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As her father was no longer the French ambassador, Amelie stayed in the rooms belonging to her brother and the Daubeney family. It felt odd being the guest of her brother rather than being the French ambassador's daughter. Of course, her name was synonymous with the great work her father had done before his death, but there was something oddly different being in the apartments belonging to the Daubeney household than the rooms for the French ambassador.

Amelie's sister in law, her half brother's wife, Clara tried her best to make sure her guests felt welcome in the Daubeney quarters. The marriage between Clara and John was a strategic alignment between two powerful English noble families, nothing unusual for blue-blooded families. What was unusual was the genuine love and care Clara and John held for one another throughout their marriage despite their difficulties. Perhaps it was because of the relationship John was accustomed to with his own parents. John's father, Sir Giles and John's and Amelie's mother, Lady Philippa's union was not out of a strategic allegiance but because of true interest in one another, a rarity in their community.

Although the Holland name echoed the once ruling Plantagenet dynasty and the Daubeney name was not unheard of in the English court, Sir Giles' desire to marry Lady Philippa wasn't because of her ancestry. His family even attempted to persuade him from marrying Lady Philippa because of her ties with the Plantagenet family. Despite the prestige it still carried, the scrutiny that followed with it, the accusations of treason against the new Tudor dynasty was always linked with the Plantagenet bloodline. But Sir Giles was smitten and fell in love with the caring and beautiful Lady Philippa. It was of Sir Giles' opinion that Lady Philippa was the only woman he had ever encountered that whose physical beauty mirrored her inner beauty. And he made sure that he showered her with great love, care and attention. An act their only offspring John had no reason to think was out of the ordinary.

It wasn't until his mother's death that John became serious about looking for a wife or shown any strong interest in the opposite sex. Like any young blue blooded male living in the English court he had his fair share of liaisons with the opposite sex, but for his pedigree and good looks it was quite mellow. Instead John was more interested in proving to himself and the people around him that he could live up to the Daubeney name. With his father heroically passing while defending land in Calais, John grew up in his shadows. This was not easy for the young man and rather than turning to debauchery, John strove for greatness.

But when his mother passed, John realized there was a hole in his life he needed to fill. He had known Clara since his childhood as she herself carried a noblewoman's pedigree with ties to the Irish and Scottish royal family. Clara's father belonged to the once ruling Scottish royal House of Dunkeld. While her mother belonged to the great O'Donnell dynasty in Ireland. The O'Donnell dynasty are descendants of an Irish King and held the northern part of Ireland as their rule. Clara's mother grew up in Ireland and met Clara's father during a visit to the English court. Clara's mother had no intention of living outside of Ireland but when she was offered a marriage proposal that would ensure a prosperous and secure life she took it.

Which is identical to Clara's decision to marry John. Being in the middle of seven siblings, her parents never put too much care or effort in Clara. Not to say they didn't love her, but being a woman and not being the oldest or even the youngest they just allowed Clara to follow in her older sisters footsteps. Clara grew up in the English court and had known John through the complicated yet always intertwined blue-blooded families.

Clara seemed to be an unusual choice for a Daubeney. She wasn't the oldest in her family, nor the youngest. She wasn't the smartest or even the prettiest. But what Clara lacked in outward beauty she made it up for in her kindness. Clara always spent time outside with her horses, she dotted on the newborn foals and had a knack for caring for animals in general. As a skilled hunter and horseman, John knew this and he always kept an eye on Clara.

When John started courting Clara, Clara's family couldn't believe it even Clara herself. Clara wouldn't say it aloud but when she accepted John's proposal she did not love him but she knew that John was a fair and loyal man and that she would regret it if she rejected him. Like her mother, Clara knew that she would live a prosperous and secure life if she married into the Dauabeney family. It took Clara and John several years after their marriage for Clara to become pregnant. This put great pressure on Clara and she was almost sure that John was slowly drifting away from her. But once Clara was pregnant and gave him a son, John showered his wife with the love and affection that made Clara confident and satisfied with her decision to marry John.

This was important to their marriage as it would take several miscarriages after their first son for Clara to give birth to another healthy son. Although Clara seemed to have trouble conceiving and carrying a satisfactory pregnancy, when she did carry a pregnancy to term it seemed to always end in a boy which kept John grateful for his wife. Clara gave John two more boys although Clara in the back of her mind always wanted a girl. With four male offsprings, who survived their infancy and childhood, John was content in his number of offsprings.

By the time Amelie returned to England after the death of her father, Clara and John still kept their intimate relations in the bedroom but it wasn't unknown to Clara that John kept a long list of lovers outside of Clara. Yet, John was very careful to keep these liaisons only in the bedroom and never out in public.

Clara always kept a soft spot for Amelie. She watched her half sister-in-law grow up without a mother and although she would never say it aloud, despite it being a sentiment shared by many, she felt sorry for Amelie. When Clara was to first meet Amelie, she was ready to greet her with open arms and being loving and caring, just as she would to any injured foal. But by the time Clara met Amelie she was already ingrained by the teaching of her grandmother, the French royal mistress that gave the once ruling French King a male offspring. Amelie wasn't the quiet and withdrawn young woman Clara expected to meet. Even as a child Amelie was strong-willed, flamboyant and irrepressible. Clara worried that she would not get along with her sister-in-law. But, there was a warmth and a tenderness to Amelie that reminded her of why she's stayed with John.

With Amelie now eighteen and with Clara passed her prime reproductive age, Amelie to Clara is the closest thing to a daughter. And with Amelie growing up as an only child, Clara is the closest thing to a true sister. Amelie always enjoyed Clara's company. Clara was nothing like her brother. She wasn't power hungry nor ever close to being aggressive. In Amelie's eyes Clara was always loving, generous and considerate. Characteristics she wouldn't necessarily describe the woman who brought her up. Antoinette, Amelie's late grandmother wasn't unloving or cruel to Amelie. Amelie was doted heavily by Antoinette, but it wasn't in a tender way. Antoinette wanted Amelie to be a force of nature, she wanted her to be strong-willed and independent. Characteristics, Antoinette lacked as a young woman.

Clara knew about Amelie's foreboding condition, which she only found out by mere accident. Clara had gathered that Amelie had gone through some health crisis at a young age but the extent was unknown to her as Amelie lived in France and John had chosen not to confide in his wife. It was when Amelie was last in England and had garnered the attention of King Henry the 8th. Clara should've been more surprised that the English King chose Amelie. But as someone who knew Amelie and even more so the English court well, the English King's favoritism to Amelie was not shocking.

Clara knew her husband disliked the Boleyn family. Thus when Clara made a comment that Amelie should be the next English Queen and not, the then Lady Anne Boleyn, Clara was sure her husband would agree. But instead of agreeing, John became furious at Clara and told her, "Amelie can never be a Queen." When Clara pressed as to why, as John kept on encouraging Amelie's relations with the English King rather than hide her from him. John made the snide comment, "She can only keep his bed warm, she can't give him an heir." With that single sentence, Clara for the first time since her marriage to John considered truly leaving him. There were moments in their marriage Clara was almost certain that John would leave her especially when she struggled getting pregnant. But never did the thought of leaving her husband ever cross her mind, till then.

Of course, as a dutiful wife and more importantly a mother, Clara would never leave John. Yet, John's comments about Amelie hurt and angered Clara. The fact that John was willing to show off Amelie, his own flesh and blood to the King of England as a bedmate, made the usually docile Clara furious. Clara cared for Amelie deeply and she didn't want her to be just another notch on the English King's bedpost or be used as a distraction from another mistress. Even with Amelie's condition she wished for her to find love and have a meaningful life. Thus, Clara decided to use the rage she felt against John and his snide comments to protect Amelie and make sure that she would never be just a King's whore.

When Amelie returned to England as a guest of the French Ambassador, almost two years since her last visit to England, Clara was very happy to see her. Despite Amelie's father, Philip de Saint-Remy merely being John's stepfather, Clara knew that John was dismayed by Philip de Saint-Remy's death. Even though Philip was a Frenchmen and John an Englishmen, John admired Philip's quick mind and his loyalty, especially to his late mother. The love Philip still carried for his late wife, Lady Philippa was well known. Clara also knew how much Amelie admired her father and how difficult her father's death was to the young woman.

When Amelie arrived to the English court, the twinkle in her eyes that Clara was so used to had not completely disappeared but it was almost imperceptible. It was evident that Amelie was still in mourning. On the night of the feast to welcome the French Admiral and the rest of the French guests, Clara wanted Amelie to stay in their apartments rather than attend the feast. Clara knew the importance of keeping up with appearances and being a member of the English court. But she also wanted Amelie to have the time and space to mourn, something John had no understanding. Instead John was eager and excited to have Amelie back at the English court. Clara was disgusted by her husband's actions as she was sure his motives were not pure but as the dutiful wife, she said nothing in front of him.

On the night of the feast, the sound of the festive music of the strings, brought a small smile to Duchess Amelie's face. It had been some time since Amelie had attended a feast. When Amelie arrived to Paris to meet with the French Admiral and the rest of her traveling companions there was a feast to send off the French Admiral and their traveling party. But Amelie only attended out of duty rather than desire. Yet this feast, held by the man who won her first kiss, she would cite duty as her main reason but she would never lie to herself that was the only reason why she was attending.

Nevertheless, to respect her father's passing Amelie chose to wear a white colored dress with intricate lacing and beadings ornamenting the well tailored dress. Her bodice was outlined with small pearls that shined in the candlelight. The color of white symbolized mourning in the France a stark difference to the virginal and pure color it symbolized for a wedding in England. Amelie was aware of this but as the daughter of the late French ambassador to England, she took great pride in her French roots and wanted to impress a certain Englishman, King Henry. Amelie decided to only ornament her neck with her mother's gold cross but showed off her Plantagenet family wealth by the large pearl earrings that drooped on her earlobes. To match her ears, a large pearl ring surrounded by small tiny sapphires rested on her left hand. Her mother's wealth was also shown by the French hood she chose to wear, held sturdily with heavy gold fabric and well ornamented with pearls and sapphires that complimented Amelie's blue eyes.

Rather than walking with the French Admiral and his company, Amelie chose to attend the feast with her brother's family. She felt all the eyes of the English court on her as she entered room. She wondered if their attention on her was because of her dress or if it was because they felt sorry for her as she recently lost her father; the one-handed French ambassador. She hoped the reason was neither as she didn't want anyone to feel sorry for her nor did she want any extra attention from the opposite sex. Actually, the latter isn't a solid truth as there was one person in the whole English court she wanted the attention of, King Henry the 8th.

The two exchanged a smile of recognition and Amelie was almost certain she saw a boyish smirk from him when she was introduced to him at the start of the feast. There was even a moment that King Henry had walked up to her when Amelie was conversing with the French Admiral's niece and his secretary. Although King Henry made the effort to keep his attention on his foreign guests, it was obvious that King Henry's focus was on the angelic looking Amelie. Just as he was about to go back to his table, King Henry gently placed a hand on Amelie's waist and whispered in her ear, "At the end of the feast, meet me where once you kept me waiting," King Henry couldn't help but give a scoff in the middle of his sentence, "My most beautiful creature".

Amelie felt her stomach flutter with butterflies with the King's words and she nodded her head. She tried to keep a straight face as she didn't want anyone around her to think that she had just made a promise to meet with the King in private. She could feel her brother's eyes on her as well as her aunt's and almost certain Clara's as well as Queen Anne, but Amelie chose to not meet any of their gaze. Instead Amelie continued to introduce the French Admiral's niece, Mademoiselle Germaine Chabot to members of the English court.

Once the party started to die down, Amelie slowly made her way to the balcony King Henry asked to meet her at. She felt someone following her and she was almost sure it would be her brother, but instead it was Clara. Amelie didn't expect to see Clara and she quickly felt her cheeks flushed with heat even though she knew that Clara had no power over her nor that it would be in her nature to scold Amelie.

"Is everything okay?" Clara carefully asked Amelie.

Amelie nodded her head, "Yes." Amelie tried to keep her gaze on Clara's eyes and stand in a manner that showed her usual independence.

Clara wanted to say something more, but as she wasn't one to speak much she was the one who looked down at the cold stone tiles lining the floor.

"Okay...I'll see you back in our apartments," Clara said as she walked away from Amelie. Clara wished she had the courage to speak up to Amelie but her timid nature wouldn't allow it.

Amelie arrived at the balcony King Henry asked to meet her at. Mixed emotions of excitement and anxiety muddled around in her stomach and each footsteps she heard she was sure it was the English King. But he never showed as the night air turned colder and colder while the night sky turned brighter with the stars twinkling... Amelie feared that she had mistaken the location they were to meet which made Amelie run around the English castle for a moment but there was no sign of King Henry anywhere...

I have become exactly what my grandmother didn't want me to be...I fell for the pretty words strung by a King...

I hope you enjoyed the latest update!

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