In the Shadow of the Crown by Jean Plaidy Read Free Book Online Page A

son.”
    “You are the next in line. I have always thought you should learn more of affairs of state. Latin and Greek are all very well… but they are not going to help you rule a country.” She seemed to come to a decision. “I think you should know that at the moment relations between your father and the Emperor are…a little strained.”
    “You mean they are not good friends?”
    “Heads of state are not really good friends in the sense we think of in our ordinary relationships. If what is good for one's country is good for another, then those rulers are friends. If not… they are enemies.”
    “But the King of France has no right to his crown. France belongs to us.”
    “The King of France could say we have never had a right to it. It is just a matter of the way one looks at these things.”
    “But right must be right and wrong wrong.”
    “My dear Princess, you are very clever, but you are young and no matter how clever the young are, they lack experience. You will remember that notlong ago we were friends with the French. You remember the meeting at Guisnes and Ardres?”
    “The Field of the Cloth of Gold!”
    “Ah, I see you do.”
    “But they deceived us. All the time they were pretending.”
    “Perhaps everyone was pretending. However, that could be treasonable talk, so let us avoid it and not concern ourselves with who was dissimulating. It is past and it is the future we have to think of. The King of France is the prisoner of the Emperor Charles, and the Emperor is in a strong position. He no longer needs the help of England as he once did. I have to tell you something which may be a shock to you. Of course, you have met the Emperor only once.”
    “It was enough to tell me that I loved him.”
    “Dear Princess, you know nothing of love … not the sort of love between a man and his wife. Your mother loves you dearly; so does your father; so do I and Margaret Bryan. Many people love you. We want everything that is good for you. It is different with the Emperor.”
    “What do you mean? He is going to be my husband.”
    The Countess shook her head. “You see, my dearest Princess, these marriages are arranged in accordance with what is best for the country. The Emperor and your father wanted to make an alliance against France; he was unmarried, and the King has a daughter—you. But you must realize that the disparity in your ages did make your marriage rather a remote possibility.”
    “Do you mean that the Emperor doesn't want to marry me anymore?”
    She was silent and I felt blank with dismay.
    Then she went on, “It has not gone as far as that. Oh, I shall tell you, for I think you should know. I, who am here in your household, know you better than anyone perhaps. You are older than your years and I do not believe you should be deluded any longer.”
    “Please tell me, Countess.”
    “It may be something of a shock. You see, you did not really know the Emperor. People have told you that he is a hero … the greatest match in Christendom. They have represented him as benevolent and powerful. Powerful he undoubtedly is, but he is first of all a ruler. Through his father and his mother he inherited great territories. A ruler has first of all to think what is best for his country.”
    “What are you trying to tell me, Countess? That I am not good for his country?”
    “He no longer needs your father. He has the King of France in his hands. No ruler wants to impoverish his country in useless wars. The Emperor, it seems, is not one who wants glory for showy conquests; he wants tobring prosperity and power to his dominions. He no longer needs your father's help.”
    “So you mean that it was solely because he wanted that, that he became betrothed to me?”
    “That is how royal marriages are made. In fact, the marriages of most of us come about because of the advantages they can bring to our families, and with the sons and daughters of kings it is for the good of the country.”
    “You mean