Eltham Palace, Kingdom of England, October 1520
Eleanor of Austria was grateful to be back in England. As happy as she was to have reunited with her aunt Margaret, her siblings, and to have met her niece Elisabeth, she needed calm, and some rest. In particular, she wanted to spend some more time with her daughter. Little Mary was her only living daughter, though Eleanor had a hunch that the girl would soon have a little sibling. She had yet to tell Henry, as she did not want to possibly be wrong and disappoint the man. Gazing lovingly at her four-year-old daughter, the woman thought to herself
Perhaps not quite yet, for now, I want to enjoy what I already have.
Kneeling on the floor in her pink dress, the Princess Mary showed her mother her doll, animatedly explaining it’s features,”And she has brown hair, just like you mama!”
Eleanor chuckled cheerfully,”You are right she does my darling Mary. What is her name?”
Mary’s dark eyes lit up,”Her name is Edith, and she’s a Princess.”
“That’s very nice my dear. Did you know that your ancestors had that name?”
Her daughter shook her head and Eleanor continued,”Your great-grandmother, Maragaret’s grandmother was named Edith Stourton.”
“Oh, that’s nice…” Mary quietly replied
“I did not know it myself until I had asked your father.”
The girl continued to play with her doll, and Johanne whispered,”The Dowager Queen has arrived with her children your Majesty, they are waiting in the drawing room.”
“Very well.” Eleanor replied
Turning her head towards her daughter, the Queen of England asked,”How would you like to come and see your aunt Joanna and the Dowager Queen?”
“Auntie Joanna?” The Princess exclaimed,”I would love to go see her!”
Mary’s Governess, Margaret Bryan guided her charge with a light hand on the shoulders,”They will be in the drawing room your Highness.”
…
Having walked the quick journey to the drawing-room of the palace, Eleanor had nearly stopped in her tracks when she saw who was with Giovanna of Naples. It was not that the aging woman had brought her children, that much she had expected, but there was another child with her, one that Eleanor had vaguely recognized from occasional glimpses of her at Hertford. The girl, who was quietly humming by the fire out of nervousness was Agnes Willoughby. The woman did not know how quite how to take this. The child was to marry one of Henry’s bastards, Jasper, whose birth had infuriated The Queen of England when she was younger. Yet, finding herself face to face with the girl, Eleanor could not muster any anger towards Agnes. Before her was a motherless heiress, who had no more choice in her marriage than Eleanor had in her own. She wasn’t sure if she could quite bring herself to treat her warmly, given the connections she would soon have, but the Queen of England decided she would at least young Agnes politely. So she bowed her head a little,”Lady Agnes, I am pleased to meet you, the Dowager Queen has said much in praise of you, and I see she was not lying.”
The child curtseyed deeply, overwhelmed by the fact that she had just met the Queen of England,”Your Majesty, to meet you and the Princess Mary is a privilege.”
From where she sat, Giovanna looked on like the proud mother she was, both to her own children, as well Agnes, and she murmured,”Perhaps you could show Queen Eleanor and Princess Mary how you and Joanna play the lute together. You two do quite well together.”
Grabbing a pair of small lutes that they had brought with them, Agnes and Joanna smirked at one another and strum the instruments, as Mary looked on with amazement. As they continued to listen to the rather good performance, Eleanor decided that perhaps Agnes Willoughby marrying one of Henry’s bastards would not be so bad after all.