Chapter 39

Out in the courtyard, a horrifying sight greeted them. Numerous dead bodies lay on the ground, struck down by powerful sword thrusts. The Queen Mother of France only spotted a few of them wearing their colours and fortunately the losses of the small private troop that had hurried to their rescue was limited as well.

Catherine led her husband to the parlour and immediately instructed their servants to bring her warm water and bandages.
"You've arrived just in time. One minute later and I don't know what would have happened," she told her brother-in-law who helped Stephane sitting down, wearing a worried expression on his handsome face.
"It took me some time convincing Fournier before he agreed to help us by sending his soldiers," the younger man explained and started unbuttoning his brother's bloodied shirt while Catherine franticly tried to scrub off the dried blood on her hands.

Both held their breath when they spotted the deep wound adoring Stephanes lower side, only to expel in relief when they realized that his injury looked rather painful but not lethal.
"I had to decoy him with the prospect of a private audience with his King and Lord Chancellor," Rafael confessed.
Catherine didn't even raise her eyes at this revelation but turned to her husband with a worried expression.
"Then he shall get his private audience for all I care," she promised and tore at Stephane's trousers in order to examine his second wound as well.

"The artery seems to be unharmed," Catherine muttered out of relief while carefully wiping away the blood. "You're a very lucky man, Stephane."
"I know. After all I choose you as my wife," her husband replied, looking at her with a mischievous grin.
Catherine rolled with her eyes but could not suppress the timid smile that lay itself on her lips at this open display of his affection.
"I wonder if you're running a fever, husband," she teased him and touched his forehead, but he felt neither hot nor feverish.

"You've saved my life." Stephane ignored her teasing tone but looked up at her with his big expressive eyes and an almost stunned look on his face.
Catherine didn't understand what it was that left him so astonished. Could he possibly believe that she wouldn't save his live or abandon him to his grisly fate?
"And if you don't keep still, all my efforts will be to no avail," she lovingly chided him when he flinched violently under her busy hands. She hadn't been able to stop the bleeding yet, but at least it had slightly eased.

After she had cleaned and disinfected the wounds the way Nostradamus had taught her, the Queen Mother dressed his injuries with compression bandages. Satisfied with the result she leaned down to Stephane and tenderly kissed her husband's forehead who stared at her in surprise.
"I will go and check on John to make sure he's okay. Do you need anything else?"

Stephane, who caressed her cheek likewise gratefully and affectionately, simply shook his head.
"Make sure he doesn't overexert himself," she instructed her brother-in-law before she left the room.

To her relief, the little boy didn't even seem to have noticed the turmoil but was deeply asleep in his crib while peacefully sucking on his thumb. Catherine took a moment and sat down next to him to just observe the blonde toddler.

She needed that quiet and peaceful moment to gather herself. Now that the adrenaline had left her body, she gradually realized how close they had been to certain death. Just the thought of seeing Esteban kneeling over Stephane, willing to murder her husband in cold blood, unintentionally caused goose bumps to rise all over her body.

But the worst part had been the split second when she hadn't known if she had stopped the man in time or if it was already too late for Stephane. An unknown yet paralyzing fear had been pulling at her heart and deprived her of the air she urgently needed to breathe. Stricken with terror, she had pushed Esteban from Stephane, while her heart had hammered wildly against her chest.
Only when his eyes, widened by exhaustion and pain, stared back at her did she realize that her husband was still alive. This realization had brought tears to her eyes.

Tears of despair that gave way to tears of relief. At that moment she had realized that she still loved Stephane. Not just loved him – she was in love with him. Now more than ever.

"Oh my God, I love him," she said startled and hearing it aloud made the situation no less surreal for her. She had forbidden herself to give in to feelings of that kind ever again. But why did it feel so good and not the slightest bit wrong or terrible at all?

"Because he loves me as well," Catherine answered her own question, not doubting the accuracy of her conclusion for a second. Because Stephane had told her herself. But more importantly, he had showed it with so many conscious as well as unconscious gestures within in recent weeks. And even if she had felt the shadow of doubt until now, his words, glances and deeds in the stable had long since proven how deep and honest his feelings were for her. Perhaps now was the time to listen to her own feelings?

There it is – a new chapter – a short one. But no worries, the next one will be longer and I still can't believe that there are only two chapters left that await my translation.

So what do you think? Is this the magical turning point in their relationship?

Many many thanks for sticking with me and this fanfic and for writing reviews.