Catherine wanted to kill herself. In fact, she wanted to kill her idiot husband in front of her. Henry was always, always, shameless, but this time he had done it big. The Countess of Bohemia had fallen out of the window, so the country was on the warpath, so another good reason to convince the queen to poison the king. And what's more, that eternally sex-starved dog was asking her for help! But also no! She would have refused because it was clear that Henry just wanted to set her up, the bloody bastard. Then an idea flashed through her mind. She smiled slyly, crossed her hands and sat down.
- And what's in it for me? - she asked.
The man was stunned and did not answer for several seconds. He said something that the queen did not hear well.
- What do you want? - he asked.
Catherine thought about it.
- Chenonceau- she answered with a small smile.
- But that was a gift from Diane. You know how much she likes it! - replied the king.
The queen refrained from raising her eyes to heaven.
- Then have her come back to court to help you with the countess- she said instead.
Henry's gaze was conflicted but it was clear that Catherine had won. Yet she noticed her husband looking at her inquisitively as if trying to figure something out...
\ \ \ \ \
- Would you like anything else?- he asked almost indifferently.
For long minutes, the sovereigns squared off in silence.
- Richard will be safely escorted to Italy, to Florence- said the queen, in a peremptory tone. Henry's eyes glittered.
- I knew you'd ask me sooner or later- he murmured, then nodded - I will instruct my most trusted guards to bring... your... former lover... to safety.
It was obvious that he hated to say those things.
- Good - said the queen coldly - And now let's deal with this chaos you have caused.
She watched him head for the exit of the room and for a moment his heart missed. But then he composed himself. Because that's what his story with Henry was all about: passion and pain.
END
Thank you to all of you who read this fan fiction and commented! I hope you enjoyed it and that you enjoy reading it again_T.L.Q.