Disclaimer: I do not own the Tudors.
Face claim for Clarice de' Medici - Synnøve Karlsen.
Chapter One Hundred & Fourteen: The Dauphine's Success.
19th of January 1538 - Château de Fontainebleau
Walking down the halls of the palace, the Dauphine held her head high as she proudly displayed her bump, her hand resting protectively on the growing bump that she knew would soon bare fruit and she prayed it was a son. Her husband often ignored her these days, favouring his mistress or spending time learning the ropes of governance from his father; there was no time it seemed for Catherine nor their daughter.
Catherine refused to allow it to bother her, she knew that he would dispose of her and attempt to marry Diane if she failed this time; Henri had made his intentions clear to her on that fact alone when she had birthed Elisabeth. Catherine ignored the looks that some courtiers offered her, ignored the whispers that followed her as she walked down the hall before the Duke of Guise stepped into her path.
"My Lord," Catherine greeted stiffly, she eyed the man that dared step into her way as she made her way towards the Queen's chambers where she was expected to dine with Her Majesty. The Duke himself looked surprised by the move, quickly glancing to who he had been speaking with in a moment of panic; he quickly looked back at Catherine who attempted to walk around him.
"May I introduce my sister, the Duchess of Longueville. She has recently come to court," the Duke said signalling for his older sister to approach, she curtseyed to the Dauphine before casting her eyes down to where the Duke seemed to be watching something in the distance. Mary of Guise knew exactly what her brother had been thinking when he had stepped into Catherine's path and she did not blame him for doing so; the display was an upsetting one indeed.
"It is an honour Your Grace," Mary greeted with a smile, it felt like such a long time since she had been at court since she had married the Duke of Longueville and had spent most of her time at his estates. It felt like such a long time ago, she had made her first entrance into court upon the wedding of King Francis and his second wife Eleanor of Austria and had established a friendship with the Princesses Madeleine and Margaret. It was with great sadness that she hadn't been able to travel for Madeleine's wedding to King James, she had been with child and the sudden death of her own husband had not helped matters.
"I am sorry to hear about your husband," Catherine noted softly, she recalled hearing that the Duke of Longueville had passed away leaving his young wife a widow with a young child and one on the way. Catherine couldn't imagine herself in that position, she prayed that she and Henri would live long lives and would be blessed with any grandchildren; that she would get to see her children rule over a French empire.
"We must have supper sometime, I'm afraid that I can't keep the Queen waiting," Catherine said nodding to Mary, she refused to be late and she turned on her heel to continue walking as the Duke of Guise looked alarmed and attempted to stop her. Mary opened her mouth to speak up, her eyes widening in alarm as she watched the Dauphine continue on her way to the Queen's apartments.
"If I may, Your Grace... perhaps a position in your household for my sister," the Duke started to ramble, desperate to stop what was about to happen knowing that it would only harm the baby that Catherine was carrying. It was then that Catherine spotted the reason why the Duke of Guise had tried to stop her, she came to an abrupt halt as her eyes locked on the pair of lovers.
There at the end of the corridor stood Henri and Diane, the two of them standing too close to be proper and Catherine could only feel sick as she watched Henri reach down and caress his mistress' belly. A small bump now visible on the lady's form, a tender smile on his face as he ducked down to whisper in her ear; completely oblivious to the fact that Catherine had seen him.
Breathing heavily as she stumbled back, Catherine felt her world crumble around her as she realised that everyone in the palace knew that Diane was pregnant with Henri's child. A sharp pain rippled through Catherine, she clutched at her stomach as Mary and the Duke of Guise rushed to her aid along with her ladies.
The news had spread quickly with the news that the Dauphine of France went into early labour, followed by the whispers of the scene that had caused Catherine such great distress. Henri had returned to his chambers, taking his mistress along with him to await the news that Catherine had failed him for the second time and he could free himself from her.
Shut away in her rooms, Catherine screamed as she laboured to bring her child into the world, tears trailing down her face knowing that if this baby died that there would be no coming back for her. Henri had made his feelings very clear on the matter, he wanted her gone if she could not give him a son this time; he would cast her aside and marry another.
No doubt hoping that his desires for Diane would be respected by his father, although the King would likely seek a better match for his heir; he would want to secure a strong alliance for his heir rather than wasting it on a match that Henri desired above all else. The dark room where she laboured was filled with ladies of the court, her own ladies staying close to her mistress as she tried to push her baby into the world; the process was slow and the room quiet compared to the first time that she had laboured.
This one seemed to be moving so much quicker than her first, the pain felt like she was being split in half and she wanted nothing more than this to be over. Her baby wasn't due for another month, it wasn't time yet for them to be born and Catherine feared that not only would this lead to her baby's death but her own; she knew that Henri would not care for their daughter if anything happened to her. Poor Princess Elisabeth would be cast aside, she would be abandoned by her father who would focus on any child that Diane would be able to give him or his new wife.
Catherine screamed, leaning forward and baring down as she tried to push her baby into the world; she prayed to God that she would be delivered of her saviour. The silence was maddening, almost taunting her as she laboured as if they all expected her baby to die; that she would fail on her final chance that they would have to grace for themselves to the future wife of the Dauphin.
Many assumed that the Dauphin would elope to stop his father from arranging a match that he did not agree with another political match that would not please him when he was so infatuated with Diane. It certainly didn't help that news had arrived from Scotland, Madeleine was already pregnant with her second child so soon after being delivered of a son back in October.
Henri had used his sister's pregnancy to rub it in Catherine's face, that his sister had succeeded in giving her husband an heir and was on her way to giving her husband a second child so soon after the first. The light outside slowly slipped away as the day left them, the darkness not going anything to boast Catherine's mood as she finally gave birth to her child. The room was silent as the midwife took her baby, there was no crying or screaming that there had been when Elizabeth had been born. Catherine stared helplessly from her bed, watching as they wrapped up her baby and hide them away from her; tears in her eyes unable to look away waiting for some sign that the baby was alive.
"Please, please," Catherine pleaded to anyone that would listen, her baby had to live, they had to cry, they had to do something because that baby was the only way was her marriage was going to survive. It felt like an eternity before the sounds of a baby crying filling the room, Catherine didn't care how weak the cry sounded; she wept realising that none of that mattered her child was alive.
"Give me my child," Catherine ordered, she didn't care about anything else she wanted her baby in her arms; she was thrilled when they gave her the baby. It was hard to believe that this was happening, she stared down at the child who was pale and looked so small in her arms compared to what their sister had done.
"You have done it my lady, it is a boy," Mathilde whispered to Catherine, she smiled at her mistress knowing that she had nothing to fear now; she had her son and Henri could not cast her aside now. The words rang in Catherine's ears, staring down at the tiny form as a smile formed on her face; unable to believe that her son was actually here, that she had finally given her husband an heir.
"Francis," Catherine breathed holding him close, she ignored the looks on people's faces knowing that she would do everything to make sure that he lived.
1st of March 1538 - Wulfhall
Staring out of the window, Viscountess Bryan couldn't help but feel bitter at the very fact that she had only been allowed to come home because Lady Cromwell was expected to deliver her baby today. Jane had been isolated from her family since she had given birth to her daughter, a part of her had truly believed that Henry would call for her once things had calmed down with Anne and restore her to his side.
None of that had happened, instead she was left with a husband who paid very little attention to her; the Viscount left her to her own devices for the most part, although her every move was watched. Jane wasn't even allowed around her daughter that Henry had fathered, the child having been removed from her and for the most part raised by her mother until she would be sent to the royal nursery as a companion.
Jane had raged when she had heard the plans, no one cared what she believed or she wanted for her child; she didn't want Margery around the children of Anne. It would be better if Margery had no relationship with Anne's children, she didn't want them to become close nor did she wish for her daughter to think she was less than because of how Anne's servants would treat her.
"You appear deep in thought," Edward mused appearing behind his sister, he had returned to their family home from court for the birth of his own child with his second wife. A daughter that had arrived nearly a month earlier who had been named in honour of Jane's rival; it made her sick to her stomach and she refused to go and see her new niece, she had avoided nearly everyone since she had arrived.
"Pondering my fate as the betrayal of my own family," Jane replied, she didn't turn to look at Edward and she didn't care what he had to say; she just wanted to be left alone. She would have been contented to remain at Wallingford Castle but her husband had refused, he had been summoned back to court by Henry and had refused to allow her to stay home alone without him given her condition. Jane truly didn't wish to think about the child that was growing in her belly, a child that wasn't Henry's child but Francis Bryan's; the very idea made her feel in.
"And what betrayal are you accusing us of this time sister? Not allowing you to ruin our reputation further?" Edward noted with a shake of his head, he didn't know what she had expected them to do when she had announced she was pregnant with the King's child. There was no way that this would have ended with the King leaving the Queen, not when he now had two healthy sons in the royal nursery and two daughters; there was no way he would risk the succession of his sons for any child that Jane could give him.
"You left me to rot with Bryan, you cast me aside when I could have secured our family, my children would have brought about a greater England," Jane insisted knowing that her vision of a future England, she could still see her son with golden locks sitting upon the throne. Instead she had been robbed of that, cast aside and Henry had been kept away from her; no doubt Anne was behind such things, punishing her for her love for Henry and his love for her.
"You truly believe that the King would leave the Queen when she has given him four healthy children. You have brought shame to this family, we are lucky that the Queen was so forgiving and allowed us to remain in her favour," Edward pointed out, Anne could have easy cast them out from court for what Jane had done. Anne could have favoured her Howard cousins, she had always surrounded herself with family favourites and she had no reason to be kind to the Seymours after what Jane had done. Instead Edward had been rewarded, given the title Viscount Beauchamp while Thomas was now Baron Seymour of Sudeley and Henry had been knighted. It had worked out well for Jane's brothers, one of her sisters had remarried well and Dorothy had married a local man recently.
"She is no Queen," Jane hissed shaking his head finally turning to face her brother, anger across her face as she refused to admit that Anne had won; that she would not be removed from Henry's side. Edward sighed shaking his head, he had hoped that time alone would have made Jane see sense but it was clear that she had only clung to her ideas even more. No child would be safe in her care, he would need to speak with their mother about making sure that she could not teach her delusions to her children.
I recommend Bed of Deceit by BellalunaMcKenzie, For Even as Love Crowns You by wizardfantasy and Sanctuary by Cattyfan. Also check out My Lord Husband, The Enemy by Esme24, That Subtle Wreath by EvilFluffyBiteyThing and its sequel, A Progress in Kent.
Please Review, Favourite and Follow x