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

that he really did not love me. But I…”
    “No, Princess, you did not love him. You did not know him. You were told you loved him. You thought it was love, as in those romances which Vives forbade you to read. Perhaps he was right, for they gave you idealistic ideas which are not always true to life.”
    “What has happened? Please tell me, Countess.”
    “The Emperor is considering marrying Isabel of Portugal.”
    “But how can he do that?”
    “With the greatest of ease. He has asked your father to send you to Spain immediately, with your dowry of 400,000 ducats, and he wants an undertaking from your father to contribute half of the expenses of the war with France. Those are his terms. He knows they are ones which your father cannot fulfill for he could not raise the money without plunging this country into disorder.”
    “So that means…”
    “It means that the Emperor is hinting that the agreement with your father is coming to an end.”
    “So it was not I whom he loved…”
    “Little Princess, it never was. We do not live in a dream world where gallant knights in shining armor die for their ladies. It is a harsh world, and the realities are quite different. There is love. You have mine. I would do anything I could for your happiness; and you know how dear you are to your mother. But we live close to you. We know you. You are a living human being to us. You are not a counter in a game to be moved this way or that. You are our own dear Princess whom we love. That is the love to seek and cherish; and perhaps, in time, when a husband is found for you, you will grow together and love each other in due course. It happens again and again.
    “I was eighteen years old when I married. It is a good age to marry, for although one is young, one has had time to glean some experience. My husband was chosen for me.” Her eyes were reminiscent, as she went on, “He was Sir Richard Pole and owned lands in Buckinghamshire. The King, your grandfather, approved of the match and he made him a Squire of the Body and a Knight of the Garter. He served the King faithfully. He distinguished himself in the Perkin Warbeck revolt and he fought well for the King inScotland. Then he went to Wales as a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to Prince Arthur, who, as you know, was married to your mother before she married the King.”
    “Yes, I know,” I said, “but it was no real marriage. He was too young and sick.”
    She nodded. “My husband and I were married for nearly fourteen years and then he died.”
    “You must have been very sad.”
    “Yes… but I had my children. You see, there are compensations. They made it all worth while. We had five children: Henry, Arthur, Reginald, Geoffry and Ursula.”
    “My mother must envy you. She is sad because she has only one.”
    “But that one is more precious to her because she is the only one.”
    “But all yours are precious to you. I know by the way you speak of them…particularly Reginald.”
    “Parents should not have a favorite.”
    “But they do… and yours is Reginald.”
    She smiled at me. “So you see, my dear, you must not grieve. You must look for happiness. You must accept your lot, and if the marriage with the Emperor does not take place, after all, you will say to yourself, perhaps it was for the best.”
    “I cannot forget him as easily as that.”
    “Dear child, you did not know him. You have built up a picture of him. You are so young. You know nothing of these matters.”
    “Because no one tells me.”
    She was silent for a while. Then she said, “Perhaps I have talked too much. Your mother is very unhappy at this time.”
    “She wanted so much for me to marry the Emperor because he is half Spanish and her nephew.”
    “Yes. You should wait until she talks to you of these matters. She has much on her mind. When she is with you, you must try to distract her from her melancholy. Do not let her see that you are affected because this marriage with the Emperor is not