The King's Artist

Ch 73: Oh Delicious Irony

Adelaide couldn't stop glaring at Thomas Grey as he sat positioned in a chair in front of her. He fidgeted endlessly, his eyes darting around the room desperate for some escape route to miraculously appear. Several times he tried to catch the attention of anyone that wasn't Adelaide, pleading silently for help, but all attempts were thoroughly wasted. 

Henry and Jasper had left roughly an hour ago, in an attempt to secure more funding for their campaign. As much as Adelaide's mind was trained on Grey, contemplating ways to torture him for his disloyalty without necessarily physically harming him, she couldn't help her thoughts from darting to Henry every few minutes, wondering if he was having any success. She hoped he was. They just needed a little bit more money and they would have what they needed for weapons, ships, soldiers, and other supplies. 

"You cannot do this to me," Grey spat, his face pale and his leg bouncing rapidly with anxiety. "I am still nobility. I am still the Marquess of Dorset!"

"We know," Marcus groaned. "You have told us so for the past several minutes."

"Are you sure we cannot just kill him?" Lance asked, looking towards Adelaide. 

"Unfortunately, no, we cannot," she said in return, sighing. "He is still to be Henry's future brother-in-law. And as he has so thoroughly reminded us, he is a noble with a very powerful family."

The room deflated at Adelaide's words. Everyone except Grey. He swelled with arrogance and pushed his chest out proudly. As he turned his nose up at the room, he opened his mouth to speak, but the door to the lounge opening silenced him. 

"We may not be able to kill you," Henry said, strolling in with a wide smile across his face. "But that does not mean that you cannot be punished for your betrayal."

Henry's eyes moved towards Adelaide, bright with delight and she felt her chest swell in response. 

"You were successful?" She asked quietly. 

Henry nodded.

The room erupted in shouts and celebration, everyone turning to embrace and share in the victory. Only Grey remained unchanged, seated and looking apprehensive again as the atmosphere so rapidly shifted. 

"Tell me what happened," Adelaide demanded, grinning broadly. Henry laughed and soon the room was looking at them, everyone else wanting to hear the story, too. 

"I spoke with one of King Charles' Councillors. It took some convincing, but I managed to procure a personal loan from him that will give us the extra necessary funding." Again, the room cried out. Hands were slapped on backs and hair ruffled unceremoniously, but Adelaide frowned. She didn't want to celebrate until she knew what the exchange had been, what the Councillor had demanded in return.

"And the surety?" She asked.

If possible, Henry's smile grew larger and his gaze drifted towards Grey. 

"To ensure that I pay back my loan, I have promised that two of my entourage will remain behind here in France and put under oath until I've repaid my debt." The grin that spread over Adelaide's face was downright wicked and her eyes flashed towards Grey at the same time that Henry's words began to sink in for the cornered man. "In addition to John Bourchier, Lord of FitzWarin remaining, Thomas Grey, you shall also stay behind as a Knight of the Garter, until I've fulfilled my promise."

"And I don't believe that you would do something as dishonorable as breaking an oath for selfish, personal reasons," Jasper noted, his words directed towards Grey, and his smile much more subtle than Henry's or Adelaide's. "If you try and return to England again, I do not think you'll find your reputation and power to be in the same state as it was when you left. Especially if Henry's endeavors are successful. Which they will be."

In other words, Thomas Grey was stuck. 

Very few people knew the Marquess had fled to Brittany and taken up refuge with the Tudors. Furthermore, he had never publically declared support for Henry, which meant his betrayal had been silent. But if it was made known that Thomas Grey was now under oath to remain in France on Henry's behalf in an attempt to help finance the war, it did not matter now whether or not he successfully fled back to England. His return would mark him a coward and an apostate. The people and other nobility would turn their back on him and any attempts to earn grace with Richard would be lost; the King of England would now only see him as someone who had assisted Henry in gathering the means to take the throne, regardless of his later desertion or not.

The room's joy returned as Grey despaired. Adelaide's smile threatened to split her face. She wanted to pull Henry from the room and gain a few private moments with him, but Jasper's light touch on her shoulder had her turning away from him. "I hate to interrupt the celebration, but you and Henry have been called to meet with Lady Anne. She requested a private audience with the two of you." 

"What does the French regent want with me?" Adelaide asked, giving Henry a puzzled look. He merely shrugged his shoulders before the two departed from the loud room, leaving the soldiers who were calling for drinks to be delivered to the room. 

Henry appeared to already know where the summoning chambers were because he walked with purpose. As the servants gradually filtered out of the corridors and they were left in silence, he abruptly stopped and pulled Adelaide with him into a darkened portion of the castle obscuring them from view. His lips were on her fast and hard. His body burned and shook with what she knew was excitement. The kiss ended far too quickly for her liking, though, as he straightened, touched their foreheads together, and resumed their walk to the regent. 

Adelaide wasn't sure what she was expecting from this meeting, but it wasn't to see Anne of France standing next to Jean de Paris, both staring at the chalk painting she now vaguely remembered creating a couple of days ago. 

"Ah, Lord Henry, Sir Arthur," Anne said turning to them with a beautiful smile on her beautiful face. She clapped her hands together enthusiastically and straightened. "I'm glad you both could make it so quickly. I know that this may come as somewhat of a surprise and a little out of nowhere, but I have a request to make of one of you and an offer for the other."