The Queen

Chapter 43

Being the middle of May, the sun still lit the road that led to the castle Catherine once called home as their carriage approached around 6 that evening. The Duke and 2 guards remained behind with the prince in a spot they had stopped earlier that afternoon for lunch, leaving Hal and Catherine with Matthew and 5 other guards as they approached the French castle. They all arrived on horseback, having decided to leave the carriage with young Henry and The Duke. Catherine's frail hands gripping and releasing the reins of her horse with anticipation, excitement, and anxiety. Her mind continually going over the conversation the group had had at their stop earlier that day.

"From Catherine's own connections, along with intel we have gathered, we suspect Lord Beaufort and Lord Ansel to be the real ones behind the French revolt," Hal had said once they were all seated and eating.

Catherine shifted uncomfortably, when a couple of the guards shot her an untrusting look, wanting to speak but unsure whether to do so in front of her.

Catherine addressed the two soldiers, "If there is something you wish to voice or address, please do not hold back on my account,"

"Er," one of them sputtered out, "no offense your Majesty," he looked to the King, "but can we really trust the Queen's French connections? For all we know," the soldier stopped here, looking to his comrade to voice the concern.

"We know our Queen to be above suspicion of course," the other soldier continued, choosing his words carefully, "but can we trust that her connections here in France aren't giving our Queen false information."

Catherine wiped off her dress and stood up, the two soldiers turning their gaze to face her instead of the King, "We can't trust my connections, which is exactly why you can trust what I learned from them." She started, causing a look of surprise and confusion to splash across the two men's face, Matthew on the other hand smiled and settled into his sitting position on the ground as Catherine continued, "When my old friend from the Royal French Court came to visit me last year, I thought she was one who could be trusted. It did not take long for us to find out she was hiding information from us, that she had planned on convincing me to come back to France and forcing me to comply with the coup her Father and betrothed had arranged. She only shared this information to a traveling companion when she thought I would not hear of it, gladly, I did come to know of it and become convinced of the truth and danger of what she had planned."

The soldiers blinked and then heads darted to their King when he spoke, "We based our investigations on this, Catherine was pivotal in helping us know where to focus our attention. Intel since arriving here has been able to confirm as much, so if you please..." The two soldiers put their heads down in embarrassment as Catherine sat back down in her seat where Matthew was giving her an approving nod, Hal continued, "We believe King Charles is still in the castle, though not fully aware of the decisions and plans being carried out by these members of his court. If this proves to be the case, we will make sure he is made aware. At which point, we can hopefully convince him to take back control of his army and renegotiate terms of peace..."

This is where Matthew spoke up, "And if he is aware?" Even as he said it, Matthew knew how this question and its answer would hurt Catherine, but he had to ask it. They had to be prepared for all outcomes.

It was now Hal who looked uncomfortable, if Catherine were not present, he would have no hesitation in answering the question, but he looked over at her before opening his mouth.

Even though she did a good job at hiding her feelings to the others, her posture and face remaining stoic and upright, he could see the ring of emotion in her eyes. "If  it is King Charles who is behind this obvious opposition to our previously agreed upon the treaty," he almost felt like he was explaining this just to Catherine now, she had to know he had no choice, "We will have no choice but to continue our war efforts against the French."