Alcalá de Henares is not so far away the road is bad, the going slow, but please, I beseech thee, let me arrive, settle into the place prepared for me and there let the child be born.

The child, so soon to be born, would be her tenth four were alive, thank God few mothers had been so blessed but every stumble and jolt she knew a small fear - not here, please God, not in the open, in the rain. Each time this happened Isabella felt like a woman holding a basketful of eggs riding on a seesaw after each jolt the question, All right? All well? Yes, thanks be to God, no harm done. Sometimes, under the smooth shining surface of the mud, there was a dip then the mule stumbled, recovered itself with a jerk and a heave and plodded on: sometimes, under a mere skim of mud there was a boulder, thrown in to fill a hole visible last summer striking one of these the mule stumbled again recovered and plodded on. Every time the mule put foot down there was a squelching sound, every time it lifted one there was a plop.

The winter rains had set in and the roads which through the long hot summer had been ankle-deep in dust were now over hoof deep in mud, sticky as glue. Mules, everybody agreed, were more sure-footed, so Isabella of Spain rode on a mule, her heavily pregnant body wrapped in a rain-repellent leather cloak, on her head a hood of the same material, her feet encased in a pair of boots similar to those worn by foot soldiers. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title. This is a story which will impress Katharine in the reader's mind as a noble woman and great Queen.

'The King's Pleasure' is a brilliant recreation of one of history's greatest tragedies. But after nearly twenty years, Henry - his eyes affixed firmly on the ambitious young Anne Boleyn - repudiated their marriage, submitted Katharine to the humiliations of a 'trial' and banished her from him life. This delightful, richly tapestried novel tells of her life with Henry - the many happy years the birth of their daughter, Mary Tudor her popularity with the people and, above all, her constant and unswerving love for the King. But, Arthur died just after their marriage and it was as the wife of his brother, Henry VIII, that she went to her Coronation. From the moment of Katharine's betrothal to Arthur, Prince of Wales, she looked upon herself as the future Queen of England. Katharine of Aragon is a proud Spanish beauty who became Queen of England.

The King's Pleasure by Norah Lofts