Chapter 4

Catherine stared unhappily at the document the bishop handed her that already contained Stephane Narcisse's signature. She felt not only the eyes of the guests of their wedding party rest on her alone, but also the king's and her soon-to-be husband's. One could have heard a dropped pin at this moment as almost everyone in the throne room seemed to involuntarily hold their breaths. For the fraction of a second Catherine closed her eyes, then she reached for the quill and with a heavy heart she put her name beside the man's she now had to call her husband.
The remaining minutes of the wedding ceremony simply passed by for Catherine. She felt strange and somehow lost resuming the role of the blushing bride. A role she had never wanted to regain after Henry's death. And yet she was kneeling here to be chained to a man by the power of crown and church for whom she had some extremely mixed feelings.

With a simple gesture the clergyman asked them to rise again. She would have liked to ignore Stephane's hand he offered her, however her good education and the years of humiliation at Henry's side taught her to always keep her countenance as well as her dignity, so she reached for it and arose with his help.
It was only when the bishop asked Stephane to seal their marriage with a kiss when Catherine adopted a ridgid posture. She didn't enjoy being kissed in front of an audience.
With a smile she could only interpret as smug, the Lord Chancellor bowed down to her. Catherine held her breath when he lifted his strong hands to caress her cheeks with a delicate touch. Then he pulled her in and his lips lowered on hers. She let it happen, acknowledged his newly acquired rights as her husband, but she deliberately let the kiss lack any passion or devotion. Stephane broke away from her and gallantly offered his arm to his new wife.
"Let the games begin," he whispered to Catherine as she strode to the other side of the throne room along his side. His comment put a real smile on her face. The first one since this crazyness began.
The pair came to a halt in front of their King and it costed Catherine lots of self-mastery to accept her son's congratulations without answering with a sassy remark.

Throughout the day Stephan's gaze had rested upon Catherine. His wife. He had not yet become accustomed to the idea that she was his now and he seriously doubted that he would ever get used to it. Although he stood framed by some honourable councilors, he did not let Catherine out of his sight. She has broken free from his grip only a few minutes ago and he was now observing how she pulled one of her little spys aside at the other end of the room.

His wife was a feast for the eyes. Though the cream-colored, lush dress was highcut, however it fitted her like a second skin and impressively emphasized her enticing curves. A variety of golden beads and sequins adorned the fabric and made Catherine shine even more beautifully. To his delight she wore her red-blond hair only partly pinned up. Some loose strands framed her neck quite nicely on this particular day. This special look suited her very well as it softend her delicate features in a nice and feminine way.

He hadn't caught sight of Catherine since that fateful evening 3 days ago. It had been Charles himself who had delivered the news of her acceptance and he suspected that the young monarch had ensured that his mother didn't leave her chambers until their wedding. He had actually feared the day to see her again, but the moment a breathtakingly beautiful Catherine had walked down the aisle he had thrown caution in the wind and started to embrace this new direction of his life. God alone knew what Catherine would come up with in the near future to make his life difficult. But a small part of him was already looking forward to being able to compete against the most powerful woman of France in the intimate setup of a marriage.

Narcisse watched Catherine pulling out a letter from under her dress and placing it inconspicuously into the waiting hands of her little spy. The young thing smiled at her mistress and let the document disappear into her plunging neckline.
"Oh come on! You can't even wait twenty-four hours before you have to plot your first rebellion, Catherine?", he murmured self-indignant, waving for his own henchmen. Followed by the two men, the bridegroom stepped out onto the balcony. Makeing sure they were alone, Narcisse addressed his confidants:
"My wife just handed a letter over to Lady Madeleine. Bring it to me. It must never reach its recipient. And keep an eye on Madeleine."
Without waiting for their answer, Lord Narcisse turned around and stepped back into the brightly lit room.

Instantly his eyes searched for his wife in the crowd. Catherine had sat down on a sofa, balancing a plate of sweet delicacies on her lap. She seemed to have zoomed out of the hectic activities surrounding her. Then with a pleasuarble expression on her face she put a marzipan covered date into her mouth. Smiling he crossed the room.
"Now I see. Finally you have found something you can enjoy on this special day." Catherine looked up at him chewing, but neither his presence nor his comment stopped her from putting another treat into her mouth.
"Don't we all have our guilty pleasures?" Nodding in approval, Stephane also helped himself with a date then he took the plate from her and held out his hand.
"Dance with me, Catherine."

Catherine's eyes flickered briefly and Lord Narcisse wondered whether she had just suppressed an eye-roll. Then she let him lead her to the dance floor. With a smooth bow, Stephane clasped her much smaller hands into his and the couple got carried away by the soft music.
"Some months ago you told me that you're not my wife and that you won't walk back into my arms. And now see how unpredictable fate can be." Catherine, who turned to slowly stride around him, could not suppress a slight growl. When she had circling him, he felt her hot breath close to his ear, raising the fine hair at the nape of his neck.
"Do not lose yourself in this foolish, make-believe romance. What drove me into your arms is neither your charm, nor your exaggerated abilities as a lover, but the unfortunate attempt of my son to control me," she whispered.
Stephane's hands went around her waist and pulled her closer against his body than it was actually decent.
"And obviously he is convinced that I am most captable of doing just that." With a bold move he swung her around so that her wide skirts huddled against his legs with every turn they took.
"Even bigger men have failed their tasks," Catherine whispered while her body was pressed in the most perfect way against his.
"I will not fail, Chérie. And my abilities as a lover are available to you any time," he assured her and his hand slipped possessively over the small of her back.
"Oh, please," Catherine muttered, breaking free from his embrace as soon as the last chords of the song faded away.
"Enough dancing, my dessert is waiting."

at D: thank you, my Dear. And thanks for your ongoing encouragement. Yessss, how could she not marry him?! But I have to be honest - I love making things complicated so I hope you are in for a long ride.

at Guest: Well thank you! Glad you enjoyed it so far.

This will be the last post before I'm off to Costa Rica & Panama. OMG! I'm excited as hell. See you all in September!