Quite firm in her resolve, Jeanne rode out from Plessis two days after,
accompanied by Madame de Silly, and followed by the chief officers of
the household and a guard of soldiers. Her spirits rose as they left the
gloomy woods and gloomier towers behind them, and passed into the spring
sunshine, and the lovely gardens of the valley of the Loire. Much too
soon for Jeanne's wishes they reached Paris, and went straight to the
palace of the Louvre. After she had changed her riding dress for a
beautiful garment of blue velvet, with a chemisette and high collar of
fine lace, she was summoned to the king's apartments, where he stood
with the Duke of Clèves. If Jeanne had not been so determined to hate
him, she would have been forced to admit that he was very handsome and
manly, and that he moved and spoke with the ease and grace so highly
prized in the Court of France. As it was, she stared at him rudely, and
would scarcely answer any of his pretty speeches, and altogether (if she
could only have known it) behaved more like the naughty little girl she
_was_ than like the grown-up woman she thought herself to be. As was
natural, nothing came of this conduct, except that the king became
extremely angry with her, and Madame de Silly was obliged to give her a
scolding, and show her that she would not advance her cause with her
uncle, whose mind was set on the marriage, and only make her future
husband to despise and dislike her.
'I certainly fail to see what I am to gain by leaving France and my own
kingdom in order to marry a duke of Clèves,' Jeanne answered
contemptuously; and her governess, knowing that in this mood nothing was
to be done with her, left her to herself. Later in the day, Madame de
Silly was sent for by Francis, whom she found much enraged by Jeanne's
obstinacy.
'You will both set out for Alençon to-morrow morning,' he said sternly,
'and you will inform the Queen of Navarre of what has happened. I will
see the princess no more till she has learned to obey me.' The news of
her daughter's behaviour and her brother's displeasure sorely grieved
Queen Marguérite. Giving Jeanne no time to rest after her long ride, she
went at once to her chamber, and begged the girl to tell her all that
had happened from the very beginning. The queen listened with anger and
surprise to her daughter's account of her first interview with the king,
whose lightest word had always been law to _her_; but Jeanne no more
feared her mother than she did her uncle, and could not be induced
either to express any regret for what she had done or to promise
obedience for the future. So, with a troubled countenance, the queen
left the room, and sat down to write to Francis.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account