Morning Glory-Francis (Reign)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Did you bribe Colin to try and rape me?" Mary's voice cut through the quiet calm of the gardens. The afternoon was warmer than expected, so I had found an empty seat in the extensive labyrinths of bushes to enjoy some of the French sunshine. Francis was supposed to be joining me in a few minutes after he spoke to his mother about something.

I had spent the entire morning answering letters and signing paperwork for all of my advisors and Dmitri back in Russia. There had been more protests against me taking a husband, and more talk by my advisors about invading Poland and Sweden.

"Excuse me?" I asked, squinting to see Mary stalking towards me.

"Did you, or did you not, bribe Colin to drug and assault me?" She stopped her approach in front of me, placing her hands on her hips.

"I did not. Why would I?" I asked, shaking my head. I knew she had suspected that I may have orchestrated her attempted rape, but I had real reason to.

"Because if you had succeeded, which you didn't, I would not have been able to marry Francis."

"Trust me, Mary, I don't need to 'knock you out of the competition.'" I made sure to keep my tone civil, and my posture relaxed from my seat on the bench, hands resting in my lap. "If you remember what I said to you this morning, I was actually going to propose an alliance between Russia and Scotland, an informal one at least."

Mary froze in her fury.

"What?" She dropped her hands from her hips and crossed them over her arms. "Why would you do that?"

"You're a lone female monarch." I gestured to her. "I'm the same way." I pointed to myself. "If you lose your throne, it doesn't give me a lot of confidence on the international stage. I was going to offer Scotland, Russia's support, should she need it, but if you think that I'd be so quick to lash out at you, I guess you don't want an alliance with me." I stood from my bench, crossing my arms and matching her posture.

"You would be willing to support my rule in Scotland?" Mary said again, her voice still carrying a tone of disbelief.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" I asked, slowly walking down a path, inviting Mary to walk with me.
"What do you have to gain by it?" Mary asked, quickly falling into step with me. I had to smile to myself. I didn't think Mary would bend to my will so quickly. Russia must be recognized as stronger than she actually is.

"International influence, more security for my own throne, all things that make me a better candidate for the Queen Consort of France."

"You really want him, don't you? Francis, I mean." Mary asked, nervously. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Francis coming into the garden. He caught sight of Mary and I and began walking towards us.

"Yes, I do. And if I'm honest, I think more than you do." May didn't answer right away, and so I decided to spare her anymore embarrassment. "Don't say anything personal. Francis is right behind you." I whispered, before straightening up and facing the Dauphin.

"Hello, Francis." Mary said quickly, an obvious attempt to grab his attention. I almost laughed, when I saw how she positioned herself to exclude me, and had to grit my teeth to hold back a scoff when I saw Francis' grimace.

"Good afternoon, Mary. If you don't mind, I need to have a private word with the Tsaritsa." Francis sent me a quick wink over her shoulder, causing me to smile. Mary was obviously put off, but to her credit, bowed her head respectfully to both Francis and I before taking her leave.

The two of us watched as she walked away. As soon as she had disappeared into the castle, Francis turned back around and swept me up into his arms.

"It's nice to see you too." I laughed as soon as he set me back down on my feet. "What did your mother want?" I asked as the two of us began moving down the path.

"Nothing unexpected. She continues to insist that I remove Mary from court. Especially while I have you here." He smiled down at me, reaching up to stroke my cheek.

"Remind me again, why we don't just run away to be married now?" I asked, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Well, if I had things my way, we would do exactly that. But because of more undesirable circumstances, your people don't want you to marry anyone, and you depend on the support of your people. And the people here in France aren't exactly in love with the idea of a Russian Tsaritsa on a French throne the same way I'm in love with you." Francis pulled my hand up to his lips as we continued through the gardens.

By now we were in a small area surrounded by tall hedges, away from the prying eyes of the palace windows where no doubt courtiers stood watching the royals in the gardens.

"Why would is that any different than Mary? She's just as foreign to France as I am." I grumbled, as the two of us sat down on a secluded bench. Francis pulled me over so we sat sides pressed up against each other. I comfortably leaned into his touch, putting my head on his shoulder once more.

"Because as far as the people know, Mary has lived here nearly her whole life. Even if that was tucked away at a convent. To them, your first visit to France was only about a year ago, right after your coronation." The two of us were quiet for a minute, only listening to some of the birds tweeting and chirping in a tree nearby.

"Do you believe Mary?" I asked quietly, almost afraid of what he would say.

"What?" He said confused, looking down at me.

"Do you believe that I ordered that boy to rape Mary?" I asked, looking Francis dead in his blue eyes.

"No, I don't. You have no motivation to do it. And if you were jealous enough to attempt to ruin her, I would say that I have done a poor job of making sure you know that I," he pressed a gentle kiss on my forehead, "love," one on my nose, "you."

A sweet long kiss landed on my lips. It was deepened as Francis sat up on the bench, and moved a hand onto my cheek. I responded eagerly, raising up both of my hands to hold his face gently. When the two of us pulled away, we were both breathing heavily, but Francis kept a soft hold on my face, keeping our foreheads pressed together as we listened to the birds chirping for just a little bit longer before he had to return to our cutthroat lives in French court.

I had no idea who had attacked Mary. But I could only hope that none of my own enemies would get any ideas.