Athos cannot deny that he is nervous at being asked to bring François along with him to meet the King and Queen. He is rather glad that they are in the gardens; the boy is in a rather excitable mood.
"Awe we weally gonna see da King?" asks François. He is bouncing on his feet, and Athos is tempted to scoop him up in his arms. The thought, however, is interrupted by a royal guard announcing that the King is ready to see them.
Anne and Louis are sat together on a bench, with the baby Dauphin wriggling on his blanket. Anne is the first to look up. A tiny child peeks out from behind Athos's legs, waves one small hand, and returns to his hiding spot. She smiles easily. "Hello."
"Hi," whispers François, and Athos quietly moves so that both King and Queen can see him properly. "You gotta baby …"
Anne laughs. "Yes," she says. "His name's Louis. Would you like to come and see?"
François looks nervously from the Queen to Athos.
Athos knows what he is waiting for. "Go on, then," he says.
And so the little boy takes steps across the garden towards Anne and the Dauphin. François kneels down next to the baby. "Hi," he says, "I'm François."
The Dauphin gurgles. Louis has half an eye on both children, but Anne smiles at him. "They'll be fine. He'll be fine."
"How is he?" asks Louis. "When I heard …"
"The state I found him in was most displeasing, Your Majesty," says Athos, unable to fight the bitterness in his voice. "I do not wish to go into detail, but I daresay it will take a long time to reverse the damage his mother has done."
"He is not his father," says Anne. "I can see—and with love, he will surely become a good man. He has very good role models."
"I'm glad you think so, Your Majesty," says Athos. He turns to François, who is playing peek-a-boo with the young Prince. The baby gurgles excitedly.
No, thinks Athos, he is not his father at all …
