AN : Here it is ! Enjoy !
Disclaimer : I don't own « Reign », no plagiarism is intended and I don't make profit of this story.
Chapter 24
Catherine and Henry looked at each other sceptically… this was going to be interesting…
"I'm Margueritte De Virbeaux, dowager duchess of Savoie and mother of the duke. " She added with proudness while lifting her chin. If only she knew who she was talking to…
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"We are delighted to meet you, my Lady. I'm Henry Rocheford and allow me to present my wife Catherine." Said Henry.
"I'm sure we'll find her a place as a nurse in the village." Said back Margueritte.
Henry was astonished… Seriously ? He was going to kill Lord Birgam. "I believe you are ill-informed Madam. My wife will teach Lat…" But he was cut off by the duchess.
"Nonesense ! A woman cannot teach !"
Keeping his calm Henry defended his wife : "I assure you Catherine is very capable of…"
"Are you not mastering all the subjects required Lord Rocheford ?" Said the duchess mockingly.
"I am mastering these subjects but my wife is much more capable than me in Italian as she has origins from this country." Henry was careful not to reveal too much and he wasn't sure if this part of Savoie liked "foreigners" that's why he didn't say she was Italian.
"Ah ! So a woman AND Italian ? I'm sure it's not even true… I master Italian, we'll see if your wife is as educated as you pretend…"
"Are you trying to insult me ?" With the tiredness of the trip, her pregnancy and now this woman… Catherine's patience was wearing thin…
"Maybe…" Answered the duchess. At this Henry put a gentle arm on her shoulder and she kept for herself her sassy remark… for now…
"Now let's see if you speak Italian and if you know the culture of this country…. Just one question and I'll know the answer and if you can teach…
"Come si chiama la famiglia dei banchieri fiorentini ? E cosa mi può dire della loro famiglia?» Asked Margueritte in her broken Italian.
*How is called the family of bankers from Florence ? And what can you tell me about their family ?
It was too easy…
« I banchieri fiorentini sono la famiglia Medici. Sono i padroni di Firenze e i banchieri del Papa. La duchessa di Urbino, Caterina De Medici, dal suo nome completo Caterina Maria Romula Di Lorenzo De Medici, figlia di Lorenzo II De Medici è oggi regina di Francia e suo zio fu Papa con il nome di Clemente il settimo. » Answered Catherine in her impeccable Italian.
*The Florentine bankers are the Medici family. They are the masters of Florence and bankers of the pope. The duchess of Urbino, Caterina De Medici, of her complete name, Caterina Maria Romula Di Lorenzo De Medici, daughter of Lorenzo II De Medici, is today Queen of France and her uncle was pope with the name of Clemente the seventh.
Henry couldn't supress his grin… She never ceased to amaze him…
The duchess was clearly surprised you could see it on her face…
"Well, that's exact so I suppose you can teach after all…" She said with disdain.
Turning to face Henry she added : "Your turn my lord, tell me the names of the three great Kings of France and the dates of their reigns."
Once again it was easy : "First there was Louis XII from 1498 to 1515, then Francis I from 1515 to 1547 and finally there is our King, Henri II from 1547 to now." He answered with certainty.
"Very good" said Margueritte.
" Then I think it's a good time to present you your students" She added while turning towards the children.
"This is my son's daughter, Mathilde. And then there are the children of lesser importance that come from the town…" She said.
The monarchs were shocked by the manner she spoke to these poor children… and seeing their faces they were clearly afraid of her… but fortunately they wouldn't have to endure her treatment any longer…
Not wanting to risk an argument with this lady Catherine and Henry said nothing.
"Thank you madam. I think we can manage from here. You should rest now…" Said Catherine while forcing a smile.
"Yes, I'm tired from all this… good luck these children are all monsters ! Except my grand-daughter of course." She said aloud and left leaving the royal couple alone with the class.
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"So now that she's gone we are going to start." Said Catherine but was interrupted by Mathilde.
"Hum… Excuse me but you are not allowed to speak of my grand-mother like that !" Said the young teen with arrogance.
"Listen here child. In this classroom I and my husband are the ones who command !" Retorted the Queen.
"I am the daughter of a duke and you will show me respect ! I have very high positioned friends who can mean your downfall !"
"Such as ?" Dared Catherine.
"I know the duke of the Alps' daughter who is a dear friend of princess Claude, their Majesties daughter ! But what would you know about that ? New nobles…" Said the young woman.
Returning to face her husband who was by now fuming with rage she said to him : "I believe this has been going on for long enough Henry."
"I agree. We will find better hosts." He said
"Who are you taking yourselves for ! You are received by the duke of Savoie and have the extreme privilege of teaching to his daughter ! You should be more than grateful !"
"Listen to me you little nothing ! We are not really Lord and Lady Rocheford we are…" But the Queen was cut off by the girl.
" Ah ! I knew it ! You are commoners ! Everything makes sense now !" She laughed.
"No ! We are the parents of the dear friend of the duke of the Alps' daughter to take your words !" Said the Queen.
The girl was there shuttering : "This… no… you are not…"
"Oh but we are !" Said Henry. "Henri II of the Royal house of Valois and Catherine De Medici, Royal couple of France !"
At this all the children took a deep bow except Mathilde who was frozen on place.
"Now ! Young nothing, you are going to fetch your father and your beloved grand-mother and bring them here !" Added Henry.
Seeing his wife with a hand to her belly and another to her head desperately trying to shake off her dizziness he came to support her immediately.
"Catherine, my love, are you alright ?" He asked with concern.
"I…" She tried to say.
"Sit." Said Henry while coming with a chair and gently helping her to sit.
"Young man over there. Go and bring back a glass of water." Said the King to a young boy.
"Yes, Majesty." And he run off to find this glass.
This is the moment that chose Mathilde to return with her family.
"What the hell do you want again ?" Said the dowager duchess. She saw that her grand-daughter was clearly in shock and she has been unable to speak when she came to fetch her at the "new teachers" demand.
"What did you to her !" She continued while looking in Mathilde's direction.
But neither Henry nor Catherine were listening to her. The Queen was still in bad condition and the King was too concerned by her to care about this duchess complains.
"Don't you even have the decency of looking at me when I speak to you !" Said Margueritte after a while.
When the King turned around his blood was as hot as lava and his eyes were sending daggers through the duchess : "No I don't ! And let me explain why ! We are not who you think we are !"
" Ah ! First news ! And who are you ?" Sha said with sarcasm.
"The woman sitting on the chair and nearly collapsing on it because of your treatment is the Queen of France and I am your King !" Henry yelled at her face.
"I…" But she couldn't speak.
"We will be leaving immediately !" He said towards the duke who was by now as liquid as water.
"I have never seen anyone treating children the way you do ! They are here to learn not to suffer ! I will give to each one of them the address of one of my personal secretaries because if I ever hear again that they have been mistreated in any way I will end you myself ! Are we clear ?!" Screamed Henry, he was by now out of him.
"Yes, Majesty" Answered the duke more than shyly.
"Now everyone out ! And prepare our carriage !" With that everyone left as quickly as their feet would carry them.
Henry turned towards his wife once again, she seemed better.
"Catherine I'm sorry" He said sadly. He hadn't planned this trip to begin like this. He knew she would be furious…
She simply smiled at him.
Henry was stunned but he came closer to her and sit softly on the chair in front of her.
"You are not angry ?" He asked.
"With you ? No, of course not. After all the efforts you have made to plan this trip how could I be ? You couldn't know." She answered gently while taking his hand in hers.
He smiled back. He would never ever let go of this woman…
After a moment he enquired : "How are you ?"
"Better. I'm better." Catherine answered
"Good. Because if we left now we should be able to reach the duke of the Alps' estate before the night. That is if you are not too tired of course… because we could always spend the night here… now that I've scared the duke out of his skin." He said.
"I am not too tired and honestly I can't stay sleeping here with these people…" She answered.
"It's settled then, we're leaving and will be making a surprise to our new host" He smiled then helped his wife to stand before wrapping an arm around her waist and heading towards their carriage.
Without a word of goodbye to this horrid family they left.
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The rest of the ride went smoothly… Catherine didn't say it but she was actually tired. Her head was currently against her husband's shoulder and she was sound asleep.
Henry was awake, gently holding his pregnant wife. He knew she must be exhausted but fortunately they were arriving soon to the duke of the Alps castle.
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Arriving to their destination
"Catherine" He called softly. He hated to wake her up when he knew she needed sleep but he had to.
"Darling, we're here" He tried.
Lifting her head from his shoulder and rubbing her tired eyes she mumbled :" Oh, yes… Sorry, I fell asleep…"
"No don't apologize for that, ever. You need your rest." He answered with a smile.
It was then that the carriage stopped.
"Are you ready ?" The King asked.
She nodded approvingly before he got out of the carriage and help her do the same. He was actually rather relaxed. In fact this duke was one of his childhood friends and they still had a very good relation even if the duke wasn't often at court because of the distance. And of course he was the father of Claude's best friend, Ariana.
Catherine neither was not too worried after all nothing could be worse than what they had already lived and here they would be received as King and Queen of France.
AN : Okay… that's it. Let me know what you think. I must admit it was quite funny to write…
PS : Sorry from the Italian it's from Google translate.
Take care
Laura D.