Windsor Castle by William Harrison Ainsworth
BOOK VI — JANE SEYMOUR
CHAPTER II
How Anne Boleyn received Proof of Henry's Passion for Jane Seymour.
On the day after the solemnisation of the Grand Feast of the
Order of the Garter, a masqued fete of great splendour and magnificence was
held within the castle. The whole of the state apartments were thrown open to
the distinguished guests, and universal gaiety prevailed. No restraint was
offered to the festivity by the king, for though he was known to be present,
he did not choose to declare himself.
The queen sat apart on a fauteuil in the deep embrasure of a window; and
as various companies of fantastic characters advanced towards her, she more
than once fancied she detected amongst them the king, but the voices
convinced her of her mistake. As the evening was wearing, a mask in a blue
domino drew near her, and whispered in a devoted and familiar tone, "My
queen!"
"Is it you, Norris?" demanded Anne, under her breath.
"It is," he replied. "Oh, madam! I have been gazing at you the whole
evening, but have not dared to approach you till now."
"I am sorry you have addressed me at all, Norris," she rejoined. "Your
regard for me has been noticed by others, and may reach the king's ears. You
must promise never to address me in the language of passion again."
"If I may not utter my love I shall go mad," replied Norris. "After
raising me to the verge of Paradise, do not thrust me to the depths of
Tartarus."
"I have neither raised you nor do I cast you down," rejoined Anne. "That I
am sensible of your devotion, and grateful for it, I admit, but nothing more.
My love and allegiance are due to the king."
"True," replied Norris bitterly; "they are so, but he is wholly insensible
to your merits. At this very moment he is pouring his love-vows in the ear of
Jane Seymour."
"Ah! is he so? "cried Anne. " Let me have proof of his perfidy, and I may
incline a more favourable ear to you."
"I will instantly obtain you the proof, madam," replied Norris, bowing and
departing.
Scarcely had he quitted the queen, and mixed with the throng of dancers,
than he felt a pressure upon his arm, and turning at the touch, beheld a tall
monk, the lower part of whose face was muffled up, leaving only a pair of
fierce black eyes and a large aquiline nose visible.
"I know what you want, Sir Henry Norris," said the tall monk in a low deep
voice; "you wish to give the queen proof of her royal lord's inconstancy. It
is easily done. Come with me."
." Who are you?" demanded Norris doubtfully.
" What matters it who I am?" rejoined the other; "I am one of the
masquers, and chance to know what is passing around me. I do not inquire into
your motives, and therefore you have no right to inquire into mine."
"It is not for my own satisfaction that I desire this proof," said Norris,
"because I would rather shield the king's indiscretions than betray them. But
the queen has conceived suspicions which she is determined to verify"
"Think not to impose upon me," replied the monk with a sneer. "Bring the
queen this way, and she shall be fully satisfied."
"I can run no risk in trusting you," said Norris, "and therefore I accept
your offer."
"Say no more," cried the monk disdainfully, "I will await you here."
And Norris returned to the queen.
"Have you discovered anything? " she cried.
"Come with me, madam," said Norris, bowing and taking her hand.
Proceeding thus they glided through the throng of dancers, who
respectfully cleared a passage for them as they walked along until they
approached the spot where the tall monk was standing. As they drew near him
he moved on, and Norris and the queen followed in silence. Passing from the
great hall in which the crowd of dancers were assembled, they descended a
short flight of steps, at the foot of which the monk paused, and pointed with
his right hand to a chamber, partly screened by the folds of a curtain.
At this intimation the queen and her companion stepped quickly on, and as
she advanced, Anne Boleyn perceived Jane Seymour and the king seated on a
couch within the apartment. Henry was habited like a pilgrim, but he had
thrown down his hat, ornamented with the scallop- shell, his vizard, and his
staff, and had just forced his fair companion to unmask.
At the sight, Anne was tranfixed with jealous rage, and was for the moment
almost unconscious of the presence of Norris, or of the monk, who remained
behind the curtain, pointing to what was taking place.
"Your majesty is determined to expose my blushes," said Jane Seymour,
slightly struggling with her royal lover.
"Nay, I only want to be satisfied that it is really yourself, sweetheart,"
cried Henry passionately. "It was in mercy to me, I suppose, that you
insisted upon shrouding those beauteous features from my view.
"Hear you that, madam?" whispered Norris to Anne.
The queen answered by a convulsive clasp of the hand.
"Your majesty but jests with me," said Jane Seymour. "Jests!" cried Henry
passionately. "By my faith! I never understood the power of beauty till now.
No charms ever moved my heart like yours; nor shall I know a moment's peace
till you become mine."
"I am grieved to hear it, my liege," replied Jane Seymour, "for I never
can be yours, unless as your queen."
Again Norris hazarded a whisper to Anne Boleyn, which was answered by
another nervous grasp of the hand.
"That is as much as to say," pursued Jane, seeing the gloomy reverie into
which her royal lover was thrown, "I can give your majesty no hopes at
all"
"You have been schooled by Anne Boleyn, sweetheart," said Henry.
"How so, my liege? "demanded Jane Seymour.
"Those are the very words she used to me when I wooed her, and which
induced me to divorce Catherine of Arragon," replied Henry.
"Now they may bring about her own removal"
"Just Heaven!" murmured Anne.
I dare not listen to your majesty," said Jane Seymour, in a tremulous
tone; "and yet, if I dared speak -
"Speak on, fearlessly, sweetheart," said Henry.
"Then I am well assured," said Jane,." that the queen no longer loves you;
nay, that she loves another."
"It is false, minion! "cried Anne Boleyn, rushing forward, while Norris
hastily retreated, " it is false! It is you who would deceive the king for
your own purposes. But I have fortunately been brought hither to prevent the
injury you would do me. Oh, Henry! have I deserved this of you?"
"You have chanced to overhear part of a scene in a masquerade,
madam—that is all," said the king.
"I have chanced to arrive most opportunely for myself," said Anne. "As for
this slanderous and deceitful minion, I shall dismiss her from my service. If
your majesty is determined to prove faithless to me, it shall not be with one
of my own dames."
"Catherine of Arragon should have made that speech," retorted Jane Seymour
bitterly. "She had reason to complain that she was supplanted by one much
beneath her. And she never played the king falsely."
"Nor have I!" cried Anne fiercely. "If I had my will, I should strike thee
dead for the insinuation. Henry, my lord—my love—if you have any
regard for me, instantly dismiss Jane Seymour."
"It may not be, madam," replied Henry in a freezing tone; "she has done
nothing to deserve dismissal. If any one is to blame in the matter, it is
myself."
"And will you allow her to make these accusations against me without
punishment?" cried Anne.
"Peace, madam!" cried the king sternly; "and thank my good-nature that I
go no further into the matter. If you are weary of the masque, I pray you
retire to your own apartments. For myself, I shall lead Jane Seymour to the
bransle."
"And if your majesty should need a partner," said Jane, walking up to Anne
and speaking in a low tone, "you will doubtless find Sir Henry Norris
disengaged."
The queen looked as if stricken by a thunderbolt. She heard the triumphant
laugh of her rival; she saw her led forth, all smiles and beauty and triumph,
by the king to the dance, and she covered her face in agony. While she was in
this state, a deep voice breathed in her ears, "The vengeance of Catherine of
Arragon begins to work!"
Looking up, she beheld the tall figure of the monk retreating from the
chamber.
