Daughter of Silk

Daughter of Silk Copyright © 2006 by Linda Chaikin Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chaikin, L. L. Daughter of Silk / Linda Lee Chaikin. p. cm. - (The Silk house; bk. 1) ISBN-10: 0-310-26300-X ISBN-13: 978-0-310-26300-5 1. France - History - Francis II, 1559 - 1560 - Fiction. 2. Catherine de Medicis, Queen, consort of Henry II, King of France, 1519 - 1589 - Fiction. 3. Courts and courtiers - Fiction. I. Title. PS3553.H2427D38 2006 813'.54 - dc22 2005031947 All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the King James Version. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other - except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Interior design by Beth Shagene Printed in the United States of America 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 - 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Chapter One Marquis Fabien de Vendôme stood on the open balustrade of the royal palais chateau at Chambord, resting his muscled shoulder against the broad marble embrasure. He fixed his attention below in the courtyard where voices shouted and horse hooves clattered over stone. Another burst of activity erupted near the gate. The king's cuirrasiers, garbed in black and crimson, sporting brass and steel, threw open the double gate. Riders thundered into the courtyard as though pursued by fiendish gargoyles. Fabien recognized le Duc de Guise mounted on a black charger with a jeweled harness and gold velvet housing edged in green braid. Guise's men-at-arms followed, bearing the flag of the House of Guise from the duchy of Lorraine. Fabien straightened from the embrasure, clamping his jaw. The secret rumblings of hatred smoldered in the rocky caverns of his soul at the sight of the duc. Le Duc de Guise looked up toward the balcony. His gaze appeared to search, as if he could sense a burning pit of hellish emotions attacking him from somewhere, as if he was a jackal smelling a rotting carcass to feed upon. Then le Duc de Guise locked gazes with Marquis Fabien. Guise's lips turned into a hard, faintly mocking smile. Fabien smiled in return and offered a bow. Guise turned his head away and peered over his shoulder toward the gate. He raised a gloved hand whereupon a masked, black-cowled rider burst through the turret gates, dusty, his horse sweating. Fabien tensed. Who was this? A moment later the duc's men-at-arms tightened their escort around the mysterious rider, encircling him within their midst. Is Guise protecting the masked figure or confining him? Why the cowl and mask? Fabien narrowed his gaze, as if by staring he could bore through the mask to identify the messire. He was here at Chambord at the invitation of the boy-king Francis and his petite reinette, Mary of Scotland, but not to become ensnared in whatever ongoing intrigue the House of Guise was presently hatching. Fabien left the balcony. Patience, he reminded himself. The longawaited hour to apportion revenge upon the head of le Duc de Guise would eventually dawn. The marquis pulled his brows together as he walked along the gilded salle in the direction of his chambers. If anyone at court understood the reasons behind the unexpected arrival of Guise, it would be Comte Sebastien Dangeau, a member of Catherine de Medici's privy council and Fabien's relative through marriage. Sebastien's position was a precarious one since the House of Guise might discover he was of the Huguenot faith. There were other Calvinists aChaikin, Linda Lee is the author of 'Daughter of Silk ', published 2006 under ISBN 9780310263005 and ISBN 031026300X.