My Nephew, My King

Jousting Mishap

Joanna found that she enjoyed being married to George very much. It was nice to wake up beside him in the morning and feel his arms around her, and she loved cuddling in bed with him and talking. They still went for horseback rides and picnics frequently, and she enjoyed that tremendously.

Several months after her wedding, Joanna missed her monthly courses.

"I think I might be with child," she told George one night.

"You'd better see the midwife soon," he replied.

"I'm going to see her tomorrow," Joanna told him.

"Congratulations, Your Grace," the midwife told her the next day. "You're with child."

Joanna was ecstatic. She couldn't wait to tell George the news.

"I can see by your smile that you have happy news," he told her.

"Oh, George, you're going to be a father!" Joanna exclaimed.

"That's fantastic!" George exclaimed, picking his wife up and spinning her around.

Joanna had an easy pregnancy, but as her due date grew closer, she began to feel anxious and afraid. She discussed her fears with her sister-in-law, Queen Anne.

"Does it hurt very much to give birth?" Joanna asked.

"It's very painful," Anne told her. "But as soon as it's all over with and you're holding your new baby in your arms, you're so happy that you forget all about the pain."

"I've heard that some women even die in childbirth," said Joanna.

"It happens, but it's not terribly common," Anne assured her. "You're perfectly healthy, so I don't think you have anything to worry about."

A few days later, Joanna felt unwell in the morning, and by the evening she was feeling much worse. The physician came and examined her.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid she has the sweating sickness," he told George.

George fought his rising panic. "But what about the baby?"

"The baby may very well survive, if Joanna lives. If not, it may still be saved if we open her abdomen right away."

"Dear God, please no!" George begged. Images of Joanna's dead body being cut open with blood everywhere came to his mind, and he tried desperately to push them away. "Please, you have to save her!"

"She's in God's hands now," the physician said gravely.

One day, Joanna's younger brother Henry was visiting his mother's chambers when he noticed a beautiful blonde whom he hadn't seen before.

"Meet my new lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour," Katherine told her son.

"Hello." Henry smiled and kissed Jane's hand. She smiled back.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" asked Henry.

"Certainly," Jane replied.

They went for a walk together in the palace garden. Henry told Jane what it had been like to grow up as the younger brother of the King, and Jane told Henry about her own family, about her sister Elizabeth and her brothers Edward and Thomas.

"I'm going jousting tomorrow," Henry told Jane.

"Here," said Jane. "Take this with you. It's a good luck charm."

Henry didn't really believe in the power of charms, but he didn't want to hurt Jane's feelings, so he took the amulet from her and placed it around his neck.

Henry rode out onto the field with anticipation the following day. He felt confident and was eager for the joust to get underway. He clutched his lance, and as the signal was given, rode toward his opponent.

Suddenly Henry heard a tremendous crash, and as his body fell from the horse's back, he felt a tremendous jarring sensation. Then everything went black.