Queen Of Four Kingdoms, The by HRH Princess Michael of Kent Page A

pair.
Yes, I will keep Vincenzo
.
His clear intelligence will prove most useful.
    ‘And this is Carlo, whose father and grandfather were both factors at Angers. They are a most experienced and loyal family.’ Carlo is another whose face Yolande likes instantly; she judges him to be intelligent and willing to serve her as his new mistress here. Another clever face. Yes, she is pleased with these two on sight.
    An idea is taking shape in her mind. Among her mother’s household, she remembered three servants who were more than that. With time and quiet observation, she came to know their extra duties. They would travel with her parents wherever they went, and sometimes one of them would be ‘lent’ by her mother to another important household for a period of time – to help train a new wife’s staff, or to fill in for an absent servant. With her sharp eyes and ears, Yolande soon understood that these three were also working in a different capacity. Yes, her gentle mother had them
spying
for her! One day, not long before she left Saragossa for her marriage, she asked her mother if this was true.
    ‘Dearest child, come and sit here with me quietly, because your question is a serious one and it concerns something I have wanted to talk to you about for some time.
    ‘You may be surprised that your mother, whom you look on as some kind of saint – yes, I know you think me without fault – could do such a thing as plant a spy in another household – even that of a friend.’ She looked at Yolande, her head tipped slightly to one side. ‘Now listen to me, and listen well. Life can be dangerous for anyone, whatever their station. But for a
ruler,
knowledge is the key to survival. He who knows wins! – never forget that. For this reason I have trained three loyal members of my staff to watch, to listen – and to report to me. I never even shared this with your father when he lived, although he had such people of his own. Find similar trustworthy individuals among your servants and you will be in a better position not only to survive, but to win!’ With that she smiled and left Yolande digesting the importance of her words. She made herself a promise then that she too would find trustworthy people to work for her. And, after all, she had brought Juana with her, whose eyes and ears had been well trained by her mother.
    Marie de Blois leads Yolande to the kitchens, where about thirty staff rush about preparing food. She sees several carcasses rotating over hot coals – sheep and lambs as well as fowl. There is a delicious smell of baking, and someone passes them with a barrow of apples from a larder.
    ‘The kitchens can feed an army, though luckily that does not happen too often,’ smiles Marie de Blois. ‘But we do entertain constantly when in residence and there are never fewer than fifty sitting down to dinner. This is Giacomo, my head chef and overseer of the kitchens. He came as a boy to learn from his father, and now his son works in the pantry just as he did.’ Yolande faces a round, beaming, red-faced man of about thirty-five, who snaps his fingers. Immediately a dish is brought with something freshly baked.
    ‘My lady, please do me the honour of tasting this small delicacy,’ he says, in an accent she can hardly understand.
    ‘Delicious! What is in the filling?’
    ‘Ah, madame’ – he seems to burst with happiness at her approval – ‘it is the liver of one of our special home-bred white geese. We force them to drink strong wine, and then the dogs chase them to make them run and the alcohol enters their bloodstream – especially the liver – before they meet their end.’ He draws a line with his finger across his throat with a toothless grin. ‘That and the almonds I grate finely into the mix!’ he adds proudly.
    ‘Poor goose. But perhaps it is better to die drunk than sober?’ Yolande asks Louis when they meet again, and he falls about laughing.
    ‘But we always give our fowl a good drink before