Festina Lente

Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Queen of France

17th of April 1535 - Château de Fontainebleau, France

Crumbling up the letter in her hands, the Duchess of Orleans stared up at the ceiling as she tried to swallow back the tears that threatened to fall. 

Her cousin had been safely delivered of her third child, a healthy baby boy; a son that would inherit his father's lands and titles when he passed from this life. 

In four years of marriage, Clarice had managed to do her duty to her husband while Catherine had nothing to show for her marriage to the Duke. 

Despite the witches promises that she would give her husband children, that three of her sons would be Kings; there was no sign that Henri had any desire to share her bed. 

Anger bitterly swirled within her and Catherine could not contain the rage that she felt at the knowledge that her husband preferred his mistress to her. 

In the two years that she had been married to Henri, Catherine had felt increasingly alone and she knew that people judged her for having no children to add to the royal nursery. 

The one duty that was expected of her and she could not do it if her husband would not come to her bed, she heard the whispers that her marriage would be annulled if she continued to fail. 

Reaching for the vase that was seated beside her, Catherine did not hesitate for a moment before she grabbed a hold of it and chucked it across the room at the wall. 

The sound of it smashing making the ladies that were attending to her jump, they all turned to stare at the Duchess of Orleans as if she had lost her mind. 

Paying them no mind, Catherine walked over to the fire place and tossed the letter into the flames; she knew it was her destiny to sit upon the throne of France beside Henri. 

It would be her blood that secured the French succession, the witch had told her that three of her sons would be Kings and she knew in her heart of hearts that was true. 

France, Navarre, and Naples... they would be the domains that she secured with her children and she was sure of that; she could imagine no other way that three sons of hers could become Kings all at once.

The doors to Catherine's chambers opened and the lady hurried inside before dropping into a low curtsy before the Duchess, her eyes lowering for a second before moving to stand straight and waiting to deliver her message. 

"What is it?" Catherine barked not in the mood to deal with the court, she needed to come up with a way to bring her own husband into her bed; as if that wasn't embarrassing enough. 

This was not what Clement had promised her when he had told her of his plans to marry her into the French royal family, into a position higher than Clarice could ever dream of holding. 

Her husband was a blood prince, he was second in line behind his brother to the throne while Clarice had been married off to a man who should have been nothing more than a grubby courter licking the boots of the King. 

"Your Grace. The Queen of Navarre has sent me to collect you, it seems the carriage carrying the new Queen is arriving," the lady stated warily, her eyes catching on the smashed vase in the corner and the looks from the Duchess's ladies that told her that she had come at a bad time. 

However, when Marguerite of Navarre tasked you with something then you did it; the woman was all put regent in the absence of the King with the Dauphin learning the ropes of ruling from her. 

Catherine clenched her teeth, she had been furious to learn that the King had remarried; surely, he had enough children to secure his line without marrying some minor lady from Hesse.