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"I still can't quite believe it," Francis said the next morning, placing his ear on her bare stomach. "Our child is in there."

Mary giggled when his hair tickled her chest. "Yes, they are in there. I hope for a son."

"I hope for a healthy baby, Mary," Francis said. "Forget what my mother said about there being time for daughters later. We will have a healthy baby for us. Not just to strengthen our rule, but to mould into the greatest person there is."

Mary beamed, tears stinging her eyes. She got awfully emotional quickly these days. Her happiness was known around the castle and members at Court had been wondering why her spirits were more high than usual. Especially as her ladies in waiting were so glum about their lives.

Some had even guessed right and assumed she was pregnant, but they would not let on. Not until they were past the third month.

"Anne," Francis said softly. "Marie Anne."

Mary grinned. "Or Francis James?"

"How pompous of me," he said. "To have my child named after me."

"Says the man who suggested naming our possible daughter after me and her grandmother," Mary retorted lightly. "The cheek of being so modest."

Francis chuckled, the vibrations sending fireworks through her body against her soft skin. He wished he could lay like this forever, every day, but he was a king. He had a country (or two) to rule.

"I wish we could remain as we are," he said softly. "We cannot."

"No," she said sadly. "I must get ready. I have to see Kenna, she is leaving this morn-"

"I spoke to Bash," Francis said, jumping so he could sit up and face her. "He's willing to listen."

Mary gasped. "Is he?" She asked, a smile growing on her face. "Is he willing to reconcile-"

"Listen, Mary. So much has happened between them, we cannot intervene or even wish for them to reunite unless it is on their terms. Ideally, I would entertain the thought of having a niece or nephew, but I cannot decide for my brother," Francis told her.

Mary nodded, realising her excitement was misplaced. "That is true. At least it is a start."

Before either of them could move from their bed, their doors were burst open, Catherine flanked by maidservants with tonics and food on trays.

"Oh, the secrecy is killing me!" Catherine cried out dramatically. "Mary, would you be a dear and take these tonics? Oh, we must start feeding you, you are too thin, the baby would starve in there!"

Mary shared a look with her husband who sheepishly grinned back. She closed her eyes when his lips kissed her forehead before they pulled away and spoke.

"Mother, could we-"

"Have time to get dressed? No," Catherine cut him off. "The sooner she eats, the better. You are carrying the future King of France, Mary!"

"Or princess-"

"Francis, would you be a dear and excuse us?" Catherine said, glaring at him.

Francis grinned. "If only you will allow us to get dressed. I am sure our modesty is protected if-"

"Turn around!"

All persons except Catherine turned around and Mary blushed even deeper.

"I am also carrying the future heir of Scotland," she finally found her voice. "If you would not mind and turn around as well..."

Catherine considered her options before she finally turned, speaking to them. "Be quick, every minute counts. There's a royal baby on the way."

...

Kenna took a shaky breath as she almost stumbled onto the wall. She felt dazed and weak and all she wanted to do was gather enough strength to get to her carriage.

It was Francis who walked by before doing a double-take and turning to her. He was concerned, eyeing her as the colour seemed to drain from her face by the second.

"Kenna?"

"Y-Your Majesty," she said breathlessly, leaning her head against the coldness of the walls. She winced in pain, taking a sharp intake of breath in before she turned to face Francis.

"Are you alright?" Francis asked her, stepping towards her. "Have you seen Bash?"

She shook her head. "I have not. I have been... avoiding him," she admitted, looking down. "Mary said he wanted to see me. I know that is a lie after what he said yesterday."

"It is true," Francis said, offering her his arm.

She eyed it warily until the pain returned and she cried out, collapsing onto the ground. She felt his presence beside her immediately as he demanded to know what was happening.

"Help me to my carriage, please," she begged him. "My ship sails for Sweden this morning and I cannot miss it again."

"Kenna, if you would see Bash before you leave. He may change your mind..."

Francis's eyes cast downwards to the ground where a pool of blood was seeping onto the carpet. He looked around to see if anyone was walking by, but they were the only ones there.

"It's too late, anyway," she said, disheartened. "I'm losing it."

She laid down on the ground and let the pain happen. She shoved Francis off whenever he tried to lift her up or move her. She didn't care anymore, nothing mattered.

At least she could be a lady-in-waiting again. Live her life as a woman whose husband wants nothing to do with her. A woman separated. A woman that was untouchable. A woman unloved.

As a girl, she dreamed to be a queen or a woman of high title, higher than her father's probably. With those childish dreams, she lost the only man who mattered. Who saw her differently than the King's Mistress or a whore. Differently than the stupid girl who almost had her future husband's life threatened for her own selfish reasons.

If Bash was not of royal blood and was dirt poor, she would have chosen him. At first, no. As she grew to love him, accept his flaws and his best parts and the sex..., she would have remained his until they died. If he died, she would die with him.

Renaude was lust, no love. Bash was lust, love and everything in between. Bash was her good days and her bad days. Bash was her comfort and her friend. She had saved his life on two occasions. With Bernard's wife's threats bringing her to burn the evidence against Bernard and with Renaude about to drive his sword through her true love's back.

No matter how selfish she was, Bash was the one. And she lost him because of her secrets and her lies. Yet, he held his own secrets and lies that he would never reveal to her. Why were hers as worse as his own?

Was he not a murderer? Did she not defend her husband's reasoning as to why he took the lives of others? To other people, her husband was dark, murderous and scary. To her, he was loving, cherished and sweet.

"Kenna, please," Francis begged, cutting her out of her thoughts. "Let me help."

She eyed him, tears slipping from her eyes as she finally nodded a little. She sat up and allowed him to lift her into his arms. Her head rested against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. It wasn't Bash's. Bash's was quicker, stronger and it sometimes lulled her to sleep, knowing her husband was safe in her arms until he went to find the next monster and be a hero again.

"I will never stop loving him," she croaked out to Francis as he walked through the servants' pathways to meet Nostradamus. "No one will ever be him and I don't want them."

"You'll be happy again, Kenna," Francis told her. "You will find happiness, I promise."

She closed her eyes. She didn't believe him at all.

...

Mary ran and ran and ran. She stopped a few times to steady her anxious heart as fear gripped her insides. All she had heard from the servant who came to call her, was that her close friend was bleeding and in the King's arms.

Mary knew what that meant, she had gone through the trauma herself. She had gone through a lot of traumas, but losing a child was far worse than being raped. They were just as horrible and heartbreaking and soul-destroying as the other, but the loss of something inside her, under no control, was horrible.

"How is she?" She asked once she finally entered Nostradamus's chambers.

She ignored everyone else, her eyes set on Kenna and Kenna only. She sat down and took the unconscious woman's hand, squeezing it tightly as if she was about to disappear from her eyes.

They were family.

Francis and Bash didn't know that, but they were more than friends since childhood. Kenna's father was a distant relative of her father's. Back in Scotland, some had rumoured their fathers to be half-brothers, but they weren't.

Cousins thereabouts, blood relations. They shared the same grandparents further up their line, Mary couldn't remember nor did she care. All she knew was that Kenna was family and her friend and her childhood self adored that.

"She lost the baby," she heard someone say, distraught.

That was when she realised, the man sitting across from her was Bash. She couldn't help but feel resentment for him, about to question why he was here, after everything. He didn't deserve that place, Greer or Lola did.

"I have given her something to help her sleep. She was highly distressed," Nostradamus explained. "If you need me, I will be outside."

He left, leaving Mary, Bash and Francis all watching Kenna. All wondering if her next breath would be her last with how uneven her breathing was.

"Francis told me you were with child," Bash said, looking her way. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Mary replied, using a cloth to clean off the damp sweat on Kenna's forehead. "How did this happen?"

Francis cleared his throat. "Perhaps the stress of all that has happened caught up with her. I saw she was having trouble getting around, she requested to be helped to her carriage. That's when... I saw the blood on the floor. I should have done more."

"How could you?" Bash asked him, shaking his head. "There was nothing to be done." He got up. "I have matters to attend to. When she is awake, have her brought to our chambers."

He left and Mary turned to her husband. She didn't know what to say, she had no words to even comprehend what had happened. At least she could ask Kenna to stay until she recovered and if her friend's heart was still set on Sweden, she would personally go to see her off.

"He doesn't even care," she breathed out. "I saw nothing in his eyes."

"He's confused, Mary," Francis defended his brother. "Bash is not one to admit his feelings so publicly. We were trained as children to keep them to ourselves, our father hated weakness and we never showed him that. Or anyone else for that matter other than..."

"Your wives," Mary finished for him. "I hate to be so insensitive, but I hope our child lives through the third month. I can't help but feel relief and happiness and hope. After everything that has happened, this child is our new beginning. Our future."

Francis claimed the seat that was once his brother's, giving his wife a bright smile. "Our child is our future indeed. I can't wait to raise them with you."

"I love you, Francis," Mary said softly.

"And I love you. Let me give you some privacy. I have to return to my duties. I wish I could comfort you-"

"I will be fine. It is not me who needs comfort, it's Kenna. I will be her comfort and so will Greer and Lola. Thank you, Francis, for helping her. She may not see so, but there are still people who care."

He gave her a small smile. "I am one of them."

She chuckled softly, watching him leave as Kenna's eyes opened. She pressed a kiss onto her friend's head and dabbed the sweat away.

"Is it gone?" Kenna asked croakily.

"I am so sorry. There was nothing that anyone could have done-"

"Good."

Mary gasped, eyes wide. "K-Kenna?"

"I will catch the ship to Sweden tomorrow after I've gained more strength. I am sorry, Mary, I cannot remain here any longer. I feel weaker and weaker and it is killing me... Delphine..., she can have him. I have given up hope," Kenna told her. "Hope I can ever be happy again. Hope that he and I could be together again."

Mary's eyes stung with tears. "Do not say that, I beg of you," she said quietly, leaning closer to stare into Kenna's eyes. "Stay here, remain by my side."

Kenna shook her head, closing her eyes as tears slipped down her face. "I cannot. Not whilst he's here."

"He sat with you just moments before," Mary told her. "He still loves you if he was here. Is that not a sign?"

"He was doing his duty as a husband. A husband seen by his ailing wife's bedside will stop any rumours from spreading," Kenna replied sadly. "In name only."

"He said that you should be taken to the chambers you shared," Mary added. "He specifically referred to them as owned by you both."

Kenna shook her head. "You're pulling gold out of thin air," she said lightly. "I do not blame you, all I ever hear these days are lies. If it is all the same to you, I'd like to eat something and get out of this bloody dress."

Mary laughed softly, wiping her tears as she helped Kenna stand from the bed. She helped her into a nightgown, leaving her pink-purple dress for the servants to clean for her.

When she was presentable, Mary cupped Kenna's cheeks. "I promise you, you will be happy. Please stay, I need you. I cannot be without you. I know I was willing to help you leave, but you are far too valuable for me to lose."

Kenna was stunned. She had never felt wanted before, until Bash further along with their marriage. Mary was her queen, she was Mary's subject. If Mary had wanted her, it was to perform her duties as a lady-in-waiting, but she was not only that for the Scottish monarch. A distant cousin or thereabouts, a dear friend from childhood.

Before she lost her mother to childbirth of her youngest sibling, the woman would take Kenna and Mary around the gardens with strawberry tarts back in Scotland in their Summer home. They lived modestly and her father had a lot of investments in different trades, building their money to a great substantial amount so they owned quite a few properties to spare. After Mary left, her mother died and Kenna had been shunned by her father, her familiar likeness to that of his favourite cherished wife too much to bear.

Duke Beaton had not wanted her any longer, the pain still hurting Kenna until this day, a decade later. Even when he had heard of her forced marriage, he had not come to rescue her, only sent her dowry which was quickly returned back. She did not know whether to be insulted or not at her husband's haste to return her dowry until he explained that she was worth much more than money could ever be worth to him. Until he no longer wanted her too.

"I know what you're thinking," Mary said softly. "Want and need are two very different things, are they not? I do not only want you, but I also need you. In more ways than ever and more especially now. Now that the child in me will sit on the throne."

"Of course, my Queen," Kenna replied softly, accepting Mary's tight hug. She will have to sacrifice her happiness for the sake of her queen's. It had been done many times before, now was no different.

...

"Oh, dear Lord," Mary heard Catherine cry out, the woman seeing her leaving Bash and Kenna's chambers. "What are you doing up and about? You must be resting, we cannot have a repeat of the last time."

Mary's eyes flashed red. "Of course, not Catherine!" She snapped. "I am a queen, I am fully capable of attending to matters of concern without the need to be bedridden. Unless you want to comfort my lady-in-waiting?"

Catherine scowled at the mention of Kenna. "Yes, I did hear what happened. How unfortunate, but fortunate for you all that I managed to stop such disgusting rumours about the King's bastard brother and his wife from spreading around. Well, see to it that she attends to you, not the other way around. You are a queen after all, not a noble's bed attendee."

Mary pursed her lips angrily, pushing down all the words of insult that were about to come from her mouth. If not for Catherine being Francis's mother and her in-law, she would not have stopped herself from humiliating her in front of all the guards, servants and other people that walked by, getting on with their lives.

"Kenna is more than a lady-in-waiting of noble birth," Mary finally said. "She is one of my closest and dearest friends. You do not have those, do you? Women you can trust with your life and secrets?"

"Why would I need friends when I have a crown on my head and they do not?" Catherine asked her as if Mary was a schoolchild scolded. "Friends are not everything. Power is and once people see a queen at her servant's beck and call, they will see weakness and fragility. You must stop that from ever being said about you."

Mary looked as if she had been slapped. She called her friend, her family, a servant. She was appalled, but she swallowed her words and walked away. She walked a few metres before stopping and turning to face a curious Catherine.

"She is not just your lady-in-waiting or friend, is she?" Catherine asked. "She means something more than Lady Lola and Lady Greer. Even that dead one, dear God what was her name?"

Mary took a deep breath in and released it. "Aylee was her name. Lady Aylee Livingston, a name I will forever hold dear in my heart. You are right, about Kenna being more than those to me. She is my cousin and just as Francis protects Bash, I will protect her. Good day, Catherine - I think this is enough of us seeing each other for the day."

She finally turned back around and walked away. She could feel her tears from the bottom of her throat, but she never released them until she met Francis in her offices, sobbing incoherently much to his surprise.

"Mary, what happened?"

"Your mother - s-she gets to me at times and with this pregnancy, I am feeling more vulnerable than ever," she mumbled against his chest. "I would be arguing with her, but I just had to calm down at times. She knows it's dangerous to rile me up, why must she do so?"

"My mother acts blatantly at times, I'm sorry, Mary," Francis said, cupping her cheeks so she could look up at him. "It isn't her fault, she does not even know she does it. It is how she is, always have been."

Mary wiped her tears. "She said I shouldn't care for Kenna, that it makes me look weak. Shouldn't it make me look stronger that I care for my subjects? That I am willing to overlook their recovery so that they can return and be of service?"

"Would you do that for a handmaiden or a guard?" Francis asked her gently.

Mary stilled. "Well, no... But I will for my ladies-in-waiting. There are not many people we can trust in this castle, but we can trust them. It is not easy serving a queen and I have put Kenna in the lion's den to get what I needed. I owe them everything, for using them for my own gain, for using them as comfort and solace... Without them, I would not be the queen before you."

"I understand, my love," Francis said, hugging her. "Although you should not be too dependent on them."

She frowned, pulling away. "As you are on Bash?"

"That is different. It has always been Bash's duty to protect me since I was born," Francis argued softly. "Even if I command him to stand down, he will still be willing to risk his life for the sake of mine."

"Your personal guard dog?" Mary asked, tutting. "That is a horrible way to treat your family."

"It's how it has always been, Mary. We cannot change things that have been for years," he replied sadly. "I offered him everything and he rejected them in the hopes of remaining my King's Deputy. Of remaining the one person I can trust with anything in this castle. Do you think a Baron is a higher status than a Duke?"

Mary sighed. "Exactly what I mean. Bash is your friend, your closest confidante after me, your brother. He rejected being a Duke to stay closer to you. What bastard brother has ever done that for their king brother? You were lucky. I was not blessed to have such a caring and close sibling as you were. I only have my ladies, so apart from you, I will be dependent on them. Let's not argue, I just want to be in your arms and talk about how much your mother bothers me."

He chuckled, his arms holding her closer to his frame as he rested his chin on the top of her head. "I should cherish this because soon, you will be-"

"The size of a bloated whale. Do not under any circumstances remind me!" Mary cut him off, laughter escaping her lips. "But yes, I will cherish this moment before I cannot even see my feet."

"You will look so beautiful, even more than you are now," he said, receiving a hit in reply. He laughed and continued, "They say women with child glow. Well, you are not only glowing, but you are also levitating."

"Oh, Lord, protect me from my husband who seems to go out of his way to make me feel more special than all the women who have given birth before me," she said, looking at him. "Also let him know that I am his and he is mine until our last dying breaths."

Francis did not even reply as he pressed his lips against hers, backing her onto his table and laying her down. He trailed kisses down her neck and began to undo her laces.

"F-Francis," she said his name, laughing when he kissed her nose. "I am sure you have work to do."

"Not until I claim this beautiful woman I call 'wife'," he readily replied, kissing her deeply. "God, you're so beautiful..."

For once, Mary blushed and looked away. She certainly did not feel it every time she emptied her stomach contents. Nor did she feel it when she woke up damp from sweat because of her pregnancy symptoms. Her husband always knew what words to say, how to make her feel better about herself.

"You're so handsome, I don't even know how you chose a woman like me..." She whispered back.

"Easy. I've loved you since we were children," he whispered back. "And I will never stop loving you."

"Neither will I."

...

"Under whose orders exactly am I to remain in my bedchambers?"

Bash looked up from the ground as he made his way to see Kenna. He could hear her complains from a mile away, but he had not put her and the voice together until he neared her and the guards she was glaring at.

"Was it Queen Mary's orders you're acting on?" She continued angrily. "Let me pass-"

"It was mine," Bash said making her still in her position, her arm restrained by one of the guards. "Let her go."

She pulled her arm from the guard's grip and walked back into the bedchambers, Bash following behind and closing the doors. She spun around and crossed her arms.

"What on God's Earth were you thinking? Keeping me locked inside like an animal?!" She yelled at him, sitting down once she felt faint.

"Exactly why I requested that they help you remain inside. You need rest, losing a child is a serious matter. You could have died," he replied, putting his sword down.

"Would you have cared?" She retorted. "I don't need rest. I need to find out what has happened to my belongings and get some food."

"I'll have servants bring you food," he replied easily. "As for your belongings, I have them in my offices."

She scowled. "Is that your plan?" She asked him. "Fine! I don't need anything, the clothes on my back will be enough to get on that ship-"

"I don't want you to leave," he cut her off, walking towards her. When she flinched away, he stopped. "We need to talk."

"I already know what you want to say," Kenna said. "I hope you and Delphine are happy and I will happily see to an annulment of our marriage."

Bash's face fell. "No. No, Kenna..."

Kenna swallowed deeply, looking up to see him fighting a battle inside himself. "W-What do you mean?"

"I do not want an annulment. God, that is the last thing I want, better yet - I don't want one overall. I do not want Delphine either, she saved my life and that is all there is between us. A woman who saved my life and debt I needed to repay," Bash explained.

"How did you repay her?" Kenna mumbled. "Sex?"

"It wasn't right. She wasn't you." He looked away. "Our first time, you said that I should imagine you whenever I used my fingers for any other task. What we have, that was real and it hurt me a lot when you believed I wasn't enough for you-"

"But you were! If you had allowed me to explain myself, I would have told you that you were!" She cried out, standing up to reach him. She cupped his cheek. "I didn't want Antoine, I wanted my husband. Even when Renaude was about to drive his sword into your back, I chose you. I choose you now and forever, no other man will be enough because I had that with you."

He searched her eyes. "I don't know if you're telling the truth or not."

She was stung, but she knew he had reasons to doubt her word. "Yes, I do act in my best interests, but I also act in yours. We do not talk, we lie and we are quick to be in bed every time and it is not healthy. I wanted a husband who would care and provide for me as well as be my solace. Love is not enough for me, I will admit that. You say I lie, but you lie too and your lies sometimes outweigh mine. Take sleeping with Claude for example-"

"We were young-"

"I know, but it still hurt because she saw you differently than as a brother!" Kenna told him sadly. "All along I thought I was the problem, but it was you and what you had with her-"

"There was nothing there-"

"I know," she whispered. "Not only Claude but what you do for Francis and for France. What you do in the woods, the people you meet and the people you kill. That innocent man you branded... And you wonder why I fear my husband is lying dead in the snow or covered by twigs and dirt, never to be found? It did happen too until she saved you. You never let me in and I poured my every being to you. The few moments I don't, you punish me."

He walked away from her, grabbing a cup and wine. He poured the wine and took a desperate sip from the cup.

He couldn't lie, he was blessed unexpectedly with a woman of noble birth and title. After Mary, he could never see himself with another woman let alone marrying them.

His father had been right, the bloody man. What an idea, marrying his bastard to his second official mistress. He bet the man never imagined the pair falling in love.

What King's bastard could ever marry a princess or a lady or woman of high title and birth? It was next to impossible, but his father's madness had allowed him another chance at love.

It was so unexpected and he had been blindsided at the idea of someone waiting for him when he came home. Of someone to keep his bed warm, that was not a lover or a whore. A woman who performed acts in his best interests and even managed to retrieve a family heirloom back for him and keep it lovingly.

The ring was worth next to nothing, the only thing that connected him to the grandmother who loved him dearly. His wife had worn it, not caring about what people had said when they worked out its true worth.

"You are right as much as it hurts to say so. It's the harsh truth and we must face the reality of our actions," he finally said, offering her the cup.

She looked at it stunned before her eyebrows furrowed. He decided to ignore her sudden reaction as if the cup had been poisoned even though she clearly saw him drink from it.

Her fingers reached out. Pale and weak fingers like a spider building a web. They connected with the cup, two fingers landing on two of his.

She could feel the sparks, the pressure building in her stomach as she stared in wonder at their almost fully joined fingers. When the moment became unbearable and tears sprung to her eyes, she quickly grabbed the cup and downed it, hoping it will settle her discomfort.

"What is the reality of our actions?" She fearfully asked him. "Would it mean me on that ship tomorrow?"

"I have already said that you leaving and an annulment is out of the question," he replied. "I may have acted in anger yesterday and I truly hope you can forgive me-"

"I do, I always will forgive you," she quickly said.

He gave her a small smile. "Was it... was it..." He couldn't even get the words out, not that there was evidence to prove her claim. It didn't matter, the baby was gone and they would try again.

"Yes," she whispered softly. "I had dreams of a little you or me. Our brown hair, your green eyes... It's all I ever wanted the first moment we kissed. You're all I wanted."

She placed the cup down and ran her hands over her face and hair. She didn't know what else to say, the silence becoming comfortable and normal.

They haven't had 'normal' in a long time. They were stuck in the past and everyone else was moving on. Bash stayed away from the castle more, hoping to not cross paths with her and she had dedicated her time into serving Mary and visiting Greer.

Then Francis asked her if she knew where Bash was and her heart had sunk at the possibility of losing him forever. Of never seeing her green-eyed husband and she went out, in the snow to find him. She had never wanted to bump into Renaude, nor had she expected to feel so lustful after weeks of not being able to bed her husband. Everything happened so quickly and out of her control, there weren't any chances for second goes.

She turned to him. "Do you love me?"

"I do. Do you love me?" He asked, uncertainty in his voice.

She almost laughed at his tone. "I-I..."

She didn't have the words, but she did have the strength to walk up to him and pull his head down so their lips met. She kissed him hard, feeling his arms bring her closer to him. She wanted to let him know exactly what she thought about them in that kiss - that she loved him, that it will always be him.

"Kenna, I've brought some food and-"

They slowly pulled apart and Kenna eyed Mary's beaming face from behind Bash. She smiled softly when her husband nestled his head on her shoulder, her fingers finding his hair.

"I will leave you two alone. Let me-"

"No," Kenna cut Mary off gently. She pulled away from Bash and gave him a small smile. "I need to eat."

He kissed her forehead. "You do. I need to see Leith about something, but you will be here?"

She nodded. "I will," she replied. There was no point in catching any ships to anywhere now. "I-I love you."

"I love you more," his reply came and he took a while before letting go and leaving with his sword picked up on his way.

Mary walked up to her, her smile becoming a grin. "Did I see correctly?"

"What?" Kenna said, blushing. "A man and his wife cannot kiss each other?"

"I am so sorry I walked in. I asked the guards if any servants had brought you food beforehand," Mary said, taking her hand. "Come, you need to rest, but before you do, fruit, nuts, meat... Whichever food you desire, I have brought up."

"Mary, I cannot and will not have you waiting on me," Kenna said. "You're my queen..."

Mary's face fell and she narrowed her eyes. "Did Catherine speak to you?"

"She said she had some advice to offer me about losing..." Kenna closed her eyes and cleared her throat. "She said that it was not right for a queen to be devoted to her lowly lady. Mary, I am your friend, but your subject first. Before my marriage, I am devoted to you."

"I do not need devotees," Mary snapped before her features became sad. "I need people I can trust. No one in Court is truly innocent and I need people I can count on to watch my back, not just Francis."

Kenna nodded. "Mary, I will always be someone you can trust and count on. That is what friends are for and most importantly, family."

They were disturbed by the servants entering with the food Mary promised, one saying that it was becoming cold. Kenna couldn't believe it, the food that was being put onto the dining table was more than the food her and her husband ever consumed on a daily basis.

"Eat up," Mary told her. "I need you well because we are entertaining guests from Italy tomorrow."

"Let me guess, more Medicis to please?" Kenna said bitterly.

Mary nodded. "Unfortunately, the castle will be riddled with them. They say it is for Francis's birthday, but who knows what Catherine is scheming now?"

"Catherine tolerates Greer to an extent, maybe Greer can find out why?" Kenna suggested, sitting at the table and starting to eat. "Or even Lola as her first grandchild's mother."

"Now that I am carrying her son's heir, John Phillip does not even cross her mind. Speaking of him, we are still looking for a suitable match for him," Mary replied, picking a cherry from the fruit bowl and eating it, disposing of the seed. "I will find out somehow..."

"I will be here for you, no matter what, Mary," Kenna said. "Will you help me eat all of this? It is like I am a pig you're fattening up for slaughter."

Mary giggled. "Perhaps Bash would fancy that."

"How dare you!" Kenna laughed. It was the first genuine smile she had in ages and she gave Mary a bright smile.