Enchantress of Paris by Marci Jefferson

Author:Marci Jefferson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781466860742
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

CHAPTER 27

The queen mother wished to show King Louis the mirror presented to Rinaldo … to draw him from the spell of Armida.

—MADAME DE MOTTEVILLE’S MEMOIRS

I suffered the queen’s antechamber for hours, but King Louis never appeared. Nor did my uncle. I went to bed as melancholy as Hortense. But in the morn, Moréna opened the window to reveal King Louis on his horse in the Place de Belle Cœur.

“Feel like riding out of Lyon?” he called up with a grin.

Philippe waved from his place behind the king with three other musketeers.

Moréna dressed me in a hurry, and my equerry readied Trojan. The king and I trotted through the city, over the Saône, and past the hill to the fields beyond.

“Race you to those ruins in the distance!” I cried, and heeled Trojan to a hard gallop before the king could answer. We beat him by an arm’s length. I laughed, breathless. King Louis helped me off my horse, and we collapsed in the grass below the stone arches of an ancient Roman aqueduct. He held me, and we didn’t care about getting grass in our hair or what the musketeers thought. Philippe kept them at a distance, and we lolled together, kissing and caressing, settling into a comfortable embrace, alone at last.

“Which Caesar do you think had these built?” he finally asked, staring at the stone arches.

“One that declared himself the greatest of all, no doubt.”

He laughed. “One day I will be called a great king. I will expand France and make it wealthy.”

I made a tisk sound. “Focus on improving Paris; clean the garbage off the streets and line them with lanterns to light at night. Install fountains so your people don’t have to drink dirty river water. Greatness cannot be accumulated in a coffer. It pours from here.” I pointed to his heart. “And is reflected in how you treat your weakest subjects.”

He thought on this for a long while, then changed the topic. “You were right. This escapade with Savoy was designed to force Spain into a treaty.”

“It’s pointless to seal a peace treaty with a marriage alliance. Your mother was once a Spanish infanta, and she’s been no instrument of peace these last decades.” I sat up. “You begged me never to leave your side. Cardinal Mazarin will try to separate us.”

“I can make him secure peace without the marriage.”

“He gave his written word to Madame Royale that you would marry Margherita if you don’t marry the Spanish infanta.”

King Louis sat up. “He wouldn’t do that without my consent.”

“Margherita told me herself.”

He waved me off. “To spite you.”

“To warn me.” I stood. “She sees Mazarin for what he is.”

He leapt to his feet. “Are you calling me a fool?”

“Do you want to marry me or not?”

He embraced me roughly and pressed his lips to mine in a fierce kiss. A fire rose within me, and I plunged into him. I ached to make him mine.

Instead I pushed him away. “You take my kisses, my trust, and offer nothing in return.

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