The Other Boleyn Girl

The wagons came up with the things for dinner and they put up a little tent for fifty diners, the king’s favorites, and chairs and benches for the rest, and when the queen arrived, ambling on her steady palfrey, she saw me seated at the king’s left hand and crowned with summer flowers.

“We men are not where we are today because of some sort of accident. We chose to get into the great places of power, despite the desires of women; and we chose to use those places to make laws which will hold us there forever.”

“You’re very young to be playing this game, aren’t you? Boleyn or no Boleyn. They’ll be telling you what to do and putting you in my way, I suppose.”

matter. Rest assured, my daughter in Christ, I will be careful

grand young lady of fifteen years and threw out her arms to me.
‘You’re taller,’ she said breathlessly, her arms tight around me, her cheek pressed to mine.
‘I’ve got such high heels.’ I inhaled the familiar perfume of her. Soap, and rosewater essence from her warm skin, lavender from her clothes.
‘You all right?’
‘Yes. You?’
‘Bien sur! How is it? Marriage?’
‘Not too bad. Nice clothes.’
‘And he?’
‘Very grand. Always with the king, high in his favour.’
‘Have you done it?’
‘Yes, ages ago.’
‘Did it hurt?’
‘Very much.’
She pulled back to read

The king kept his court at Greenwich for Christmas and for twelve days and nights there was nothing but the most extravagant and beautiful parties and feastings. There was a Christmas master of the revels – Sir William Armitage – and it was his task to dream up something new for every day.

would meet us for dinner and she would

me, blocking my view of the scaffold. I had been at this court for more than a year and attended hundreds of festivities; but never before one like this.
By stepping to one s

hungry.
The Duke of Buckinghamshire, far away on the scaffold, put off his thick coat. He was close enough kin for me to call him u