“I shall release the men held on charges of heresy,” he says to me. “A man should not be imprisoned for his conscience, not if he is questioning reverently and thoughtfully.”

Silently, I nod as if I am overwhelmed by the king’s vision.

“You will be glad to know that a preacher like Hugh Latimer can be free to speak again?” Henry prompts me. “He used to preach in your rooms, didn’t he? You can have your afternoon sermons again.”

I speak with meticulous care. “I should be glad to know that innocent men are free. Your Majesty is merciful, and a careful judge of what is right.”

“Will you have your afternoon sermons again?”

I don’t know what he wants to hear, and I am determined to say only what he wants to hear. “If it is your wish. I like to listen to the preachers so that I may understand Your Majesty’s thoughts. It helps me to follow your intricate thinking if I study the fathers of the church.”

“D’you know what Jane Seymour’s motto was?” he suddenly demands.

I flush. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What was it?”

“I believe it was Bound to Obey and Serve.”

He bellows suddenly: a roar of shocking laughter, opening his mouth wide, showing his yellow teeth and his furred tongue. “Say it again! You say it!”

“Bound to Obey and Serve.”

He laughs but there is no humor in his voice at all. I make sure that I am smiling, as if I am willing to be amused but too slow to understand the joke, as if I, as a dull woman, can have no sense of humor, but I am happy to admire his wit.

* * *

The admiral of France, Claude d’Annebault, who negotiated the peace with Edward Seymour, comes to Hampton Court for a great reception. The royal children, especially Prince Edward, are to welcome him. The king says that he is tired and asks me to watch that Edward does all that he should, and maintains the dignity of the Tudor throne. Edward is only eight, and torn between excitement and apprehension at the part he has to play. He comes to my rooms before the Frenchman arrives and asks me what exactly is to happen and what exactly he is to do. He is so precise, so anxious to be accurate, like a little astronomer, that I call my master of horse and my principal steward and we draw out, on a great sheet of paper, a plan of the gardens. Then, with his old tin soldiers from the nursery, we represent the arrival of the French delegation, and use little dolls to represent us, going out to meet them.