3MOONLIGHT AND MAGIC
Banished from court, Queen Anne gets into mischief and does a naughty good deed for someone in need. Please comment nicely!
"Go on, get going!" The royal horses are stamping their feet, impatient to begin. It's raining slightly and the morning air feels damp and cold. But King Henry VIII doesn't care. He's in a hurry, almost pushing Anne Boleyn into the waiting carriage.
"But you promised! You promised you would always love me." Anne tries to sound icy cold and scornfully superior. But her eyes are stinging and she feels like a fool. The falling tears betray her. Queen Katherine of Aragon must have wept just like this once.
"You promised you would give me a son." Henry's hard, mocking voice turns tender for a moment. Unexpectedly he kisses Anne on the lips, a moment of warmth on a cold and rainy day. "Now go!"
Anne sighs deeply as she gazes out the misty carriage window. How can she give the king a son when he no longer craves her company in bed? Nowadays he's constantly in the company of Jane Seymour, a soft-spoken blonde who never talks out of turn.
The carriage rattles along, rocking and swaying from side to side. Anne feels exhausted, worn out by all her endless royal duties. But soon her eyes close and sleep enfolds her and she dreams.
Henry is making love to her, just like the old days. But this time just as he is about to bring her to a delightful climax he stops. Rising from the bed, he walks off and joins Jane Seymour, and the two of them look back and laugh as Anne lies naked on the royal bed.
"Excuse me, Your Grace," a refined, polite male voice says. "You've arrived safely at my father's castle. Allow me to escort you to your lodgings for the night."
"Huh?" Anne doesn't recognize the castle rising out of the mist, nor the slim and elegantly-dressed young man who helps her down from the carriage with a graceful bow.
"My father Sir William is away for the evening, but Blackstone Castle is at your service," the young man says, smiling shyly.
"And what is your name, good sir?" Anne smiles back, holding out her gloved hand for the young man to kiss.
"My father named me Christopher, but everyone calls me Kit." Kissing her hand, handsome young Kit looks up with big, shining brown eyes. He's clearly very excited to be entertaining royalty.
"Well, Kit, why don't you join me for dinner in my royal chamber?" Anne laughs at the way the attractive young man seems to glow, his rosy-cheeked features shining with eagerness and excitement.
Over dinner, Anne casually enquires if Kit has found a sweetheart among the village girls. She's taken the time to bathe and put on scent and dress in one of her most enticing French gowns.
"Oh, the girls don't ever pay any attention to me," Kit replies, his voice slightly breathless. "The only man they ever notice is a thief and poacher named Robert Hudson. He used to work for my father, but was banished from our castle for insolence and . . . and for improper behavior."
"Improper behavior with the girls, I'll wager." Kit doesn't answer. He just turns red and fidgets as though the queen has caught him doing something shameful. So Anne suggests a walk in the garden, just as the full moon is rising. But Kit hurries off on castle business, leaving her frowning over her unfinished dinner.
Anne rises from her bed at midnight, feeling strangely restless. The dinner with Kit was a disaster, but what does she care for some silly half-grown boy? Anne is determined to treat him with icy coldness for the rest of her stay. She'll show him how cool and independent a queen can be. And she'll start by taking a solitary walk in the moonlit garden, despite the lateness of the hour.
"Rob . . . Rob . . . Rob . . ." the voice is shrill, almost pleading. Anne is consumed by curiosity, and struggles to see more, hurrying to penetrate the thick shrubbery at the garden's edge.
Two men are making love in the moonlight. Anne sees the broad, scarred back of some powerful laboring man, rising and falling as he pleasures the slim young nobleman pinned beneath him. Anne tries to get closer. She has to see more, to see everything! But somehow she stumbles and falls in the wet grass, cursing her own clumsiness as the unknown lovers scurry off to safety.
Worn out by her adventures, Anne oversleeps the next morning. When she finally comes downstairs, yawning in a red velvet robe, she sees that the master of the castle has returned. Old Sir William Blackstone is busy scolding his unhappy son.
"You are not to see that man again! I have told you time and again that it's shameful, a disgrace!"
"But it's who I am," Kit objects, his voice sulky. "Besides, you've only got the word of the servants, because they heard two people making love in the garden. You don't know who it was."
"I know you," Sir William snarls. "The moment my back is turned you're right back to your old tricks, letting a scarred smuggler and poacher make love to you like you're the lady of the castle!"
"Good morning, Sir William," Queen Anne says sharply.
"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty!" The old man stops short, his eyes popping out of his head. He nearly snaps to attention. "I'm very sorry . . . family matters . . . is there anything you require?"
"All I require is my breakfast," Anne replies sweetly, as handsome young Kit politely pulls back a chair for her. "And then I will require my carriage and fresh horses for the return journey."
"Yes, Your Grace." The old man rumbles, scowling at his servants. "The queen has spoken, bring breakfast at once!" Sir William bows to her with creaky joints. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes, and I would appreciate your silence about it," Anne replies, sipping from her breakfast cup. "You see, Kit wasn't making love to another man last night. He was making love to me."
"Why are you protecting me?" Kit asks anxiously, helping her into the royal carriage. "It's time I learned to stand up to my father!
"You will," Anne says, reaching down to pat his cheek. "You're a good man, Kit Blackstone. But you can do better than a scoundrel like Robert Hudson. Come to court and you'll see."
"Yes, Your Grace!" Kit is smiling and waving, and the servants are all cheering as Queen Anne's carriage sets off once more. The journey is long and lonely, but when she closes her eyes Anne sees the romantic scene in the moonlit garden. This time she's a shy young nobleman, and the king is nothing but a scoundrel.
