Read Cor Rotto: A novel of Catherine Carey for Free Online

face flushed with my heart light, I danced with every young man that asked, but secretly I wished that Richard could join the celebration. I knew he had nothing to offer my family, but I could not help the attraction I had towards him. Maybe there was some hope. My mother had managed to marry Stafford after all.
    I looked around at all the noblemen that graced the court and tried desperately to tamp down my emotions. I caught Katherine’s eye. She threw her head back and laughed at something Culpeper whispered to her. I envied her. Culpeper was in her reach, Richard was out of mine. I looked to the king, the man who would decide my fate. I would have to have faith in him. He caught me staring. A broad smile spread across his face and he nodded his head towards me. It was the first time he had acknowledged my presence. In that moment, despite my best efforts, I felt a twinge of love for my father. I was so angry with him for so many reasons, but I began to understand why he was so beloved. It was his charm and charisma. I began to wonder if I would ever figure him out.

London, Westminster:
February - March 1540
    On the 4th February, we floated down the frigid Thames on a barge covered in Cleves swans to Westminster. The queen was in her jovial mood. Though she still had not mastered the language, she seemed to be adapting to other aspects of life at the English court. She excelled at cards and often relieved the Duke of Suffolk of his gambling purse during Primero.
    We had seen very little of the king since the wedding, but like a good husband he made a point to visit the queen’s rooms at least once a week. Knowing the king’s reputation with wives who failed to reproduce, I waited anxiously for the chamber-maids to give us the sly look that indicated a maiden’s blood on the sheets, but none ever came. By the time we moved on to Hampton Court, where we would celebrate Easter festivities, the queen’s ladies had begun to talk.
    “Lady Rutland has asked me to approach the queen,” Jane Rochford whispered to me as we sat in the window embrasure sewing.
    “Is there something you need? I’m sorry I was concentrating on this stitch and missed what you said before,” I muttered as I pulled out an errant stitch that had come loose.
    Exasperated, she replied, “I do not need anything. You missed nothing. I said Lady Rutland has asked me to approach the queen to ask if she is still a maid. By now there would be some evidence of her pregnancy, but she continues to have her courses on schedule and the king almost never visits her. How does she expect to get a Duke of York?”
    I stopped toying with the stitch and eyed her critically. “How long were you married to George before your courses stopped?”
    I regretted my words when I saw the hurt on her face. “I’m sorry, Jane, I didn’t mean to upset you. But as you know, babies come in the Lord’s time and I do not know that it is any of yours or Lady Rutland’s business whether the king is intimate with his wife or not. The last time you mentioned the king’s inabilities, my aunt and uncle lost their heads. Please do not get involved.”
    Jane stared down at her lap. “I was just trying to help. Why do I always find myself in the middle of these matters?”
    I put down my needle and reached for her hand. “Because, my dear Jane, you have the best of intentions and I know you want to help. But sometimes it is not worth the risk.”
    “You are right, Catherine. But in this matter I feel I must do as Lady Rutland asks. We all know that the king is not happy in this marriage and it is only a matter of time before he makes a move to get rid of her. And when he does, we will no longer have a place at Court. I cannot bear to be alone at Blickling again. I know my place is here,” she implored, her eyes searching mine for approval.
    “Jane, you must do what your heart tells you. But I will have no part in it.”
    I turned to look at the queen. She sat placidly before the