"Almost immediately," Lionel responded.
"Good," Henry said. "I'll talk to her when all this is over."
"Will you be marrying the princess, my lord?" Lionel ventured.
Henry did not answer at once. The question had been waiting for weeks. Princess Madeleine of France. A bride brought for alliance. A woman with a crown-shaped future. If Thomas's death had changed anything, it had made Henry's marriage no longer a matter of politics alone.
Everyone wanted something.
"I guess I will," Henry said. "Especially now, the Church will begin to push the matter of my marriage more."
Lionel nodded. "The Lord Chancellor will be glad to hear it." He sighed. "But let's hold it off for as long as we can, uhn?"
Lionel looked at him.
Henry's smile turned dry. "Don't want the French to think we are too eager."
Lionel chuckled softly. "Good thinking, Sire."
*****
Nicholas Beaumont watched as Livia and the other girls came down the steps to entertain the men that night.
