Anne of Cleves.

Elizabeth followed the King into his future wife's apartments in Greenwich Palace. Anne was seated upon a chair, staring out the window, but looked up as the intimidating English monarch entered. She looked genuinely surprised to see a tall, red-haired man of such a liberal girth in her rooms - it was apparent that Anne of Cleves had no idea about her future husband, nor that he was in her rooms at this very moment. She turned to one of her companions, and said something in a tongue that grated against Elizabeth's ears. The German girl was ignorant to the ways of the English court; and this intrusion by the King and his courtiers had obviously wrong footed her.

Elizabeth Seymour winced as the future Queen of England blandly ignored her husband, and continued staring out at London through her open window. Henry was visibly seething. He stormed up to Anne and kissed her harshly on the mouth, turned on his heel, and marched out of the room, his courtiers trotting after him. Elizabeth, one of the last to leave the apartment, glanced over her shoulder as she stepped over the threshold: both Anne and her ladies were visibly thunderstruck. The German lady was still seated; she had not even risen, let alone curtsied, to the king.

"I like her not, that Flanders mare!" Henry was proclaiming to his companions as they walked away from Anne of Cleves' rooms. "Bring Cromwell to me; see if there is some way out of this marriage."

Elizabeth was aware of two things at this point. Firstly, the marriage was unavoidable, as treaties had been signed and great pains had been taken by England to procure this Protestant alliance. And secondly, that this ill-fated marriage was the beginning of the end for Thomas Cromwell. She was also starting to feel an inkling of sympathy for the "Flanders mare" Henry VIII in a bad mood was not something you wanted to wake up to in the morning, which was undoubtedly what Anne would be doing - for the time being at least.

* * * *

Elizabeth Seymour was to be lady-in-waiting to the new German queen; as she had waited upon Anne Boleyn and her sister, Jane, before. Anne of Cleves' wedding took place five days after the disastorous first meeting between the King and Anne, and it was not particularly grand, though more of a wedding that her predecessor had ever had. The bride wore a gown made of cloth of gold, and her similarly coloured hair lay loose around her shoulders. A picturesque wedding day did not make a perfect wedding night, however, as the courtiers were soon to discover.

"I did not like her before, and I like her even less now. She knows nothing of music, nor courtly skills, and the little English she knows is not used for great wit or conversation. Elizabeth, you've served me and your sister well; couldn't you teach this Flanders mare a thing or two?" The king asked Elizabeth the next morning, as he left Anne's rooms. Elizabeth curtsied deeply, and replied:

"I'll do my best, your Majesty. I'm sure once the Queen becomes more accustomed to English court life, your liking of her will improve greatly."

Privately, she thought that little could be done about the German girl and her ignorance, and that the marriage was doomed to failure. Elizabeth was further convinced of this fact when she saw Thomas Cromwell looking rather more out of things than usual, and Henry dancing with little Katherine Howard after dinner that evening. Only married a day, and already looking for someone else! But that was how Henry operated, and Elizabeth had learned how to survive at court; unlike so many of her contemporaries.

* * * *

Things did not improve with time; at least not for Henry. Anne of Cleves, however, was flourishing. Elizabeth, tending to her every day, noticed that she looked happier, healthier and her English had improved exponentially. She had the impression that the German Queen had not been treated well in her home land by her parents and domineering brother. Henry's new wife had no idea of his displeasure regarding the marriage, though. And still she was naïve to the ways of the world, even after being married two months.

"Elizabeth," Anne said one April morning, "will you brush my hair for me?"

Surprised - it was usually one of the younger girls, like Katherine Howard, that was required to do such tedious tasks - Elizabeth picked up a brush, and went to where Anne was sitting. Her gleaming hair was cascading over her shoulders and down her back; Elizabeth considered it her best feature. Then Anne said something that was entirely unexpected.

"I think that the king is growing weary of me, Elizabeth."

"So the marriage between you and the king has not been consummated then?"

Elizabeth blurted out, unthinking. There was a lot of scandalous gossip that Henry was unable to live up to expectations, supposedly due to his new wife's appearance. Anne gave a grim smile.

"He comes to my bed at night, and kisses me upon the lips. And again in the morning when he leaves, he gives me a kiss again, but that is all."

Elizabeth felt sympathy towards the Queen again - now more than ever. Though she would never dream to express this opinion, she secretly felt sorry for all of Henry's wives. This poor sheltered girl! Thrown into a world where she was so far out of her depth. Elizabeth tried to cast some levity upon the situation, and said with an uncomfortable laugh:

"But, my lady, you can't be with child just from a kiss!"

The other woman's face fell, and her eyes downcast. Her lady-in-waiting regretted joking about what was surely any wife's greatest fear: rejection by her husband.

"I know that, sheltered as I was in my childhood."

Taking pity upon Anne, Elizabeth chose to tell her what all the gossiping courtiers were saying.

"My lady, I, um, don't think that the king is entirely happy in his marriage to you."
The face of the Queen that had so recently been crestfallen set grimly. Elizabeth, only now realising that she alone had been chosen as the one that Anne wished to confide in, regretted giving this information so bluntly.

"You think I have not noticed that? All you English think me dumb and ignorant, just because I speak differently to you, but I see how he looks at that little Howard girl. But still, I hoped. It seems I was mistaken in thinking that I could repair the marriage between the king and I."

Tears welled up in Anne's eyes, and Elizabeth stopped brushing her hair. She resisted the urge to put her arm around the Queen's shoulders and comfort her. A woman of such an enviable and important position as Queen of England should not need comforting.