Having struggled for my own place in the world—first in the house of a bad-tempered father-in-law, and then as a young wife to a cold and distant husband, before coming into a court as an insignificant widow—I have learned that the most precious thing is a place where you can be as you are, where someone can see you as your true self. Edward comes to my presence chamber where I am hearing petitions, and is greeted both as a prince and a little boy. I pull him up to my great throne to sit beside me, to listen and to talk quietly to me, to be the child who he is, and not a little manikin whom everyone secretly eyes, wondering what he can do for their prospects.

“Kate, you are everything that I hoped you would be,” the king says, coming to my rooms late one night. I had thought that he was sleeping in his own bed and my maid-in-waiting, who had been settled for the night on the truckle bed, scuttles quickly away, bobbing a curtsey and closing the door behind her.

“Thank you,” I say, a little startled.

“I shall trust you further,” he tells me, easing his great bulk into my bed. “No, I can manage,” he says, raising his hand and heaving himself up into a half-sitting position. “You shall have the care of the kingdom while I am away. Tom Seymour has done his job: we have an alliance with the Netherlands, we have a treaty with Spain, we are ready to go to war with France.”

His name, suddenly dropped into the conversation as I sit in my bed, naked but for my thin linen nightgown, gives me a shock that is almost physical, as if someone has violently shaken me, shouting his name aloud in the quiet room. I realize that the king is watching me closely.

“You are alarmed?” he asks. “What’s the matter? You’ve gone white!”

“At the thought of war,” I say unsteadily. “Only at the thought of danger.”

“I will go myself,” he announces. “I. Myself. Into the very heart of danger. I shall not send my armies without me. I shall lead them.”

I close my eyes briefly. Thomas will almost certainly be coming home. If he has agreed the treaty, he will have to come to court to receive his orders. He will meet with his brother and together they will muster their tenants and soldiers. It is certain that I will see him. It is impossible for him to stay away or for me to avoid him. He will have to bow before me and congratulate me on my happiness. I will have to nod and look indifferent.