Katharine of Aragon (118 page)

There was a brief silence. I had done something terrible. Mama would say I had behaved in a most vulgar way. Lehzen would be hurt because I had disgraced her. I had been warned, time after time, that I should be in the presence of the King. I was only to lift my lips and smile, and I was not to do that often. The King would be furious. He would say I had ignored his royalty. Oh dear, what had I done!

I drew away and then I saw his face. There were tears in his eyes. He
seemed suddenly much nicer than the man in the picture. He put his arms round me and held me tightly against him. It was like lying on a feather bed.

He said: “You are a dear little girl and you have given me great pleasure.” Then he kissed me.

And in that moment I loved Uncle King.

Katharine, The Virgin Widow
copyright © 1961 by Jean Plaidy.

The Shadow of the Pomegranate
copyright © 1962 by Jean Plaidy.

The King's Secret Matter
copyright © 1962 by Jean Plaidy.

Copyright © renewed 1990 by Eleanor Hibbert.

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
www.crownpublishing.com

Reader's Guide copyright © 2005 by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. The excerpt is from
Victoria Victorious
, copyright © 1985 by Jean Plaidy.

This compilation originally published in Great Britain by Robert Hale, London, in 1968.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Plaidy, Jean, 1906–1993

Katharine of Aragon: the wives of Henry VIII/Jean Plaidy.

Originally published: London: Hale, 1968.

Combined ed. of three novels previously published separately.

1. Katharine, of Aragon, Queen, consort of Henry VIII, King of England, 1485–1536—Fiction. 2. Great Britain—History— Henry VIII, 1509–1547—Fiction. 3. Queens—Great Britain— Fiction. I. Plaidy, Jean, 1906–1993 Katharine, the virgin widow. II. Plaidy, Jean, 1906–1993 The shadow of the pomegranate. III. Plaidy, Jean, 1906–1993 The king's secret matter. IV. Title.

PR6015.I3K355 2005

823'.914—dc22

2004013517

eISBN: 978-0-307-49633-1

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