Status Updates From Le Temps Viendra: A Novel o...

‘abandoned Anne to fend for herself as best as she could. A sinister heaviness took shape in my breast. Whilst the King avowed his love for Anne Boleyn, showered her with fabulous jewels and other riches, written songs in her honour and poetry that glorified her divine womanhood, the simple and awful truth was that, at the first sign of trouble, Henry had fled without her, with scant regard for her safety.’

‘Unexpectedly, I found my gaze locked with that of the Queen who, unbeknownst to me, had been standing watching us as we awaited His Majesty's arrival. It was a private moment, shared between two women who were locked in a vicious and deadly battle for the love of one man. Katherine looked down on me imperiously with a fury in her eyes that she saved only for Anne.’

‘In hindsight, the timing of Henry's pursuit of his annulment to Katherine couldn't have been worse. Had Henry sought his divorce just a couple of years earlier, the outcome for England, and for Anne, might have been very different. Without the need to please Katherine's nephew, the Pope may well have moved to grant Henry his annulment without fuss.‘