"It is just as I thought it would be. We have both been exiled from England on pain of imprisonment in the Tower," Johnny told Maud when he returned from the dreaded confrontation with his parents.
"But where shall we go?" asked Maud.
"My sister Rosie and her husband Francis have recently returned to France from the Netherlands," Johnny told her. "Perhaps they will agree to take us in." Johnny hadn't seen Rosie since her marriage to Francis and eagerly looked forward to being reunited with his older sister. He and Maud quickly packed their things and set out for Anjou.
Francis and Rosie were sitting quietly in the parlor with May, who was now a toddler, when Francis suddenly grimaced.
"What's wrong, darling?" asked Rosie.
"Suddenly, my head is pounding madly," Francis told her. "Perhaps if I lie down for awhile it will pass." He did so, and when he didn't emerge from his chambers for a couple of hours, Rosie went to check on him and found him pale and shivering in bed.
"Francis!" she cried, alarmed.
"You must summon the physician tomorrow," Francis said weakly.
"He has malaria," the physician said solemnly upon examining Francis.
"Will he live?" asked Rosie, her heart pounding madly.
"I don't know," the physician told her. "It's too soon to tell. If he's still alive several months from now, I'd say his prognosis is good."
With a heavy heart, Rosie wrote to her mother-in-law, Dowager Queen Katherine de' Medici, and told her of Francis' condition. Several days later, royal messengers arrived from Paris with a carriage.
"The Dowager Queen insists that her son be brought to Paris immediately," the messengers told Rosie.
Although very weak, Francis was able to travel, so with the help of servants, he was bundled into the carriage for the trip to Paris. Rosie sat beside him holding little May.
"Bye bye," said the little girl, waving her hand out the window as the carriage departed. Rosie kept her occupied by pointing out interesting objects in the passing scenery until she fell asleep in her mother's lap.
"You never talk about your mother and brother," Rosie remarked to her husband.
"There isn't much to say," Francis replied. "They both hate me."
"Why, I'm sure they don't!" Rosie cried, dismayed.
"But they do," Francis insisted. "They banished me from court eight years ago because they knew that I sympathized with the Huguenots. Eight months later, the Prince of Conde, the King of Navarre, and I forced my brother to sign the Edict of Beaulieu on their behalf."
"But you were only trying to be fair," Rosie said. "The Huguenots have been much mistreated, and besides, he is your brother."
"Well, unfortunately, he doesn't see it that way at all." Francis closed his eyes, and Rosie, realizing that he needed his rest, stopped talking.
When the family finally arrived at the palace in Paris, servants helped Francis out of the carriage while his wife walked beside him, carrying May.
"My dear brother!" King Henry III of France exclaimed as Francis was brought into his presence. He left his throne and rushed to embrace his younger brother. "It saddens me to see you so ill," he continued.
Francis looked at his brother in surprise. "Is all forgiven, then?" he asked warily.
"All is forgiven," Henry assured him. "Is this lovely woman your wife, and the little girl your daughter?"
"Yes," Francis said proudly. "This is Princess Rose Tudor-Dudley of England, and our daughter's name is May."
"It's wonderful to meet you both." Henry embraced Rosie and kissed her cheek and held May briefly.
"I'm your Uncle Henry," he told the little girl, who laughed and reached for his feathered hat. Suddenly Katherine de' Medici was there as well.
"My son!" she cried, rushing to Francis' side.
"Mother," he said, reaching for her.
Francis, Rosie, and May had been in Paris for several weeks when they received some very unexpected visitors.
"My brother!" Rosie cried, rushing to embrace Johnny. "What a lovely surprise!"
"This is my wife, Maud," Johnny told her.
"When did you marry?" Rosie asked, taken aback.
"A couple of weeks ago," Johnny replied. "Our mother has banished Maud and myself from our beloved England because Maud's a commoner. We went to Anjou and were told that you had left for Paris. As we have nowhere else to go, we were hoping that we could stay with you."
"Why, of course you can!" Rosie told him.
"Thank you very much, Your Grace," Maud said, dropping a curtsy.
"Please, just call me Rosie," said Rosie. "We're sisters now."
Francis was quite ill for several months, but then he slowly began to recover. When it became apparent that he would survive and continue to improve, he, Rosie, May, Johnny, and Maud all journeyed back to Anjou.