*Author's Note: This is a short chapter and we don't see Mary and Bash at all in it, but this was necessary to move the story along. Don't worry, the next chapter will have plenty of Mary and Bash and a character that has been asked about in the reviews. ;)

Chapter 9

Olivia paced nervously as she waited for Francis to return to his chambers. It had been almost three weeks since Mary and Sebastian's wedding and Queen Catherine had been needling Olivia about completing her part of the bargain. Olivia knew the Queen would destroy her if she didn't do as she asked, and Olivia couldn't risk the damage to herself or her family.

The door swung open, and Francis stopped short, surprised to see Olivia in his room.

"Olivia? I thought I would see you later today. Is something wrong?"

"Yes," Olivia whispered, turning away from him. "Francis, I must tell you something."

She kept herself turned away from him, unsure she could get the words out if she looked his way.

Francis stayed silent waiting for Olivia to continue.

"Francis, I...Francis, I'm with child."

"You...What? How?" Francis stammered.

"You know very well how, Francis." Her cheeks flushed at the thought.

"Are you sure? How do you know?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Francis. All the usual signs are there." She did not explain further, men usually didn't want to know the details.

Francis paced the floor of his chambers. "Okay, this is okay. My mother can help with this."

"Your mother?"

"Yes!" Francis exclaimed. "She'll know a way to help you. I'm sure she knows an elixir, or Nostradamus does!"

Olivia swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. Francis wanted to get rid of the baby. Though she knew there was no child, the thought still hurt Olivia deeply.

"No, we can't, Francis."

"Yes, we can." He took Olivia by the arm and began leading her toward the door. "Come, we'll go now. Best to get it taken care of quickly."

She let Francis steer her toward his mother's chambers, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. He was not going to find the help he expected from his mother and she knew he would be angry. How had she let herself get in this mess? All she had wanted was a chance to be with Francis, but this ruse was beyond anything she had imagined.


Queen Catherine stood near her bed fastening the clasp on her necklace. Her door burst open as Francis pulled Olivia into her chambers.

So, the girl had finally told him. Catherine hid a smile as she turned toward her son with raised eyebrows.

"What in God's name is going on? You don't even bother to knock or wait to be announced?"

"I didn't think such ceremony was necessary for your son, Mother."

"Well?" Catherine asked impatiently. "You've obviously disturbed me for a reason. What is it?"

"We need your help with an...issue." Francis cut his eyes to Olivia on his last word, hoping she would take over from there. She stayed silent, forcing Francis to continue. "It seems that Olivia believes she is with child. We were hoping you could help us fix this."

"Hmm…" Catherine mused, unsurprised by her son's reaction to the news. She hated to disappoint him, but he would see that this was for the best in the end.

"Well, certainly you can't be more than a month or so along, correct?"

Olivia nodded, unable to find her voice.

"Good, this is an easy fix then. I'll have your father announce your engagement tonight. I can have everything for the wedding arranged in about a week."

"A wedding! Mother, you can't be serious!"

"Of course I'm serious, Francis. You let your bastard brother steal the Queen of Scots from under your nose, and now you've sired a bastard yourself. Well, make no mistake, this child will not be born a bastard to usurp the rightful heir. This child will be the rightful heir. It will secure your place in the line of succession in case Sebastian gets anymore ideas."

Catherine knew she was playing on Francis's insecurities, but she also knew nothing else would work. Francis was stubborn, but he made rash decisions when he thought he was being made a fool of. His face was bright red with his fury.

"Fine," he spat, glaring at both his mother and Olivia. "If father agrees with you, we will do this your way. If not, you'll help me get rid of it."

Francis stormed out, leaving Olivia and his mother alone in Catherine's chambers.

Catherine glanced exasperatedly at Olivia. "I thought you would be better at this."

"Better at what?" Olivia asked, confused by Catherine's statement.

"Manipulating men: Catherine said, looking regretfully at the girl. "I do hope your skills improve."

Catherine turned away dismissively, leaving Olivia to her own devices. She had a wedding to arrange.