Between Two Kings (14 page)

Jacques de la Brosse and Cardinal François de Tournon were afraid to ask King François what he would do with his female savior. Once, during dinner with the king, they readied themselves to ask what the King of France would do next. The table before them was covered with a virtual orgy of food, including roasted meat on silver platters, tureens spilling with stew, capons and roasted partridge, fish with sliced eggs, cooked vegetables, as well as platters with hare, veal, and venison. Cakes made of pine nuts and sweet cup custards were also served at the table. A decanter of French Bordeaux wine and three goblets stood at the table.

Cardinal François de Tournon was eating fish with sliced eggs. “What will we do about the emperor’s attempt on your life, Your Majesty?” he asked, sipping his wine.

Although the hired assassin hadn’t admitted he had been sent by the emperor, nobody believed him. The emperor had many reasons to take François’ life. Charles hated François with all his heart, especially after the annulment of François’ marriage to Eleanor, the emperor’s elder sister.

François tipped his head back and laughed. He took a long swallow of wine and slammed the goblet back onto the table. “The assassin will be executed. However, we can do nothing because we cannot prove that Charles was involved.”

Looking at all the platters with food, Jacques de la Brosse felt his flourishing appetite awake. He took two slices of roasted meat and one slice of veal on his platter. “The nasty rumors will harm the reputation of the mighty Holy Roman Emperor,” he asserted.

“Yes, they will.” François smiled with a devilishly handsome smile, pleased at the thought that the emperor’s reputation would be damaged.

“Now we must be very careful,” Tournon said confidently. “I will double the number of your guards, Your Majesty.”

François shifted in his seat and took another sip from the half full jeweled goblet. “Thank you, Your Eminence.” He looked at Brosse and Tournon with a scrupulous gaze. “I want you to make sure that nobody learns the identity of the woman who saved me in the church. Nobody should know her real name. The name of Anne de Ponthieu and the name of another, deceased, woman must never be publicly mentioned,” King François ordered. “I demand from you strict confidentiality and the preservation of all secrecy.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Jacques de la Brosse and Cardinal de Tournon answered in unison.

François stared at them, his gaze authoritative. “Make sure that none of our courtiers and diplomats, who are with us in Venice, learn the true identity of the woman. They mustn’t know her name either.”

Cardinal de Tournon was interested what would happen next. His gaze locked with the king’s. “Your Majesty, if I may ask, are you considering to contact the English ambassador in Venice?”

François shot Tournon an angry glare. “Your Eminence, never even think about it. King Henry is my enemy. I would never do something to please him.”

Jacques de la Brosse smiled. “Your Majesty, everything will be as you wish.” Then he took a goblet from the table and took a large gulp.

Cardinal de Tournon gave a nod. “I am sorry, Your Majesty, if I displeased you. I will always support you in any decisions.” His gaze fixed on the delicious venison, and he took a slice from the platter.

The king raised an emphatic finger towards Heaven. “God knows what he does. And I am following him.” It was a hint that it was God’s will to save Anne from death and God’s will that she had saved François in the cathedral.

As the meal was complete, the three men sat back in their chairs. Cardinal de Tournon snapped his fingers, and three musicians entered the room. Many of the candles were almost extinguished, and the room was filled with the heavy aroma of smoke.

“Your Eminence, I guess you arranged some entertainment,” François said with a smile.

“I hoped to please Your Majesty by arranging a small performance for you,” Tournon replied.

François leaned forward and slapped the cardinal across the back in a friendly manner. “Splendid!”

The musician began to play, changing the rhythm from melodic strains to more exotic themes. François, Tournon, and Brosse spent the rest of the evening talking about art and music and drinking wine. No other serious topics were touched.

CHAPTER 7

June 1537, Venice, the Republic of Venice

King François lost himself in musings since the accident in the church. He was stunned that Anne Boleyn was alive. He knew that it was her because he didn’t believe in such a rare coincidence and because Anne Boleyn didn’t have a twin sister. The woman who saved him couldn’t be Anne de Ponthieu – she could be only Anne Boleyn. He didn’t need confirmation of her identity. And he had a strange, natural feeling of happiness that Anne was alive.

However, if she was Anne Boleyn, how had she avoided her death in the fire? Did she escape from the Tower of London? And, in that case who was burnt at the stake instead of her? How was her death faked? But, most importantly, who had helped her? François knew that Count Jean de Montreuil was an old friend of Thomas Boleyn, the Earl of Wiltshire. Most likely, Thomas Boleyn arranged the salvation of Anne’s life, and somebody else possibly helped them. Who else was involved in the plot?

But these questions weren’t the most important for the King of France. François wondered what he should do now he had learnt the truth. He would never consider sending Anne Boleyn back to England. There was no question for him that he would force the innocent woman into the claws of the English tyrant, who would surely execute her. Most importantly, François did not want Anne to be executed, considering her death to be an excessive punishment for the sins she had committed in her life, even though she had indirectly ruined Queen Catherine’s marriage and Mary Tudor’s happy life. He blamed King Henry for Catherine’s removal and Mary’s persecutions much more than he had ever blamed Anne.

François decided he would not interfere in the situation and so Anne Boleyn would remain Anne de Ponthieu, living in the Republic of Venice, where nobody knew the “deceased” Queen Anne of England. Alternatively, he could take her with him to France, he mused. But how could she be introduced if she suddenly appeared at the court at the King of France’s side? Many French courtiers remembered the grown-up Anne Boleyn’s in Calais, and they would surely note the new Anne’s striking resemblance to “herself”. No, this variant was flawed. Instead, François had other thoughts – they could help each other and become political allies.

François hated King Henry and didn’t wish to establish a public alliance with England, especially when his spies discovered King Henry had financially supported the military campaign of the emperor in the Italian war of 1521–1526, giving him gold to hire German, Swiss, and Italian mercenaries in the war against France. François despised Henry for helping the emperor, thinking that it was the perfectly hypocritical act, especially given that Thomas Wolsey, Lord Chancellor, Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury, had always positioned himself as a most loyal friend of France and had been known to favor an Anglo-French alliance over an Anglo-Imperial alliance.

An important personal circumstance also fueled François’ hatred for Emperor Charles and King Henry. François had always blamed these two monarchs for the death of his eldest son – Dauphin François. The young man had never fully recovered his health after the three years spent in the damp, dank cells of a prison in Madrid. As a result, Dauphin François died at the age of eighteen years in 1536 from consumption. The emperor’s poor treatment of François’ sons in captivity and Henry’s help to the emperor contributed, directly and indirectly, to the death of François’ son, and he couldn’t forget that.

François suspected that Anne’s feelings for King Henry were tossing somewhere between deep love and burning hatred. He was convinced that Anne must have despised King Henry who had imprisoned her under false charges, murdered her brother, bastardized their daughter Elizabeth, rejected their infant son, and eventually gave the order to burn her at the stake. François thought that Anne had been truly hurt by Henry’s ultimate betrayal. He was convinced that Anne considered Henry Tudor her enemy, even if she still loved him in her heart. She loathed Henry and craved for revenge, and it couldn’t be otherwise, the King of France mused. At the same time, Henry also was François’ enemy, and he wanted to have his revenge on the English King. As Anne and François had a common enemy, they could become allies to have their revenge.

Another thought also struck his mind. If Lady Anne’s name were cleared, she could have an influence on the political life in England, given that she had two healthy children with King Henry. François knew that Anne’s children with Henry – Arthur and Elizabeth – could one day take the throne of England in the best case scenario. And even if it didn’t happen, the children might somehow connect England and France, possibly establishing a new era in the relations of the two countries. Having a loyal England would be very beneficial for France. Thus, an alliance with Anne was important to François. He could not miss that opportunity.

François remembered that Anne had played an important role in the English Reformation. At the same time, she wasn’t a radical Protestant. François had implemented a policy of religious tolerance in France because of his sister Marguerite’s interests in new religious movements and because of his desire to weaken the Holy Roman Empire that fiercely opposed the Protestant Reformation in many German states. He also knew that Anne would be clever enough not to talk about it and not to push the Reformation in France, which was completely impossible and unacceptable for the kingdom. François had a shrewd and calculating interest in Anne’s association with the Reformation because Anne’s connection with France and with him would have given him a brilliant opportunity to establish real working alliances with the German Protestant states. Thus, an alliance with Anne was immensely important for François. He couldn’t miss that opportunity.

If they were allied, how would that alliance be shaped and preserved? They could have a silent agreement that François would help Anne to prove her innocence. In that case, Thomas Cromwell would fall out of grace and would likely be executed. The foreign policy of England would be more favorable for France without Cromwell. But if they had only an agreement, how would he materialize the benefits stemming from an influence on England through Anne’s children? It could be achieved only through a marriage.

Was François indeed thinking of a marriage to Anne Boleyn? What a crazy idea it was! He was the King of France and she was the former English Queen who was technically dead and who was considered a high traitor in England. No, it was impossible, he said to himself. But then, he suddenly returned to the same idea. What if the marriage was kept secret for some time, until they cleared her name?

Truth be told, it was quite possible at that stage when several assassination attempts on the King of France’s life had already taken place. They could keep their marriage a secret under the grounds of preserving their lives. As soon as her name was cleared, they could disclose Anne’s identity. François laughed when he imagined Henry Tudor’s face as he learned that Anne Boleyn was alive and that she was the Queen of France. That would be the greatest and the most cold-blooded revenge on Henry.

Anne had rescued François’ life and was viewed as 
le Sauveur du Roi-Chevalier
 or 
the Savior of the Knight-King
. The assassination attempt, which was committed in the name of the Holy Roman Emperor, had enraged French courtiers. It would undoubtedly enrage the common people of France once the terrible news traveled to France from Venice. The marriage to the king’s savior was an important political step that would mobilize his people against the cunning emperor.

François didn’t know how many more wars against the Holy Roman Emperor he would have to lead. He didn’t exclude the fact that a decisive battle or some battles may have to take place in French territory, somewhere in Provence. Even if the battle was not in France, he needed to mobilize the nation and his army against the aggressor. Although not the greatest military man, François knew that fighting for the king might not be reason enough to win, because people needed inspiration and passion. In the meantime, fighting for the King of France and the Queen of France, his wife and his savior, who had risked her life and who was about to sacrifice her own life, showed an example of both courage and devotion to the common people and to French soldiers. It was a source of both passion and inspiration, which were necessary to gather stronger and larger forces against the emperor.

It was true Anne and François could both benefit from their marriage. However, marriage to Anne was also quite hazardous – François had much to lose. But wasn’t the King of France a gambler and a risk taker? As he continued the incessant Italian wars that his predecessors had started, he had experienced both victories and defeats. He had defeated the Swiss at Marignano in 1515 and had conquered Milan, but later lost it and had been captured by the emperor. Recently he’d invaded Italy again and captured Turin and the Duchy of Savoy. He gambled both on the battlefield and in the diplomatic arena, and he was not always successful. But now he had a real chance to defeat the emperor because France had gained more military and more political power. In the majority of cases, the mature French king made only well thought out, rational decisions, but at times he was still prone to making irrational and hurried decisions. Was François irrational in his thoughts of marrying Anne Boleyn? Since his captivity by the emperor, François had become more patient and more calculating, more cautious and more down-to-earth. He was much more practical, but he still was a risk taker, and the benefits associated with the marriage to Anne were too tempting. Moreover, wasn’t it a good omen that they had met in Venice and that she saved his life? François and Anne were 
the Knight-King
and his savior, and they would indubitably find a common ground in their marriage.

François had always liked Anne Boleyn, and they had always got on well with each other. François met Anne many years ago when she served as a lady-in-waiting in the household of Queen Mary Tudor of France and when she later was a maid of honor to his first wife, Queen Claude of France. He had remembered Anne since that time, although she was a very young girl then. Despite her youth, there was something in her that made men look at her and remember her, and François was no exception in that trend.

François remembered each and every detail of their meeting in Calais five years ago, in October 1532. As it was planned, Henry and Anne sailed for Calais where they were greeted by the thunder of a royal salute and by the great attentions of the mayor and lord deputy of the city. François still remembered that Anne lived like a queen, escorted by Henry everywhere and surrounded by magnificent splendor and perfect luxury.

François also remembered Anne’s triumphal entry in the middle of the great banquet Henry had given in the French king’s honor. Anne appeared dressed like a Greek goddess, followed by a masque of six ladies. All of the women were dressed in gold-laced overdresses of white taffeta ornamented with a wavy pattern in silver cloth. François remembered thinking how perfect their clothing looked amid the banqueting hall that was magnificently decorated with cloth hangings of gold and silver, as well as with gold wreaths encrusted with precious stones and pearls. When the women had entered they each chose a Frenchman to dance with.

François was invited by one of these women to dance and Henry delightedly approved. At first, François didn’t know that Anne was among the dancers and that she claimed him. He admired his female partner’s dancing skills and the passion that simmered in each of her movements. After a long dance, Henry removed Anne’s mask, and François’ heart hammered harder and harder at the realization that the woman he had greatly admired was Anne Boleyn.

After a series of dances, François and Anne had a private conversation where he verbally supported her marriage and warned her about the difficulties associated with the royal position she would have to face. In the end, the King of France was utterly charmed by Anne who was so captivating and so passionate that he couldn’t help but enjoy her melodic laugh, her splendid grace, and her beautiful dark blue were like dark hooks for the soul. At that moment, François even felt some jealousy of King Henry. François felt sad when Henry and Anne finally accompanied him to the border, crossing into France.

Anne Boleyn wasn’t the most beautiful woman in the world, and her beauty was unconventional and very enigmatic; she was not a classical Roman or Greek beauty. Anne had attracted François because she was the epitome of grace, charm, elegance, wit, and, of course, intelligence. Anne was impeccably educated and well learned in the arts. She also had a practical cunning mind in politics.

François thought that Anne could prove herself useful as the Queen of France. His mother Louise de Savoie and his wife Claude of France were strong and intelligent women, with brilliant qualities for the position of queen. His sister Marguerite, the Queen of Navarre, was another example of a highly talented woman who was able to rule and make important political decisions. Among all the women whom he had ever met, Anne was the fourth woman who was capable of being the great Queen of France.

The more François thought, the more realistic the opportunity to marry Anne seemed to him. He even had a more or less a well-thought out plan to clear Anne’s name. It was a plan that included the downfall of Thomas Cromwell. They could become great allies. The marriage between
the Knight-King
and his savior seemed to be a matter of politics and a matter of common personal interest. Soon King François was sure that he should marry Anne Boleyn or Anne de Ponthieu. Once Anne’s name was cleared, Anne would become the great Queen of France and he would greatly benefit from this marriage.

Time was passing, but François still didn’t pay a visit to Anne. He didn’t speak to Count Jean de Montreuil either. Even if he was sure that the woman-savior had been Anne Boleyn, François still needed a confirmation. Once day he came to Jean’s house determined to know the truth.

Jean de Ponthieu, Count de Montreuil, anticipated that conversation with dread. He knew that he wouldn’t lie to his king and perhaps it would be better if King François knew the truth. Although he was horrified at that prospect, Jean hoped François and Anne would become allies against King Henry. Jean knew that François had more than enough reasons to seek revenge against King Henry.