The Queen and the Courtesan Read Online Free PDF

not possess the necessary military qualifications. The Marquis made this further demand as he daringly outfaced the man who lusted after his daughter, even though he was a king. Henry was incensed and refused, point blank, to grant his wish. He’d thought the girl almost in his hands, now it was all going wrong.
    â€˜This transaction is turning out to be far more expensive than I bargained for. You have silver in your pocket, your daughter a fine château, and a promise of marriage. Would you have my bleeding heart too?’
    Balzac smirked, certain he was winning. The only danger to his plan was that his daughter was like a cat on heat, more than eager to surrender whatever was left of her virtue. In order to separate her from the King while he concluded these arrangements to his complete satisfaction, he dispatched the girl to Marcoussis, then followed himself in order to guard her.
    The King fell into a sulk and on 10 October wrote to Henriette.
    Mes chères amours. You order me to surmount, if I love you, all the difficulties . . . By the proposals I have made I have sufficiently shown the strength of my love for those on your side to raise no further difficulties. What I said before you I will not fail in, but nothing more.
    It seemed the King had reached the end of his tether and Henriette was deeply alarmed. Marcoussis was closer to Fontainebleau than Malesherbes, but it was a stronghold with ramparts, and a keep which was only reached after crossing three drawbridges. The castle had been erected in the fourteenth century, since which time it had more than once withstood a siege, notably by John the Fearless of Burgundy in 1417. It could easily withstand that of a lover, even if he were a brave soldier king.
    The protracted argument over her surrender had gone on long enough, so far as Henriette was concerned. She wanted to enjoy some of the benefits of capturing a king’s heart. She certainly had no wish to be confined in a prison, as was Queen Margot. ‘Why would I wish to be locked behind these stone walls when I could grace the bed of a king?’ was her constant cry. ‘Advise me, Maman , how to keep his interest, as you so successfully retained the love of Charles IX. Am I not as clever and as beautiful as you?’
    â€˜You are certainly more ambitious, child.’
    â€˜At least I took the precaution of getting this,’ she snapped, flourishing the signed document in her mother’s face. Soon, I shall be his wife and Queen of France. What say you to that?’
    â€˜That Henry of Navarre was never a man for keeping his promises, or for constancy, so do not count your chickens too soon, my love. He could easily grow bored and turn again to Mademoiselle de la Bourdaisière. And I’ve heard he is also paying court to Mademoiselle de la Chastre,’ Marie mildly remarked. ‘Did I not warn you of possible disappointment?’
    Henriette stamped her foot, her cheeks growing crimson with fury. ‘So tell me your secrets. What must I do to win, and keep , a king, and a crown? He is a man, after all, with a man’s weaknesses. What more can I do to fascinate him?’
    Marie could have said that Henriette should listen less to her own greed and more to her heart, and not too blindly to her own father, but did not dare. And in truth her younger daughter, Marie, was far less shrewd, having recently eloped with Bassompierre without any promise of marriage. Perhaps this one was cleverer than she gave her credit for. With a sigh, Marie gave Henriette the kind of advice a mother should never give a daughter on how to please a man with pretty and titillating little tricks. However unsavoury and embarrassing, it was the only advice to which she would listen.
    When this was done, or Marie could bear to say no more, Henriette merely laughed. ‘But I’ve already tried all of that, save for the falling in love part,’ she scorned. ‘I’ve learned a