Anne of the Thousand Days Page #3

Anne, you see before you

not the King, but a poor fellow

as uncertain, as eager,

as hopeful, as afraid

as any man that ever fell in love.

I see the King.

Believe me, all kingship on one side.

Women give love to the King

like paying taxes.

I wish to be loved for myself.

Well, as you say you're not the King,

but only a poor, uncertain,

eager, hopeful fellow.

Oould you tell me why the King sent an

old Ohurch pander to give me my orders?

- Pander?

- The Lord Oardinal Wolsey.

Oh. Did he speak clumsily?

No, Your Grace.

He spoke to the point.

What the King wants, he will have.

No, Anne. It's quite the reverse.

What you want, you shall have.

- If I have you first.

- Not against your will.

- Not?

- Never.

I'll earn your love

and then your bed.

Tell me what things you want.

Prove me.

There is one thing I want.

I want something that has gone.

You shall have it.

Now walk with me, talk with me.

I love your sweet voice,

your company and your bold spirit.

Tell me, dare I ask it?

Is there anything about me

that you love?

No.

My God.

You asked not to be treated

like the King.

I would have lied to the King.

No one has ever talked to me

like that before.

My sweet voice will not lie to you.

But in time, Nan,

you'll grow to love me.

Anything is possible.

With us everything is possible.

That's settled. I can return to London.

- You, Oromwell, will remain here.

- Here, My Lord?

To keep me informed.

Tell My Lord of Suffolk that we shall

entertain no more such petitions.

Show that to Sir Thomas More,

that's his province.

Ah, Thomas.

You smell of horse sweat.

His Majesty has sent me to inform you,

My Lord, that the...

...entertainment at Hever suits him

well, and he intends to remain.

Excellent. No, tell Lovell

his request is denied.

That witch has been leading him

a dance for two weeks.

She'll go the way of all the rest.

Granted.

The King should be attending to matters

of State, not pursuing a reluctant girl.

If he wants her, he should take her.

What is Sir Thomas More's opinion

about that?

Master Oromwell,

when you counsel the King

tell him what he ought to do,

but never what he is able to do.

If he knew his real strength, it

would be hard for any man to rule him.

- He ought to leave Hever.

- Let sleeping kings lie, Thomas,

and we'll see to the government

of the country.

Nan, it's a cruel thing to be

near a woman day after day,

to touch her when you wanted to,

to have her company when you asked it

and to have no response.

To burn with love as I do for you

and be denied any pleasure

in your cool company.

It is a cruel thing, Nan,

to be denied love.

The same cruel thing has happened to me.

I've fallen in love.

- Nan!

- But not with you.

My God. I got it right in the face

that time. Percy, is it?

You know.

You had Wolsey send him away.

- That blundering...

- I mean to marry him.

- Never!

- But not as my sister is married.

He won't be a complacent husband

and I shall not be accessible to you.

All wives are accessible.

Any husband can be placated.

Then you have nothing to fear.

Let me marry him.

No! I want you all to myself!

Nan. Nan.

If you give yourself to me

this whole kingdom will turn around you.

Whatever you wanted for anyone.

knighthoods, revenues,

you shall dispose of them

exactly as you please.

And be thrown out in the end? What great

revenues does my sister dispose of?

Well, Mary asked for nothing.

I won't bargain. Ask for what you want.

My freedom. To marry whom I love.

Never.

I've heard what your courtiers say

and I've seen what you are.

You're spoiled and vengeful

and bloody.

Your poetry is sour

and your music is worse.

You make love as you eat, with

a good deal of noise and no subtlety.

This is not safe.

Yes, I've been told it's not safe

for any of us to say no to our King.

That put on, kindly,

hail-fellow-well-met of yours.

My father's house will be pulled down,

and Northumberland's too, they tell me.

Well, pull them down, Your Majesty,

you are what I said.

There is no better way to make an end

than to raise anger in me.

I thank you for that. You made

a fool of me! And I'm well out of it!

Your Grace!

- You will not harm Harry Percy?

- I'll try not.

Vengeful and bloody as I am,

I'll try not!

[grunts]

- Where are you from?

- Northumberland.

- I've a message for the Lady Anne.

- You better rest. Give me the letter.

- Give it to no one but the Lady Anne.

- All right.

Harry Percy is married.

"Anne, my love, forgive me."

- The King did this.

- Not the King, Wolsey.

See here.

"I would have held out. But for your

safety, dearest Anne, I had to marry."

That would be Wolsey's threat, that you

would suffer if Percy remained defiant.

God, I can't believe it.

The pain is so great, I want to die.

Pain goes, my child.

Few of us marry where our hearts lie.

[shouting, cheering]

Damn all entertainment

and damn all women!

Why must I want the one woman

who doesn't want me?

I'll see her!

Elizabeth.

For God's sake make her hurry. When the

King is hungry he's in an evil temper.

I'll see to this.

Will. Let's see what the lady Elizabeth

has decided.

- He's never returned to a woman.

- Lucky for all of us and your child.

- Henry was generous with his children.

- Learn from me, Nan.

Lock up your heart,

never surrender completely.

I shall not surrender myself at all.

The moment you're conquered

he'll walk away.

That's enough!

I hate him only a little less

than I hate Wolsey.

- Ready? Are we ready?

- Quite ready, Father.

[gentle music]

[man singing] Farewell, farewell

My pleasure past

Welcome my present pain

Welcome the torment in my heart

To see my love again

Alone, alone

I longed for her

While mistresses forsaking

Now must I tell my hopes and fear

Of love in her awaking

Bravo, Your Majesty! Bravo!

Bravo, Majesty.

No other king can write as you do,

Your Majesty.

That cheers me, Elizabeth.

Someone, I forget whom,

said once that my music was sour

and my poetry worse.

That caused me great anguish. True verse

and music grow from suffering.

I heard it in my mind

when I woke from a troubled sleep.

I wrote it down without a correction.

It sings what is truly in my heart.

If some young man wrote this song

for you, Anne, what would you say of it?

I would ask him how his wife liked it,

Your Grace.

You shall dance to my tune, mistress.

The Basse dance I composed.

Play. Be merry. Dance.

[chatter, music starts up]

Anne, why do you taunt me?

Percy is married, Your Majesty.

- None of my doing.

- I see.

Wolsey is King of England, is he?

[music stops, muttering]

That's enough. I am the King.

If you dare to treat me like

a bawling boy in front of my court,

- I'll tear this castle down.

- Do so.

[music restarts in hall]

Anne, even a king cannot choose

where he will love.

I want no one in this kingdom but you.

That's why I've returned.

You are not free to love,

you have a wife.

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