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

‘Waiting! Waiting! Interminable waiting—for life to begin, for life to end. How ironic that even in the face my execution, Henry still left me waiting, as if six long years had not exacted enough from me. How strange to dance between life and death? Not so far removed that I could leave behind all earthly suffering, but not so far in death’s embrace to know the ultimate bliss.’

‘In that moment, a certain irony occurred to me; that if Thomas Cromwell had not torn Anne from the king and remained loyal to his mistress, he might not have strayed into the debacle of the disastrous Cleves’ marriage, which would leave him vulnerable to his enemies. But I dared not speak of any of this. It all lay in the future.’

‘I deliberately flaunted all of Anne’s most flattering accomplishments before Henry’s eyes, while keeping them well out of his reach. ‘Noli me tangere’ was truly Anne’s motto, but it was the king who was denied access to my heart on this occasion. It was wrong and foolish of me to do so. In my hurt, I placed innocent men—my friends—in the path of extreme danger.‘

‘Whereas before I would only ever be met with love, admiration and awe, I began to see a chilling menace alight in my husband’s eyes. Sometimes, I felt that it was if he was looking upon a stranger, his enemy even. Yet, there was also confusion. I watched his mind struggle with a metamorphosis in our love that he could not understand.’