And amuse herself she did.
Louise and Marguerite came to see her. They could not hide their anxiety. After all, this was the most important time of their lives. Ever since Caesar had been born his mother had had her eyes on the crown, and even though in the early days it had seemed a remote possibility, I believe she thought that even God must realize that He must work a few miracles for the sake of this incomparable boy. They went away in a fever of apprehension.
And when Mary summoned me, she was so amused that she found the mourning chamber tolerable.
She shared the secret with me. She was afraid to impart it to anyone else. I was flattered to be the one she trusted; but I think it was because of my youth. Moreover she would take me by the shoulders and tell me that if I betrayed her she would have me sent to spend the rest of my days in a dungeon in the Tower.
I would never have betrayed her.
She had taken to wearing extra petticoats. “How does that look?” she would ask. “It must not be too much. I could be three months with child. But perhaps we had better make it two. That would be more likely. How does one look at two months? Not much to show, I fear. Let us make it three. After all, it is a possibility, and my husband was in better health when I arrived than he was later. Oh, we are going to deceive them.”
When the Duchesse d'Alençon called to see her, she sent a message saying she was a little ill. She added: “It is to be expected.” Leaving her in that uncertainty as to whether she referred to her husband's death or her pregnancy.
She used to tell me what they said to her.
“We are anxious about your health,” said the Duchess of Savoy. “Marguerite would like to come here to be with you. Oh, I know you must be alone, but Marguerite could come and stay at Clugny… just in case you felt the need to see her.”
“Dear Duchess,” she replied. “You are too kind. I am as well…as I can expect to be. A little sickness now and then and I confess to feeling the need to rest more than I did.”
Mary went on: “She was in a panic. I thought at any moment she was going to shake me. Oh dear, the Trinity is suffering, I can tell you. And what is so amusing is that, if I am with child, whose it is—the King's or François's? It is clear that he wanted to be my lover and his devoted mother and sister do not believe that anyone could resist him. Oh, it is an amusing situation. I wish you were older… then you could understand how amusing.”
I wanted to say that I did understand. I knew how children were born; I had learned a great deal at the French Court. There was always gossip; I had picked up the language and could understand most that was said; and I really was knowledgeable beyond my years.
The game amused her; and the visits of Louise and Marguerite were frequent. She was always very merry when they had gone and would at times talk to me and at others remain silent. But being Mary she played the game to excess. Her bulk increased too rapidly. She made me pad her with quilting. I was the only one in on the secret.
The result was that one day the Duchess called and while Mary was talking to her, the quilting slipped. Completely sure of herself now as the mother of the King, Louise actually laid hands on the Queen and shook her until the padding dropped out.
The game was over.
It was one of those occasions when she could not keep to herself what had happened. Almost hysterical with laughter she described the scene to me.
“The Duchess was infuriated. Oh, little Boleyn, you are wicked. You did not fix me well enough. The padding fell below my knees. She pounced on it. She even shook me. She said in a thunderous voice: ‘You have deceived us.’ It would have been horrifying—if it had not been so amusing. Then Marguerite laughed. But Madame Louise does not forgive so easily. I had to think quickly. How to extricate myself from such a delicate situation? It was not going to be easy. She was right. I had deceived them—and in that moment they realized what very important people they had become. I said: ‘Madame, I know now and so do you that I am not to bear the King's child. Vive François Premier! ’ There! You see how important it is to choose the right words. Remember it when you are in a difficult situation. There I was—exposed. I had tricked them for weeks and now we were facing the truth. But those were the magic words she had been waiting to hear for twenty years; and she could not be anything but pleased to hear them spoken with such conviction. And I, with all my wickedness exposed, was forgiven because I said ‘Vive François Premier.’ ”
The French Court
SO HE WAS KING AT LAST.
He came to see Mary at Clugny. There was a subtle difference in him; his anxious days were over, he was safe on the throne.
I wondered what he would have to say to Mary, whether he would reproach her for the trick she had played on him, withholding the good news from him for several weeks and moreover putting him into a fever of despair.
He was with her for some time and when he left she sent for me. She was very pensive and, I think, alarmed, so I thought he must have expressed his displeasure.
But later I learned this was not so. François's sense of gallantry would never allow him to upbraid a beautiful woman.
Mary could not keep her anxieties to herself and I was the only one to whom she could safely unburden herself.
She said to me: “It shall not be. I have endured all this, have I not? And was it not on the understanding that, having married once for state reasons, the next time it would be for my own? That silly little Prince of Castile. That his name should be Charles is an outrage. I'll not have it. I will not.”
I stood by silently. She put the brush in my hands and signed for me to brush her hair. It soothed her in some way. She turned and looked at me. “My brother is negotiating a marriage for me with the Prince of Castile.”
“Your Grace will not submit…”
“Not I!”
“And the King of France?”
She laughed. “He was amused by the trick I played…so was his sister. Madame of Savoy less so. I think she would like to punish me very severely… and she would, if she could.”
“Oh no, Your Grace.”
“Yes, she would, but she cannot, can she? She would be afraid of offending my brother if they harmed me in any way. She will content herself by seeing me off… right away… out of France forever. But the King of France has other plans for me. Do you think I am very beautiful, little one?”
“Oh yes, Madame.”
“So does he. Oh, what elegant phrases! I wish I could understand them better. I shall be glad to speak English again. That is what is so pleasant with you. We can talk together… sensibly. It seems that between them the King of England and the King of France have decided my future. Just as though I were a piece of baggage. Shall we send her to the Prince of Castile or shall we keep her here for the King of France? I'll not have it. I told François so. He is greatly enamored of me. The trick I played has not changed the feelings he had for me from the moment he saw me. Rather has it enhanced them. He likes women of spirit. We laughed together over the padding. I told him that you were the only one in on the secret. He said, ‘Oh, the little one with the big dark eyes.’ What do you think of that?”