"Good morning, Sire." "It is time." "Of course." "Any news?" "A messenger arrived during the night, Sire." "The ship carrying Her Highness left Calais the day before yesterday in clement conditions." "All being well, she will have arrived in Dover by now." "Was I wrong to send her?" "I believe His Majesty always does what he considers best for France." "And if she does not return?" "She will return, Sire." "Of that, I am certain." "A letter for me?" "From the King of Sweden, Sire." "Open it and tell me what it says." "The king has agreed to break his alliance with the Dutch and support us." "Good." "Now all we need is England at our side." "What word of the prisoner, the one who tried to kill Her Highness?" "Monsieur Marchal is questioning him, Sire." "Tell Marchal I wish to see him." "Yes, Sire." "Just so you know where you are." "Well, then." "Who gave you the orders to kill her?" "I don't know." "How did he contact you?" "I forget." "Did you know that if you drive a spike through a precise spot in the skull, the victim will retain his capacity for thought and speech but will otherwise be paralyzed for the remainder of his life?" "I..." "Yes?" "I never saw him." "He left me a note, always in a different place." "What did you do before entering my police force?" "I worked in a tavern." "Do you know who William of Orange is?" "No." "Are you scared?" "Of what?" "Do you visit him, or does he come to France?" "Who?" "William of Orange." "I tell you, I don't know him." "Where was this tavern?" "In the south." "You should be scared." "Of what?" "Does he give you money?" "Who?" "William of Orange." "I'm telling you I don't know who he is." "I've never even been to Holland." "I never said he came from Holland." "You did though, didn't you?" "The king would like to see you." "Immediately." "Don't take your eyes off him; don't talk to him and don't give him anything." "Welcome home, Your Highness." "How was your journey?" "Pleasant enough." "Thank you." "I apologize in advance." "The castle is a little chilly at this time of year." "Is it just His Majesty that I shall be seeing?" "No, the Lords Arlington and Arundell will also be in attendance." "Would it be possible for me to see His Majesty before the official discussions begin, in private?" "I fear not, Your Highness." "That would be most irregular." "Of course." "I was not made for this." "I do not have the courage." "You will find the courage in the doing of it, Your Highness." "Is something amiss, Your Highness?" "Not at all." "His Majesty is in conference with his advisors and will be with you shortly." "Thank you." "Where is Monsieur Marchal?" "The king wishes to see him." "Already gone, sir." "So, that is the traitor?" "But Monsieur Marchal told us..." "If I had my way, I would have you hung, drawn and quartered." "How gruesome." "What is this for?" "That is for killing people." "Killing people?" "Sir, please." "Killing them thus?" "A guard is expecting you by the laundry room." "He will show you how to get out." "You will visit our mutual friend in Paris and tell him I want the 20 best men he has at his disposal." "You will take them to the usual place and wait for my instructions." "Thank you." "Minette!" "My dear younger sister." "Brother." "Last time I saw you, you were scared there was a ghost hiding under your bed." "I hope you got rid of it." "I come not as your sister, but as an emissary of France." "I see." "Well, no matter." "I am pleased to see you." "Now then, down to business." "Sir William has outlined your king's proposals, and I fear I cannot accept them in their entirety." "He seems to see England as a small and insignificant neighbour with no ambitions of its own." "He wishes us to stand by while he invades Holland and steals their trade." "This is unacceptable." "He proposes to aid us in our relations with the Pope, but with what guarantee?" "In short, his proposals lean too heavily in France's favour." "How much do you want?" "I beg your pardon?" "You are bankrupt." "Oh, what a charming thought!" "Six years ago, the city of London was struck by plague." "Two years later, it was destroyed by fire." "You are bankrupt, but prefer not to admit it." "I ask again." "How much?" "This is really not how one conducts these matters." "It is how I conduct them." "My dear sister..." "I prefer you to address me as Your Highness." "We had in mind something in the region of half a million per month for a year." "In return..." "300 per month for six months." "One can do so little with 300,000 crowns." "Furthermore, we will provide you with a personal armed guard of 5,000 men." "A personal guard?" "Whatever for?" "To protect your head, Brother." "You are certain that William of Orange is behind the conspiracy?" "Without doubt, Sire." "And you believe you can extract the truth from the prisoner?" "I will extract all that he knows, Sire." "However, it is unlikely he knows everything." "His masters would ensure that he knows only what is necessary." "I wish to speak to him myself." "Guard every exit!" "Form a search party." "Send men to every tavern and whorehouse in the village." "Alert our agents in Paris and Orléans." "Now!" "This is unfortunate:" "for me because I am no longer safe in my own home, for France because William of Orange will soon be wearing her crown and for my head of security because it is not the first time he has failed in his duties and he no longer has the trust of his employer." "While it is true, Sire, that I consider Monsieur Marchal to be driven more by violence than by reason, I do believe him to be a man of trust and duty." "He has failed me." "He has, Sire." "But believe me, without him, Your Majesty would not be alive today." "On reflection, I am willing to accept His Majesty's offer." "You will return to France with the treaty signed." "I am gratified to hear it." "You are sure I can trust him, Minette?" "Of course." "You share the same ambitions." "I hardly think so." "Louis wishes to place himself at the centre of the universe." "I do not." "He wants to be known by posterity as a great king." "Not you?" "No." "My ambitions are more modest." "I wish to be known as a king who did no harm to anyone." "How thoughtless of me." "I forgot to ask how you were." "I am well, thank you." "Do you miss England?" "I miss my brother, when he is not trying to humble his sister." "The sun is the centre, the heart, the mother of the universe." "Without its warmth and light, all life is gone." "Man will cease to exist." "One could almost believe he was talking about you." "Perhaps you could apply the same technique of measurement for France?" "The topography of France is already begun, Sire." "Splendid!" "Let us hope we did not exaggerate the extent of our possessions." "I regret, Sire, the preliminary results indicate that France is not so big as we thought." "You mean to take away with your calculations, the lands I gained in war in the Spanish Netherlands?" "No one can argue with the truth, Sire, not even a king." "I bow before the power of scientific truth." "Brother." "I confess to being disappointed in you." "Why?" "I asked you to take charge of court etiquette." "You promised to think about it." "Your thinking seems to have led nowhere." "You know perfectly well that your proposition does not interest me in the least." "It was not really a proposition." "I suggest you think about it again in the hope that this time your thinking bears fruit." "Her Highness is expected to return tomorrow, Sire." "I'm relieved to hear it." "As am I." "I remember you were always good at cards when we were children." "I cheated, but you never noticed." "Now he tells me." "Of course, you wouldn't dare to cheat now." "Oh, I fear I don't need to." "His Majesty scores 88 points." "Lord Rohan, 103." "His Majesty owes Lord Rohan 25,000 francs." "Another?" "Very well." "Yes?" "My men have searched the palace, the village and the surrounding area without success, Sire." "The prisoner has no doubt long departed." "I owe you 2 million francs, my friend." "You will receive your money in the morning." "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm a little weary." "My King, I..." "Sire, it is by no means certain that we have 2 million francs here at the palace." "Then my reign will have been a lot shorter than I would have liked." "Please allow me to recoup your losses, Sire." "Should you succeed, you'll know where to find me." "I believe this was what was used to poison your father and me." "Where did you find it?" "In a lady's dress." "It is without doubt a poison." "Oleander." "Do you know the person who made this?" "All too well." "Sorry to disturb you, Sire, but Madame insisted on seeing you." "Thank you." "Please leave us." "Am I still king?" "Still king, still my master." "How did you subdue your enemy?" "By playing a silly little girl and by using my feminine wiles and by being better than him." "Feminine wiles." "I'm jealous." "No reason." "Perhaps you should use them on me." "Your wish is my command." "I can't remember the last time I was actually hungry." "What did the king mean about etiquette?" "Some harebrained idea of his to make me look a fool." "He wishes me to draw up a list of rules telling people how to behave at court." "He wants to turns us all into puppets." "Is it such a bad idea?" "Yes." "I think it's possible you underestimate your brother and may potentially allow envy to blind you to his talents." "I do not underestimate him at all." "I merely see him as he really is." "What better way to keep everyone under control than by dictating their every word and movement?" "It's brilliant." "If you say so." "Besides, you cannot ignore the fact that he gave me back to you." "You mean I'm indebted to him." "Yes, my dear." "It must be torture for you." "What are you doing?" "Getting paper and a quill." "What for?" "My darling, we are going to turn the nobles of Versailles into obedient servants." "From now on, everyone will know how to be from dawn till dusk." "How to walk, how to talk, how to address a man, how to address a woman, how to sit, where to sit." "How to behave in front of the king, and you, my stallion, will be the master of ceremonies." "You're mad." "Let's be mad together." "With your permission, Sire, I will deal with her as I see fit." "You would have her tortured?" "No, I fear that would bring her more pleasure than pain." "And the daughter?" "If she were involved in the plot, Her Highness would be dead." "Everywhere I look, I see the hand of William of Orange." "He seeks to undermine our alliance with England and weaken our position." "Perhaps this failure will put an end to his efforts." "On the contrary." "It will only encourage him to go further." "William of Orange, Your Majesty." "I understand a ship sporting French colours left port a few days ago." "Yes, I believe a cargo of wine and cheese recently arrived on our shores." "Ah, from what I am told, its cargo was never destined for a banquet." "Well, I shall make some enquiries if it bothers you so." "No need for that." "I should merely like to know what the King of France's sister-in-law was doing here." "She was visiting her brother." "Do brothers and sisters not visit each other in Holland?" "You see, if I were in Louis' shoes, and I wanted to attack Holland, the first thing I would do is approach her allies." "I would tell Sweden to turn a blind eye and I would try to convince England to join me." "And what would I offer them in return?" "Money." "And whom would I send?" "A seasoned diplomat?" "Perhaps." "Or perhaps someone very close to the king of England, someone he would naturally trust." "Your argument would carry much weight, but for one glaring weakness." "Which is?" "Would I join forces with Louis and attack the Dutch if I was about to propose a marital alliance to the man who will soon be king of Holland?" "I..." "I don't understand." "I don't believe you've met your first cousin, my niece, Mary, before." "No." "It is an honour." "Mary is looking for a husband and you, I believe, a wife." "Where in the south do you come from, Sophie?" "Near Pau, Your Highness." "Do you miss it?" "No." "My place is here." "You are seduced, perhaps, by dreams of a good marriage, power, fortune, perhaps even a place next to the king." "Well, uh..." "Don't worry." "We all are." "Beware, Sophie." "You live in the most exciting place in the world, but it is easy to lose yourself in it." "The most important thing of all is to belong." "Do you not belong at Versailles, Your Highness?" "Does His Majesty know of this?" "It was His Majesty's idea." "I see." "We rely on you to transmit this information to every noble in the palace." "And anyone who is seen transgressing the rules of etiquette shall be sanctioned." "I fear they may balk at such an imposition on their daily lives." "Sooner or later, even the wildest horse accepts the halter." "Very well." "We now have a base for supplies and munitions in Dunkirk, Courtray, Lille, Brisach, Pignerol, Metz and Thionville." "Enough for how long?" "For a six-month campaign, Sire." "Very good." "Start preparing the troops." "Already, Sire?" "I want them in uniform and ready for battle by the spring." "Very well, Sire." "Thank you, Sire." "It is not customary for a monarch to perform the tasks of a servant." "We are all servants of France, are we not?" "How was England?" "Cold." "I've never been to England, but I am told it rains perpetually and its inhabitants are forever apologizing." "I'm sorry for contradicting His Majesty, but that is a myth." "Hello, Mother!" "Hello, dear!" "Mother, Her Highness has promised to present me to the Duc de Quercy." "Oh!" "She says he may be a good match." "Can you imagine?" "Me, a duchess!" "And I thought you were in love with a builder." "You told me to forget him, remember?" "And what on earth are you doing?" "I've lost a brooch!" "No, there's something wrong, Mother." "What is it?" "No, nothing!" "And what's the news of our situation?" "I believe our situation's about to be resolved." "Well, if I marry a duke, we will be safe, will we not?" "Yes, but never forget where we're from." "Mother, the day we left, you wished me a happy trip to England." "How did you know I was going to England?" "Oh you know, court gossip." "You're hiding something from me." "I know it." "If I'm hiding anything from you, it's for a good reason." "The two kings will declare war against the United Provinces of Holland." "The King of France will attack them by land and will receive the help of 6,000 men from England." "The King of England will send 50 men-of-war to sea, and the King of France, 30." "His Britannic Majesty will be content to receive Walcheren, the mouth of the Scheldt, and the isle of Cadzand as his share of the conquered provinces." "The King of England will make a public profession of the Catholic faith and will receive the sum of 2 millions of crowns in the course of the next six months." "We were ready to go to 3 millions." "I wasn't." "This calls for a celebration." "Tomorrow." "In the meantime, you must rest." "May I ask how you feel?" "A little weary." "You need sleep and repose." "She must be given only broth for a week, with sorrel and rosemary." "Yes, of course." "If the king says you are a man, you are a man." "It is not necessary." "Monsieur Marchal!" "I was hoping I might see you." "I wonder, might I have a word with you?" "Of course." "You see." "I conceived the notion you are upset with me." "Why would I be upset with you?" "Because I lied about who I am." "The paper you used was of Swiss origin and not available in France at the time you claimed to have been born." "Well, I..." "I underestimated you." "Why would you lie to me?" "Because I was scared." "I care for you." "You see, I first came to court with the intention to find a match for my daughter, and then I discovered yet another reason to stay." "Have you found a husband for your daughter?" "No, not yet." "But may I ask what you intend for us?" "You won't have us banished, will you?" "No." "I'm sure the matter will be resolved favourably." "Good." "What news from court?" "Everyone is talking about the masked ball tomorrow." "Thank you." "What is your name again?" "Marie, Your Highness." "Thank you, Marie." "What will you be wearing?" "I don't know." "I can't decide." "I remember my first masked ball." "I danced all evening with a tall man wearing the mask of Apollo." "At the end of the evening, he took me out onto the terrace, kissed each of my fingers and then left." "Well, who was he?" "To this day, I do not know." "And will Your Highness be going?" "I don't think so." "I am a little tired." "But it is in your honour, Your Highness." "His Majesty would be disappointed if you are not there." "Good morning." "What are you doing here?" "I'm here to watch a piece of theatre." "In my bedroom?" "Yes." "It's called the grand lever, a comedy of manners with tragic undertones." "From now on, your life does not belong to you." "All you do is designed to be seen and admired." "Dressing, shaving, drinking and eating." "They are no longer actions, but a performance." "All the noblemen at court are required to present themselves at the appointed hour." "Dukes before marquises, I believe." "I'm with the duke." "Only a few, however, will be given the privilege of entering, observing and, in some cases, participating." "All the entrances and exits will be supervised." "Self-control and order are paramount." "Where two valets used to dress you, you now have six." "For your shoes: two." "Everything you do is a display of wealth, authority, harmony and modesty." "And last, but by no means least, piety." "Mass is at 11:00." "Don't be late." "I must congratulate you, Brother." "It is a perfect system in which everyone knows their place." "I certainly know mine." "Where are you going, Mother?" "To save us." "Madame de Clermont?" "Yes." "Monsieur Marchal sent me." "He's waiting for you." "Follow me, please." "Where is he?" "He wishes it to be a surprise." "Approach no further." "I'm not sure I quite understand." "In a forest looking down a row of evergreens." "You remembered." "So this is it, isn't it?" "Kneel." "Kneel down." "Look at me." "What do you see?" "I see." "I see loneliness." "I see fear." "I see despair, regret." "And duty." "Let it be done." "What do you think you're doing?" "You're looking for my mother?" "No, I am looking for you." "Why?" "To tell you to leave." "I do not understand." "I think you do." "Pack up your affairs and get out." "You have no place here." "But what about my mother?" "You shall be making the journey back to wherever you come from alone." "And if I find you still here, I shall have you tossed in the gutter." "What have you done with her?" "Your son, Sir." "Very good." "His Majesty wishes you to stay." "I have brought you here because the time has come to teach you how to rule." "To be a king is to have power beyond imagining." "All you ask for will be given." "All you desire will be yours." "You will have power, but with power comes duty, duty to your subjects, to your friends, to justice, to truth." "But with power also comes danger." "When I was a young boy like you, there were those who sought to destroy us, people we took to be friends." "They came hammering at our doors with blood on their hands and murder in their hearts." "I will never allow that to happen to you." "Do you understand?" "Yes." "Good." "Rohan, my son will be spending a few days with us." "I will teach him how to rule a country and you will teach him how to hunt a wild boar." "It would be an honour." "Have my orders been carried out?" "Yes, sir." "The men are ready." "Good." "I will leave a message at the usual place." "When?" "When the time has come." "And what is our plan?" "We shall capture the king?" "No." "The king is not our prey." "Madame?" "Lord Rohan." "Another game of cards later, perhaps?" "With pleasure." "You will not be joining the revelry, Monsieur Marchal?" "I prefer to watch." "I'm sure you do." "This is an unwelcome surprise." "I came to make you an offer." "Of what?" "Of me." "Life as a builder's wife was unpalatable to you?" "He would not take me." "A wise man." "So, I am your only hope and you have come to me for deliverance." "You have courage." "And value." "I am unmarried and pure." "At least you are seen to be, which is all that matters here." "Very well." "If you wish to stay here, you will work for me." "Everyone, apart the king and I, believes you to be of noble birth." "This will remain the case." "You will attend court, dance, flirt, gossip, play cards, seduce." "But henceforth, you will do it in my service." "will tell me what people are doing, what they are saying, who is sharing a bed with whom, who is cheating on their wife and who is cheating at cards." "If you disobey me, you will suffer the same fate as your mother." "From now on, I own you." "That is my offer." "Very well." "I don't know why you wanted me in this colour." "Because it's regal." "I hate it!" "Some people care about making an impression, darling." "Clearly." "Two minds that think as one!" "Would you have me change masks?" "Not at all." "Come!" "I wanted to thank you." "What for?" "For sharing my vision." "All too often, I have had the impression that the petty differences between us have proved too great an obstacle." "I'm sure the fault is all mine." "Well, not entirely." "It is magnificent." "There are still those who would destroy it." "My dear brother, I have spoken to him..." "I'm not talking of your friend." "I am talking of forces far stronger and more determined." "Who?" "I do not yet know, but they are close." "Ah!" "The princess we've been waiting for." "But do you know who your king is?" "Is it me?" "Or is it me?" "Which one do you want it to be?" "I cannot say." "She cannot say!" "Oh dear!" "You will dance with me, I hope." "I will." "Why not with me?" "She shall dance with both of us." "His Majesty's in a flattering mood this evening." "What makes you say that?" "Because I know him, and he knows you." "It strengthens me to know I have you at my side." "You have many advisors better qualified than I." "But you are so much more than a mere advisor." "You realize he no longer loves you?" "Yet you still lie awake at night and dream of hearing his footsteps on the floor and the midnight knock at the door." "You were and are my first love." "Whoever I'm with, a part of me will always be with you." "He will promise and beckon and you will continue to hope." "You would've made a wonderful queen." "He will promise and beckon and you will continue to hope." "Whoever I'm with, a part of me will always be with you." "But you are just a puppet now." "You would've made a wonderful queen."