The French Mistress (37 page)

Now Mrs. Gwyn was repeating the insult, even increasing it. The audience would indeed understand. The huge hat was meant to symbolize France’s overweening ambition to devour all the rest of the Continent. The enormous cross represented the evils of the Catholic Church. The spangled doublet mocked French wealth and fashion, while the wide cinched belt proclaimed effeminate perversion, such as practiced by Monsieur and the Chevalier de Lorraine.

Finally, little Mrs. Gwyn herself represented plucky England, refusing to be swallowed whole by evil, overbearing France.

It was, in short, insufferable.

For any half-wit in the audience who still didn’t comprehend, Mrs. Gwyn now smiled directly at Charles and bowed low. Then she spied me beside him. She screwed up her eyes, and squinted at me.

“Steady yourself, my dear,” Charles warned, squeezing my hand to give me courage, even as he continued to laugh.

How was I to steady myself before such an insult? What I wished most to do was to rise and leave, to turn my back forever on this impudent rude creature. But I couldn’t go without Charles’s permission, and I knew better than to ask for it. All I could do was look away from the stage, and see instead the scores of faces turned up toward us, laughing, too, with the scorn and derision that Mrs. Gwyn had inspired.

Finally the laughter began to fade, forcing her at last to speak the prologue, some nonsensical piece that had nothing to do with the play that followed. But my pleasure in the play was spoiled and done, and later I could recall not so much of a single character’s name from it. Afterward Charles and several of his gentlemen went to the tiring-rooms, ostensibly to congratulate Mr. Dryden and the players. I suspected he wished to see one impudent player in particular, and I left the playhouse with the queen and her ladies in her coach.

As soon as I was alone, I yanked the pearls from my ears, and raised my hand to hurl them at the wall, determined to show exactly how little I thought of Charles and his insolent actress.

Yet at the final instant, I stopped and slowly lowered my hand. The pearls were too valuable to treat like that. They weren’t some simple, faithless trinket. Far from it. They represented my rising place in the king’s affections and at his Court, and my success on behalf of my country. When I opened my fingers, I could see the imprints the earrings had pressed into my palm as I’d clutched them close, my flesh streaked red and white and my hand still quaking with emotion.

Hold tight, I thought, and leave a mark: as good advice as any. Carefully I wiped the pearls with my handkerchief and put them back into their plush-covered case. There’d be time enough to counter Mrs. Gwyn, time enough to keep the king for my own. And I’d be the one who held tight, and left my mark.

 

 

It wasn’t until the following morning that Charles came to speak to me alone, pulling me aside in the hall outside the queen’s presence chamber.

“I swear to you I did not know about the prologue last night, sweet,” he said contritely. “Nelly likes her surprises.”

I searched his face, wanting to believe him. I knew I must rein my temper, and instead let him see the wound he’d caused me. “I thought she’d left the stage, sir.”

“It seems she could not keep away.” The corners of his mouth twitched beneath his mustache. “You must admit it was rare sport.”

“But it wasn’t, sir!” I cried softly. “Not at all!”

“It was,” he said firmly. “I’ve told you before, Louise. You must not be so tender over little things like this, else you’ll never survive.”

I raised my chin. I’d guessed he’d try this course with me, unfairly turning her error into becoming mine. For whatever reason, he insisted on making excuses for her and protecting her the way a well-meaning parent will for a spoiled child. But I’d prepared myself, and planned my defense, both for my own sake and for France. And in case I faltered, I’d worn the pearl earrings as reminders not to lose my purpose.

“I can ignore them when they laugh at me, sir,” I said sorrowfully, “and when they mock France. It pains me, yes, but I can forgive their ignorance.”

He looked relieved, as all men do when they think they’ve escaped a woman’s wrath.

“That is wise of you,” he said. “I told you, Nelly means nothing by it, nor did the audience.”

Nothing, ha, I thought grimly, for I was certain the actress meant every word and gesture. Yet before Charles, I purposely kept such thoughts to myself, and with care composed my features to show only how troubled I was for him.

“I try to understand, sir, and to forgive,” I said. “But when they laugh at you, oh, that I cannot bear, not at all!”

“My dear Louise,” he said, all fond indulgence. He took my face in his hands, his palms warm against my cheeks. “Considering all I’ve survived until now, a little laughter will not kill me.”

“But it’s more than that, sir,” I insisted. “I’m bringing you trouble. You saw how it was last night. You said I belonged at your side, but truly it would be far better for us both if I left now, and returned to France.”

“Return to France?” he asked, clearly surprised. “Why would you wish to do that?”

“It’s not that I wish it, sir.” I slipped free of him and turned away, matching my actions to my words. “I’d never wish to leave you. But when you are kind to me, sir, your people don’t understand, on account of my being French.”

“Let them understand or not,” he said, his hands at my waist, restlessly sliding them up and down. “I’d rather have your trouble.”

“But at what cost, sir, what risk?” I turned back towards him, letting him see the tears in my eyes. “What if my presence puts the treaty in danger, and everything that you and Madame labored so hard to achieve? What if every time your people see me with you, they likewise only see what they fear most of France?”

“What if they do?” he asked. “What of it?”

“Because I will hurt you, sir,” I said, letting the first tears trickle down my cheeks. “Because being with you, I hurt you, and harm you, and put your person at risk. And I’d never want to do that to you, sir, never.”

“You won’t,” he said with a conviction that thrilled me. “I won’t let them.”

“Oh, sir, you are so brave!” I whispered. Much of my speech might have been calculated, but this part was real enough. He did seem extraordinarily brave to me, always confronting his unruly people, the same people who’d martyred his father. “Alas, I’m not as certain. I do not believe anyone would have noticed me with you at all until Mrs. Gwyn summoned their attention, and it—it frightened me, sir. I feared for you.”

“I don’t want you frightened,” he said firmly. “You’ll be safe, Louise. I’ll see to that. You’re far too important to me for it to be otherwise.”

“But Mrs. Gwyn—”

“I’ll speak to her,” he said. “As droll as she was in the prologue, she shouldn’t be using the stage to make light of our allies. Let her find sport in the Dutch, if she must.”

“Oh, sir,” I said with a sigh of content, “you are too kind to me.”

“Not at all,” he said, and kissed me, taking advantage of my gratitude to press me back against the paneled wall. I melted against him, kissing him in return, for I was not above taking a bit of advantage, either. Deftly he slipped his hand inside my bodice to fondle my breast, and I sighed restlessly, arching my back to offer the soft flesh to his caress. His fingers sought and tweaked my nipple, making it rise at once in proud salute, and making him groan, too.

“How much longer, Louise?” he asked, his whisper more a growl.

“Soon, sir,” I breathed, and smiled over his shoulder. “Soon.”

 

 

With his low-crowned hat in his hands, Lord de Croissy walked the length of the empty room, his footsteps echoing against the long row of bare windows. At last he came to stand before me, a spindleshanked crow in his customary black.

“All this is yours, mademoiselle?” he asked again. “You are certain?”

“All,” I said proudly, holding up the ring of keys to my new lodgings for him to see. “His Majesty brought me here himself yesterday to make certain the rooms would suit me.”

“Oh, I am sure they do.” The ambassador smiled, and granted me a small nod of approval. “You are to be congratulated, mademoiselle. His Majesty shows you very great favor indeed. Did he also grant you an allowance for refurbishing?”

“Whatever I wish is mine.” I crossed the room to the window to look down on the privy garden below, the beds now green with the new shoots of spring. “Everything is to be charged to him.”

Charles had indeed shown me great favor to grant such a large apartment for my own use. The rest of the Court was amazed, and could speak of nothing else. I’d this first chamber, and besides that a bedchamber, a privy chamber, a wardrobe, and a withdrawing chamber that could also serve for dining, all for my own use. There was even a small alcove, previously used for books, where I intended to set a prie-dieu and a shrine for private prayer and reflection.

The rooms were a considerable improvement over the crowded quarters I’d shared with the queen’s other maids of honor. The only other unattached lady who’d received such impressive lodgings had been Lady Cleveland in her prime. I couldn’t take possession yet, of course. First I meant to make a great many improvements to the rooms to agree to my taste, and transform them into the most beautiful in this shambling palace, so I could entertain Charles in a fashion that would truly befit a king. I knew he was anticipating a happy future for us, too, for my new rooms were situated conveniently close to his.

“His Majesty has done well for you, mademoiselle,” the ambassador said, joining me at the window. “Am I to believe his persistence has been rewarded?”

I leaned closer to the glass, idly watching a small flock of brown sparrows swoop and dive over the gallery’s roof. “That, monsieur, is between His Majesty and me.”

“Forgive me, mademoiselle, but it is also the concern of His Most Christian Majesty,” he said in his usual insistent manner, his voice quiet, reserved, but always expecting compliance. “Have you earned the privilege of these rooms? Have you accommodated the English king’s desires as you were sent here to do, and secured a lasting place in his graces?”

I did not answer, for in these last months I’d grown exceptionally weary of the ambassador’s meddling. I’d managed my affairs with Charles well enough thus far, and I’d no need of Lord de Croissy’s endless suggestions. Weren’t these new lodgings proof enough of my success, and the king’s continuing interest in me?

The ambassador leaned closer, determined to make me listen to his advice. “His Majesty will not wait for you forever, mademoiselle. The world is full of women with greater beauty than yours, women who are happily willing to give themselves to him for far less than you demand.”

Restlessly I tapped the ring of keys against the sill. “The king and I understand each other thoroughly, my lord,” I said, terse in my own defense. “You may assure His Most Christian Majesty that I remain a most loyal daughter of France.”

“If that were so, mademoiselle,” he replied, his manner turning tart to match my own, “then you would have performed your duty to your country by now.”

“Then what of the information I have sent to Paris?” I’d been proud of what I’d learned in my conversations with the king, and I’d believed that what I’d relayed had been useful to France as well. “What of the new ships being built in the Portsmouth yards, and their designs? What of the Duke of York entertaining the Dutch ambassador at St. James’s Palace, but by the king’s wish? Does none of that matter?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” the ambassador said, sweeping his hand impatiently through the air. “Your information has been useful, but if information was all we wished from you, then we could easily have sent a gentleman in your place, and for less cost, too. You are here to seduce the English king, mademoiselle, and if you cannot oblige—”

“I will oblige, my lord,” I said sharply. “If you’d wished me to present myself to the king like a mare to be covered for breeding, then I could have done so the day I arrived, and he would have been finished with me so swiftly that he’d not recall my name now. But if you wish me to seduce him, to become part of his life, to find a lasting place in this Court for the sake of France—that, my lord, takes time.”

I frowned, restlessly slipping the ring of keys back and forth over my wrist like a bracelet. I’d explained my situation as well as I could, though not with perfect honesty. I was still young, and I still dreamed. I knew now I’d never replace the queen on the throne of England. That dream was done. Yet I dared to hope and to pray, too, that in time I might capture the wandering heart of Charles Stuart, the way he’d already done with mine.

But the ambassador only grumbled, unconvinced.

“Were you aware, mademoiselle, that Lord Buckingham has allied himself with Mrs. Gwyn again?” he said. “Have you heard that the two have resolved to work in union to depose you from the king’s favor?”

“I have heard,” I said with what I prayed was lofty disdain. I’d heard this rumor, yes, and likewise I’d heard how the two of them would shamelessly imitate both Charles and me before their friends. They mocked my accent and Charles’s devotion to me, and called me “Squintabella.” It had pained me, imagining their cruel satires, both for my sake and Charles’s. But the only way to treat people as disrespectful as these was to ignore them, and that was what I’d done. “His Grace and Mrs. Gwyn are nothing to me.”

“They should be,” the ambassador cautioned. “You may have been granted these rooms, mademoiselle, but the king has given the actress a house in Pall Mall.”

I’d already had myself driven by Mrs. Gwyn’s new house to see it. It was handsome enough, I suppose, though only hers by lease. But I’d heard her entertainments were filled with riotous sport, music, and dance, combining her friends from the playhouse and every other walk of life with the most amusing people from the Court, and I suspected Charles went there more often than he admitted. Anxiously I glanced again about the empty space that would be my rooms. The sooner I had them ready and could begin my own form of entertainment, the better.