03x02 - Betrothed

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Reign...

Francis refused my request to let me court you.

I am going to marry you. And I am prepared to wait.

I am dying. I've already sent for my brother.

He doesn't know that he'll be king soon enough.

Charles. Welcome back, little brother.

Let me hold you in my arms, Elizabeth.

Or let me leave court.

Elizabeth: I can't. I need you near.

Elizabeth's real w*r is with me.

Perhaps her advisors have realized this and are pressuring her.

Are you suggesting there's a way to turn the pope against Mary?

She'll be disgraced. Forced off her throne.

Catherine wants to destroy me and if she can't, she'll help Elizabeth destroy my nation.

Clearly, we should have taken your head the last time you betrayed your son.

(Growls)

(Keys jangle, door unlocks)

(Door creaks open)

Take your hands off of me! How dare you?

All prisoners are to be relieved of their personal effects.

Do prisoners have the right to know how long they're forced to suffer the sight of these four vile walls and your smug, weaselly face?

I want to see my son.

I am the king of France's mother.

And he is the one who put you here.

We know who you are, Queen Mother.

But you can hold your breath.

For this is the one place it does not matter.

God help me.

Mary: There's only one way we can be sure that Catherine won't betray us again.

I can't do it.

I can't.

Her crimes are treasonous.

I will not condemn my mother to death.

Especially not as my last act as king.

The illness has progressed and it's becoming more difficult to hide.

I refuse to give up hope.

I know this is difficult.

It's more than difficult.

Today, in particular.

I'm not pregnant.

Again.

It's all right.

I just wanted this. A part of you.

I know.

I would love nothing more than to see you pregnant, radiant, a mother.

But fate has other plans.

Charles will inherit my throne.

But... he's so young, Mary.

A young king needs a regent.

And who can I trust to rule over France whenever our young monarch turns his head?

Elizabeth is after your country, Scotland is in jeopardy.

And your status at court...

You want me to marry Charles.

Yes.

To protect you and secure my family's future.

I understand that, the politics. But this is a marriage.

You're not naive to the burdens of royalty.

You and I... us.

We're not just royalty.

We are more than an alliance.

We're different. We love each other.

And we always will.

Mary, please, you know this makes sense.

A life in France without you.

Marriage is just a legal agreement.

In time, you could move back to Scotland.

Unless it progressed into something more...

We both know that will never happen.

But you're right... it would be the best thing to protect both our countries.

I will marry your brother.

Even though it breaks my heart.

We must share our plan with our future king.

Man: Your girlish collusion with Catherine de Medici has placed England firmly in the middle of an international crisis.

The Vatican knows we sponsored the nobles sent to slander Mary.

A plan that you and Catherine hatched.

What the Vatican knows, Spain knows.

We are at peace with Spain and King Philip.

A very fragile peace.

He views the att*ck on Mary as an att*ck on all Catholic monarchs.

King Philip has threatened to walk away from the trade agreement we've spent months negotiating.

We can find a way to make amends with both Spain and France.

I'm afraid that burden lies with our queen.

Her Majesty will give testimony speaking to the circumstances surrounding Catherine's time in England.

Testimony that clears our queen of any involvement.

Then we look forward to hearing what you have to say.

The Medici issue will be resolved, and swiftly.

King Philip gains more with us than against us.

If only I felt confident making the same claim about members of this council.

There's also the matter of a new English ambassador to France.

Relations are tense.

Sending an ambassador conveys a message of peace at no political cost to us.

I have a nomination.

There is one member of this council whose track record of diplomacy uniquely prepares him for a position overseas.

The ambassadorship would be a sizeable promotion, but one that is long overdue.

Lord Robert Dudley.

Do we have a second?

The nomination has been seconded.

Your Majesty?

I'll take it under advisement.

Lady Dudley. It's done. Your husband's the only nomination.

Our loss is France's gain.

What will the frogs make of this wily English rose?

I don't care.

I'd follow my husband anywhere.

Especially if it means I never have to think of him writhing in Elizabeth's bed again.

Our queen truly has that much of a hold over your husband?

I suppose there's no accounting for taste.

All this talk of France inspires thoughts of their rumored more ambitious lovemaking.

There are, after all, acts my wife refuses to submit to.

(Gasps)

Leave us.

When you shared secrets in Catherine's bed, did they include the specifics of our bath time flirtation?

Why? What's happened?

A rat. In my bath.

Well, even the house of a king is not immune to a rodent infestation.

No, it was planted there, deliberately.

This was inside its vile little mouth.

"One rat down, two to go."

But Catherine is in prison.

Giving her plenty of time to scheme against her rivals.

You betrayed Catherine, had her exiled, and then made a public request to court me.

Word of your intention has spread all over the castle. including Catherine's cell.

I swore that I would protect you.

But you also swore that you would never hurt me again.

But you have. This is why I said no to you.

I do have feelings for you.

But I wanted to keep them private, and I was right to want that.

Even rejecting you as a potential husband has put me in danger.

And that's why we can never be together.

Francis: My news doesn't leave this room.

Once the world learns of my illness, our enemies will move in, try to take advantage of France's weakness.

We must prepare for the transition of power as a family and in secret.

Does Mother know?

Catherine no longer has the privilege of contact with her children.

Claude: She wouldn't be of any comfort to me, either. But you're dying, she is your mother.

No, I've recognized John, given him lands and titles, but he'll never be king.

When Lola learns of my fate she will fear for him.

You understand the life of a bastard son.

John will be protected.

I promise.

Now you see why we had to send for you.

I should've studied.

Actually listened as my guardians blathered on about tithes and land reforms.

You were right.

I never thought it...

Give us some time.

I have decided that after my passing, you will take Mary as your wife.

But she loves you.

When the time comes, I want my own wife, someone my own age.

Now, you know that that is not always possible.

Our own marriage was arranged to bring our two countries together.

What has Scotland ever done for France?

Charles, this marriage would not only benefit Mary.

A young king needs a regent.

And we can't trust anyone with that amount of power.

Usurpers would come after your crown.

And if I'm to be married.

Married to a queen, you won't need a regent.

Mary is an experienced ruler who would ensure a smooth transition of power.

I want to know what Mother thinks.

I told you before.

Mother's opinion doesn't matter, not anymore.

Well, she knows more about political strategy than anyone.

How could her opinion not matter?

You don't understand who she is. The real Catherine.

Then make me understand.

I-I don't even know why she's locked up.

So she went to England... is that a crime?

Why won't you just tell me?

Fine, you can hate her for whatever it is she did, but she's still my mother.

And I am still your king.

For today.

But if I'm to wed Mary, you must die.

And when that happens, I will be king.

I don't want to get married.

And I don't have to.

No one can know the specifics of my mother's crimes.

Kidnapping my son, fleeing to England to marry off my brother to our greatest rival.

And if Charles, if anyone found out that she tried to smear your name...

By telling the truth.

Francis, my indiscretion with Condé...

Truth... became treason when she took it to the Vatican.

And that serious charge in the hands of my mother's enemies... they'd call for her execution.

We need Charles' cooperation, but if he demands to see her...

Catherine will scheme and plot until the day she dies.

Every time someone takes a tray of food to that cell, there is a chance she will bend them to her will, use that opportunity to hatch her revenge.

And after you are gone...

Charles will have the power to see her anyway.

He will come from Catherine, having heard her plea that she was doing everything for the good of France.

We can tell him our side, too, and be sure he doesn't share it.

Francis... your brother isn't asking for audience with Catherine as the future king.

He's a terrified boy who needs the love of his mother.

Let Catherine comfort her son.

You're right.

Let me speak to her first.

(Animals chittering, chirping)

♪

Stephan.

How did you know...

I know this is where you come to pick those wild raspberries that John likes so much.

Because you had me followed.

No.

Because I pay attention.

Oh.

And because I love you.

Uh, maybe Catherine is coming for us, but if you and I have to pay her price for being together, then... why don't we just be together?

But why marriage?

Why has a binding union become so important to you, of all people?

Because it's important to you.

You say you want just an affair, but I know the moment I lay you down beneath this tree, then you will see there's more between us than just the stuff of fleeting seduction.

And you haven't given up on the idea of a real family.

If I can't give you that, then out time together is limited, no matter how we feel.

Lola...

I want you forever.

(Exhales)

But as long as Francis reigns, our relationship will be forbidden.

(Sighs)

I want you, Stephan, so I can get past my fear of Catherine, but if you want me, you need to stop holding out for an impossible marriage.

Do you love me enough to meet me halfway?

♪

Where's my zibellino?

Your what?

It's Italian for "sable."

And I don't speak Italian.

A sable for a blanket...

I can't sleep without it.

Besides, don't you know how valuable...

No, of course you don't.

Perhaps the princess can think back to where she may have left her... zibellino?

The Versailles carriage is the only place I haven't looked.

That particular carriage is currently halfway between here and Paris.

If you say so.

Find it for me.

No.

Catherine's locked up now, so you can't run to Mommy and complain.

But please, feel free to summon me again when you have a request that falls within my actual job responsibilities...

Princess.

Poison.

It has to be poison.

I have already been tested for poison, given herbal remedies, even leeched.

And each doctor only reiterated the truth, that this illness is real and incurable.

My eldest child faces certain death, and I am confined to a cell, unable to comfort him.

Confined by your own betrayal.

I'm your mother... I've held you in my arms, I nursed you when they mocked me, and they said that feeding you was the act of a gruesome peasant.

But I did because I knew... (Sniffles) it would make you strong... and I...

Stop.

I raised Mary, too, don't forget... I loved her till she weakened you and she weakened France.

I said stop.

She's shown me more love than anyone in this family ever could.

True love, without condition.

I protect you.

Let me out of here and I will continue to do that.

'Cause you'll need me once Charles is king.

He's already here, isn't he?

It was you that sent for him.

I've asked him to wed Mary.

(Slow inhale)

But he wants to see you.

And I know that you'll try to poison him against me.

I'm his mother. He needs love and support.

Donatella: Mmm.

This wine is heavenly... but, then, I suppose they save the best vintage for Her Majesty.

Donatella, your palate betrays your Italian roots.

I don't try to hide them.

I find having an exotic wife bolsters my husband's reputation at court.

I have a favor.

It's of international importance.

Political intrigue?

Pour the wine.

It does require a tiny fib.

You must testify before the privy council that... you are Catherine de Medici's distant Florentine cousin, and you harbored her here at court.

Catherine de Medici was here?

The harpy herself, in the flesh?

(Chuckles)

I'd k*ll just to lay eyes on her.

Well, imagine you had.

Imagine you took pity on your poor exiled cousin and provided her with asylum, and your good queen never even knew she was here.

Wouldn't I get into some sort of... trouble?

A slap on the wrist, perhaps.

But you'd have the queen of England on your side.

Elizabeth: Answer your queen, prisoner.

Do you beg God for his forgiveness?

No. Why bother?

I intend to commit the same crime every day until I die.

(Laughs): Lord Dudley!

Shall we leave the shackles on?

Absolutely.

I remember when the walls of a prison would have had you cowering in fear.

Of losing my head, like my mother.

(Laughs)

But you helped me get past that fear.

I needed you then... and I need you now.

Which is why you're not going anywhere.

The French ambassadorship.

A ploy to separate us.

I'll find out who's behind it.

Because the nomination couldn't possibly be genuine.

(Laughs)

Nothing that goes on in my privy council chamber is genuine.

You can't fight it.

I can... by giving you... a title that's even better.

One that will raise your station while keeping you here.

(Whispers): They whisper about us.

I am their queen.

Their whispers are treason.

You'll stay in England where you belong, even if I have to take out every last one of them.

Donatella has taken full responsibility for Catherine de Medici's presence at court.

I'm afraid that will no longer suffice.

The council has several nobles claiming to have seen you with the French queen mother during her time at the castle.

"Several nobles"?

Give me their names.

Who knows if they even exist?

The high lords have challenged you to clean up your mess.

They do not plan to make it easy.

And sullying my friend's reputation isn't enough?

Donatella trusts me.

Now I'll have to ask her to testify that she introduced me to Catherine but withheld her royal identity, confess to lying to a queen.

The council plots against you, but it is you providing them with amm*nit*on.

One only had to study your face when Lord Lionel nominated Dudley to know that your affair is back on.

Robert isn't going anywhere.

I hear about your plans to give him a different promotion.

You cannot do it, Elizabeth.

He would make a fine ambassador... and if you refuse, it will confirm your indiscretion.

To hold onto the crown, you need to be pure, above recrimination.

Because I'm a woman?

Because you must be viable for a strategic marriage.

Well, I agreed to meet with Charles, didn't I?

Only to be betrayed and look like a fool.

Other prospects will come along, but you'll only have a chance with them if you end your relations with a married man.

Stop.

I hear you.

I will not raise Dudley's station.

Elizabeth, the issue is larger than this moment.

You've never accepted the fact that your life changed the moment you become queen.

These mistakes... Catherine de Medici, Dudley... the people around you, the ones who care, we will pay the price!

(Crying): I am paying the price!

I feel like a prisoner.

Some prison.

He's my brother, too, and he's protected me.

Francis and I have an agreement that he would never force me to marry.

How progressive of him.

Charles, please!

I need to know that as king you'll do the same.

You came here to ask a favor?

Of me?

I'm about to inherit a job I don't want, that I'll probably fail miserably at.

They want me to marry my brother's wife.

And I'm sorry.

Are you?

It's hard for all of us, being part of this family.

You're right, and that's why, as part of this family, you'll marry whoever your king commands you to.

(Sighs)

I know you're scared, but your brother is right... there will be threats.

From the Bourbons in Navarre in particular.

King Antoine has a blood claim.

But there are other ways to deal with them than marrying the queen of Scots.

Not according to Francis.

Oh. Well, he loves Mary.

He's always been blind to the drain the Scottish alliance has been on our country.

I have no interest in protecting Mary or Scotland.

But I do want to protect myself.

Listen, there is no point in arguing the issue now, and certainly not with a king.

Just agree to the marriage.

Engagements fall away all the time, as you well know.

To what end?

I can't lie to Mary forever.

Just until the time has come.

Meaning my brother is dead?

Yes.

And you've installed me at your side as regent.

You've been imprisoned.

For seeking an alliance.

For having views counter to Mary's.

You will come to understand it all, and you will exonerate me.

I would die to protect you.

And surely, the same cannot be said of your sister-in-law.

Who would you rather have in your corner?

You're right.

Good.

Now you just convince Francis to let you visit me regularly.

Your guardians. How are your studies progressing?

I haven't been as focused as I should.

You're a teenage boy.

There are more compelling exploits?

(Laughs)

We shall begin your education by studying the realms' finances.

Send a messenger to a Lord Germain in the village.

And tell him that you want... a full reckoning of the realm's accounts.

Be sure to use that exact phrase.

It'll impress Germain that a boy your age understands the proper terms of finance.

Can you do that for me?

Yeah.

This was left for me in my chambers.

By Delphine.

The witch?

"There's a girl. Her eyes sting from smoke, and her skin smells like freshly baked bread..."

A kitchen servant.

Delphine thinks this girl is the m*rder*r's next victim.

Bash, the m*rder*r is Delphine.

She k*lled that servant boy because he got mixed up in her black magic.

My instincts have always told me that Delphine is innocent.

So you're taking this letter seriously?

A heretic's claims that conveniently absolve her?

I need you to go to the kitchen, ask around, see if anyone's gone missing.

You spent time there as a servant.

They'll tell you the truth.

And if Delphine is merely diverting us from her own guilt?

Then we will seek justice.

Either way, you're helping to catch a m*rder*r.

(Loud crowd chatter, horse sputters)

(Dog barking, goat bleating)

Lord Germain?

A message from court.

(Horse sputters, whinnies)

"Full reckoning"?

Are you sure? How did you get this?

By the hand of the dauphin himself.

He wrote it after meeting with the queen mother.

A new job.

We'll need five men in total.

Where?

Navarre.

To shed some Bourbon blood.

I will marry you.

(Door closes)

And how did you come to your decision?

I know how much our mother hurt you.

But you knew I needed her.

You treated me fairly, like a brother.

Helped me understand that you want what's best for me. You both do.

You made the right choice.

But you must remain open to my counsel.

I plan to be.

Everyone in the kitchen is accounted for?

Save one servant girl, but Bash, she isn't missing.

Annabelle is young and madly in love.

She merely skipped out on work to meet her lover.

They were to elope today.

Delphine was wrong. Did you ask where they were meeting?

Where the river narrows and bends to the East.

Francis has requested we meet him in the village.

Why?

There's something you need to see.

(Horse sputtering, crowd chatter)

(Chickens clucking)

So, where are we drinking?

Did you arrange to have a message sent to a Lord Germain?

Never heard of him.

Do you honestly think we would leave Catherine unobserved, free to plot against us?

We made plans for her imprisonment.

Removed a bit of mortar from between two old bricks.

A servant on the other side reports back on Mother's every move, every conversation.

You lied.

You have no intention of marrying me.

Fine. I don't want a wife. I told you that.

And I sent that message.

But Mother simply wants to educate me.

I wrote to Lord Germain in order to request a full reckoning of the Crown's accounts.

Well, let me introduce you to Lord Germain, and his equally unsavory peers.

Man: Keep moving.

Mary: Germain is a trained k*ller.

That message was code, code Catherine established before her exile.

These men were booking a passage to Navarre.

The Bourbons.

Your message activated a plot to assassinate their entire line.

Did you know that King Antoine has children?

A seven-year-old son.

And a newborn baby girl who does not yet even understand that she is royalty.

You ordered men to m*rder those children.

That blood would have been on your hands.

Man: Keep moving.

Mary: The first lesson in an education from Catherine de Medici.

Is that the kind of king you want to be?

Lola: How was your business in the village?

Mary: We'll talk about that later.

In the meantime, did you actually give in to Narcisse's advances after Catherine put a rat in your bath?

It does sound a bit foolish in retrospect.

Well, it's beyond me how she pulled it off.

We've been going to great lengths to protect ourselves from her usual tricks.

Catherine will be dealt with, I promise you.

But you, Lola... what were you thinking?

Well, that's just it. I've stopped thinking.

What possible kind of future could you two have together?

Oh, Catherine is out to get us, but I trust that Narcisse will protect me and my son.

That fierceness, how he takes what he wants and gets what he needs... it's a huge part of why I feel better with him at my side.

I have been on the other end of that fierceness, and as your friend, I beg you, be careful.

There's something I need to share with you, but it must stay between us.

Francis wanted to tell you himself.

But we went to your chambers this morning, and your lady said that you were out picking berries.

Lola, Francis is very ill.

He's dying.

Oh, God, Mary. I'm so sorry.

Now you will always be my friend, but soon, Francis won't be king.

The last person in the way to your relationship with Narcisse.

All that matters right now is you.

You and Francis.

Francis has protected us all for so long.

It's going to seem like a very different world when you are forced to make your own choices for your future.

Lola, I want you to listen to me carefully.

I want you to think long and hard about what it is you want.

And then make the right decision.

And having heard her confession that she both harbored Catherine de Medici and lied to our fair queen, council has passed its judgment.

Man: The Lady Donatella is hereby banished from court.

She and her husband Lord Barlow are to be stripped of their titles and relieved of all assets.

Pending Her Majesty's agreement.

Even friendship with a queen cannot shield a traitor.

Your Majesty, there's still the matter of the French ambassadorship.

Should we continue our discussion of Lord Dudley's qualifications?

Yes. Let's.

It is my opinion that Lord Dudley is... not the man for the job.

He's highly inexperienced in international relations, has a poor knowledge of French customs at court, and has been unable to prove to his queen that he possesses the finesse to complete such an essential peacekeeping mission.

We'll discuss alternative candidates at tomorrow's session.

Man: Your Majesty.

You just belittled me in front of your entire court.

Robert?

Donatella: I'm a pauper? Banished from court?!

I'm so sorry. I had no idea the council would punish you so harshly.

My husband's livelihood is here.

He'll be forced to start over with no title, no lands.

Elizabeth, you promised to protect me.

And I tried my best.

Take comfort in the fact that you've helped your country avoid an international powder keg and saved your friend's skin.

I lied because you needed me to but also because I had no real choice, did I?

There's always a choice.

I'll recant.

I'll tell the truth.

I'll say that you forced me to take the fall for your mistake.

Please... don't do this, not you.

What choice do I have?

You're right.

You don't deserve any of this.

I'll see to it that you and Lord Barlow have all the gold you need to start over.

The council never need know.

But you shouldn't linger at court a moment longer.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Thank you.

Lady Donatella is making her way back to her chambers.

Tell the guards to arrest her at once.

She's threatened the queen of England, and is guilty of treason.

Do see to it that the tower permits her to keep her head.

Where's Francis?

Resting.

Today took too much out of him.

You're going to have to do this by yourself.

Come with me. Please.

Is it true?

Did I order the assassination of an entire family?

You should never have known about this.

I was trying to protect you without burdening your sweet young conscience. By slaughtering an entire line.

I was protecting you.

The Bourbons must die.

I would have been responsible for the deaths of babies.

To eliminate a succession thr*at, a family tree must be pulled out from its roots.

And that means children, no matter how unpalatable. Do you have any memories of being ushered from your chambers in the middle of the night?

Packed into a guarded room with your brothers and sisters, forced to play quietly for no apparent reason?

Or perhaps you heard about the siege that was waged against us just recently. Do you know who's responsible for that near coup?

Mary: I warn you.

We are doing our best to allow you to keep your head.

Our own castle has been under att*ck, and my children have been threatened.

And that is how far the Bourbons are willing to go to take out our line and to take our power.

Maybe they would k*ll us all.

That doesn't make it right.

Who cares about right or wrong if you're dead?

He knows I speak the truth.

You've lost, Mary.

I've just been to your chambers.

I needed to make sure that Catherine hadn't left any more surprises.

But you're safe.

We are safe.

So many people, even my closest friends, see only one side of you.

But I've seen something different, something I need.

You were right.

There's more than a fleeting affair between us.

Stephan, I love you, too.

And I want it all.

We will find our way to a true union somehow.

Marriage?

Has Francis changed his mind?

No.

But if you can just be patient, trust me, I promise we'll both get what we want.

♪ I need you right here with me ♪
♪ Here with me ♪

(Door opens, shuts)

Stop.

I won't be needing you to pay any more visits to Lady Lola's chamber.

I've got what I wanted.

Now it's time to become the man who deserves it.

Dudley: The queen of England herself has dubbed me a "highly fool. The other nobles are questioning my mere presence on the council.

I lost a friend today, someone I've known since we were girls!

I can't lose you, too.

To France. To an advancement.

I did it for us, to keep you here.

Because that's what you want.

You took what you want without a thought for my reputation, for my future.

I can't do this anymore, Elizabeth.

I can raise your station, by other means, in ways no one can defy. I just need time.

Is this even a promise you believe?

Sometimes I wonder.

It's not my promises that are the problem.

It's the one you made when you married your wife.

Your station we can deal with, but what do we do about Amy?

Admit it.

You focus on all the other obstacles, because you have created the greatest one!

It's true. But after the hundredth time you said we would never marry, I wed another.

And Amy's not going anywhere, is she?

I don't know.

You tell me.

Elizabeth.

Be careful what you say, what you want.

(Horse sputters, neighs)

(Flies buzzing)

(Grunts)

(Door opens)

Where have you been?

The nursery.

The Bourbons are our enemies. I believe that.

Do you know who else might be considered a usurper?

John, the king's illegitimate son.

Bash, our brother.

Should we k*ll them, too?

What's right and wrong does matter to me.

I thought I could trust our mother.

That maybe you'd overreached by tossing her in that cell.

She's not the mother I thought she was.

She can't be a mother at all.

Not-not to a king.

Secure your rule by building up your nation rather than cutting down your rivals, and you will make France want you as her leader.

Your brother has already set this example.

Let me help you follow it.

I would be honored if you would agree to be my wife.

And this time I mean it.

The honor is mine.

(Door opens)

(Door shuts)

He's going to need you, Mary.

Is this really happening?

Am I really planning a life, a future without you?

(Sniffles)

Who's there?

Trouble sleeping?

I won't remind you why.

I don't wish to be the target of your working man's wrath.

Not again.

I went looking for your blanket, to no avail.

Frederick, the old steward, told me it was a gift from King Henry.

Why didn't you tell me?

I heard you talking with Charles.

I know Francis is dying.

You mustn't tell anyone. I won't.

Francis is my friend.

His secrets will always be safe with me, but I know that losing him leaves you vulnerable.

My father always promised me I could marry for love.

In the end, I suppose he wasn't much of a father at all.

He was ill, Claude.

He went mad.

Yes. But...

I try to remember a time when he doted on me, when I was his favorite.

I was protected.

Now there's... no one left to protect me.

I'll stay here until you drift off.

For as long as it takes.

(Clears throat)

I can't sleep.

But maybe if you talk to me.

Talk?

Surely the banalities of your daily life are enough to make anyone drowsy.

I need you, Nicholas.

I've retired from your service.

When I rewarded you for your allegiance, I'd hoped it would inspire you to more.

I suppose I'd had my fill of lying.

(Chuckles) A luxury a queen can never afford.

But now I need an operative with your special skills.

What do you want from me?

You have a talent for espionage and can still fit in with the most erudite at court.

Queen Mary will trust you.

France?

Pack your things.

I've appointed you the new English ambassador.

(Key jangling)

I came to tell you another of your sons has eagerly agreed to take me as his queen, through no agenda of his own, merely a desire for my counsel, despite your best efforts.

A traitor should always pay with their life.

But Francis was forced to k*ll one parent.

No one could ask him to endure the pain of being responsible for the death of another.

How charitable of you, daughter.

Charles is impressionable.

He values the advice of those he trusts.

One might make the case that dispatching you would be for the good of the realm.

And our young king might be more willing than Francis to make that most terrible of sacrifices.

I want to talk to Francis. Now.

Don't think of crossing us again.

Do you hear me?

I want my son!

I want to see the king now!

(Shouts)

I want the king!

(Panting)

(Shouting)

(Thumping)