Between Two Kings Read Online Free

betrayed him with at least four different men, including her own brother. The thought that she had committed incest was abominable. Henry was sick of Anne; he wanted her to die and pay for her crimes.
    Anger simmered in Henry’s bloodstream as he spoke. “I want Anne Boleyn to die. She betrayed me. She is a traitor.” Henry clenched his fists and then looked at Cromwell. “I want her to die,” he repeated. “She must pay for her crimes.”
    “Your Majesty, under the laws of England and in accordance with the principles of humanism, we cannot execute a pregnant woman,” Cromwell asserted. “What are we going to do now?”
    It was a dark irony to hear about humanism from Thomas Cromwell, but even he was unable to execute a woman with child, especially a child who, he was sure, was a child of royal blood, fathered by King Henry. Cromwell had realized the absurdity of all the charges the chief minister himself had brought against Anne. Now he could only hope that Anne would miscarry at the Tower, or that she would deliver a stillborn child.
    “Anne Boleyn has always been a good actress. Are you sure that she is with child?”
    Cromwell nodded. “Yes, I am. The physician and the midwife confirmed her condition.”
    King Henry blinked. “Very well then,” he hissed. He was still dumbfounded and shocked.
    Cromwell was a man of action and didn’t want to admit the hesitation with the king’s verdict. He spoke in a steady, resolute voice. “Your Majesty, we will have to wait until the birth of Lady Anne’s child. Then she might be executed as a high traitor.”
    “This child could be the product of incest.” Henry’s face screwed up in disgust. He remembered he had spent several nights with Anne in March and April but he quickly put those thoughts aside. It wasn’t possible, and it didn’t matter. He would have a bunch of legitimate children with his beloved Jane who was beautiful and obedient, an ideal wife for him.
    “It could also be a child fathered by Sir Henry Norris, Mark Smeaton, or Sir William Brereton,” Cromwell added. He needed to support the king in his anger towards Anne.
    “Anne is a witch and a whore,” the king roared. Then he lowered his voice. “I was seduced by witchcraft when she attracted me and I married her.” He trailed off and rubbed his temples. “And now this child… isn’t it the result of witchcraft?”
    Cromwell shrugged. “I don’t know, Your Majesty.”
    “It seems to me that I need to postpone my marriage to Lady Jane Seymour.”
    “Your Majesty, it seems to be the best option. It will be better if you marry Lady Jane after Lady Anne’s execution. In this case, nobody will ever doubt the legitimacy of all your future children born in this matrimony,” Cromwell assured him.
    Henry cast an appreciating gaze at Cromwell. He has always liked him for his clear and logical reasoning. “Then we will need to wait and then execute her,” he said.
    The decision was finally made up, and the clock began counting minutes.

CHAPTER 2
    October 1536, the Tower of London, London, England
    The execution of Anne Boleyn was delayed until the birth of the child.
    Anne spent many months at the Tower. Her life was utter hell. Although she stayed in the Queen’s Chambers, where queens usually lived before the official coronation, it was not very convenient to live at the Tower in her delicate condition. She had to spend all the time inside the same room and although she wanted to breathe fresh air she was never allowed to have a short stroll outside the Tower. She was a prisoner waiting for her death.
    Naked, uncontrollable, harrowing pain slashed through her heart as Anne remembered how Anthony Kingston had visited her chamber several months ago and told her that her execution would only be delayed until the birth of her child. He spoke in a cold tone, his face blank, but his eyes were sympathetic, and then he left her alone. Henry was very cruel if he truly wanted both her children