![]() ![]() They will not let any man touch her palms out, they force back those who try to help them. Having been on a battlefield, he knows this from experience too. She held it fast though, and a head is heavier than you expect. He saw how, as she received the bundle, the woman shuddered from the nape of her neck to her feet. The Frenchman-they had sent for the Calais executioner-had picked up the head, swaddled it in linen, then handed it to one of the veiled women who had attended Anne in her last moments. The small body lies on the scaffold where it has fallen: belly down, hands outstretched, it swims in a pool of crimson, the blood seeping between the planks. Having once been a poor man, he knows this from experience. The man has performed his office with style and though the king is paying him well, it is important to reward good service with encouragement, as well as a purse. Under the hats, their faces are stunned.īut then he turns back, to say a word of thanks to the executioner. The witnesses, who have knelt for the passing of the soul, stand up and put on their hats. The morning’s circumstances are new and there are no rules to guide us. ![]() ![]() A sharp pang of appetite reminds him that it is time for a second breakfast, or perhaps an early dinner. Once the queen’s head is severed, he walks away. ![]()
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