Chapter Five
Sleep eluded Mary that night. Her eyes drooped, her body craved the rest but still, no sleep fell upon her. It was as if the world was against her. She knew it wasn't, but it was hard not to feel this way. Disappointment after disappointment had plagued Mary in the last few months. A million questions ran through her mind at the speed of sound and kept her head full of dangerous thoughts.
Am I destined to be a childless mother?
Will I lose Francis because I am a failure?
What is wrong with me? Am I worthless?
No matter how many times Francis attempted to reassure her, Mary found the thoughts and feelings only grew stronger. She was overjoyed for her friends, whose lives were finally falling into place. But it would only be so long before the forced smiles and fake understanding would no longer be able to carry Mary through what she would call the toughest time of her life.
Sleep had befallen Francis, but his nightmares were anything but peaceful. Claude's declaration, Mary's face when Claude left and the sheer number of times Francis reassured his wife that everything would be alright and they would be blessed with a child before long, all morphed into hideous night phantoms.
He would never lie to Mary, but he knew that if they did not produce an heir, her kingdom would fall. The French crown would go to Charles, but the Scottish throne would sit empty until an overzealous, greedy Protestant lord would fill it. The House of Stuart would be at an end, lost with the death of a childless French Queen. It sounded harsh, and Francis would never speak of this to Mary herself, but it was the truth. And the truth can never stay hidden for long.
To say Claude was worried would be an understatement. An illegitimate child was always a source of scandal. To make it worse, Leith was a man born of no standing. He was a servant before he saved Francis's life and promoted to the King's Guard. He possessed standing now, but that was all at risk now that Francis and Mary knew he was the father of the Princess of France's unborn bastard child.
Claude had fallen asleep. Exhaustion claimed her. But her mind, like her brother's, was full of worries for both herself and Mary. Claude hadn't stayed around long enough to witness Mary's reserve crumble, but she knew that the Queen was in a terrible place. Mary's sister-in-law and two best friends had borne bastard children when all Mary wanted was to have a little prince or princess of her own to fill the hole in her heart that had grown exponentially in the last few months. Francis wanted a child with his wife. John was an angel, everyone including Mary loved him, but it was not the same.
Whilst it was important to consider Mary and Francis's feelings, it was more important to consider her own. Claude and Leith had not been planning to conceive a child, but now that the opportunity had presented itself, it would be stupid and foolish not to take it. There was absolutely no way that Claude would put herself through the trauma of trying to relieve herself of her pregnancy, but no way that she would allow another family to raise her flesh and blood. She loved Leith, and this only served as another excuse to finally achieve what she wanted.
"Leith."
It was after the daily audience with French subjects that Leith went to see Francis and Mary privately. He had spoken with Claude that morning, and they both agreed that it was time to put into action their plan. The audience had been fairly quiet and uneventful, so it seemed the most perfect time to broach the subject.
"Pardon the interruption, your Majesties," Leith said, bowing his head respectfully. "The guard told me you were here."
Francis stood. Mary did not. "What can we do for you, Leith?" Francis asked, inviting the shaking King's Guard over to sit by the fire.
"Well, actually. I wanted to ask for your blessing to marry Princess Claude," Leith spluttered. Mary sat up, intrigued by the proposition.
"We declined your request several months ago, Leith. What makes you think we'll allow it now?" she replied, with a slight sneer in her voice. "Why would we let you marry Claude?"
Leith steeled himself. "To risk being rude, your Majesty, I am the father of Princess Claude's child. If we marry, then you will only have a very small scandal to deal with - the marriage of France's beloved princess to a King's Guard. If we do not marry, you will have a much larger scandal to face. Claude will not relieve herself of the pregnancy, nor will she allow another family to raise her child. She will bear her child if she has a say."
"We understand your position, Leith. It's a difficult one. But we cannot possibly allow a Princess of France to marry so far beneath her station. It would be too much ammunition for the lords to manage, and France could fall," Francis explained. "If you had a higher rank then perhaps, we could come to some sort of arrangement that would keep everyone happy."
Mary sighed. "It's a tough world, Leith. But it's better you learn that now. It will save you a lot of pain in the future if you get used to it."
Seeing no option, Leith stood, bowed and went to leave. As he was opening the door, he turned back to the bitter Queen.
"I am sorry, Queen Mary. We never wanted to hurt you."
And with that, he was gone.
The next few days dragged on. For Mary and Francis, it was audience after audience, meeting foreign ambassadors, dealing with French problems and Scottish problems. But they found there was little time to deal with their own problems. Mary cried so little, Francis asked her why.
For Claude, she spent most of her time in her chambers. Trying on dresses to see if they still fit her. Coming up with excuses for her expanding waistline. Figuring out how she would get the dresses altered.
For Leith, he carried on his duties but with an air of anger. He was angry at Francis and Mary, for allowing their hurt to get in the way of Claude's happiness. He was angry with the lords of France and Scotland, for taking advantage of such a situation and benefiting from it. But he was angry at himself, for believing that he could convince Francis to let him marry Claude, for believing somehow that he and Claude could be together to raise their own child away from the dangers of being royal. He had visited Claude, of course, to relay the bad news of his failed conversation with the King and Queen. Claude was furious, throwing pillows and vases until she broke into floods of tears. Once she had steeled herself, she marched along to the Royal Apartments and demanded to speak with Francis. Not as a King, but as her brother.
"How dare you!"
Francis put his head in his hands, leaning his elbows on his desk. Claude was stood before him, hands on hips, temper flaring. Mary was absent, most likely with her ladies in the gardens. For once, Francis was thankful she wasn't present, so he could talk openly without fear of hurting her feelings.
"Claude, please listen to me. I understand that you are unhappy - "
"Unhappy?! I'm furious, Francis!"
" - but you must understand the political implications of a marriage to Leith. It could fuel the lords' ambitions and begin a revolution that could see the end of our lives far before our time." Francis shuffled some documents. "It isn't about happiness and it isn't personal."
Claude huffed. "Of course it's personal. Maybe not for you, but certainly for Mary. I'm sorry that she is upset, truly I am. I wouldn't ever wish harm upon her. But now, she is punishing Leith and I for something that we can't control. For something that she can't control. It is making everyone miserable, having to tip-toe around her for fear of upsetting her for some reason! We can't go on living like this."
"Claude, please take a moment to think about what you are saying! You are angry but throwing hurtful comments towards Mary is not a good way of expressing that anger," Francis said, folding his arms across his chest.
"Stop treating me like a child, Francis!" Claude threw her arms in the air in exasperation. "I have tried to be reasonable with you, and Leith had asked you to allow our marriage, but you have refused to work with us! So now, I give you one decision. Either you allow Leith and I to be married, even if that means titling Leith and letting us leave court, or I shall tell each and every lord and lady at court that I am with child and then I shall disappear, leaving a trail of scandal in my wake!"
Claude stormed out of the door, straight into Mary. She entered, almost laughing.
"What happened here?" she asked, coming over to sit by the fire. "Interesting audience?"
"Mary, we have to let Leith marry Claude."
Mary leaned on the back of the chair to look at her husband. "And how have you reached that conclusion?"
"We can title Leith. It will be no trouble, really, and it puts the court at ease. He is deserving of it. If we do not let them marry, Claude will certainly tell everyone she knows, and we know that the lords and ladies of French court are not good at keeping secrets. The whole of France will know by the next moon, and very soon, all of Europe will be knocking down our doors to jeer at us."
Mary breathed out shakily. "But she...she's with child, Francis. Claude is pregnant with a bastard child and we still haven't had our own."
She began to sob. Francis came over, taking her into his arms, stroking her dark hair and letting her tears soak his shirt.
"Mary, we can't go on like this. Punishing others for our misfortune. It's not Claude's fault that we haven't had a child yet. It's not Leith's fault. It's not anyone's fault. We can't blame other people. It hurts. It really hurts," Francis cooed gently. "But we need to try to keep moving. Let Leith marry Claude. It will make them happy. Their child could have a real chance of a good life. And once we are truly ready, once God deems us ready, He will bless us with our own child to love and cherish. I promise you, my darling. It will happen for us."
"My lords and ladies, may I please have your attention?"
Silence fell upon the throne room at the full French court gathered to observe their King and Queen.
"It is with great pleasure that I announce that Princess Claude is to be wed to a former King's Guard and the new Viscomte de Narbonne, Leith Bayard."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: hellooooo again. sorry for the delay in uploads but it's been a really stressful time with the lockdown that's now in place! hope everyone is staying safe and healthy and not finding lockdown too boring. I've got a bit more time in the next few months now, so hopefully updates will be coming a bit more frequently. Hope you're still enjoying the story and I promise Mary will get pregnant soon.
Much love,
nm713353
