The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy

She did not like me to ask questions. Perhaps because she did not greatly care for the answers. I was thinking that he only had to tell the King that he was in love with someone else and was not tempted by the title and wealth he would get by marrying the girl.
    “He dared not offend the King, of course. And you know that when a gift is offered it is churlish not to show gratitude. Charles visited the young girl. He is delighted because she is only a child and it would be years before he could marry her. So he is safe… for a long time…and by the time…”
    She smiled, looking into the future.
    “He is so brave…so good. He rescued a child from the river…a little thing of only two years, and when he found that she was an orphan, unwanted by some aunt who had a brood of children of her own, he sent her to be brought up with his own children. That is the sort of man Charles is.”
    “How noble,” I said.
    “You speak truth. It was then that he was sent to the Netherlands.”
    “My sister is there, in the Court of the Duchess of Savoy.”
    She was not interested in my sister.
    “Margaret fell in love with him and wanted to marry him. You see there are so many who want to marry him. Wherever he goes, it is inevitable. Charles had been with my brother during the invasion of France and had been made a Duke… the Duke of Suffolk. There will be no marriage with Margaret of Savoy…no marriage with Elizabeth Grey… for when Charles marries it will be with me.”
    She put her finger to her lips; then she stood up and, taking me by the shoulders, shook me gently.
    “Talking to you is like talking to myself. You are too young to understand what I am talking about, are you not, eh? Answer me.”
    “Yes, Madame,” I said.
    Then she laughed and there was a warning look in her eyes. “Remember,” she said. “You are only a child.”
    “Yes, Madame,” I said again.
    The festivities of Christmas and the New Year were celebrated at the Palais des Tournelles. The Queen was growing more and more reckless. She confided in me less, but I could feel the rising tension of the Court.
    Mary was constantly in the company of the Dauphin. There were whispers that he was neglecting his mistress and that all his thoughts were now for the Queen. I was alarmed at this, knowing her impulsive nature; and if she had not talked to me so fervently of her love for Charles Brandon, I should have suspected her of having a love affair with the Dauphin.
    He was so very much the leader of the Court. The masques he and his sister devised were elegant and witty, and he was always at the center of them; but he had drawn the Queen into the play to share the honors with him.
    I was aware of his mother and sister watching him anxiously. Louise of Savoy was such a formidable lady. Before, there had been such accord between her and Marguerite and François; they had seemed to think as one person. How well the epithet Trinity fitted. And now François was acting apart from them and giving the greatest cause for anxiety. I understood their feelings well. They knew their darling's nature. I had heard that ever since he was in his early teens he had enjoyed amorous adventures. They were part of his life. And now he was unable to hide the desirehe felt for the young Queen. Mary knew this and reveled in it. I had seen her lay her hand lightly on his arm and gaze up at him, sparkling and dewy-eyed. I wondered what the King thought of the outrageous Big Boy's fondness for his lovely young Queen. I knew what Louise and Marguerite felt. Nothing could convince them that Mary was not madly in love with François, because they thought every woman must be. They had not heard those monologues that I had listened to in which she had showed so clearly that there was only one man for her. But being Mary she was enjoying the situation; and I believed it made those months tolerable to her.
    Meanwhile the terrified mother and sister were watching, sure that Mary would not be