Hatfield House, Kingdom of England, October 1528
They were there in Hatfield’s great hall, enjoying a splendid dinner. Hatfield was a lovely residence, more modern than Herford, with checkered black and tan marble flooring in the hall. Light from the setting sun filtered through the windows, shining over the bowls of venison stew that sat in front of the household. The venison was freshly hunted by the Duke himself. Charles was not quite so avid of a hunter as his half-brother the King, but being in the mood to do so, he had brought down a stag in the late morning.
Giovanna turned to “This is delicious, my compliments to your cook.”
“Of course.” Charles nodded,”He is a most talented man.”
The Duchess of Somerset grinned,”Indeed he is, but Charles did a great job of bringing down the stag. An arrow to the throat and it was dead in less than a minute.”
“Aye, the best I could do for him was give him a quick death. That is the way of things, there are predators, and there are prey.”
“True, we must be grateful for the small mercies that we can bring during the hunt.” Anne replied.
Though the mood was largely merry, including Giovanna herself, there were some exceptions.
Isabel Leigh for instance, sat quietly in her black dress of mourning, every now and then bringing a spoonful of stew to her lips. It was understandable that she had nothing to say, her mother had just died in August, and the woman was heartbroken by the loss.
As if by coincidence, the topic of custody of Joyce Culpepper’s children came up, which caused Isabel’s eyes to flick over in the Duchess’s direction in interest.
Anne Boleyn cleared her throat,”I think that my young cousins need stability, to grow up in a household that can give them the education they deserve. As a royal Duchess, I believe that I can do so.”
“You make a good case for it, not to mention that their wardships may prove quite profitable in the long run. I will write to the Dowager Duchess, the Howards have long been close with my mother, and I have no doubt that she won’t deny us this.”
“Thank you, Charles, truly. I will make sure that they are brought up as good, virtuous Christians.”
“You will do them quite a service, I’m sure.”
There was a bit of an interlude in the discussion, as the servants took away what was left of the main course, and brought out the final one. It was warm, buttered bread and Giovanna’s mouth watered at the smell.
Trying to be patient while the bread was being served, Giovanna brought up the contents of her latest letter with the Queen of France,“Joanna is with child again, sooner than I expected her to be too.
“Excellent, I am so happy for my sister. May it be a son that can satisfy the French King,"
“Is it true that King Francis has engaged the Duc d’Angoulême to the Pope’s great niece?” Anne asked.
Charles brought a piece of bread to his mouth,“Yes, it is my dear, interesting is it not?”
“It’s like the days of the Borgia Pope, can you imagine the thievery Pope Clement would commit if he also had children?”
The Duke agreed,“That Medici Pope puts his family’s interests above all else, is it any wonder that many cry out for reform?”
Anne Boleyn gracefully set her goblet down,”You know, there are some who suspect that those priests won’t translate the bible so that the people won’t question their worldliness. I’m inclined to think those people are correct.”
Giovanna observed one of the footmen raise his brow slightly at the comment, but thought nothing of it, perhaps the man was not used to overhearing theological discussions. Little would she know, this oversight would soon bring them all a whole host of trouble.