Disclaimer: I neither own Reign, nor profit from this story.

Ch 24 - Testing by Fire

Understandably, Catherine's worry had been thrust into full throttle, and sending Francis off like that would not have been missed especially by her older children.

Turning back into the house Catherine paused for a moment before flying into action.

"Mary, I will need you to help me prepare dinner tonight, Elisabeth and Claude you two are to keep the others in hand."

In addition to having a meal to prepare Catherine needed some time to collect her thoughts. She moved with purpose into the party and began to collect ingredients for their dinner preparations.

Mary followed with a basket to catch everything the Catherine pulled off of the shelves.

"Mother is everything alright?" Mary asked noticing Catherine's agitation.

Trying to delay this conversation until she could speak with Henry, Catherine chose to merely speak of that which she could confirm.

"We will be having guests for dinner this evening so I will need your assistance to make sure everything is prepared in the necessary quantity."

"But mother, who were those men outside?"

Choosing not to turn and look at her daughter lest her face give something away Catherine finished what she was doing and moved back into the kitchen.

"They wish do do business with us and will be returning to discuss this further tonight when your father is here."

"But why did Francis leave in such a hurry? Is there something the matter?"

Pausing and closing her eyes in frustration at how persistent Mary was being, no matter how reasonable her questions were, Catherine answered vaguely but honestly, "Mary, you asked me not that long ago about the prospect of being married but not knowing where it would take you."

Mary did not like the beginning of that answer and so answered hesitantly, "yes…"

"There are times in life when one has choices, and there are times when the choices are few or even non-existent."

Turning to Mary, Catherine removed the basket from her grasp, put it down on the counter, and gripped her arms firmly but gently. "When these choices come upon us there are one of three reactions we may make, as people…but especially as women."

Catherine's eyes were glimmering, less from pending tears and more from the importance of what she was trying to relay.

"In those times Mary you can react in rebellion, railing against whatever results with everything in your being. You can choose to not react at all, allowing what happens to paralyze you or at the very least respond by not responding. Or you can become an active player in whatever game is afoot, good, bad, or indifferent.'

Loosening her hands so that they slid down Mary's arms she found the girl's hands and grasped them equally as gently.

"And indeed Mary, most of life is indeed just that, a game in which you can either be a player or be played. It is a choice that only you can make, and some of those choices can be hard to undo once done."

Trying to figure out what could possibly have prompted her mother to say such a thing Mary smiled a wary smile and tried to process what she had been told.

Not liking the response she saw, although it was indeed a reasonable one for what she had just said, Catherine tried to comfort her daughter with as much as she felt she could reveal.

"I do not mean to scare you Mary but you are growing up, and as a flower first blooms then fades, the way you have seen the world in these early years of your life will soon begin to change. And once it does, you can never go back to seeing it in the same way again."

Releasing her hands and cupping her face Catherine continued, "Your father and I will protect you for as long as we can, and help you as much as we are able, but we cannot protect you from everything. Indeed one day this 'everything' may include the choices that you make, even in good faith, and with the best hope in what they will bring."

Still t a loss as to what Catherine was speaking of Mary answered simply, "Yes mother."

Wishing she could give more reassurance Catherine smiled at her daughter and leaned down to leave a kiss on her forehead before she pulled back and stated with certainty, "Good, then we will begin by cutting vegetables to go with a roast and make some fresh bread along with potatoes for tonight."

She turned to the basket with the gathered produce and sorted it as needed.

"Tonight we will show our guests that while we may not be rich, we are well enough off and then some."

Still at a loss Mary went to get a knife so that she could begin.

Though her mother seemed to have recovered from whatever was bothering her, May could not help but think that there was something ominous about what was yet to come that evening. That she soon might have to make one of those choices that mother had been speaking of.

Though she trusted her parents, her gut still tightened at this unknown.

She did not like this one bit.

-/-/-/-

Henry closed up the shop as soon as Francis came in and relayed Catherine's message.

He had just finished with his customer and was planning on heading home shortly so he was able to finish that much faster and be on his way.

Francis also told him of Catherine's final request and sent the boy to finish his errand while he returned to the house.

It was a most unusual request, but then again so was this one. He trusted Catherine though and knew that she would not ave made it if it wasn't important.

When he got to the house what he saw would have made him smile if he wasn't so worried. Catherine and Mary together were working in the kitchen on quite a large meal from what he could see.

What the occasion was he could not guess, especially as it sounded like she had been a bit frantic in her request.

Walking into the kitchen he had barely announced himself when Catherine turned to Mary, gave her a few more instructions, left everything, and dragged him back out the front door.

All the way to the other side of the house they went until Catherine stopped abruptly and by way of explanation blurted out, "Mary and Francis will need to be wed."

To his credit Henry barely reacted, only blinking once as he tried to make sense out of what she just said.

"Catherine I…" he began, but had barely gotten even that out when she began explaining at an extraordinarily fast rate and pacing as she went so that he could barely understand her.

"…strangers…red hair…Mary…married…back to her family…"

"Catherine," he said finally, reaching for her as she once again passed him. He was able to stop her in her tracks and turn her to face him.

Once he had her gaze stayed on him Henry pleaded with her.

"Slowly my love, what has you so worried?"

Biting her lip she took a breath and began.

"I was in the garden today when those strangers returned, this time nearly demanding that the girl they were looking for was Mary and that they intended to return her to her family back where they come from. And they had swords Henry, and I was alone with the children and could think of nothing else to say, so I told then that Mary was our servant betrothed to marry Francis and that if they wished to take her they would have to talk to you first."

Henry would have interjected here if given the option but Catherine still continued.

"And I didn't even think that they would agree so I invited them to discuss it tonight at dinner hoping that I could delay them long enough to have you here, but now they are expecting to come back and find out that Mary and Francis are indeed planning to marry, and if the return and found out I have lied I am sure they will take Mary from us whether she or we like it or not."

By this point she had gotten herself so worked up that Henry simply pulled her to himself and wrapped her in his arms, whispering words of comfort into her hair as she began to sob into his chest, all her worry finally coming out in a rush.

"We will find a way through this Catherine, we always do," he tried to reassure her, though he wasn't so sure of how certain even he could be about his statement.

What a mess.