NOT ABOUT ANGELS | THE WHITE QUEEN

Chapter LIV

"He rules," Richard answers softly, but clearly.

"Yes! He rules. And as a ruler, I..." Edward locked his eyes on Charlotte's and she wondered where this all was leading to. "As ruler, I have the last say. Me! Not you! Not you! Not you! And not you! You have all had your ideas, and they have all failed! I will not."
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Izzy,

I am afraid.

King Louis came to camp and insisted he would not negotiate without my presence. While we talked, he made some comments that worry me. I fear the rumors of how deep my relationship with Edward is have escaped England. I believe he knows what truly happened a few months before Lily was born. I believe the reason for the scandal a few weeks after Princess Anne was born is no longer a secret.

By word, his son and heir, the Dauphin Charles is engaged to Lizzie, as she is Edward's and Elizabeth's eldest daughter. However, in the official papers, he has engaged his son to one of Edward's daughters, no mention to status or her mother.

I worry, sister. I worry what Edward's actions will cause. A part of me fears I no longer recognize him. I love him still, but he is falling too deeply into Elizabeth's command. He says it is to calm her nerves, but I fear it is more than that.

We came for war and we leave as merchants.

Margaret of Anjou will be returned to Louis for 50,000 crowns. And England's coffers will receive a raise of 75,000 crowns upfront, with a yearly payment of 50,000 crowns. Now, we are bound to help Louis if he experiences a rebellion, with the expectation that we will receive the same in return.

I would ask that you and Annie do some digging into French affairs. There is something else going on, it is the only reason for Louis to part with so much coin instead of risking his soldiers in the battlefield and I wish to find out what has happened.

You remain in my prayers,
Charlotte
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Château d'Argœuves, France

To celebrate their new alliance, the French King had bought the three York brothers and their men France's best whores.

Charlotte and George stood across the room alongside Richard, trying to block out the sight that the thin curtain just a few feet in front of them could not hide from them.

Behind the curtain, Edward was sitting in a chair, his shirt half torn open as some whore straddled his waist, riding him. She had her back arched in pleasure while Edward's head was thrown back, both of them moaning loudly.

Edward opened his eyes briefly, his eyes locking on Charlotte, who glared at him, since she knew he was committing such an act in public solely to piss her and his brothers off. She had no illusions about his fidelity, but one thing was to know and another one was to see. What pissed her off was that he was doing as some sort of revenge because she did not wish to debase herself in front of everyone.

George quickly avoided eye contact with Edward, a furious look on his face.

"Our father would cry for shame if he could see us now," Richard murmured.

"It's that whore Elizabeth's fault," George complained. "She's been writing to him since we left, telling him not to fight. She has England's high command, not Edward. He'll let her do anything just to shut her up about you, Charlotte."

"Frankly, I'm getting tired of this," Charlotte said as she downed her goblet of wine. "I'll be in some other room. Don't worry about me."
          
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English Channel

Charlotte retched in a bucket which one of the soldiers would have to carry to the top of the boat and dump her vomit into the sea. She gave Aimee an apologetic look as she wiped the sick off her lips with a cloth.

"Perhaps we should fetch the physician, mon coeur. You were not this sick on the journey to France" Edward said, rubbing soothing circles on her back with his free hand, holding her hair back with his other.

She could detect a hint of hope in his voice and could guess what Edward was most likely thinking of. She'd never been this sick on a boat before, after all.

While there had been no storm when they traveled to France, the sea had been rather rough, violently jostling their ship to the point where there was some fear that they would be knocked off course. Despite the rough journey, Charlotte had not been seasick then and yet here she was emptying the content of her stomach since they had set off from Calais.

"Careful, mon cheri, it might be too early to get our hopes up," she teased him, keeping herself dangling off the bed as the bile continued to rise in her throat. "Why don't we wait a few more weeks before asking Dr. Hatteclyffe or a midwife to check me."

By then, she would know for certain if missing her courses last month was just a fluke or not. They had never completely returned to being regular after she became a mother for the first time and missing them once did not mean she was with child, after all. In any case, it was too early to know, given that they had only been intimate in France a few times after peace was made.

Not to mention, knowing if she kept throwing up even after getting off the boat or at the very least was only sick in the mornings, rather than all the time would also be a clue to whether or not she was with child.