The Italian Woman by Jean Plaidy

Author:Jean Plaidy [Plaidy, Jean]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Historical
ISBN: 9780099493181
Publisher: Arrow
Published: 1951-12-31T13:00:00+00:00

When Louise had left her, Catherine sent for the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine.

She was pleased with herself. She had lulled the fears of these men by showing them her hostility to Jeanne of Navarre and the Huguenot cause and supplying two of its leaders with mistresses, so creating a court scandal which must be angering the Coligny brothers whilst it struck right at the heart of the Huguenot Party by bringing into disrepute two of its most prominent leaders.

So far so good; but Catherine did not want this to go too far. She must keep these rival houses of Bourbon and Guise at odds with one another; for if they were to unite and band together against her, she could not hope to hold out against them.

She did not believe for a moment that the beautiful Louise would be able to induce Antoine to change his religion, but it was necessary to make the Guises believe that that was the intention. She thought she understood these fanatically religious people. They never changed. Who would have believed that the cruel and ambitious Francis de Guise could be such an ardent Catholic? They were all alike, scheming, cunning and unscrupulous – except where their religion was concerned.

The Duke and his brother were ushered in. They bowed low over her hand.

‘Welcome, Messieurs. What think you of the way things go with the Bourbon brothers?’

‘I should enjoy,’ said the Cardinal with his sly malicious smile, ‘seeing the faces of Mesdames Jeanne and Eléonore when they hear of the frolics in which their husbands indulge.’

‘To let them both get caught up by mistresses was a master stroke,’ said the Duke with a laugh. ‘I myself think that what Antoine does is immaterial. Condé is another matter.’

‘Condé,’ said the Cardinal, ‘is the stronger of the two.’

‘But not strong enough to say “No” to Mademoiselle de Limeuil,’ added Catherine with her gusty laugh.

‘He is soft with women, but a formidable enemy,’ put in the Duke. ‘Condé must be watched. The greatest mistake that was ever made was to free him after the death of King Francis.’ The Duke glared at Catherine with something like his old arrogance as he said this. ‘The safest place for Condé’s head is on the battlements – not on that elegant body of his.’

Catherine said: ‘I like not injustice. Condé defended his honour and it was agreed that he should go free.’

‘Not by us, Madame,’ the Cardinal reminded her.

She bowed her head in silence, and thought: Of all my enemies, I hate most this Cardinal. Even more than I hate the Duke, I hate him. Would to God I could find some way of despatching him!

‘It may be that concerning Condé you are right, Monsieur le Cardinal,’ she said soothingly. ‘How can we know? But these Bourbon Princes are popular with the people. I think that had we executed Condé on that occasion there would have been risings throughout France.’

‘Madame,’ said the Duke, ‘the whole question of religion has to be decided sooner or later.

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