Chapter 8

Henry, who supervised the dismantling of the camp together with Cedric, gave his second in command his final instructions for the tasks ahead of him. All the while he kept on looking over at Catherine. From this distance she looked tiny and very slim, which gave him even more cause for concern.
With her fragile condition in mind, he personally chose a calm gelding for his wife that was sure-footed, reliable and not very temperamental.

When it was time to mount their horses, the King led the good-natured grey and his own stallion over to the tree trunks where Catherine and the novice were waiting for their departure. Henry stopped in front of the women and signaled one of the young lads to bring the third horse that was destined for the nun.

"Here we go, are you ready?" He asked Catherine and looked at her intently. His wife answered him with a crooked smile and nodded in resoluteness.
Henry knew this stubborn expression on her face by heart and wasn't surprised to see a spark of wild determination shimmer in her expressive brown eyes.
Her damned Medici pride would eventually kill her one day.

"Don't let us stop you, your Majesty. I can assist your wife."
Even before she had finished speaking, the young nun reached for the reins of the grey horse. Henry was about to agree, but then he caught the conspiratorial glances the two women exchanged, which prompted him to change his mind.
"That's not necessary," he therefore grumbled and brought the gelding in position for Catherine to mount the horse.
"Henry, we can manage on our own," his queen tried to persuade him, but her protest aroused his suspicion all the more.
"But I insist. Come here!" Even though he spoke with a calm voice, none of the women failed to notice that he was dead serious.

Catherine resigned to her fate and slowly approached the grey horse. When she stood next to Henry on the left side of the gelding, he all of a sudden realized her dilemma. A dilemma she had been trying to hide from him.
For being able to mount a horse, one had to be able to pull oneself up with the left hand carrying all body weight and Henry doubted that his wife was capable of doing so. And she obviously preferred the novice's help over the help of her own husband.

Henry swallowed his anger and indicated for Catherine to put her foot into the stirrup. Before she knew it, Henry had wrapped his arms around her waist and effortlessly lifted her into the saddle without her even lifting her injured arm.
"Stay by my side," Henry instructed his wife and mounted his own stallion.
He skilfully bridled his horse that was forging ahead and gave his signal for their departure.

"Let me know if you need a break," he demanded but he just needed to take one look into Catherine's face that was set in grim determination to know that she would rather die than ask for a break and thus admit weakness.
"Stubborn woman", he mumbled into his beard and intended to pay special attention to her in order to recognize any signs of fatigue or even pain at an early stage.

During the first few hours Catherine was riding almost silently beside him and Henry wondered what he might have done to her that caused his wife to punish him with silence. But the longer they rode, the more strained his otherwise so tough wife seemed and the King gradually understood that she was only trying to save energy. Catherine wasn't sulking at all, she was just completely focused on their ride and her horse.

"Would you like to take a break?" he asked after they had climbed a steep and fastidious hilltop, but Catherine just shook her head at his well-intentioned question.
Waveringly, the king weighed up all possible options.

In the distance, the crystal blue water of a small mountain lake was shimmering in the sun in a mesmerising way. At the thought of cooling off, Henry wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand and decidedly pointed at the lake.
"We will rest over there for half an hour. After this exhausting ascent the horses need some water."

It wasn't the horses, whose constitution he was worried about, but he didn't want to shame his wife unnecessarily, since she was already fighting so hard for her composure.

With a fast trot they rode towards the lake. From the corner of his eye Henry suddenly noticed a movement on the ground. But before he could warn Catherine of the snake on her right, her grey horse shied at the reptile and bolted.
In horror Henry watched his wife trying to control the startled animal in vain with only one hand. Her left hand was trembling so strongly that it was virtually useless in her attempt to control the gelding.

Dauntlessly Henry spurred his stallion and galloped off after his wife. Once he was close enough to the frightened animal, he reached for it's reins and tried to coax it in a reassuring voice. Gradually the grey horse calmed down and Henry risked a worried look at it's rider, who looked anything but happy about his intervention.
"It's okay, I got it under control," she hissed in his direction, but Henry refused to release her reins.
"Henry!" Catherine's angry tone was as sharp as a knife, almost threatening, so he reluctantly gave in and released the reins from his grip.

He silently watched her sorting the reins while using only one hand. Henry sighed. In her condition Catherine wouldn't be able to make the long way home. She already looked ready to collapse from exhaustion after only a few hours in the saddle, even though she tried very hard to hide it from him.
No, he definitely wouldn't stand idly by, watching his wife risk her neck out of false pride.

She was going to spent the next stage of today's ride right before him on his horse, even if the prospect of doing so would most certainly make her anything but happy.

Knowing her, he forwent informing Catherine of his plan just yet and dismounted his horse. Henry went over to his wife and lifted her off as well. He deliberately ignored the fact that she was already making an attempt to descend on her own. What he didn't ignore was her delicate body in his arms. A body that was all soft and feminine.
"Are you okay?" he wanted to know in an unusual soft voice and wondered where the tenderness he was recently experiencing came from every time he looked at his unapproachable and feisty wife.

But Catherine immediately freed herself from his grip and fended off his care with a rude gesture, as if dealing with some common servant and not the King of France who was also her husband. This behaviour was just like Catherine, thanking him for his help with anger and outright refusal.
"Henry, give it a rest."

He let her go, but signalled the nun to take care of Catherine's welfare. There was still enough time on this journey to tame his stubborn Medici wife.
For now that he had decided to take Catherine back and grant her his forgiveness, it was time to breathe new life into their marriage. They both would have to learn how to get along with each other. Again. At least if they were willing to give their marriage a second chance.

Henry knew that this wouldn't be an easy task, but on the other hand he was looking forward to reconquering his feisty Queen.

I hope you enjoy this new chapter even though it's a short one.

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