‘Was she in love with him, do you think?’
‘She never spoke of it, if she was. But it is a hazard of our situation – more so for the young ones who come straight into Catherine’s service, their first time away from home. They form attachments, especially when they’re deflowered.’ She let out a cold laugh. ‘It’s a habit one is quickly cured of.’
‘The rest of you are pure cynics, then,’ I said.
‘Names on a list, Bruno. That’s all you are, after a while.’ She gave me a sidelong look with a knowing smile. Either she had forgotten her earlier distress or she was putting a brave face on it. Her hand rested lightly on my thigh. She continued to hold my gaze, her blue eyes expectant.
I stood decisively to pre-empt any sudden move. Though I had been tempted to revisit my liaison with her at the ball, driven by loneliness and the need for a familiar embrace, here in the fading light of the afternoon I realised what a mistake it would be – especially now that I had seen Sophia again. Not that she was any more to be trusted than Gabrielle, but at least my feelings for her went beyond a quick tumble.
‘I had better not keep Catherine waiting,’ I said. Gabrielle rose slowly and came to stand in front of me, snaking her arms around my waist.
‘Can’t we stay here a little longer?’ she murmured, sliding her hands skilfully under my doublet. ‘I don’t suppose she’ll mind.’
I felt her lips move lightly across my jaw, her breath hot on my ear. Her tongue darted out and caught my earlobe; her small teeth nipped it gently. I held my breath for a moment, battling the sudden awakening of my senses, the usual rush of blood, thinking how easy it would be to give in.
‘I think she would mind very much,’ I said, prising her arms off me with some effort.
She sucked in her cheeks. ‘Ah, the legendary self-control. Which I happen to know is, like all legends, greatly exaggerated. Or perhaps I don’t attract you any more? Now that I have had a child.’ She looked at me from under her lashes to see what effect this had.
‘Of course I am attracted to you. There was never any doubt about that.’
‘You’re right, it seems clear enough.’ She wrested one hand free and placed it purposefully over my crotch. I closed my eyes for a moment, breathed hard, moved her arm with some force.
‘My mind is on other things.’
‘That’s not how it looks,’ she said, in her silkiest voice.
‘Perhaps I don’t want to be left wondering if I have scattered any more children around France. Do you even know who your daughter’s father is?’
I had not meant to sound so harsh. I heard her draw a sharp breath through her teeth just before she slapped me in the face.
‘Don’t you dare presume to judge me, Bruno. You don’t know what it is to live as we do.’ She glared at me, nostrils flared, eyes hard as diamond. ‘We know you think us no different from common whores when you’ve had what you wanted. But we are the ones who are laughing at you. Do you understand that?’
‘I only wanted you to tell me the truth,’ I said quietly, rubbing my cheek.
‘I have told you all I wish to say on that subject.’ Her tone was pure ice now. ‘Let us go to the Tuileries, then. Catherine will be waiting, as you say.’ She swerved past me to the door.
‘At least tell me her name. Your daughter’s.’
She hesitated, her hand on the latch.
‘What harm can it do?’ I persisted. ‘Catherine may be about to have me arrested.’
Gabrielle turned back, surprised. ‘Why would she do that?’
‘Does she need a reason?’ I thought of Gaston’s pamphlet.
‘That’s not why she wants you.’ She looked at me as if I were being deliberately obtuse. ‘It’s the King.’
‘What about him?’
‘He’s locked himself in his private oratory and taken no food or drink for the past two days. He refuses to speak to anyone – none of his courtiers or his bodyservants. He won’t even admit Catherine. She thinks you’re the only person who might be able to get through to him. You’re a last resort.’
‘I don’t doubt it,’ I said grimly. As I unlatched the door, I heard the patter of quick footsteps descending from the lower landing. Madame de la Fosse could move swiftly when she chose. She should have picked up plenty of material to keep her friends busy for the next fortnight if she overheard even half of that, I thought.
We stepped outside into a raw December dusk, though it was not much past three in the afternoon. I glanced up at the sky; it would snow before nightfall. Gabrielle stopped and laid a hand on my arm.
‘Béatrice,’ she said, not looking at me. ‘Her name is Béatrice.’
Catherine received me once again in her extraordinary cabinet de travail, sitting imperiously in her chair on the raised dais, the crocodiles looking down on us with their lidless, distant stares. Ruggieri stooped beside her, his eyes equally reptilian. The Queen Mother appeared pale but composed, her face etched with tiredness under her black hood. I did not miss the questioning glance she darted at Gabrielle as we entered. I knelt and bowed my head, hearing the door close as I waited for permission to rise. Three of Catherine’s young women sat listlessly playing cards on velvet cushions at her feet. She dismissed them with a word. I could feel the force of their curious stares as their satin slippers trooped past my line of sight.
‘Get up, then,’ Catherine commanded, in a voice that implied I was the one wasting her time with my obsequies. I noticed when I stood that Gabrielle had also discreetly disappeared.
‘Your Majesty.’
‘You disobeyed my orders two nights ago. I told
