02x05 - Mirror

[bunniefuu]

So who was the m*rder*r?

You are seriously
accusing Lord Cromwell?

He was no lord
in those days.

Do you know what I think?

We're better off without cardinals

and proud old prelates
such as we used to have.

Now the archbishop here —

at least he conducts himself
humble-wise.

You can tell by his countenance
that he spends his time at prayer

instead of browbeating noblemen,
plotting their downfall,

wrangling and cheating
and embezzling,

all of which were daily proceedings

with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
My Lord Norfolk, your...

Yes, and promoting false knaves
to positions of trust,

soliciting bribes, falsifying deeds,
bullying his betters,

consorting with conjurers,

and generally thieving, lying
and cheating,

all to the detriment and ruin
of the commonweal

and the shame of the King!

For shame, Thomas!

He's an old man.

Anne of Cleves, Majesty.

Hmm.

And this is how she stood
before you?

Yes. As she is.

Well, look, my Lord Norfolk,
is she not well and seemly?

Mm.

Tell me about her.

Um...

She was brought up piously.

I believe she speaks no language
but her own.

Not even French?

Well, our envoys
say she has a good wit,

and I am sure
she will learn our tongue

as soon as she puts her mind to it.

And of course, we will be able
to make music together.

If she does not know the words
to English songs,

I'm sure she will know them
in other tongues.

In Germany, as far as I understand,

great ladies do not have
music masters, sir.

A lady there would lose
her good name by singing,

or dancing. Oh.

Then what shall we do after supper?

Drink?

They are great drinkers,
the Germans. They are known for it.

They say the same of the English.

My wife and I will hunt.

We will enjoy the pleasures
of the chase together.

What?

I believe she rides.

I am not sure she shoots.

They don't hunt, either?

What do they do all day? Sew?

And pray.

By God, she'll be grateful for you
for taking her out of that place.

Yes, she will.

Her life must have been a trial,
bless her.

She will find our ideas
quite different.

Cromwell!

Come, my lords.

This will not do.
Shake hands like Christian men.

On the subject of Christians,

your man Riche -

Chancellor of Augmentations,
he calls himself -

says that Thetford Priory
will go down.

It will not go down, sir,

because the priests of the priory

pray for the souls of my ancestors
who are buried there,

and they will pray for them
as long as this world endures.

I want that understood.
Tell him, will you?

As long as this world endures.

That's a lot of prayers, my lord.

That's a lot of prayers.

It will be conveyed to the Lady Anna
by the straightest route,

Your Majesty. She has already begun
her journey to London.

Her cousin.

The Duke of Bavaria.

It appears to me that our friendship
with the German states

might be further strengthened
if we made a match

between him and Mary.

If I have to sacrifice myself
for England,

cannot my daughter?

If I am to breed for the nation,
why cannot she?

My lady, Cromwell is here.

Duke Philip of Bavaria, my lady.

The King would like you to meet him.

With a view to what?

With a view to marriage.

Duke Philip is a well-made man.

Fair, dark eyes.

Not unlike your lady mother's
colouring.

That does not weigh.

And he's no Lutheran.
Don't let anyone tell you he is.

I never let anyone
tell me anything, my lord.

What we can't have
is any late retraction.

You say yes, you'll meet him,

and then at the last minute,
you say no.

That would embarrass the King.

Yes.

No.

Yes, it would leave him embarrassed.

No, I would not do it.

I have sworn to be obedient,
as you so often remind me.

Well, the King is a tender father.

He would never force you into a
marriage with a man you cannot love.

He forced my cousin Meg Douglas
out of marriage

to a man she swore
she would die for.

Philip has told the King
he will make no demands.

He takes you for friendship's sake,
to further the alliance.

Does he speak English?

Only German.

Others will interpret.

- She permitted it?
- She did.

Which is a good sign, by God.

She never permitted
any of us to kiss her.

You have not the rank.

I am assured by Cromwell
that she will be conformable.

He always gives me that assurance,
yet nothing ever comes of it.

Lady Mary will do
as you command, sire.

She's given me that assurance.
But in Europe...

...they are claiming the marriage
is made against her will.

They think I would enforce her?
Yes.

I just... I wonder if it's wise...

...to let her leave the kingdom,
sire.

The Emperor still threatens
the Duke's rule.

If the Duke should fall,

Mary will always be a rallying point
for your enemies.

You see, Your Majesty?
Your daughter will never marry.

Cromwell breaks every match
proposed for her.

I wonder why.

I'm bringing Anne of Cleves
overland to Calais.

I want you there with Fitzwilliam
when she arrives,

paying reverence on my behalf.

In Calais?

Am I to cross? Mm-hm.
Write to me the minute you see her.

Make sure she knows who you are.

Be kind. Be patient, Gregory.

Make sure she has the things
that she likes to eat.

She'll want ready money. I'll give
you a purse of 50 sovereigns.

And do not embark for home

without checking that all
of her train's debts are paid.

I want Anna looking to us
for anything she needs. Company...

Excuse me. My, um, head aches.

What's that? He's jealous.

He wishes you would send him
to Calais, not me.

Why would you?

He's an idiot.

No, he's like a son.

He's anxious to please you.

Give him a kind word, Father.

This pretended alliance
between France and the Emperor.

Neither man dare turn his back
on the other.

It is not friendship,
but its opposite.

All the same,
their league has endured

longer than we could imagine.

We have few friends in either court.

You especially.

You have few friends, Cromwell.

If my service has incurred
their malice, I count it well.

It was done for Your Majesty's sake.

Are you sure about that?

I think it is because of
what you are.

They don't know
how to deal with you.

Likely not.

Your Majesty must realise...

...they want me displaced
so that you and your kingdom

may be the worse advised.

That's why they poison your mind
against me.

So...

...you would recommend...

...if 1 hear you have exceeded
your office,

or that you have slacked
my instructions or reversed them,

that I should ignore the rumour?

I would recommend you talk to me
before you believe anything.

It is a long time now
since I first saw you, Tom.

It is.

More than ten years, sire.

Is it? Mm-hm.

I remember our first interview.

Suffolk did not know
what to make of you.

I knew, though.

I saw your sharp little eyes.

You told me not to go to w*r.

"Never fight,” you said.

"You can't afford it."

Skulk indoors like a sick child.
It will be good for the Treasury.

And I thought to myself,
"By St Loy,

"this man has some stomach.
He has some gall."

I trust I did not offend.
You did.

I overlooked it,

as a ruler sometimes must.

I am greatly altered
these ten years.

You, not so much.

You no longer surprise me
like once you did.

I do not think you will
surprise me again,

considering all that you have said
and done...

...some of it miraculous,
I will not deny, Tom.

You have worked beyond
the capacities of ten ordinary men.

But still I miss
the Cardinal of York.

Still I miss Thomas Wolsey.

I am bested by
the Cardinal's ghost.

How do you like
the new Queen's Maids-of-Honour?

They seem very young.

Oh, that's you getting older.

The maids are the usual age.

Who is this?

Catherine Howard.

Norfolk's niece.

Succulent little thing.

I think we've had enough
of Norfolk's nieces.

I sent her away
because she looks 12,

but they swear
she's of sufficient age.

Here she is again.

A simpler maid I never saw.
Her mouth's always hanging open.

But she has no mother, bless her.

She was but an infant
when her mother died.

A soft word, my lady.

I'm not a monster, my lord.

I wonder who paid for
what's on her back.

That cloth did not come
from the old dowager's wardrobe.

And those rubies — did they not
once belong to Anne Boleyn?

That got your attention.

Send her away.

Again?

What do I say to the Howards?

Say what you like.

Just make sure she doesn't show
her face here again until the King

is safely married.

Sir.

My lord, I have decided
to make speed to Rochester

and greet the bride
in my own person.

Why, sir?

It will only be a day or two
before she arrives.

I want to nourish love.

Your Majesty, with all respect,
was this not aired in Council?

It was your Councillors' earnest
prayer that Your Majesty

spare himself the journey and that
you greet the Queen in London,

and you were pleased to accede.

Can I not change my mind,
Wriothesley?

In London there will be music
and ordnance,

and we shall not speak a dozen
private words to one another

before we must ride back,

and then it will be hours
before we have a chance to be alone.

No. I want to surprise her...

...and gladden her heart
and bid her a proper welcome.

If you will be advised by me, sir...
But I will not.

You have many strengths, Crumb,

but you are no adept in courtship.

She'll hardly be off the ship, sir.

Think how shamed she will be
if she cannot appear at her best.

And she may well, of course,
be overwhelmed

by Your Majesty's presence.

That is why I must go!

I will spare her anxiety.

She will be working herself up
toward great ceremonies.

I will go in disguise.

It is what a king does.

You cannot know, Cromwell,
because you are not a courtier born.

I know it is not what we agreed,
my lord,

but a bridegroom
must have his caprices,

and disguising
always brings pleasure.

The dowager, Katherine, she would
pretend she did not know me.

Of course, she did but play with me,
because everybody knows the King.

May I ask what disguise
Your Majesty means to adopt?

Ah! A Russian nobleman.

With great fur boots.

A shepherd, then.

Or perhaps...one of the Magi.

Perhaps, sir, just...
Just go as a gentleman.

A gentleman?

Of England?

A gentleman with no name?

Yes.

Very well.

I shall be ruled by Lord Cromwell,

as all the foreigners claim I am.

Christ.
Well, we did what we could.

You are afraid that he will
find her not as reported?

Because for sure she will find HIM
not as reported.

She's expecting
a full court reception.

That's what her people
have prepared her for.

In Cleves they know nothing of
this sort of childish carry-on.

Make speed to Rochester, Call-Me.
Warn her.

The King will come on the river
with a small train,

no heralds, no ceremony.
Anna must be ready.

He'll enter her chamber.
She must appear...

...astonished and delighted.

Well, it could be worse.

At least he's not going to wear
his Turkish costume.

I am greatly altered
these ten years.

You, not so much.

You no longer surprise me
like once you did.

I do not think
you will surprise me again.

Gregory. What are you doing here?

Henry is on his way back
from Rochester.

And Wriothesley? Had he warned Anne?
Was she ready?

She was warned,
she was not ready.

Why didn't you stop him
from going, Father?

You're his Councillor.

Sit. Tell me.

The King came in, masked,

dressed in some outlandish costume,

but she was looking out the window.

They were baiting a bull
in the courtyard,

and she cast a glance
over her shoulder and then...

...turned back to the sport.

I suppose she didn't believe
a prince would come in secret.

The King bowed low...

...and addressed her,
and still she didn't turn.

I think she took him for...

...I don't know what, but he stood
there with his hat in his hand.

He seemed uncertain how to proceed.

Until her people swarmed in
and alerted her.

And then she turned
and she realised who he was.

As Christ is my Saviour, Father,
the look in her eye...

...I will never forget it.
Nor, I think, will the King.

She recoiled from him.

He could not miss it.

Did you tell her he was old?

Fitzwilliam says she is as good
a woman as we will find in Europe.

But I don't see how she will undo
that first moment.

And?

He has said nothing.

Cromwell, we have not had
the papers from Cleves

about the Lorraine marriage,
the pre—contract.

It was stated emphatically that
the lady would bring them with her,

but it appears she did not.

Even the least suspicious man
would ask himself

why they have still not shown them.

I cannot proceed.

I cannot marry until I am sure

she is clear of all past promises.

Majesty...

I find her nothing so well
as she is spoken of.

Fitzwilliam...

...wrote from Calais,
praising her outright.

Well, I have not yet seen the lady,
but...

No, you have not seen her.

You and I have both been
at the mercy of reports,

so you cannot be blamed.

When I encountered her yesterday,

I tell you I had much ado
to master myself.

A great outlandish bonnet!

And her height, and stiff as she is,
I thought to myself,

"I am to marry
the Cornhill Maypole."

And I believe she had painted
her mouth,

which, if true, is a filthy thing.

Well, her attire can be changed,
sir.

Her complexion is sallow.

When I think of Jane...

...so white and clear.

A pearl.

Well, I think this will be
the journey, sir.

All those long, tedious hours
with a baggage train,

the delays, and then...
then the voyage from Calais.

As for the papers, I cannot guess

why the ambassadors
have not brought them.

But we know there's no pre—contract,
and the parties were not yet of age.

You said yourself
it's no great matter.

It is a great matter

if I think I am married
and find I am not.

I hear there was an upset
at Rochester, Cromwell.

Oh?

You know more than I do.

So I do.

High time you admitted it.

God,
is there no help for it?

He's seething inside.
I know him from childhood.

The papers are an excuse.
He dislikes her

or he is frightened of her.
But mark this, Cromwell.

I will not be stuck with the blame

just because it was I who was sent
to meet her at Calais.

Listen, no-one is seeking
to blame you.

It's his own fault,
if there is fault.

Rushing about the countryside
like a lovelorn youth.

So, Cromwell, he wants to
get out of it, I hear.

Let's be clear, my lords.

The King of France and the Emperor
are together seeing in the New Year.

They have not been so close
in our lifetime.

They have a fleet
and funds to attack us.

Our forts are still building.

Ireland is against us.
Scotland is against us.

If we're not to be overrun
this spring,

we need the princes of Germany
on our side,

either sending forces to our aid

or engaging the enemy
so that we can defeat him,

or force a truce.

The King needs to make
this marriage.

England needs it.

He agreed to it. He signed up.

He can't jib now. I agree.

I agree with my Lord Suffolk.

The King has gone too far
in the matter.

He was convinced before
that she was free to marry,

and she seems a good enough woman
to me.

Oh, she seems a good enough woman
to you, does she?

Perhaps you do not understand
the requirements of a prince!

...I wanted my diamond!
Why is my diamond not here?!

Put on my wig.

Come on, we're late.

Going to be late. Sadler!

Where is my Lord Essex?

He is supposed to escort her.
He is late. What will she think?

Cromwell, you fetch her.

I'm not worthy, Your Majesty.

You are if I say you are.

- What?
- Late!

What's the hurry?

Well, dark mornings,
ice on the path.

Needless to imperil oneself.
Cromwell.

Is Cromwell going for her?

Won't she be insulted, Majesty?

She must know that
he's a common shearsman.

Oh, get on, get on, Cromwell.
What matter who does it?

I tell you, my lord, if it were not
for fear of driving her brother

into the Emperor's arms, I would not
do what I must do this day

for none earthly thing!

Benedicti. Sitis a Domino,

qui fecit mundum ex nihilo.

Amen.

Deo Gratias.

Gaudete. Gaudete.

Gaudete.

You are Lord Cromwell.

Thank you for escorting me
this morning. Mm.

And thank you for the cakes.
A taste of home.

Have you visited my home?
I have not.

We were much misinformed

about your English, your grace.
Very good.

I have a long journey
and a good tutor.

I was hoping for letters at Calais,
but there was nothing for me.

Oh, the posts are very bad
at this time of year.

I myself am awaiting news
from our ambassadors

in France and Spain.

Ah, yes.

To know whether the friendship
continues.

I know it is, um...

...unkind to wish for w*r.

But I know that my brother Wilhelm
would be very happy if the Emperor

and the French King
would fight each other again

with their fists and teeth.

Yes. Certainly their discord
is our harmony.

A gift for you, Lord Cromwell.

Me? From Duke Wilhelm,
to thank you for your efforts.

Oh, my.

Gentlemen, you will be pleased
to know that despite the fact

that I still have not received
the paperwork that I requested...

..I have sent the Queen

her morgengabe,
as I think you call it.

A gift in accordance
with the custom of your country.

We will let you have
the written details of its value.

And a gift from Cleves,
Your Majesty,

to celebrate your new union.

How like you the Queen?

I liked her not well before.

I like her much worse now.

Her breasts are slack.

Her belly has loose skin on it.

When I felt it,
it struck me to the heart.

I had no appetite for the rest.

I do not believe she is a maid.

Oh, Maj... Majesty, she's never
strayed from her mother's side.

What did Anna say?

Nothing.

Her English disappears
when convenient.

I'm hardly going to bring the men in
to interpret.

You like her.

I do.

She keeps her own counsel.

Sets us a good example,
don't you think?

Our view is he lay on her
and put his fingers in her.

C'est tout.

The King says she has
displeasant airs about her.

You might talk to her chamber—women
and see if they're

washing her well enough.
You talk to them.

This was your gamble, Cromwell.
If I promoted the match,

it was with the King's full
permission and encouragement,

and this Council's.

Yes!

And now it's me getting the blame.

Harry says I should have
stopped her at Calais.

I wrote saying
she was like a princess.

Well, she is.

Is it for me to feel her duckies
and write home my opinion?

There is...

Get out!

Interrupting the Council!

There is news from Wyatt in Spain.

He says that he has driven a wedge
between the French and the Emperor.

Apparently, he accused the Emperor
in front of his whole court

of being ungrateful to our king.

The Emperor then, of course,
flew into a rage and said,

"How dare your master use
that word, ungrateful?

"That charge cannot be levelled
against an Emperor

"by the envoy of some poor little
island full of heretics and sheep.

"An inferior person, a king,
cannot expect gratitude.

"The Holy Roman Emperor
is set above mere kings.

"Their natural position
is at his feet."

I'm sorry, I don't...
I don't understand.

Why does that drive a wedge?

In insulting our king,
the Emperor insults all kings,

including his ally,
the King of France.

By Christ,
that was well done.

Wyatt may have started a fire

that will burn their peace treaty
clean up.

We may yet be able to sleep
safe in our beds.

Then we won't need your
German friends, will we, Cromwell?

And Henry won't need this marriage.

Your man Wyatt A*DS his country,

but works contrary to your purpose.

Thank you, Christophe.

Can you save him?

From this marriage?

How often do you get the chance
to change the map of the world?

Perhaps once in two or three
generations. Can I free him?

Can I free him?
It's not impossible.

But to let that chance slip away...

I should be here with you.

Richard is with his new family now.

Call-Me is...is just jealous
of anyone you esteem above him.

Richard Riche is a tissue
of ambition and...

And Fitzwilliam...

I thought he was your friend,

but now I am not so sure
that he can be trusted.

He will see you blamed if it will
deflect blame from himself.

You serve me better where you are,
Rafe — with the King.

So what shall we do?

What can we do but as Cicero says —
live hopefully,

die bravely.

Cromwell!

Thetford Priory.

Yes, my lord.

You've shut it.

I have.

That's my country.

I told you, my forebears lie there.

My father lies there.
Flodden Norfolk, they called him,

named after the battle.
Now where is he to go?

It's an insult to the Howard name.

My father must be prayed for,
damn you!

Your old dad, why don't you let him
take his chances?

You dare hold me in contempt?

I'll have your guts,
you filthy ingrate!

What were you, hmm,
when you came to court?

Wolsey owned the shirt on your back.

Now you stir yourself and you show
your gratitude to me and to the King

who have done so much for you!

You keep your hands
out of my affairs,

and you take your f*cking Germans
and you kick them out the door!

The whole Council approved
that match!

You signed it, Thomas Howard.

You did, as well as I!

As for that lady, the King
couldn't get her here fast enough.

I tell you, he wants to be free.

Have you not seen him
looking at my niece?

He cast a fantasy to Catherine
the first time he ever did see her.

If you want power,
why don't you get it like a man

instead of pandering
your f*cking nieces?

What? What?!

God rot you.

Was that wise, sir?

He takes such pride
in his ancestors.

I don't think he'll forgive you
for turning them out.

Norfolk, he may be a brute,
but he's right.

You told the King
that without the Germans

he was destitute of friends,
which was true, but now...

...the alliance is melting away.

Henry will be courted again
by France and Emperor both.

I don't think Norfolk has disclosed
all of his dealings with the French.

I believe they made overtures
of friendship that were...

I will not say hidden.

Entrusted to the Duke
and not to you.

They hate you, sir.

And Norfolk —

he encourages them.

Didn't I advise you when the Boleyns
came down, "Break Norfolk"?

I said, "Break him,
whilst you have the chance."

I have a matter to put to you.

It is a matter of some gravity.

Come here with me
and close the door.

Sir! Sir, you must see this at once.

It's a copy of a letter
from Ambassador Castillon

to the French King.

[, um, I put a man in his train.

Now Castillon says that King Henry
means to take the Privy Seal from us

and give it to Fitzwilliam.

That he'll cast you down
from your office as Vicegerent

and raise up Bishop Tunstall.

I received your summons.
What is it? What's happened?

well, I...

I've just come from the King,
straight from the King,

and I have news.
Good news for the both of you.

I hope you'll think so. Come in.

Come, sit with me.

Sit here.

As you know, ever since
I've been Master Secretary,

I've tried to be with
the King's person.

But always, I'm wanted
at Westminster,

so you know what my life has been.

With the King's permission,
I'm now going to divide my duties.

From now on,
you two will share the task.

Each of you will be
Master Secretary.

You'll split your time,
so if one of you is in Westminster,

the other will be with the King.

You'll both be made knights.

You'll both be raised
to the Council.

You know what I have made
of this office.

Nothing eludes it.

Nothing is beyond it.

From now on,
everything starts with you,

and with you, everything stops.

Rafe. Yes.

And I am to be made
Lord Great Chamberlain,

Chief of the Household.

The Earl of Essex
died last night, and, well, I'm...

...I'm to be given his title.

When I left the King -
before I came here...

...before I told my household -

I wanted to tell you first.

Master.

To have your blessing.

I wanted to tell my old dad...

"What, Put—An—Edge—On—It
has been made an earl?"

Just to see his face.

But everyone I wanted to tell...

...is dead.

Mm-hm.

Gregory. Father.

Bess has something
she wishes to tell you.

What is it, Bess?

I will leave you both.

Catherine Howard has left the court.

She's back at Lambeth with Norfolk.

I know.

The Queen was glad to see her go.

But the Queen doesn't understand.

Understand what?

He visits her.

The King.

He stays with her until late.

His barge comes back after sunset.

The Howards believe
that he might marry her.

And who is to say that he will not?
Do you have any proof?

I was bidden to a piece of work.

It was handed to me out of malice.

It was something of Jane's.

Jane, my sister.

It was her girdle book,
her little prayers.

I was told to take this
and to pick her initials out.

I said, "I will not.
I will not do it.

"I am Mistress Cromwell.
I am not some servant.”

The next thing that I see,

Catherine Howard is wearing it
at her waist.

And it is not the first gift
that she has had

that belongs to some lady
better than she will ever be.

Could you have another child, Crumb?

I think you could.

You are of common stock.
Common men have vigour.

I thought I would get another son
from this marriage.

But there is no sign
God intends it.

Can we not pay her off?

We might write to Cleves
this moment.

You could write at my dictation
as we once used to.

My eyes are not what they were, sir.

We could offer her a settlement,
sir,

but I don't know how much
we would need to find

to placate her brother.

And I do not know how to salvage
Your Majesty's reputation

if you were to renounce
a lawful match.

I imagine it would be hard
to hold your head up

before your fellow princes.

Or come by another wife.
I could come by one tomorrow.

Yes.

Most likely some papist.

And then I would wish myself
far away.

Come sit with me.

Put your papers to one side.
Come, sit down.

Do you remember the day
we rode down to the Weald

to see the ironmasters and find out
new ways of casting cannon?

Those were brighter days.

Jane did not like me to leave her...

...but she knew that we had
long planned the excursion,

and your lordship's press
of business being what it is,

and the duties of a king
being what they are...

...she did not ask me to forbear.

Mm.

I said to her, "It will be only
two nights or three,

"and we will take it at our ease.

"We shall listen to the birdsong.

"We shall ride, like knights
of Camelot, through the woods.

"We shall enjoy the sunshine."

But when I think about it...

...I recall we never
made that journey, did we?

Into Kent? No.

But it was projected.

Let's say we did, sir.

Let's say the ironmasters
gave us their best welcome.

Opened their minds to us...

...showed us all their secrets.

They must.

No-one could keep their secrets
from me.

It is no use to try.

The King would not
elevate you,

make you Lord High Chamberlain,
Earl of Essex,

if he meant to destroy you.

Have I not taught you, Rafe?

Have you not read it in the Book
Called Henry which I wrote for you?

Never say what the King will not do.

Sir Rafe!

Is my Lord Archbishop
on his way?

Er, we're not expecting him.

My Lord Bishop,
are you on the Council now?

Imminently.

We'll see how long that lasts,
shall we?

Anyone want to make a bet?

Well, our numbers are down,
but shall we begin?

We don't sit with traitors.

Tear out your heart
and stuff it down your throat!

Get his arms.

Get his arms!

Hold him!

My lord!

My lord, you must come with me.

I'll walk by your side
and lead you through the crowd.

Adieu, Cromwell.

You give me my title, Stephen.

You have no title.

It's gone.

You are no more than God made you.

May he take you to his mercy.

Have you heard
of The Ink Black Heart?