"Her Majesty has given birth to a healthy baby boy."
The silence in Henry's rooms was deafening. In the face of it, Lady Ursula Catesby's encouraging smile first wavered, then dropped altogether.
"I'm sorry, Your Grace," she said softly, "I know how much we all hoped and prayed for a Princess and Your Graces most of all, of course."
Henry's cheeks had drained of colour at her words, but at the pity in her tone, he shook himself. He'd staked everything on being able to father a girl at the first time of trying, unlike the Prince of Castile. Thus, this was a significant blow to his prestige. The Court would be waiting to see how he reacted. If he faltered; if he allowed a lowly maidservant to pity him, then he was done for. The wolverines would pounce on his weakness in a second.
Anyway,
