was, is and will be Queen of England! – barely audible, with indignation in her breast, replied Brigid. – 'Alienor, I thought it would not be right if you talk to William about me and tell him of my love. I do not wish him to marry me out of compassion.

– As your heart desires. I promise I won't say a word to him," Alienor agreed. – But if he doesn't marry you, he'll be the biggest fool in the world! But I think I should explain myself to him: this morning, before breakfast, my father told his father that there would be no wedding.