In the Shadow of the Crown - By Jean Plaidy Page 0,41
sent a healthy man? Oh, I am certain Campeggio has his instructions to delay.”
Reginald understood these matters; he had traveled widely on the Continent and he had an insight into politics and the working of men's minds.
How right he proved to be!
I heard from Reginald that the King was in a fury. He had told him that this man Campeggio was determined to make things more difficult. “ ‘He has come here not so much to try the case as to talk to me. As if I needed talking to!' he cried. He cited his sister of Scotland, who divorced her second husband, the Earl of Angus. Louis XII of France had been divorced from Jeanne de Valois with little fuss. Why all this preamble because the King of England was so concerned for his country, to which he must give a son, and was merely asking for a chance to do so? So he went on. He gripped my arm so fiercely. I was glad he did not expect me to speak.”
“Oh, you must be careful.”
“My dear Princess, you can rest assured I shall be. What alarmed me— forgive me for disturbing you, but I think you should see the case clearly— is that the King flew into a rage when the Cardinal suggested that the Pope would be only too ready to amend the dispensation and make it clear that the King's marriage to the Queen was valid.”
“I know he does not want that. He is blinded by his passion for this woman.”
“That… and his desire for a son.”
“How can he be sure that she can give him one?”
“He has to risk that, and he is determined to have the opportunity to try.”
I was glad we were prepared, for shortly after that Campeggio and Wolsey called on my mother.
I was with her when they arrived and made to leave but she said, “No, stay, daughter. This concerns you as it does me.”
I was glad to stay.
They were formidable, those two, in their scarlet robes, bringing with them an aura of sanctity and power. They wanted to impress upon us the fact that they came from the highest authority, His Holiness the Pope.
They hesitated about allowing me to stay, but my mother was adamant and they apparently thought my presence would do no harm.
Wolsey began by citing cases when royal marriages had for state reasons been annulled. The one my father had referred to with Reginald was mentioned—that of Louis XII and Jeanne de Valois.
“The lady retired to a convent,” said Wolsey, “and there enjoyed a life of sanctity to the end of her days.”
“I shall not do that,” replied my mother. “I am the Queen. My daughter is the heir to the throne. If I agree to this, it will be said that I am expiating the sin of having lived with the King when not his wife. This is a blatant lie, and I will not give credence to it. Moreover the Princess Mary is the King's legitimate daughter, and unless we have a son she will remain heir to the throne.”
Wolsey begged her to take his advice.
She turned on him at once. “You are the King's advocate, Cardinal,” she said. “I could not take advice from you.”
Campeggio leaned forward in his chair and stroked his thigh, his face momentarily contorted with pain. “Your Grace,” he said, “the King is determined to bring the truth to light.”
“There is nothing I want more,” retorted my mother.
“If this matter were brought before a court, it could be most distressing for you.”
“I know the truth,” she answered. “It would be well for all to know it.”
“Your Grace was married to Prince Arthur. You lived with him for some time. If the marriage were consummated…”
“The marriage was not consummated.”
“This must be put to the test.”
“How?”
“Those who served you when you and your first husband were together might have evidence.”
My mother gave him a look of contempt. She had for some time regarded him as one of her greatest enemies.
“Would your Grace confess to me?” asked Campeggio.
She looked at him steadily. She must have seen, as I did, a poor sick old man who had no liking for his task. He might not be her friend but he was not her enemy. Moreover, he was the Pope's messenger and she trusted him.
“Yes,” she said, “I would.”
I was dismissed then, and she and Campeggio went into her private closet. She told me afterward that he had questioned her about her first marriage. “I