We know that Cromwell invited Smeaton to his house in Stepney to be interrogated, with many historians suggesting the musician was tortured to confess to having an affair with Anne. No reliable contemporary accounts state that Smeaton was tortured and he seemed in good health on the scaffold, as much as one can be. Mantel clearly does not believe the allegation of torture, and has Cromwell coax Smeaton into a boastful confession, naming two other men as rivals – Francis Weston and Henry Norris – which he immediately regrets:
Five rash minutes of boasting, in one ungratified life and, like nervous tradesmen, the gods at once send in their account.
Smeaton admitted to having had sex with the queen and sources tell us that Cromwell wrote at once to the king outlining ‘Smeaton’s confession’.
Despite (or due to) the machinations moving below the surface, Henry decided to proceed with the May Day jousts, presided over by Anne Boleyn in her last public display as queen. But Henry’s eye was on Henry Norris, his Groom of the Stool. We know that in the middle of the tournament, Henry left abruptly, taking Henry Norris with him. Norris was accused of intercourse with the queen, which he indignantly refused. He was dropped off at the Tower and it is enough to bring Anne in herself.
Anne was at Greenwich watching a tennis tournament on 2nd May when she received instructions to meet with the Privy Council. Anne stood before her uncle Norfolk, Sir William FitzWilliam and Sir William Paulet, who outlined charges of adultery with three men, for which she would be taken to the Tower. Anne was kept in her apartments until the Thames tide became favourable, and at two o’clock in the afternoon she stepped onto the royal barge and was rowed up the river to the Tower, likely entering via the Court Gate near the Byward Tower – the usual entrance for nobility and royalty, rather than Traitor’s Gate. We know from William Kingston, the Constable of the Tower, that upon entering the Tower, Anne was informed she would be lodged in those familiar queen’s apartments, whereupon she broke down into hysterical tears and declared that it was too good for her. This has sometimes been taken as evidence of a degree of guilt, but Mantel’s Cromwell feels he knows what she means:
When she said the queen’s lodgings were too good for her, she did not mean to admit her guilt, but to say this truth: I am not worthy, and I am not worthy because I have failed.
Historically, one of Anne’s main concerns while at the Tower was for her family, asking after her parents, worrying that her fate, and that of her brother, would kill their mother, and worrying for George. As we see in The Mirror and the Light, George, brought in the same day as Anne, was mostly concerned for those who might suffer as a result of his death; indeed he was so distressed that Sir William Kingston wrote to Cromwell on his behalf to ask for help.
The other men are brought to the Tower with Francis Weston being admitted last on 5th May. Thomas and Elizabeth Boleyn did not visit Anne and George, a fact which is used as evidence of their ruthless callousness towards their children, but more than likely, they were forbidden to visit, obliged to remain silent.
INTERROGATION
So much of the documentation pertaining to Anne’s arrest has vanished, and Cromwell’s interrogations of the four men can only be guessed at, but the interrogations which Mantel has conjured are punctuated by one linking theme: left forepaw, right forepaw, right hindpaw and left hindpaw. Four positions, four men. The devils who tormented the cardinal in the masque.
Cromwell first questions Norris, where flirtatious banter between himself and the queen is placed before him, twisted into something far more licentious. Norris would be accused of having intercourse with the queen on 6th and 31st October 1533 at Westminster. The usually meticulous Cromwell should have checked those dates: Anne was actually at Greenwich, recovering from childbirth. Not that it mattered at this stage.
For Brereton’s interrogation, Mantel’s Cromwell does not even bother to discuss the charges, but rather what he feels Brereton is guilty of, referencing Brereton’s covering up of a murder committed by his servants. In reality, it is more likely that Brereton’s opposition to Cromwell’s administrative reforms, particularly in Wales, led to his removal. When George Boleyn is examined, we get a sense that Mantel’s Cromwell does not believe the charges of incest, but he does believe George to be an arrogant man who has no morals or religious conviction – a belief which does not do George justice.
Weston, of all the men, understands that it is not just about Wolsey, but his own treatment of Cromwell over the years, and apologizes, but Mantel has Weston on the precipice of admitting something. Rather than waiting for the man to speak, Cromwell leaves the room. This is perhaps Mantel’s way of excusing her man; avoiding the pronouncement of a historical verdict either way. Mantel does not want to tell us either that Anne is guilty or that she is innocent.
Throughout these interrogations, it is clear that we are being invited to follow Cromwell’s logic but we are being asked, without judgement, to understand Cromwell’s rationale:
He needs guilty men. So he has found men who are guilty. Though perhaps not guilty as charged.
Then it is Anne’s turn. Without evidence, we can only imagine Cromwell’s examination of his former ally, and again, Anne’s true guilt is somewhat ambiguous. We believe Mantel’s Anne when she is emotional, irrational, uncomprehending of how her life has collapsed around her, and she appeals to Cromwell who, just for a moment, hesitates:
But then she raises her hands and clasps them at her breast, in the gesture Lady Rochford had showed him. Ah, Queen
