Charlie Fenton’s Reviews > The House of Boleyn > Status Update

'There was little chance of the king’s ardour being so easily extinguished, Thomas mused bitterly. Anne’s refusal to accept his love had only served to inflame it more. No matter how well Thomas knew his younger daughter, he couldn’t tell if she was genuinely opposed to her royal suitor’s advances or if her refusal was a clever ploy to intensify his longing for her. Either way, she was playing with fire.'

'Poor William Carey. Anne hoped he had been paid handsomely for the marriage. The rumours of his new wife's affair with the king had been rife in France. What's good enough for François, they'd scoffed, loud enough for Anne to hear. I wonder if her sister will be next. She had bristled at that, roundly telling them that she wanted more from life than to find a place in the king's bed.'

'Poor William Carey. Anne hoped he had been paid handsomely for the marriage. The rumours of his new wife's affair with the king had been rife in France. What's good enough for François, they'd scoffed, loud enough for Anne to hear. I wonder if her sister will be next. She had bristled at that, roundly telling them that she wanted more from life than to find a place in the king's bed.'

'One thought came after another. She hadn’t imagined ever leaving Hever – or at least, not for many years, and only then if her father insisted she marry. She was just the second daughter, so had been taught to expect no more than the scrapings from Mary’s table. And yet here, now, was her father telling her that she had been favoured above all the other women of his family'