read it and loved it!

Grace made a huge mistake when she advised Chapuys to talk to Cromwell. I know that Grace cannot persuade Henry to reinstate Mary into the line of succession, and I agree that Mary and Elizabeth are both sisters, so Grace is willing to see them as equals. But the two girls are viewed either legitimate or illegitimate depending on a faction, as Chapuys rightly says.

The king’s accident on a tournament… The scenes remind me those from the show, but you added Grace and Mary into them in quite a natural way. I especially like Mary and Anne praying together for Henry in the chapel, and even Cromwell who is now Anne’s enemy joins them. Jane Seymour is probably praying more for her chance to become Queen of England, not for the king’s life, or perhaps I am mistaken, but in this AU she is more a seductress than in many others.

The most dramatic scene is in the next chapter – the loss of Anne’s child, and Grace’s vow to share Anne’s fate regardless of what will happen. As I reviewed that chapter a while ago, I cannot post another review. I can only say that the ending is well written and dramatic; I also noticed that now there are fewer large passages which slowed the flow, which is good.

While I don’t like Grace’s closeness (carnal closeness without actual intercourse) with Henry, I appreciate the guilty Grace is feeling and her candid conversation with Anne. Grace has honor and is intrepid, as proved the episode when she saved Elizabeth, and as further proved her frank chat with Anne as she confessed what Henry did to her and what she allowed him to do. Something tells me that Anne might be relatively calm as she listens to her because she respects Grace’s candor and because her own feelings for Henry are beginning to fade, for Anne must understand that Henry loves too many women while loving no one more than he does love himself.

Catherine of Aragon is finally dead, and Anne is the undisputed Queen of England now – yet, it will not help her if she loses her son and Henry decides to get rid of Anne. Thomas More is right that he will not always be around so Grace needs to be careful; hopefully, More will side with Anne when Henry makes a move against her so that another queen is not removed.

I am very worried about Grace’s closeness with Eustace Chapuys. He is the worst enemy of Anne, now together with Cromwell. But Grace is maneuvering well between the Catholic faction championing Mary and the Boleyn faction being a friend to Anne. I also like Grace’s family and her relatives, one of whom married Mary Boleyn and made Anne and Grace even closer.

Now King François I of France advises Grace to exercise caution when it comes being Anne’s friend. From a political standpoint, François’ inability (not even unwillingness) to recognize Anne as Henry’s queen is understandable, and I don’t blame him for that – he was a great Catholic king. Grace is right that if François thinks that Anne is in danger, then they are both in danger. But I wonder why François who liked Anne a lot didn’t contact her and didn’t send her a letter?

I’m glad that Mary Tudor is admitted back to court. Anne is now with child, and I liked the moment when she informed Henry about her new pregnancy; he even acted as a man in love, but what is the worth of his love? Death and heartbreak… Jane Seymour is now here, and although she is not nearly as enticing as Anne and Grace are, she will do her best to ensnare the king.

Cromwell has the reason to be worried as he watches Anne and Grace becoming closer than ever before. I’m glad that they are inseparable, for Anne needs to have a close friend like Grace, although Lady Margery Horseman and several other ladies who were very close to her. Together Grace and Anna can crush Cromwell and stop his plans to have the whole of the English Church destroyed – not reformed, but destroyed utterly and completely. They both are Cromwell’s enemies.

Although I’d prefer Grace to be more loyal to Anne and not to have any flings with Henry even without having full intercourse, I suppose that I understand what is happening. Grace is young, several years younger than Anne, and she is tempted and attracted to the king’s mighty power and the air of regality around him. I am no longer as angry with her as I was while reading this fiction for the first time. I actually think that she is doing a pretty good job resisting the temptation.

Grace’s words that Henry places too much trust into one man – Cromwell – are important, but Henry brushes them off. Good that he then remembered Anne’s words about Wolsey spoke several years ago – perhaps these memories and Grace’s opinion will make him change his mind.

It is the first time when I like Thomas More a lot, or perhaps his thoughts of Grace and their company being unstoppable with Anne’s aid as they work to oust Cromwell from his seat of power. However, I think that Grace’s contacts with Eustace Chapuys might be dangerous, for this man hated Anne more than he could hate the devil himself. I’d like to see More on Anne’s side, especially if Cromwell tries to have Anne executed on phone charges so that Henry is free.

I like all the scenes of Grace and Elizabeth – you write little Bess very well. Henry is such a lewd man who wants Grace because he cannot have her, so he chases after her like a hunter. I also like the scene when Grace shows off her skills with a bow; the comparison of her to Artemis is lovely, for I like mythological comparisons and they go in line with the Renaissance era.

I like the letters exchanged between Grace and Anne Boleyn. Their friendship is growing, and they both miss each other. Of course, Anne has many enemies at court, and even though Henry has eyes for Grace, Anne needs her friend for support and not to feel so lonely, for even Anne’s family is betraying her in quite a vile way – she is a mere tool for them all.

However, Mary should not have taught Grace hot to touch a man to please him. Grace is already tempted by the king, and she does not need more temptation, for it is already hard for her to resist it. Catherine of Aragon is right when she says that she is more afraid for Grace’s heart rather than Henry’s, for Catherine begins to understand who Henry is and what he is capable of.

So, Anne's confrontation with Cromwell is beginning... Only beginning... Anne is sharp-tongued and should have been far more cautious around him. I like that Grace is now Duchess of Gloucester, but this title... I just associate it with Richard III I cannot help myself...

This chapter made me love Grace absolutely. You know I begin to understand her better only now when I am re-reading. Perhaps Anne is ready to make her his friend because of what she says: "I know you do not want to displace me. You do not speak against me to the king." For this alone Anne respects Grace, and I also think that Anne desperately needed a friend too. I like the current candor between her and Grace. I also like how you write Bess.

I am delighted that Grace is safe and regained her conscience. Henry's happiness was a delight to read despite my attitude to him. Anne's conversation with Boleyn and Norfolk as she confronted them regarding their possible involvement in an attack on Grace and even Bess...

This was an unexpected chapter as Grace was hurt. I am very sorry that she was, but at least the arrow was removed. I wonder whether it was poisoned or not and who is behind the attempt? I do not believe Anne knows anything.

I like how Grace makes Mary come to her senses. Grace's view on religion is interesting and encouraging for she can make Mary tolerant of other religions.

Very glad that Thomas More is alive. While I do not love him, in this AU his survival is necessary because he is part of Grace's family. For the first time I heard something good from that womanizer: "Sometimes a king's pride is not worth the life of a man who merely keeps his opinion to himself. Yes, that is true, bit this does not automatically make Henry a better man. He will not change

On this Grace is entirely right...So your pride is worth more than a man's life?" His pride and his over-inflated ego damn him. It is Henry VIII! Grace's words "Your vanity has clouded your senses. You're a king, start acting like it!" are exactly what this buffoon needed to heart, but these words are ricochetting off his skull and disappear somewhere in thin air. Henry cannot admit to his imperfection. I am enjoying scenes of Grace's resistance to him.

I am absolutely relieved that nothing transpired between Grace and Henry. I understand that Henry would not force himself upon her, but he could have been more insistent on sex assuming that she would agree. Glad that he did not. I do not want Henry to be with Grace because he will bring her only torment and other infidelities even if he marries her.

Loving relationship between her and Christian. They are really good brother and sister. Sad that Thomas More will stand trial.

Poor Anne! She is left alone while Henry goes to Grace whose family I like. She is getting more and more paranoid just as she did on the show when Henry began to distance himself from her. I wish she had not gone through this pain.

Grace is an inexperienced girl who is being seduced by a far older lustful man. I begin to understand what she may be feeling. She is torn between her loyalty to Anne, interest in sex, and her attraction to him.