Free The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner Page A

my hair when he disdained the courtly glance to kiss me on the mouth, quenching
    my breath. This time, it was more than pleasant. I felt his kiss down to the very
    tingling soles of my feet.
    About us, the court turned boisterous. All of a sudden, the Flemish courtiers
    stood in a exuberant rush, sending platters crashing to the floor as they grabbed any
    available woman by the hand, including several of my ladies, and hauled them to the
    floor. Within seconds, a mass of cavorting bodies surrounded us. Instinctively, I
    pressed closer against Philip, staring in disbelief as the Flemish whirled my horrified
    Spanish ladies about.
    Philip chuckled. When I followed his gaze to where one of my women was
    fending off a drunken lout, I let out an unwitting, nervous laugh. I‟d never beheld
    such unbridled enthusiasm before. Uncouth as they were, the Flemish certainly know
    how to enjoy themselves.
    Philip looked at me. His regard turned somber. “Your countrymen are not
    amused,” he said, and my stomach sank when I saw the noblemen of my entourage,
    who‟d come to accompany me here and bring Margaret back to Spain, stand in unison
    and march from the hall. “You must go now,” Philip added. “I‟d not be the cause of
    further reproach from that dragon duenna of yours.”
    He guided me through the crowd to where Doña Ana stood trembling with rage.
    My other women wrenched free of their uninvited partners to fence me in. My
    duenna gripped my arm. “It is time you retired, Your Highness,” she said in a tone
    that broached no argument. “Now.”
    I stared at her livid face and moved with my phalanx of women to the hall doors.
    As I walked out, I looked over my shoulder. Philip stood among his courtiers, his eyes
    fixed on me.
    I knew it would take more than Doña Ana to keep him at bay.

    __________________________________

SIX
    he moment we reached my apartments, Doña Ana turned on me. “This is
    a disgrace! What would Her Majesty your mother think were she here to
    T see this? She would most certainly tell you that a few vows in an
    antechamber do not a marriage make!”
    At the mention of my mother, I went cold. “It was Her Majesty who sent me
    here. And the archduchess Margaret herself told me Besançon will hold this cathedral
    wedding you insist upon.”
    “ Ha! What does that French pig in his satin know? Did he not insist you remove
    your veil with no more ceremony than a pauper‟s daughter?” She wagged her finger at
    me, her jowls quivering. “I suppose you think it‟s perfectly acceptable for them to
    flaunt you like some trophy. You always did like to be the center of attention.”
    “By the Cross!” I cried. My matrons gasped and genuflected. “Are you going to
    tell me there‟s something wrong with a simple dance between a wife and her
    husband?”
    “He is not your husband! You were betrothed by proxy in Spain― betrothed ―
    nothing more. By the law of God― what you wish to do with him tonight is a sin.”
    The matrons rustled, muttering. I said softly, “How do you know what I wish to
    do?”
    “I can see it in you,” she spat. “I see your wantonness. And as your matron, I
    forbid you to allow him into this chamber should he dare come to your door.”
    “You forbid me?” I met her hard stare. I took pleasure in her flinch, in wielding
    for once my own power over her after years of submitting to her. “ Careful , Señora,” I said. “I am no longer a child to be reprimanded by you!”
    “Would you still were, for even as a child never did you dare go so far.” Her face
    set like mortar. “If you let him come to you before the marriage is sanctified, I cannot
    be held responsible, nor can any of your ladies. We cannot serve you under such
    conditions.”
    I faltered. I‟d never been without my ladies. All my life, they had been there to
    help me with the private tasks other women performed on their own.
    I turned to my matrons. They looked away as if I‟d been branded. “As