Windsor Castle July 1172 Henry woke first, but he did not leave me. When I turned over, and drew my hair from my eyes, I found myself cuddled close to him in my sleep, his eyes on me. I did not know that for the king to stay abed with me was a high honor. Any other woman would not have been allowed to sleep at the king’s side, but would have been sent away when he was done with her. We had broken new ground. Already, I was more than I had been. “Good morning, my lord,” I said, my voice sleepy, my eyes still heavy with dreams. Henry kissed me, his lips warm on mine. I felt his love for me behind them, and no trace of his lust, or mine. He kissed me, and I felt safe, safer than I had ever been. I knew that this safety was a slippery slope; I would have to tread carefully to stay in favor, move with care to stay in his good graces. But for that moment, and for as long as we were alone, I forgot all that. I would forget that he was king. He was the man I loved, the man I wanted; the man I finally had. “Good morning, Alais, Princess of France.” I kissed him back, my lips lingering over his. I wanted him to make love to me again, though he had kept me awake with love play into the early hours of the morning, his hands on my body, his body over mine. “In this room, I am no princess,” I said. “I am only yours.” Henry laughed and moved as if to draw back, but I clung to him, my hand running down his thigh, and he stayed. “You are always a princess, and I am always king.” “I know that, Henry. But here, behind the curtains of your bed, may we not be lovers, and nothing more?” “No. You know we cannot.” I drew back from him this time, for he would not join me in love play. I saw that if I was not careful, he would leave me, and deny that this night had ever happened. Then I would still be no one, with nothing, with nothing left to play for. So I used the weapon I always used with Henry when my wits and wiles failed: I spoke the truth. “Henry, I am a princess of France and you are King of England. We are bound by treaty to keep faith with my father, to keep the peace between our two countries, between the lands you and my father hold. I know this. Last night did not change it.” I raised myself so that I sat before him. He listened to me, and his eyes never left mine for an instant. “I have allied myself with you, now and always. I will live my life in your service, and in the service of France.” “And what of Eleanor?” He knew me already. This pain was the worst, the most hideous truth he could throw back at me. I did not lie to him, even then. “I love Eleanor. But I will serve you.” “From love?” I did not lower my eyes. “I do love you, Henry. But with or without love, I am yours, for the rest of my life.” “And your father‘s,” he said. “By serving you, and serving this treaty, I serve the throne of France.” “And if you must marry my son, next week or next year?” “I will do it if you command me.” “And for no other reason?” “For no other.” He kissed me then, pressing me back against the soft sheets of the royal bed. He moved over me, and came into me before I could catch my breath. He rode me hard, and touched me deep, so that in moments I was gasping under him, filled with the pleasure that only he could give me. When his man came in with his breakfast, I saw that he had brought enough bread and honey for both of us. I drew a fur around my shoulders, and cut into a pear, slicing it up on a silver tray. I took a bite, then brought it to the king, and fed him from my own hand. “You must leave me, Alais. I have the work of the kingdom, and I must be about it.” I let the fur drape down past one shoulder, and offered him another bit of fruit. Henry laughed, and ate it, but I saw that he was not moved to change his mind. “I would rather stay here with you,” I said. “You cannot.” I set down the silver tray, and licked the juice of the pear from my fingers. I raised my fingers to his lips, as if to wipe pear juice away. I leaned up and kissed him, taking his tongue into my mouth like a wanton, like a whore, the way he had taught me to kiss him in the dark reaches of the night. “Henry, I would be alone with you.” His hands drew me close, clasping my hips so that I could feel the strength of his desire for me against my midriff. And I had thought him an old man almost in his dotage. My eyes had been opened. I was a woman in truth. “Give me today, Alais. Give me time, and we will be together.” “How long?” I asked him, my clever hand slipping between us to clasp his desire in my palm. He groaned and pressed himself to me, then withdrew at once, before either of us could take our pleasure again. “Give me a day, Alais. Tonight, in the hall, I will see you again.” “I will sit at your trencher,” I said. “I will eat from your plate, and drink wine from your goblet.” He pulled me close once more, as if he could not help himself, as if he would savor me, before he left to do his duty. “You will, Alais. You, and no other.” “All right, then. Until tonight.” I dropped my fur, and let him look at my naked body. Never before had I known the value of my beauty or my youth. In Henry’s bed, under his hands, I had learned what Eleanor, in all her years as my mistress, had never taught me. I felt his eyes on me as I drew on my shift and tied it loosely at my throat. My fingers lingered in his favorite places, at my throat, over my breasts, over the curve of my hips. I stepped into my gown and pulled it closed around me, taking my time to lace the side, drawing the red silk ribbons closed, as Henry had drawn them open, slowly, his eyes always on me. Henry knocked on his outer door, and a man-at-arms came in and bowed low, first to Henry, and then to me. “Matthew will take you a back way to your rooms.” I stepped toward Henry and met his eyes. I stood close, but did not touch him. I kept my voice soft, with a touch of servility, now that we were no longer alone. “My lord king, I would walk the main corridors unencumbered. I am ashamed of nothing that has passed between us.” Henry’s gray eyes examined mine, and he saw once more that I was not lying. I think he began to love me in that moment, when he knew my courage and saw it reflected in my eyes. He drew me close, and kissed me. “Indeed, Princess. And so you should not be.” Henry handed me my veil, as if he were my lady’s maid. Once I pinned it to my hair, he placed my gold filet on my head. He lowered his voice, and pressed his lips to my ear. “Give me until tonight. I will take care of you. You will see.” “I trust you, my lord. I will wait.” I curtsied, bowing low, so that my head rested at the level of his thigh. He chuckled, and raised me up. “You had better go, Alais, before I forget that there is a kingdom to see to.” I said nothing, but s............