Free Henri II: His Court and Times by H Noel Williams Page B

and his reputation for courage, pressed eagerly
to see him, and those afflicted with scrofula came to entreat
him to lay his royal hands upon them.
    On February 13, after having signed the peace at Toledo, Charles V returned
to Madrid. François, mounted on a richly caparisoned mule and dressed
à l'espagnole
,
as a compliment to the Emperor, met him in the outskirts of the city,
and the two monarchs embraced with a great show of
affection. They entered Madrid amid the acclamations of
the people, and proceeded to the Alcazar, where they supped
together; and during the two following days made their devotions
at the same churches and gave other proofs of the
sincerity of their reconciliation.
    On the 16th, François having expressed a desire to see his
bride-elect before leaving Spain, their Majesties quitted Madrid
to visit Queen Eleanor at the Castle of Illescas, one of the
residences of the Archbishop of Toledo, where Eleanor had
arrived on the previous day. They established themselves at
the Castle of Torrejon, a few miles distant, and paid their first
visit on the afternoon of the 17th. Although not strictly
beautiful, the widow of Manoel the Great was decidedly prepossessing,
with a high forehead, arched eyebrows, a fresh
complexion, and very white teeth. She was of a romantic
temperament, and François's courage and misfortunes had
appealed so strongly to her sympathy and admiration that
she was already prepared to love him. As for the King,
though, as we have seen, he had not the slightest intention of
sharing his throne with the lady, he acted the part of a gallant
lover to perfection, and when Eleanor fell on her knees and
was about to kiss his hand, he raised her up and embraced
her warmly. The following day, the two monarchs paid a
second visit to Illescas, on which occasion the Queen performed
a Spanish dance before her
fiancé
, with the Countess
of Nassau, one of her ladies-in-waiting.
    On the 19th, François and Charles bade one another farewell,
the former to return to Madrid and thence to France,
the latter to proceed to Seville, where he was to wed the Infanta Isabella of Portugal. At parting, the King, at the
request of the Emperor, who, in this last interview, was unableto free his mind of some uneasiness in regard to the execution
of the treaty, renewed his assurances of fidelity to his engagements
under pain of being accounted a miserable scoundrel,
and Charles warned François that, although he had never
hated him, yet, if he deceived him, particularly in what concerned
his sister Eleanor, he should "hold his person in
detestation, and should seek every means of taking vengeance
and of injuring him as much as possible." Then, after the
King had once more sworn to fulfil his obligations, they commended
one another to God's keeping and separated.
    Two days later (February 21), François joyfully quitted
the gloomy fortress where he had suffered so much in both
body and mind, and where he had ended by purchasing his
liberty at the price of his honour, and took the road to the
frontier of France. He was accompanied by the Viceroy of
Naples and a numerous guard, under the command of
Alarcon, an officer of arquebusiers, who had been responsible
for the illustrious captive's person since the day of Pavia.
At Aranda, on the Douro, fifty leagues from the frontier, which
was reached on the 26th, Lannoy, in conjunction with the
King, drafted the formalities which were to be observed at
his release, the most elaborate precautions being taken to
guard against any attempt at escape or rescue.
    The exchange was to take place on the Bidassoa, between
Fontarabia and Andaye, in the centre of the stream. No vessels
of any description, with the exception of those required for
the conveyance of François and the hostages, which must be
of similar size, were to be allowed on the river or within five
leagues of its mouth; no gentleman of the King's Household,
no soldier of his guard, no man-at-arms in his realm, was