"Anne, you've received another letter from the king," Millie whispered as she entered the darkened room. She didn't even dare to utter the king's name, fearing a fresh outburst of emotion. When she didn't get a response, Millie placed the new letter with four others by the window. All remained unopened. Millie sat on the bed and rested her hand on Anne's leg. "You will need to get out of bed soon, Anne. Tongues are beginning to wag fiercely."

"I don't care. Let them talk," Anne growled from beneath the covers.

"All is not lost."

"My love is lost. What else is there?"

"Well, you could at least read the king's letter and see what he has to say."

"I don't care what he has to say. " Anne sat up and looked at Millie with contempt. "How could he do this to me? How could he? You said that if I was nice to him, he might give me my Henry. But look what happened! He used his power to take him away. I would have been better off if I'd never laid eyes on King Henry," she spat his name with malice.

Millie watched her charge as her face crumpled once more and tears fell down her cheeks. Indeed, she was a pitiable sight. "Perhaps I could read you his letters?"

"Read them all you want," Anne stuttered between sobs. "But don't read them to me. I don't want to hear what he has to say."

"Very well."

Anne covered her head once more as Millie gathered the letters by the window and began to open them. Her eyes took in the king's words greedily, enjoying every term of endearment. Either Anne had found a way to the king's heart, or her spell had worked very, very well.

"He says he is sorry, Anne."

"Not sorry enough."

"He says your wit and charm have captured his heart."

"I hope he catches the plague."

"Tsk, tsk," Millie tutted. "No more treasonous words or you'll lose your head in addition to your heart."

Anne shrugged.

"Don't let him defeat you, Anne. You need to gather your dignity and carry on. Hearts break, but..."

"Please," Anne interrupted, "please, don't tell me that time heals all wounds. It doesn't."

"No," Millie agreed with a dark glint in her eye. "Time does not heal all wounds, Anne. I know how pain can linger. However, people find ways to cope and this is what you must do. Compose yourself. Hold your head high. You captured the heart of an earl, and now a king. Think of the prestige you could bring to your family. If you can't have your earl, then at least you could bring power and wealth to your family."

Anne's eyes had become vacant as Millie spoke.

"I know it's not love, Anne," Millie said softly. "But perhaps you could find love again. And if not love, at least you can play a little bit."

"Play?" Anne sneered. "What has playing ever got me? Trouble."

"You have nothing to lose, Anne. You may have lost at love, but you can have other things...revenge, even." Millie tossed one of the king's letters onto Anne's lap. "Look, here. He apologizes for putting his own needs ahead of yours."

Anne glared at the letter and Millie smiled in her heart.

"He presumes to know what is best for you. Let him have his way, then. Let him court you. All the while, play."

Anne fell back in her bed a stared at the ceiling. "It's a deadly game to lose."

"Perhaps...but rewarding if you win."

"Let me think on it," Anne said with some resignation.

"Very well," Millie agreed hopefully. "Would you like to take a walk in the garden?"

"I think some fresh air might help me clear my head," Anne said dragging her body from the bed. It was hard to move after being in bed for over a week. "I need to losen my joints."

"A little colour in your cheeks will do you some good."

"Is there any way to get Henry back?" Anne asked with one final hopeful look.

"Anne," Millie whispered, "I am sorry to say that it will not happen. He is to marry Mary Talbot."

Anne thought back to the ball months ago. He had laughed with Mary Talbot that night. They seemed to get along well enough. Her body sagged, thinking that Henry might find love again, at some point. 

"He doesn't love her, Anne. He will always love you."

Anne looked to Millie as another tear escaped her eye. "Thank you, Millie. I hope he is as full of woe as I am...even though I know I should pray for his happiness."

"I don't think he is happy, Anne. No." Millie patted Anne's leg, still under the cover. "Perhaps you two can find moments of happiness with each other in the years to come." She paused. "Until then, you need to make the most of your situation. You know how to smile while your heart is aching and that is what you will have to do until your smile is real."

Anne slowly moved out of the bed to her privacy screen. Millie passed her a fresh dress. Her lady must look her best to qualm the gossip. If the king happened to see her, she must look magnificent instead of miserable. When she came out in the dress, Millie knew she had chosen well. The bright green brought out her features beautifully.

"Let's fix the rest of you to match this splendid dress, then, shall we?"

Anne allowed her maid to do her best and by the end, she supposed she looked nice enough. Certainly, one would not be able to see where her tears had so recently fallen down her cheeks. Her heartbreak was completely covered up.

"Let us get you some fresh air now," Millie whispered as she led Anne to her door.

Anne nodded as she straightened herbody, preparing to face the world once more. Nobody would know her sorrow.

~~

"There she is," Wolsey muttered with distaste to Cromwell as they walked through the garden. "I guess she's not on death's door then. What a shame."

Cromwell followed Wolsey's eyes to a slim woman in a bright green dress. She looked much like other women in her fashion, but there was something about the way she carried herself that set her apart. Her shoulders were set back and a confident air made her seem...attractive. This despite her rather plain features and slightly crooked nose. "That's Anne Boleyn?"

Wolsey's face puckered in an unfortunate way. "Yes, that's her. I've intercepted letters from the king intended for her eyes only. I wish whatever came over her last week had put her in the grave. She is a problem for the king.

"Perhaps my ears deceive me, Cardinal, but the king has yearned for many women. Why is this one such an issue? He can bed her and be done, no?"

Wolsey eyed his friend carefully. "He has asked several times now for an annulment. He wants a younger wife and he has his eyes on that one."

"She is of such low station," Cromwell began.

Wolsey nodded in agreement. "Already, the king has started to speak with her father. Her brother. Soon the whole damn family will have the king's ear."

"Soon he'll have slept with the whole damn family, never mind."

A low chuckle escaped Wolsey's lips. "Utter not a word of that, my friend, if you want to keep your tongue. To him, it's as if none of it ever happened."

"He is in love then?"

"So it would seem."

"And what are you to do about this annulment?"

"Too many problems exist around such a request."

"Indeed," Cromwell agreed. They sat in silence for a few minutes. "Perhaps the king will fall out of love."

"With time."

"Delays, then."

"It would only make sense," Wolseysaid nodding his head. Wolsey contemplated ways to get rid of Anne Boleyn. Another beautiful face at court wouldn't hurt. Younger than Anne, even. He sat in silence as ideas flowed through his mind.

Cromwell enjoyed the silence as very different ideas percolated in his own thoughts. Unlike Wolsey, he had no hate for Anne Boleyn. If fact, if he befriended this woman, whom the king professed to love, perhaps he could see himself elevated in the king's eyes – much like the woman's family. A man from very humble beginnings, Thomas Cromwell was always looking for ways to move up the social ladder. Since becoming a part of Wolsey'shousehold almost eight years before, he had worked hard to rise in the cardinal's esteem. His efforts seemed to be paying off as he sat with him now, contemplating further developments.

He watched Anne as she walked through the garden, speaking with her maid. She already looks regal, he thought with some amusement. He decided at that moment that he would begin to lay some groundwork to make the annulment happen. How hard could it be? He thought with a shrug.

At that moment, Anne's maid looked across the garden and made eye-contact with him. Cromwell caught his breath at the intensity of the gaze. There was something about her eyes that made him squirm in his seat. She smiled and he could not help himself: he lifted a hand awkwardly to give a small wave. She nodded her head graciously. Cromwell narrowed his eyes as he considered her place beside the Boleyn girl. Barely a step behind speaking quite familiarly with each other. He would have to find her later and strike up a good conversation about their future.

Of course, at that moment, neither Cromwell nor Millie knew that the king was about to send Anne away for an undetermined amount of time. Any scheming they did later that night...and they did...was of no consequence until much later.