ine turned her back upon the Court, and returned to the
adjoining palace of Bridewell.

On the following Monday, the 21st, the Court again sat to give judgment
upon her protest, which Campeggio would have liked to accept and so to
relieve him of his difficulty but for the pressure put upon him by Wolsey
and the Court. To the call of his name Henry on this occasion answered in
person from his throne, "Here," whilst the Queen contented herself by an
inclination of the head. When the Legates had rejected her protest, the
King rose, and in one of his sanctimonious speeches once more averred his
admiration and affection for his wife, and swore that his fear of living
sinfully was the sole cause of his having raised the question of the
validity of his marriage. When his speech had ended Katharine rose.
Between them the clerks and assessors sat at a large table, so that she
had to make the whole circuit of the hall to approach the King. As she
came to the foot of his throne she knelt before him for a last appeal to
his better feelings. In broken English, and with tears coursing down her
cheeks, she spoke of their long married life together, of the little
daughter they both loved so well, of her obedience and devotion to him,
and finally called him and God to witness that her marriage with his
brother had been one in name only. Then, rising, she bowed low to the man
who was still her husband, and swept from the room. When she reached the
door, Henry, realising that all Christendom would cry out against him if
she was judged in her absence, bade the usher summon her back, but she
turned to the Welsh courtier, Griffin Richards, upon whose arm she leaned,
saying: "Go on, it is no matter; this is no impartial Court to me," and
thus, by an act of defiance, bade Henry do his worst. Like other things
she did, it was brave, even heroic in the circumstances, but it was unwise
from every point of view.

It would be profitless to follow step by step the further proceedings,
which Campeggio and Wolsey, at least, must have known were hollow. The
Court sat from week to week, and Henry grew more angry as each sitting
ended fruitlessly, the main question at issue now being the consummation
or non-consummation of the first marriage; until, at the end of July,
Campeggio demanded a vacation till October, in accordance with the rule in
Roman Courts.[78] Whilst this new delay was being impatiently borne, the
revocation of the powers of the Legates,