Katherine the Martyr (The Six Lives of Henry the VIII Book 6) by Leigh Jenkins

Author:Leigh Jenkins [Jenkins, Leigh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2016-09-19T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

November, 1544

There had been little to say after that, and I had sunk into an exhausted sleep, Brandon still in the secretary’s chair watching over me. The next morning I was awoken by the sounds of the court outside one of the narrow windows and I peered at it, wondering how it had blown open during the night.

“Close the window,” I ordered, my voice weak from sleep, and it took a few moments of blinking to realize there was no page boy to leap up and attend me.

“Charles,” I said, my voice a bit stronger, ineffectually waving my hand toward him. But still he slumbered on, his head painfully lulling on his shoulder. I did not envy him a sore neck when he awoke.

I considered calling out for a page boy to enter, but would have to bellow with more strength than I currently possessed to make myself heard through the thick oak door. In hindsight it had been foolish for us to remain in here without any assistance, but there was little I could do about that now. It took a few good heaves and a roll, but I managed to get myself to the edge of the bed.

The curtains felt damp between my fingers, and I wondered how cold it had gotten last night, even with the fire that still glowed in the fireplace. Using the curtains on either side of me, I heaved to my feet. Though a few of the rings holding the right drape in place popped, it still held long enough for me to get to my feet.

My right leg gave a lurch; it still was not prepared for my full weight. Holding onto first the table, and then two tapestries along the wall, I hobbled over to the window and grasped the latch, pulling it toward me. It slipped out of my hands, banging hard against the stone wall, but fortunately not breaking. With a curse under my breath, I pulled the window once more and managed to latch it. As I pushed myself back toward the bed, I realized this was probably the first time in years I had closed my own window. In fact, I could not remember the last time I had done so.

“You have dodged a task,” I said to my still sleeping friend, making it to his chair. “But it is time to wake Charles. As I have told you, there is much to do today.”

My hand touched his shoulder, and I immediately staggered as his body pitched forward, landing against my bed.

“Charles?” I asked again, moving toward him, collapsing onto my feet by his side.

But when my hand reached out for him again, I realized what had eluded me before. With a horror, I pushed myself away but my bulk kept me from escaping and I merely managed to push myself into the table by my bed, knocking the lone candlestick to the floor.

“Page! Page! Help!” I heard my voice call, my fear finding the strength to yell out.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.