Chapter 16: As Luck Would Have It
"When you see my son, Baroness, please tell him that he better be here tomorrow for an update or there will be hell to pay." Danielle spun around to see the King of France not far behind her. She curtsied deep to show respect and was glad for the few moments to think. At first she wasn't sure how to respond although his voice was gruff his features were soft and his eyes were kind.
"I will certainly do that, Your Highness." She assured him with her best smile. When it seemed as if he was not interested in speaking farther, she curtsied again and turned to walk away. Gemini was waiting for her anxiously by the front gate and he tended to be cranky if he wasn't fed a few apples this late in the day.
It wasn't her decision to go to court that afternoon. After much coaxing from Paulette and a minor training lesson from Jacqueline she finally decided to hop on Gemini and go. She was, in fact nobility now and she'd have to go at some point anyway. So she came to the conclusion that she'd rather go on a day when Henry wouldn't be there to watch her actions and tease her later.
Court was a bore. The men talked politics and made arrangements for business while the woman chatted incessantly about everyone's personal life but there own. The whole thing was enough to make Danielle want to pull her hair out. She did, however find out how to go about finding a few more farmhands. REAL farmhands, not Prince's with identity crises. All in all she was truly glad it was over and was anxious to go back home.
Danielle had put a good distance between herself and the King when he called out to her. Again she turned around to face him. This time his features were anything but smooth and his eyes where filled with confusion and woe.
"Baroness, what might you be doing this afternoon?" It took a moment for Danielle to recover from the question and her confusion must have been evident. "I was thinking you and I should really have a chat." The King hesitated, "I'm very worried about my son." Danielle felt herself relax. She nodded and smiled at Francis who appeared to sigh in relief.
Before she knew it she and Francis were walking alone in a secluded garden to the extreme left of the castle. The King had dismissed her servants and yet Danielle could see the Royal Guardsmen not too far off watching their every move. She supposed it made sense. There were bad people everywhere.
"I must apologize, Baroness, for not addressing you sooner. It's been… well it's been a very weird couple of weeks."
"It is quite alright, Your Highness. But please call me Danielle." The King nodded.
"I'm not very good at being subtle Danielle, so I'll get right to the point. I don't know why it is that you and my son love each other. I don't claim to understand the circumstances or events that led up to this point. I'm not very good at that sort of thing. I only know what I see." He paused for a moment and looked around the garden to make sure that they were alone. When he was satisfied that nobody else could hear the conversation he continued. "What I see is that my son loves you very much, there is no denying that. I don't want to see his heart get broken. I'm not good with emotions, Danielle, and maybe I am too hard on Henry but I do love him very much."
"I do too." Danielle responded instantly.
"You do?"
"Yes." Danielle admitted sheepishly.
"I've never seen him this way." The King admitted after a long pause.
"What do you mean?"
"So animated, so passionate, so happy. I'm just afraid that when this is all over he won't want to come home. I know that his dissatisfied with his life here, I'm no fool. But I don't want him to think that he can just run away from his life." Francis' eyes were at his feet and his voice was melancholy. Danielle wasn't sure what to say. What was there to say? She was no mind reader and who knew what could happen in the next few weeks.
"I realize that Henry has obligations Sire, and I want to assure you that I would never stand in the way of that. But I also want you to know that I can not promise you what the outcome of this whole situation will be, if that's what your asking." Francis stopped walking and gave Danielle a good look up and down. Though the sudden attention made her nervous, she did not falter. "I love your son dearly, I can assure that that was never an issue and it never will be. However, so much has happened since the masque, Sire. There are many issues that need to be worked out and many discussions that need to take place. I'm not even sure Henry would want to stay after all is said and done. I understand your concern and I sympathize, but I am in no position to make any guarantees."
"You're honest and forthcoming. I like that." He let out a heavy sigh. "I just wish I understood what on earth was going on in his head. What could he possibly be thinking?"
"May I speak candidly, Your Highness?" Danielle asked.
"Of course you may."
"I believe, Sire that Henry is feeling guilty. I honestly believe that he feels like everything is his fault because of what happened at the masque." Francis could see the shame flash through Danielle's eyes. "I lied to your son because I thought it would be easily then telling the truth. That fact I am ashamed of, but it cannot be undone. I feel guilty because if I had told the truth nothing would be what it is today…."
"And he feels guilty because if he had simply accepted the truth we would not be standing here having this conversation." Francis butt in.
"Yes. But the truth is that we both have to live with the consequences of our actions, and I don't believe either one of us is quite ready to face that fact."
"Which is where this LaCroix character comes in, correct?"
"I know it seems childish to you, but somehow it's working. It gives us the chance to speak indirectly to each other. To get to know each other all over again." Danielle's cheeks grew a deep crimson, and only grew brighter when she noticed the smile on the King's face.
"I want you to know, that I'm routing for the two of you, if for no other reason then to keep myself from going totally mad." He said, his smile growing wider, "But if the Queen asks, I hate the idea, got it? I can't have people thinking I'm some kind of softie." This sent Danielle into a burst of giggles and soon Francis joined her. Before either realized what was happening she and the King of France enjoyed and deep embrace, although she kept it as short as possible.
The entire ride home Danielle replayed the conversation over and over in her mind. She felt very proud of herself for winning the King's approval. According the Court gossip that was extremely hard to do.
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Henry and Louise were playing a fierce round of Backgammon when Danielle came strolling into the sitting room. From the expression on their faces the competition was intense, but friendly. Each of their eyes were locked on the pieces in front of them. Danielle watched them take turns making their moves and had to suppress the urge to give each of the players hints as to their next move.
"I play winner." Danielle whisper after a while, but nobody even acknowledged her existence. They continued to ignore her right up until Louise let out a groan of defeat and Henry threw his arms up in the air in victory. As Louise was walking away from the table she leaned into Danielle's ear.
"Watch it, he cheats." She whispered. Henry's eyes grew wide and a smile instantly sprouted on the older woman's face.
"I do not!" Henry spouted with mock offense. Louise laughed all the way out of the room. "So, did my ears deceive me or did you, Madam De Barbarac, challenge me?" Danielle giggled and sat across from Henry. The two repositioned the pieces into the starting places and began to roll the dice. Danielle's expression was not lost on Henry; neither was the pride dancing in her eyes. "So," he began, in an attempt to pry the source of her joy out of her, "what did you do today, Baroness?" Danielle shrugged her shoulders.
"Nothing really, I made a trip to court, what a dreadful place that is."
"You went to court?" Danielle did not lift her eyes off the playing board but she could clearly hear his voice crack with panic.
"Jacqueline convinced me to go, though I doubt I will ever go again. I'm certain I'd rather burn my eyes out with hot coals then listen to those snotty women prattle on about everyone's business. Disgusting." Henry chuckled softly but still Danielle's eyes remained focused on the game.
"You mean to tell me that you didn't enjoy Countess Le Bleut's constant bragging about her son's supposed prize winning violin quartet?" Danielle's eyes shot up and Henry instantly realized his mistake. For days she had been trying to get him to break character and she'd finally done it. He blushed woefully. "You cheated." He muttered.
"I did nothing of the sort." Danielle refocused her eyes back to the game and for a while conversation stopped completely. She was debating whether or not to tell him about her conversation with the King. She rolled the idea around in her mind a few times before deciding to leave it to fate.
"Louise was telling me that the King has been in a tizzy over the apparent disappearance of his son, poor man." Henry was determined to regain some ground in their little role-playing game. He would show Danielle that he could talk about this own family as if he were not part of it, or he would embarrass himself trying. Whichever came first. He was way too stubborn to admit defeat.
'That was quick' Danielle thought to herself before responding. "Yes, he told me so just this afternoon."
"You spoke with the King?" The panic was back in Henry's voice and Danielle had to suppress the urge to tease him.
"Yes I did as a matter of fact. It seems he was quite anxious to converse with me on a few things."
"I see." Was the only reply.
"Apparently, the King wishes to meet with his son tomorrow or he will be in a great deal of trouble" Silence. Danielle decided to continue. "You know the King's son is very dear to me, don't you Jean? Have I told you that?" Henry caught Danielle's eyes with his and managed to hold them for a few moments.
"Not directly. But it's obvious that's there are still feelings there."
"The King is worried that Henry is unhappy at home and will refuse to come back."
"And this upsets him?" Henry asked his voice rather cold.
"Of course," Danielle said with a nervous smile. "The King loves his son and wants him to be happy. He has an odd way of showing it, but he loves him dearly none the less, as do I." Henry swallowed a lump that had developed in his throat. His eyes were moist but he refused to shed a tear, although he wasn't sure why. Foolish pride probably.
"This Henry fellow seems to be a lucky man." He said after some time.
"I suppose. But you can't depend on luck all the time."
"True. Very true. Fate is a busy lady, she's got a lot to do, and sometimes we all must give her a hand." He said softly. The game had all but stopped but neither noticed. They sat in silence for a long time, each lost in their own world.