Wolsey´s reception room

Wolsey rubbed his chin and frowned deeply.

'During your absence, things changed here, Your Grace. As I told you before, Her Majesty doesn't accompany the King anymore on formal occasions... and neither do I.'

He paused for a moment, considering his words.
'The Boleyns have taken over and don't plan to share the power, they are my biggest enemies. And I disappointed the king in his most important matter, he is provoked and needs a scapegoat. They will not let him forget this and will encourage him to get rid off me, their ultimate goal.'

Inigo lowered his eyes after his words. He took a deep breath

Oh...I'm sorry to hear that, Your Eminence. I hope that everything will be fine for you. The King can't ignore that you have been his loyal servant since years. But now...if you excuse me, I should go. I have a meeting with Her Majesty...

He said trying to smile, turning to him again

He just nodded and didn't speak. He felt the embassador's embarrassment but he had to know that things were no longer as they used to be...

Hearing his last words he stood up and bowed his head slightly.
'Yes.... of course. She will be happy to see you. Thank you, Your Grace, for everything. I hope to see you soon again.'

Inigo nodded

Muchas gracias, Your Eminence. Hope to see you soon as well. And...God be with you...

Then he bowed deeply and left the rom with quick steps

'God bless you, too.... and remember my words, Your Grace.'
He looked after him, knowing this was the last time he saw him and then sat down again, deep in thoughts, before he took his quill and a new parchment to write another letter.

Wolsey is in his reception room, well aware this is the last time he will be here. He stares at the empty walls and desk, George already packed everything and brought it to a huge room where all his possessions are stalled out to be controlled and handed back to the king.

His fingers caressing the fine wooden paneling he chose to have in all his castles, he looks up in surprise as he hears a familiair voice at the door. Emilie! Can it reaaly be her?

With no servants around, he walks quickly to the door and opens it, smiling widely as he notices it is her and he opens his arms to greet her.
'Emilie.... my dearest daughter! What a pleasant surprise, I didn't expect you here at court!' he speaks warmly while he hugs her and kisses her cheeks, then he looks at her.
'You look wonderful, my dear! Now tell me, how are you?'

His smile disappears and he makes all efforts to hold back the tears filling his eyes, he turns around to repack himself and invites her to sit down while he sits down himself.
'I disappointed the king, Emilie... I let him down, and now I have to face the consequences.'

He smiles vaguely and shrugs.
'I would love to offer you a fresh orange juice, but I'm afraid I have none here, right now. I will call for a servant though, to bring us a drink.'

He notices the tears in her eyes and swallows, then stands up again to call for a servant, ordering him to bring them a refreshment. When the servant leaves, he sits down and looks at her, sad but determined.

'He had no choice, my child.' he speaks softly and shrugs.
'He can not keep someone in his service, who he can't trust anymore. I promised him this annullment before summer, you know. He has to set an exemple, so everyone knows what it means to betray the king.'

He listens to her and bites his lips as she tells him it was impossible from the beginning, but when she says the king should take the annullment by himself, he slowly shakes his head.

'Of course he could have done that, and he still can, but he wants more than this annullment, Emilie. He wants the whole world to know he divorced justly and in accordance to all laws, political and cannonnical. It is important for him to keep the respect of other countries, especially when he remarries Anne Boleyn, he wants the world to accept her as his true, lawful royal wife.'

The servant enters again and smiles happily as he shows Wolsey a pitcher full of orange juice.
'Ahhh, you found orange juice, so good of you!' he winks at Emilie and smiles.
'Let's celebrate our reunion, my child, even if only for a moment.'

He sigh a little and looks at his own hands.
´I know I did my upmost to achieve his goals, but I didn´t succeed.´ He looks up and adds with strong voice.
´And I never betrayed him! I am not guilty of any accussations that have been made against me and I fear no living soul for that! But indeed, I love and respect my King too much to stand in trial before him and rebute, so yes, I pleaded to be guilty of praemunire, to prevent a nasty trial for him, and therefore, for me.´

He listens attentively at her words and frowns.
´We tried everything to persuade the Pope to cooperate, even now Bishop Gardener is in Rome to put pressure on him... but to be honest, I agree with you that the Pope will never grant this annullment. So yes, it is in the king´s hands to decide his own fate.´ he bites his lips and keeps his mouth closed, he can not tell her that he can not be part of this, being a cardinal himself. A king, head of the country and head of the church is incompatible in his eyes but he knows about Emilie´s feelings for the Lutheran theories and he doesn´t want to argue with her.

´Yes, my dear Emilie, let us toast to our reunion, to our health and welfare.´ he takes a sip and then looks curiously at her.
´Now, please, tell me about your doings. And how is Olympe? And... your Italian king?' he smiles and leans backwards in his chair to listen carefully.

He smiles vaguely as she testifies she believes in his innocence, it means so much to him that his closest relatives and friends support him and Emilie also understands why he gives up so easily.
'thank you for your kind words, my child, it means a lot to me... and don't worry for me, I will probably be happy to retire and practice my true profession again. Joan and I grow older and I hope to share many quiet and wonderful years with her.' he smiles wider as she tells him about Olympe.

'Ahh.... your daughter is a spirited young lady, I guess she grew up indeed. I am glad she still enjoys court after what happened to her at the last New Years Celebration, but she is young and flexible and courtlife must be exciting to her.' He takes a sip of the juice and still grinns a little.
'I hope to see her soon again. Perhaps now will come the opportunity to visit Eastnor Castle soon.'
He frowns as she speaks about the Italian King and perceives the pain behind her airy words.

'You don't know?' he leans forward and stares at her, worried.
'What happened, Emilie? Please, tell me everything.'

He smiles vaguely and shrugs.
`I don´t know yet where the king will send me, though I still own some properties like Esher, and York. I guess they want me as far away as possible´

He nods understandingly and smiles wider.
´Ahh, I am so glad to hear Olympe is fine! And I look forward to see her again. I will send you a message as soon as we are settled so we can meet at Eastnor.´

She tells him about the king of Italy and he looks at her with compassion, he can not understand she is again disappointed in love, she is a lovely woman and deserves a true love, not the treacherous men she met and seems to meet every time again.
He let her finish her story, put a hand on her arm and speaks softly.
´Emilie, I don´t know what to say. I met him only shortly and he seemed an honest man to me. Perhaps it is a miscomprehension and he will show up unexpectedly, perhaps his letters got lost, or he has troubles indeed in his kingdom which make it impossible for him to come for you and take you with him.´

He is silent for a while, pondering, remembering her happiness when she told him about her love for the king and the plans they made for their future. He looks at her sad face and sigh, she deserves love, he knows himself the importance of love and the way Joan fought for their love to be reunited again.
Finally he speaks again.

´Why don´t you just go there and see for yourself, my daughter?'

He bites his lips and shakes his head slowly.
'I don't know if I deserve this or not. I only know I never should have promised him his annulment before summer... even though I didn't promise this quite voluntarily. Well, I knew this would happen on forehand, so now I just go through with it and deal with the situation as good as possible.'

He sigh as she tells him that it is always possible to send a letter.
'Italy is actually not one united country as we are here, and as France is. It exists of many rivalling little states and families who all want the power for themselves. I imagine he has a hard time to remain his power and probably even his letters are intercepted.' He looks at her, feeling her pain and sorrows but when she tells him she will be an old maid, he heavily shakes his head.

'I can't imagine such thing will happen! Sooner or later the one who is meant for you shows up, you will see. I remember an earlier conversation between us where you swore the same, and yet you met this man who captured your heart. Don't give up, Emilie.'

She talks and he nods, she is right not to go there all by herself.
He stands up and hugs her, words are not enough and nothing he can say can take away her pain.
'Remember you are not alone, Emilie. You have your family, your wonderful child and close friends to live for.' he speaks quietly.

He closes his eyes but doesn't reply at once. How to tell her he would do anything to please his king? Impossible or not, he achieved many things which seemed even more impossible at the time, like distracting Henry from a war with France and instead making a treaty of Universal and Perpetual Peace? Compared therewith this annullment seemed easy enough to achieve but he underestimated obviously the involved interests. He sigh deeply as he thinks about his own doubts about the annullment.

She speaks again and he looks into her eyes, she is right to be sceptical about letters being intercepted, but what can he say to comfort her? He can't understand this Italian king, unless she is right and it was only a temporal love at the time he was at English court. But why promising her all these things if he was not seriously in love with her?
He holds her close.
'I cannot believe he is not in love with you. I am sure all this has a reasonable explanation, though we don't know yet. Meanwhile, you are absolutely right. You don't need a lover who is not sincere and true, you are a strong, independent woman who can look after herself very well. If this king doesn't show up again, he will regret all his life he let go of a wonderful woman, who could have made him a very happy man and would have reigned with him as a true, caring and generous queen.'

He shakes his head at her words of being too passionate.
'You are not, of course not! In true love, you can not be without passion and romance, it would kill the relationship. And whatever you do, my daughter, never give up on your dreams! You need them to go on with your life, where would we be without dreams?' he speaks softly but with urgence.

He smiles as she reassures him and taps her arms gently.
'I know you will survive... and even more than that, live a forfilling live with your family and friends, and not to forget your pupils at Eastnor. How are things going there, my child?'

He sigh deeply as he notices her desperate expression. He takes her hand in his and studies her fingers for a moment, thoughtful, then he rest her hand against his chest, covering her hand with his while he looks into her eyes.
'As much as I want to, I can't advise you in this, my precious daughter. I only can tell you to follow your heart. No man is worthy to break your heart, not even a king! You should do as you feel is right for you. Whatever you decide, I will always support you, dear Emilie!' he speaks softly and sincere.

'Watch your heart, it is sincere and always right.' he says, smiling a little.
'it is the only true and loving subject in all times, happy or harsh.'

He smiles wider as she compliments him.
'I just love to see a smile on your face, my dear, and will I do everything to achieve that!' he taps her hand.

With attention he listens at her description of Eastnor, nodding approvingly.
'You do so well. Many girls who would have no chances in life will be grateful to you for the education you offer them!' His face darkens as he reminds his own schools.
'I hope my schools will continue even though handed over to the king. It would hurt me so much if he decides to close them!'

He still has her hand on his chest and as he notices the tears in her eyes, he softly pats it and hugs her for a moment.
'I think you make the right choice, my daughter.' he speaks softly and nods.
'A choice of heart always is. You keep the honor on your side by taking this action. You give him the chance to withdraw or to come after you, but anyway you break through the silence which is murderous to you.'

He frowns as she tells him the options for the Italian king.
'Yes, don't let him think you are waiting in despair for him, even if you are! He should make the efforts to win your heart back, or stay out of your life respectfully.'

He chuckles when she giggles and raises an eyebrow.
'Ahhhh, I did? And I didn't do anything yet to achieve that, watch me when I really want to make you smile!'
He rubs her cheek and looks at her with pride.

'... talking about achievements, dear Emilie! You achieved so much! I am sure your future is a sunny one, with many surprises and wonderful experiences to come yet!'

He smiles comforting though he really fears for his schools.
'I am sure the king will not close them. He understands the importance of education.' He tries to change the subject.
'Emilie, what about your family? Did you make any progress with them?'